Week 10 has arrived and as we embark on the back half of the 2024 NFL season, we’re given a shorter 10-game main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. I don’t particularly love smaller main slates. A good four-or-five-game slate in the afternoon? Inject it into my veins!

Main slates this thin are pretty weak, as I prefer 12-to-13-game slates. This slate doesn’t even feature fun teams like the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Rams, and the Miami Dolphins.

 

 

 

Moreover, four teams are on Bye this week. So, we’ll attempt to keep the player pool tight and strike gold with the NFL DFS Week 10 D/ST Coach.

NFL DFS Week 10 D/ST Coach For FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

In the interest of transparency, the NFL DFS Week 9 D/ST Coach wasn’t the best. There were some decent plays like the Tennessee Titans and the Philadelphia Eagles. Fading the Denver Broncos was a good call as they were torched by the Baltimore Ravens to the tune of 41 points and 396 total yards of offense. 

I probably should’ve stopped the fade section there, but I couldn’t resist myself fading the Arizona Cardinals. I didn’t think they’d follow the playbook set forth by the Washington Commanders… But they did just that. 

They increased their blitz rate, which increased pressure, and they sacked Caleb Williams six times and returned a dozen fantasy points. You live and learn, and I won’t be making the same mistake again with the NFL DFS Week 10 D/ST Coach.

 

 

 

NFL Week 10 Defense/Special Teams

A 10-game slate means we have 20 teams to choose from for the NFL DFS Week 10 D/ST Coach so it’s a much smaller player pool. And remember, this is the last piece of the puzzle. And it’s a position of variance to boot. 

Fortunately, where we differ from last week, we do have some games to target that are easy to identify because of the implied low totals. Two games feature totals at or below 39 points, so we’ll definitely be looking at those games for our NFL DFS Week 10 D/ST Coach.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Top Tier Picks For Week 10

Los Angeles Chargers - DraftKings: $3,800 | FanDuel: $4,800

The Chargers are the most expensive option on DraftKings and for good reason. They’re playing at home, they’re big favorites, and they have momentum. Over their last two games they’ve collected 11 total sacks while giving up just 16 total points to the Cleveland Browns and the New Orleans Saints.

The over/under is at 39 points as of Thursday morning and the Chargers are 7.5-point favorites. That gives the Tennessee Titans an implied team total of 15.75 points. There is also the added possibility that Will Levis returns as the starting quarterback for this game. 

Head coach Brian Callahan has acknowledged that Levis’ reps will gradually increase in practice this week and we can’t forget that Levis had 10 turnovers in five games earlier this year. The Chargers may be difficult to get to on the main slate, but on the three-game afternoon slate there are enough value/contrarian options to easily get to the Bolts in this matchup.

Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $5,100

I don’t mind the Eagles this week. I like them, but don’t love them. Obviously, I would get questions if I didn’t mention them amidst the news that Cooper Rush was starting for the Dallas Cowboys. In relief for Dak Prescott last week, Rush completed just 52% of his passes against the Falcons for 115 yards and a touchdown.

The Eagles defense has been outstanding since their Bye week in Week 5. In their last four games they’re allowing 13.25 points per game, 214.5 yards per game, and they rank third in the NFL in EPA/Drive (expected points allowed per drive).

Because this is a matchup from the NFC East, it gets a prime television slot because the NFL loves shoving these matchups down our throats. The Eagles are favored by seven and the over/under is at 43 points as of Thursday morning. Turnovers could be abundant, and it could be ugly in Big D Sunday afternoon.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Mid-Tier Picks For Week 10

Chicago Bears – DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $5,000

The Bears were one of my two choices for the “Play of the Week” but when you get to the bottom of the article, hopefully I justify going for the other team. Overall, the Bears will be very popular on DraftKings. This is a massive pricing error by DK. FanDuel seemingly got it right.

The Bears do have a pretty good D/ST. I can’t speak to what’s gone on offensively since the team returned from their Bye week, but the Bears D/ST generates pressure (27.1%) at the seventh-highest rate in the NFL despite blitzing (22.5%) at a bottom 10 rate in the league.

The Bears have also fared better at home than on the road. I won’t include the game in London when they were the “home” team but in three actual home games this year, the Bears are allowing just 15 points per game, 286 yards per game, with 10 sacks and eight takeaways.

This game has the lowest total on the board at 38.5 points and the Bears are favored by six, so the Patriots have an implied team total just over 16 points. Drake Maye has shown that he’s capable of running the ball more. But he’s prone to mistakes, the offensive line isn’t great, and this is a tough road matchup. The Bears will be chalky but this price on DraftKings is a big mistake.

New York Jets – DraftKings: $2,900 | FanDuel: $4,700

The Jets have to travel for this game, but keep in mind they did play on Thursday Night Football in Week 9. So, they should be well rested. And for transparency, they are a far better value on DraftKings than FanDuel.

Despite being on the road, it’s arguably a pick ‘em according to the sportsbooks but the Jets are one-point favorites. And we can’t forget, Haason Reddick ended his holdout and joined the Jets in Week 9. He only collected 0.5 sacks and one tackle, but he generated eight pressures, and the Jets collected eight sacks as a team against the Houston Texans.

