Fantasy football waiver wire Week 10 adds: 5 players you need to consider picking up

If you won your fantasy matchup in Week 9, congratulations! If you lost, bummer. Unless you're one of the lucky few who get to watch Monday Night Football with a something on the line, it is time to start looking forward to your Week 10 matchup.

Now's the time to determine who you need to target off the waiver wire and add in order to get an edge on your opponent.

Here are five players we like for the immediate future.

Looking ahead: NFL Week 10 schedule: What to know about betting odds, lines, byes

Fantasy football waiver-wire pickups for Week 10:

Baltimore Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell (Rostered in 3% of Yahoo leagues)

This one was obvious. There was definitely some hype for the Ravens' rookie once he got activated off IR prior to Week 7, but after playing just two percent of snaps in Weeks 7 and 8, there was little hope that Mitchell would break out in Week 9, especially given Gus Edwards incredible touchdown streak.

But boy did we have it wrong.

Seattle's defense had been extraordinary against running backs for almost a month before today's game, allowing less than 10 points to opposing running backs in three of the previous four weeks. That didn't matter to the run-heavy Ravens though. While Edwards did continue finding the endzone – reaching paydirt twice today and seven times in the last three games – Mitchell led the backfield in rushing yards and yards per carry. He didn't receive as many touches as Justice Hill, but was far more efficient with his touches, and even caught a pass out of the backfield. Neither Hill nor Edwards can say that.

Indianapolis Colts WR Isaiah McKenzie (Does not register on Yahoo's transaction trends)

Yes, I'm feeling crazy!

Colts' wide receiver Joshua Downs has been having a remarkable season, but entered Week 9 with a knee injury hobbling him. Downs tried to play through it, but was ultimately ruled out during the game. Downs was replaced by Isaiah McKenzie.

McKenzie did not light up the score sheet, racking up just three targets, two receptions, and 12 yards. But after Downs' departure, McKenzie received the second-most targets of any Colts' receiver, next to Michael Pittman Jr. of course.

Game script was not in Colts' pass-catchers' favor. Indianapolis got out to a big lead early against Carolina, so there was not much need for quarterback Garnder Minshew to throw the ball. The Colts will be more likely to throw the ball against New England next Sunday. McKenzie, who spent the last four full seasons in Buffalo, has a lot of experience against New England and even put up a monstrous 11 reception, 125-yard performance against the Patriots in 2021. He also found the endzone in that game.

This is certainly a risky move, but if you're in dire need of wide receiver help, McKenzie could be a sneaky pickup so long as Downs' knee continues to bother him, which seems like a strong possibility right now. Even if McKenzie gets just 60 percent of Downs' usage prior to Week 9, that would still mean about five targets, 40 receiving yards, and a shot at a touchdown. It's risky, but there are definitely worse people to start.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE Cade Otton (Rostered in 5% of Yahoo leagues)

Volume is king in fantasy, and Otton has recorded several looks the last two weeks. 15 to be exact, which is more than Travis Kelce has in that span.

Otton's two touchdowns obviously inflate his numbers for this week, and it's unlikely he puts up those numbers again, but it does show that quarterback Baker Mayfield is looking Otton's way in the red zone more often. Otton has at least six targets in three straight games, and that alone should make him worthy of filling up a roster spot, especially next week when guys like Dallas Goedert and Travis Kelce are on bye.

Atlanta Falcons TE Jonnu Smith (Rostered in 28% of Yahoo leagues)

The Atlanta Falcons spent the fourth overall pick on Florida tight end Kyle Pitts in the 2021 NFL Draft. He is a tremendously talented individual who can create matchup nightmares everywhere on the field. Who cares about that though, when you have a 29-year-old who has never eclipsed 500 yards in any of his six full NFL seasons?!

Smith is ahead of Pitts on the season in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. But even more than that is Smith's usage near the goal line in this game against Minnesota. At one point, the Falcons ran two consecutive plays designed for Smith - a screen pass and a jet sweep - at the goal line. Neither worked, but the fact that head coach Arthur Smith was willing to use Jonnu Smith like that shows that Smith is likely to get looks in the most important areas of the field moving forward.

Smith is coming off two games with less than six fantasy points, sure, but prior to those two games, Smith had three straight with more than ten. The Falcons face the Cardinals in Week 10. There should be lots of opportunity for Atlanta near the goal line.

Chicago Bears D/ST (Rostered in 2% of Yahoo leagues)

In Chicago's last two games at home, the Bears defense scored 18 and 11 points respectively against the Las Vegas Raiders and Minnesota Vikings. They did have a touchdown against Vegas, but even without the score, the Bears still would have scored 12 points.

The addition of Montez Sweat at the trade deadline paid off massive dividends in Sweat's first game with Chicago. He was constantly causing problems for Saints quarterback Derek Carr, even if he didn't light up the stat sheet. That troublesome nature should only improve in Week 10 as the Bears take on the Carolina Panthers, who just suffered four sacks and four turnovers against the Indianapolis Colts.

Against Carolina this year, the fewest amount of fantasy points an opposing defense has scored is 5. Opposing defenses have scored double digits in more than half of Carolina's games though. Coming into this week, Indianapolis was the 31st-ranked fantasy defense. Chicago ranked 29th coming into this game. Yes, Carolina is just that bad.

NFL Week 9: Josh Dobbs leads Vikings to incredible comeback win

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Waiver wire Week 10: 5 Fantasy football players to pick up now