Fantasy Football Week 10 Rankings Review: Kapri Bibbs, Peyton Barber worth starting?

What should Fantasy owners do about injuries at the RB position? Which WRs are going to heat up? Chris Towers dives into the rankings.

Week 10 Rankings: Standard | PPR

Our trio of experts -- Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and Heath Cummings -- publish their first rankings of the week every Tuesday, and Chris Towers is here to break them down for the week ahead.

1. Which QB are you about to cut?

• Jamey: Matthew Stafford
• Dave: Whoever I used as a bye-week replacement for Tom Brady
• Heath: Colin Kaepernick

Dave isn't trying to confuse you, or cause panic. He's getting straight to the point. I like and respect that.

Stafford's fall from grace in Fantasy has been quick. He had 14 touchdowns in the first six games of the season, and looked like a draft-day steal. However, the Lions' offense has grown ever more conservative as the season has gone on, and he needed overtime heroics from Golden Tate to get his second touchdown a week ago. The Lions have completely retooled their offense to feature less hurry-up and even more short plays, which has held Stafford back enough to make him a tough player to trust in Fantasy.

After averaging 39 pass attempts in the first four games, Stafford has thrown the ball just 32.4 times per game over the past five, which requires him to be even more efficient. That's a tall task, though it is worth looking at the schedule and seeing that the Jaguars and Saints loom in two of his three games after the bye. If you can afford to stash Stafford through his week off, it just may pay off, but I wouldn't blame you if you didn't.

Kaepernick has actually been semi-decent for Fantasy purposes, picking up 19 and 17 Fantasy points in his first two starts before exploding for 27 in Week 9. That one, of course, came against the Saints, which makes it hard to believe it will keep up moving forward, especially against the Cardinals in Week 10. Kaepernick did his job last week, filling in and putting up numbers against a soft opponent as a bye week replacement. Now, you can let him go.

2. Who is the best injury replacement RB?

• Jamey: Peyton Barber
• Dave: Kapri Bibbs
• Heath: Peyton Barber

We might have to change his name to "Peyton Barber, By Default," because that's basically where we are with Tampa Bay's running backs. Barber is just about the only person left, with Doug Martin still nursing an injury and Charles Sims, Jacquizz Rodgers and Antone Smith all sidelined by injuries of their own after filling in for Martin.

Barber has shown flashes in his rookie season, specifically on his 44-yard touchdown run in Week 7, but struggled to get going last week, rushing for just 31 yards on 11 carries against the Falcons. We'll see if he can find better luck, because the Buccaneers are going to need him, assuming Martin's hamstring doesn't heal in time.

We'll see if the Broncos start splitting work a bit more evenly with Bibbs and Devontae Booker, as coach Gary Kubiak hinted at following his 69-yard touchdown in Week 9. Even if he doesn't, it's not hard to see a situation where both backs are worth starting this week, with the Saints on the schedule. They struggled to contain little-known 49ers' backup DuJuan Harris last week, and have been one of the worst defenses we've seen over the past few seasons. Booker should get the bulk of the work this week, but Bibbs is clearly going to be a part of the offense, and makes for a decent roll of the dice if you're desperate for running back help in Week 10.

3. Which typical must-start RB are you sitting?

• Jamey: Chrisine Michael
• Dave: Christine Michael
• Heath: Isaiah Crowell

Remember when Christine Michael was the hottest running back on the block? He looked like clearly the best back in Seattle early in the season, and Thomas Rawls' injury seems like a perfect opportunity for him to prove he deserved to be a workhorse. Instead, he has rushed for just 3.2 yards per carry over his past five games, including just 1 yard on five attempts Monday against the Bills, which has left the door wide open for Rawls to take his job back when healthy. Whether that will come this week or next, it's pretty hard to get excited about Michael heading into a matchup against the Patriots. He seems like a desperation play even if Rawls doesn't return.

Crowell looked so good early in the season, it really seemed like he was going to finally cash in on some of that promise he'd shown in the past. However, he hasn't run the ball more than 13 times in a game since Week 4, and he has only topped 30 rushing yards once in that span of five games as well. He has actually been more involved in the passing game than expected, which helps keep him Fantasy relevant, but he just hasn't run the ball as well over the last month-plus as he did in the first. Add in a tough matchup against a Ravens defense that has really buckled down since Crowell torched them for 133 yards -- they held Le'Veon Bell t0 32 yards, and have allowed 70-plus to a running back only two times this season -- and it's tough to trust Crowell at this point.

