Denver Broncos Week 10 Fantasy Report

Nov 4, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) calls out a signal at the line during the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-US PRESSWIRE

Vital Info

Opponent: Carolina Panthers

Location: Bank of America Stadium (Away)

Record: 5-3

Quarterback

Nerve injury? What nerve injury? Peyton Manning is still one of the best in the game and he has the fantasy numbers to match – he’s been in the top 5 nearly all season and shows no signs of stopping. As with previous years, you start Peyton no matter who his opposition is – and you definitely start him against a weak Panthers secondary.

Running Back

Always tough to judge just exactly how these “older” backs continue to bust through and get production but the renaissance of Willis McGahee’s career continues ever onward. He’s become a must start each and every week in much the same way Edgerrin James was years ago with Peyton in Indy. I expect 80+ yards from him this week. In PPR leagues, Ronnie Hillman is an interesting wildcard as he has very quickly been picking up the Peyton system. His sure hands with receptions makes him a strong flex play for PPR this week and worth consideration in most leagues if you have depth issues.

Wide Receiver

If I asked you who the best fantasy producing wide receiver on the Broncos was, what would your answer be? I did a quick poll of my friends and 7/10 were wrong. The answer is Eric Decker who has quietly been putting up big numbers in recent weeks and is coming off back to back 2 TD games. I expect Decker to do very well once again against the Panthers. His partner Demaryius Thomas is pretty special too although he is more of a downfield type of wideout. With that said I have both in or around the top 10 most weeks and with this week’s soft matchup both are must start players. For those in deeper leagues, I also consider Brandon Stokley a good start, particularly in PPR. I’m predicting 6 for 56 yards with the possibility of a TD.

Tight End

This situation is so frustrating for fantasy owners. Both Jacob Tamme and Joel Dreessen have showed they can be very good but all too often one has a big game while the other does very little – picking which one on any given week is the tough part. I’ll say this – I think it’s Tamme’s turn this week but I’m avoiding this situation for fantasy if I possibly can.