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👋 Welcome back, amigos! It's NFL trade deadline day. Let that inspire you to make some deals of your own as the fantasy playoff race begins!

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In this edition: We'll recap a wave of news around the league, reveal Week 10's top waiver adds, offer up some drop candidates and more.

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Today's Get to the Points! is written by Scott Pianowski. For the web version, click here. To sign up for free, click here.

It's trade deadline day in the NFL, so it's possible a bunch of fantasy-relevant things will pop after we send the newsletter. We'll do our best to cover you other places, should that occur. In the meantime, here is the news and notes briefing you need.

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🩼 Dak Prescott (hamstring) has already been ruled out for Week 10 and is likely heading to IR. Cooper Rush steps in as the starter vs. Philadelphia, with Trey Lance the backup. CeeDee Lamb is too good for fantasy managers to bench, but we have to take his projection down 10-20%, I suspect. Lamb is also dealing with a shoulder injury himself.

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🤕 Tee Higgins (hamstring) was considered a DNP for Monday's estimated practice report. Cincinnati has a quick turnaround for Thursday's game vs. Baltimore. TE Mike Gesicki has stepped up nicely in Higgins's absence.

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🤞 A.J. Brown day-to-day after suffering a knee injury Sunday. What a horrendous year it's been for wide receiver injuries. Looks like we'll be grinding Brown news all week as the Eagles get ready for Dallas.

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🤔 Drake London (hip) is considered day-to-day after suffering an injury on a spectacular touchdown catch against Dallas. The Falcons have taken control of the weak NFC South and might have the luxury of not forcing London back against the slumping Saints this week.

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🙏 The 49ers opened the 21-day window for Christian McCaffrey (Achilles), so he has a shot to play vs. Tampa Bay. Jordan Mason (shoulder) is not 100%, which means Isaac Guerendo could be useful on Sunday.

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🏁 Although Joe Flacco didn't play well at Minnesota, he's already been confirmed as the Week 10 starter vs. Buffalo. I give the Vikings defense a lot of credit for Flacco's poor showing, and I'll start Indy receivers proactively next week.

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🤝 Cincinnati acquired Khalil Herbert from the Bears on Tuesday with Zack Moss expected to miss the rest of the season with a neck injury. Chase Brown has been effective as the primary Bengals back; Herbert might eventually become a solid change-of-pace option but I don't view him as a threat to Brown's immediate fantasy value.

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💪 The Lions know there's no real replacing star Aidan Hutchinson, but they traded for Cleveland pass rusher Za'Darius Smith on Tuesday. Smith has five sacks and 20 QB hurries on the year, one of the rare Cleveland players who has played well in 2024.

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🫣 The Saints fired coach Dennis Allen on Monday; New Orleans had hit a shocking seven-game losing streak after starting the year with two blowout wins. Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi steps in as the interim head coach. Injuries have had a lot to do with the New Orleans offense falling apart, with the exception of RB Alvin Kamara.

Chasing can be fun in fantasy sports. Defending can be stressful. Monday's game between the Chiefs and Bucs illustrated that point. 

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Many of the primary fantasy plays got home during Kansas City's 30-24 OT win, and I'm sure many fantasy comeback wins were completed. Here's what you need to know: 

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Welcome back, Patrick Mahomes: It had been about 11 months since Mahomes finished as a top 10 QB in a fantasy week. That streak is mercifully over. Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three TDs, dodging raindrops and playing through a nagging ankle injury in the second half. It led to 24.54 fantasy points and QB4 finish. Mahomes was especially sharp on third down, converting 12-of-18 chances. 

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K.C.'s passing attack is conveniently narrow: Travis Kelce had a monstrous 14-100 game, checking in as the TE3. He and Mahomes know how to find holes in any zone. And DeAndre Hopkins was a force all night (8-86-2), working a variety of routes and blasting to the week's WR4. Xavier Worthy had some technical problems on two incompletions, and his one run went for negative yardage. He's not near the Circle of Trust.

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Kareem Hunt eventually delivers: He needed an overtime TD to crack the top 10 (18.2 points), but it's clearly his backfield while Isiah Pacheco is out. Maybe we'll see Pacheco in late November or early December.

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Baker Mayfield still searching for a receiver: Say this for Mayfield, he leaves it all on the field. He's passionate, competitive, easy to root for. But life without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin is an obvious challenge. Sterling Shepard was the best of the Tampa Bay wideouts, a modest 4-48-0 on five targets. Evans should return at some point in November. 

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Tight end Cade Otton has turned into a star: He had a blowup 8-77-1 line on 11 targets (TE2, 17.7 points), and narrowly missed a second score. He's fantasy-playable the rest of the year, even when Evans returns. 

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Tampa Bay struggled to run on the stern K.C. front: A short TD helped Rachaad White get to 11 fantasy points, and Bucky Irving (34 total yards) wasn't effective. Sean Tucker also took four touches off the table.