So, with the extra rest, I’m not overly concerned about them going on the road. The Cardinals are a tough matchup at times because they have weapons on offense and a mobile quarterback with Kyler Murray. But the Jets still boast one of the best secondaries in the league and this D/ST should be elevated given what Reddick brings to this squad.

 

 

 

NFL Week 10 DFS D/ST Value Picks

New England Patriots – DraftKings: $2,500 | FanDuel: $3,600

The value tier is tough to navigate this week. My best suggestion is to live in the mid-tier or even potentially pay up for a safer floor. The Patriots D/ST isn’t great. In fact, they’re probably worse since they dealt Josh Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs.

And let’s be honest, the Patriots have just one takeaway and two sacks in their last three games. They aren’t great by any means. But we’ve seen the offensive struggles for Chicago lately. And we’ve seen two D/ST’s drastically increase their blitz rate specifically against the Bears. The Commanders did it and held the Bears to 15 points. Then the Cardinals did it and held them to nine points.

So, we turn to the Patriots hoping they got the memo and blitz twice as much as they normally do. And we should also monitor the inactives for Chicago because Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright didn’t practice on Wednesday. This is a salary saver with plenty of risk. Tread carefully.

Denver Broncos – DraftKings: $2,400 | FanDuel: $4,100

I probably wouldn’t play the Broncos on FanDuel. They’re a bit too pricy so I’d probably pivot to the Patriots if you need the savings. There are some things we like about Denver and other things we don’t.

The Broncos have the second-highest blitz rate in the league at 35.6% and the eighth-highest pressure rate at 27%. So, they can get to the quarterback. They also have a defensive back, Pat Surtain, who can take away the opposing team’s best receiver. But we did see last week that Surtain won’t follow receivers into the slot. 

That explains why Zay Flowers had a big day. But overall, Surtain does take away the opposing team’s best perimeter option depending on where they line up. And the Chiefs just went to overtime Monday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers so it’s a short week for the home team.

What I don’t like for this matchup is that, despite the short week, the Chiefs didn’t have to travel for this game. They played at home last week and will do so again in Week 10. Moreover, this is the second straight road game for Denver and they’re a sizable underdog. 

But I will justify punting to this price range because they have an elite defensive back that can shadow at a high level, and they put pressure on the opposing quarterback. The Broncos have returned double-digit fantasy points four times this year. Do I expect that kind of return in this game? No, but if they can return enough for 2X-3X value, I’d be happy.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Fades For Week 10

Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $3,400 | FanDuel: $4,300

I’m having some hot flashes that this could potentially be a repeat of the Arizona Cardinals fade from a week ago. But hear me out. Everyone will be intrigued to pay for the Atlanta Falcons given how beat up the Saints are and what the Falcons D/ST did in their first game.

Chris Olave is unlikely to play. Alvin Kamara has played through a hand injury the last couple weeks. Jamaal Williams doesn’t seem likely to play. Even Cedrick Wilson is dealing with a shoulder injury. But this is still a team that fired their head coach just a few days ago and usually teams play with more inspiration after that happens. 

We also need to be honest with ourselves, this Falcons defense hasn’t been great for season-long fantasy or DFS. They returned 17 fantasy points against the Saints back in Week 4. But they needed two D/ST touchdowns to get there. 

Rashid Shaheed muffed a punt, and it was recovered in the end zone by Atlanta. And then Atlanta also had a pick six. We can’t predict D/ST touchdowns. Take those two touchdowns away and the Falcons would have returned just five fantasy points. 

So, if ownership is pumped up simply because of one game, I’m willing to lay off the Falcons if they come in around 10% rostered. And keep in mind, the Saints are the home team and still have an implied team total around 21 points.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 10 D/ST Play Of The Week

Minnesota Vikings - DraftKings: $3,700 | FanDuel: $4,900

I absolutely love the Vikings in this spot, but I just don’t know how much exposure I’ll land on if I’m being honest. If you’re asking me to pick the D/ST that can put up the most points, I’d say there’s a good chance it’s Minnesota and they may not carry a ton of exposure.

As I’m writing this article it’s been announced that Trevor Lawrence is unlikely to play in Week 10. The Vikings are favored by nearly a touchdown on the road and the Jaguars aren’t without their own issues on the offensive side as well. 

Guards Ezra Cleveland and Brandon Scherff did not practice on Wednesday while skill position players like Tank Bigsby, Gabe Davis, and rookie breakout Brian Thomas were limited with injuries. So, it’s looking like Mac Jones gets the start for Jacksonville and keep in mind, the Jaguars traded Cam Robinson to the Vikings over a week ago as Minnesota needed to replace Christian Darrisaw. 

Jones is a fine backup option for any team but behind a beat-up offensive line, against a defense that blitzes (39.9%) and generates pressure (30.2%) more than any other in the league, the Vikings have a safe floor and an incredible ceiling in this matchup.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 10 Defense/Special Teams Projections