Fantasy football: Top waiver wire pickups for Week 10

These are all players that have been recommended in recent weeks of this column but are still good options who are owned in less than 50% of leagues.

Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens | Yahoo: 37% owned | ESPN: 10% owned
Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles | Yahoo: 24% owned | ESPN: 15% owned
Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers | Yahoo: 38% owned | ESPN: 31% owned
Denzel Mims, New York Jets | Yahoo: 6% owned | ESPN: 4% owned

Yahoo: 24% owned | ESPN: 34% owned

It's a great outing for a fantasy wide receiver if he catches nine passes on 14 targets. For a running back, that's just otherworldly value that only a handful of position mates — the McCaffreys of the world — can boast on a consistent basis. But with Alex Smith at the helm of the Washington offense for the foreseeable future following a gruesome injury to Kyle Allen, check-down passes could become a huge part of Ron Rivera's approach, and McKissic would seem to be the clear recipient of a large majority of these. His role with Smith leading the charge seems fairly sturdy.

Yahoo: 16% owned | ESPN: 17% owned

A concussion to David Johnson propelled Duke Johnson into the feature back role for Houston. The 16 carries he had Sunday were more than three times his highest total up to that point this season, and he has had four or more catches in each of the past two weeks. A matchup against the Browns in Week 10 should be one in which we see a fair share of offense, and Johnson can help as both the lead runner and the main pass-catcher out of the backfield in an important role. Though David Johnson may not be injured for long, it's worth picking up Duke Johnson as a solid flex play in Week 10.

Yahoo: 12% owned | ESPN: 4% owned

It seemed like Meyers was emerging as Cam Newton's favorite target after getting 16 targets in the past two weeks prior to the Patriots' win against the Jets on Monday, when he confirmed that hypothesis and then some.

Meyers exploded against the Jets — a vulnerable secondary, yes — to the tune of a whopping 12 catches and 169 yards. He could've had more too, if Newton didn't overthrow him as he was streaking down the middle of the field with no defenders within a few feet. Even with that gaffe, such a massive role and target share on a team that has needed to throw the ball a lot more than expected bodes well for Meyers going forward.

Yahoo: 30% | ESPN: 42%

Don't look now, but Samuel has gone off the past three weeks, ranking in the top 10 wide receivers in terms of total fantasy points. An efficient workload — Samuel has caught 19 balls on 20 targets since Week 7 — and some work in the ground game, where he has recorded two touchdowns, means that the Panthers are working their best to utilize him in as many ways as possible. With some attractive matchups coming up against teams like the Buccaneers and Vikings, Samuel should keep on chugging for at least a few more weeks, especially after McCaffrey's injury.

Yahoo: 2% owned | ESPN: 2% owned

Hamler has been the beneficiary of a couple developments, as he's becoming a larger and larger part of Denver's offense (10 targets on Sunday). For one, tight end stud Noah Fant is hobbled with another ankle injury. What's more is that Drew Lock and the offense will likely need to throw the ball a lot based on how poor their defense has played, and matchups against the Raiders, Dolphins and Saints should all be games in which points will need to be scored if the Broncos want to stay competitive. Hamler is the team's best pure deep threat, complementing Jerry Jeudy's route running and Tim Patrick's big frame, and just one play can change your fantasy fortune in the blink of an eye. Hamler isn't an easy player to start yet but could become one with more time.

Yahoo: 39% | ESPN: 41%

One of the best fantasy tight ends while playing for Atlanta in 2019, Hooper has had a 2020 debut season in Cleveland that has been forgettable to this point. However, prior to an episode of appendicitis and subsequent surgery, he was coming into his own within the Browns offense, racking up five catches in three consecutive games with a nice target share. Odell Beckham Jr.'s season is over, meaning Hooper has a chance to pick up even more targets and bring back the numbers that we got used to seeing when he was the No. 6 overall tight end in 2019.