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Hope for better days? The Bucs could struggle with San Francisco next week. A bye follows. But the post-bye schedule is littered with several positive matchups, setting up a bunch of potential pinball games.

The best fantasy managers pound the waiver wire every week. Gotta eat those veggies. Here's a shopping list to get you started. 🛒

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Priority Pickups 🛻

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Jaylen Warren, RB, Steelers (42% rostered): Running backs have been shockingly healthy this year, so the waiver hunting has not been fun. But Warren is close to 100% health, and he could be an auto-starter if Najee Harris needed any time off. Even if Harris holds up, Warren has a plausible path to double-digit touches every week.

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Ray Davis, RB, Bills (21%): Look, I like James Cook a lot. But it's possible Davis is just as good. His catch-and-run touchdown last week was one of the snappiest highlights of the day, and the Bills no longer rely on Josh Allen as the push-button guy at the goal (just three rushing TDs). 

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Mike Gesicki, TE, Bengals (14%): Sometimes a team will steer into the tight end position when star receivers get hurt. That's been the story in Tampa Bay, and it's also been the case in Cincinnati the last two weeks.

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Medium Leagues 🥤

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Drake Maye, QB, Patriots (11%): He's always poised and he's running proactively, and the second-half schedule has several soft landings. 

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Isaac Guerendo, RB, 49ers (18%): The splash plays leap off the screen, we love the San Francisco infrastructure and nobody is sure when Christian McCaffrey or Jordan Mason will be healthy. 

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Trey Benson, RB, Cardinals (16%): Arizona finally started to trust him in Week 9, and as great as James Conner is, he typically misses time.

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Taysom Hill, TE, Saints (38%): The offense is dying for playmakers, and Hill did punch in a short rushing TD last week. Alvin Kamara has been a fantasy right answer all year, but can he hold up to the heavy workload? 

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Deep Leagues 🔬

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Quentin Johnston, WR, Chargers (15%): The Chargers want to win with ball control and defense, but they've also let Justin Herbert do more cooking recently. Johnston had a field day Sunday vs. a good Browns D. 

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Sterling Shepard, WR, Buccaneers (7%): You had to stay up late for it, but Shepard had some nifty catches late in the loss at Kansas City, and he also had a couple of useful runs. Baker Mayfield and Shepard have past rapport, teammates at Oklahoma.

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Ray-Ray McCloud III, WR, Falcons (16%): He's been surprisingly involved all season, part of a narrow Atlanta tree, and that role would likely expand if Drake London can't play in Week 10. 

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Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE, Panthers (1%): Bryce Young was notably better in the Week 9 win over New Orleans, and we're always looking for possible breakouts at tight end. Sanders definitely passes the eye test.

A players-to-drop column will never be one-size-fits-all, so season these recommendations to taste. 🧂

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Xavier Worthy, WR, Chiefs (85%): He had two sloppy targets in the first half vs. Tampa Bay, both incomplete, and was basically ignored after that. His one rush went for negative yardage. With DeAndre Hopkins settling in and Travis Kelce picking things up, the unbeaten Chiefs aren't going to force anything to Worthy. This might be more of a redshirt year for the rookie. The volume is unlikely to be consistent. 

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Ty Chandler, RB, Vikings (20%): He was viewed as an interesting stash-and-hold behind Aaron Jones, but Cam Akers pushed past Chandler on Sunday while Chandler didn't see any offensive snaps. Most RBs on good offenses are worth a look in medium and deeper pools, but when a back slides to the third spot on his offense, it's a clear time to cut.

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Caleb Williams, QB, Bears (72%): He's been under 10 fantasy points in back-to-back starts and the Patriots and Packers are up next, both tricky matchups. The Bears would prefer to rely on their defense and running game, protecting Williams a bit. 

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Isaiah Likely, TE, Ravens (38%): That explosive opener vs. Kansas City feels like it was three years ago. He has just 15 catches since, with Mark Andrews coming back into relevance. And the Ravens acquired another target source in Diontae Johnson. Most fantasy rosters can't justify carrying a stash-and-hope tight end, even one as talented as Likely.

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Elijah Moore, WR, Browns (14%): At best, he's the third option in the Cleveland passing game, and the second-half schedule is a mess. The Browns are also off this week. 

1. JSN: More consistency would be appreciated, but the rules of Signature Significance apply after Sunday's monster game vs. the Rams.

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2. Barkley: If you can move back in a time machine, draft all those veteran backs who changed teams in the spring.

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3. Flowers: He's always beating defenders downfield, and positive touchdown regression was only a matter of time.

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4. Hopkins: He's never been an elite separator, but he's already established exciting rapport with Patrick Mahomes. 

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5. Otton: He's obviously a fantasy start while Mike Evans is hurt, and Otton is still an easy fantasy start when Evans returns.