4. Which struggling WR is going to turn things around this week?

• Jamey: Alshon Jeffery
• Dave: Larry Fitzgerald
• Heath: Demaryius Thomas

After being held out of the end zone in each of the first seven games of the season, Alshon Jeffery finally found his way in Week 8, and it should be little surprise that this coincided with Jay Cutler's return to the field. Now, after a bye, Jeffery gets to try to keep things rolling against a Buccaneers defense that has been nothing short of disastrous against the pass. Matt Ryan just carved that defense up last week, and he wasn't alone. The Buccaneers have given up the fourth-most touchdowns and the sixth-most passing yards per game this season. Jeffery was a nice buy-low candidate for a while there, but you might have missed your chance.

This is starting to look suspiciously like last season, as Fitzgerald got off to a huge start, scoring four touchdowns in his first five games, but has been held out of the end zone in the last three. The Cardinals' passing game as a whole has regressed, and Fitzgerald has just been OK for Fantasy purposes lately, scoring at least six Fantasy points in five of the past six, but reaching double figures in standard scoring only once. However, this 49ers' defense is dreadful, and he hauled in six passes for 81 yards and a pair of touchdowns the last time he faced them in Week 5. Carson Palmer hasn't been nearly as good this season as last, but you have to like the Cardinals' chances of getting going this week.

I thought Demaryius Thomas wouldn't be hurt much by the loss of Peyton Manning, but it has proved to be a bigger issue than expected over the last few weeks. He hasn't reached 80 yards in a game since Week 4, despite receiving 10 targets in each of the last four games.

If you're wondering when he might be able to turn that around, Week 10 seems like a pretty good time to place your bets, because he gets to face the Saints, even with Trevor Siemian struggling a bit. Twelve different players have hit at least 80 yards against this Saints' offense, and eight others have scored a touchdown against them, so this seems like a pretty good opportunity for Thomas to get back on track.

5. Which typical must-start WR are you sitting?

• Jamey: Michael Thomas
• Dave: Brandon Marshall
• Heath: Michael Thomas/Brandin Cooks

The Saints passing game remains the class of the league, and you it's hard to go away from anyone involved in it when they are at home, even against a tough matchup like Denver. I would still bet on Drew Brees approaching 300 yards, and multiple touchdowns seems like a decent bet. He has done it in 73 percent of his games at the Superdome since joining the Saints, while averaging 2.2 per game there. The problem is, this Denver defense really is one of the best in the league, especially against the pass, which makes it awfully hard to trust. It is vulnerable against the run, and that could mean plenty of Tim Hightower and Mark Ingram yet again this week. Thomas and Cooks could still succeed, but it will be tough, especially if Aqib Talib plays. You aren't definitely benching either player, but it's going to be tough to justify starting them against this matchup, especially one week after they held Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper to eight catches for 83 yards combined.

It might be popular to say the Jets' quarterbacking situation can't get much worse than it has been this season, but there's a reason Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg haven't seen the field despite the struggles of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith this season. Fitzpatrick's status for Week 10 is very much up in the air, and it's hard to get excited about Marshall's chances with either of the Jets' backups. It's been tough to rely on Marshall all season, and you're going to want to find someone else to depend on this week and moving forward, no matter who the quarterback is.

6. Who is the best TE to pick up?

• Jamey: Zach Miller
• Dave: C.J. Fiedorowicz
• Heath: Zach Ertz

It actually might not be that hard to find help at tight end this week, which is a welcome change. The likes of Miller, Ertz, and Fiedorowicz, not to mention players like Dennis Pitta, Cameron Brate or Lance Kendricks, who might also be available on the waiver wire, look like they should have pretty big roles in good to great matchups this week.

Of course, if all of them are available, that raises the obvious question: "Which one do I add?" I think Ertz has the most long-term upside -- remember when he racked up 450 yards in the final four games of last season? -- and Fiedorowicz has at least seven targets in each of the last five games, with at least six Fantasy points in standard scoring in four of the last five.

I'm adding either of them if I need a tight end this week, and Fiedorowicz's upcoming schedule makes him very promising, with games against the Jaguars, Raiders, and Chargers on the way.