Week 10 Waiver Wire: Fantasy Football's Top Breakout Candidates and Pickups

Week 9 of the NFL season was another roller coaster for fantasy managers. There were highs, like Davante Adams finally getting going to finish as the top receiver in fantasy ahead of Sunday Night Football, with 36.60 points.

There were lows, like tight end Kyle Pitts bamboozling managers once again by following a 19-point week (his highest of the season) with a 4.7-point outing.

But unless your fantasy team has gone the way of the Carolina Panthers (we're not saying you can't climb out of that hole...but we're not hopeful that you can), there's always a bright spot heading into a new week of fantasy, and that's the players on waivers who offer a glimmer of hope to turn your team around.

Let's take a look at three of the players who did impress Sunday. Two are even from the same team; if it wasn't obvious, we do not recommend submitting waiver claims for both of them.

To be considered "breakouts," the following players must have been rostered in less than 55 percent of leagues as of Sunday.

Rostered: 1 percent

Week 9 stats: 5 att, 13 rush yds, 1 rush TD, 4 rec, 40 rec yds, 15.30 pts

Is anyone feeling good about the 2-7 Carolina Panthers?

No.

Can you nevertheless get excited about Panthers running back Raheem Blackshear?

Cautiously, yes.

Panthers coach Steve Wilks had said heading into Week 9 that Blackshear would see an increased role, with Chuba Hubbard out with an ankle injury. In a committee approach, Blackshear earned five attempts (second behind seven by D'Onta Foreman) but, for awhile, was the team's leading receiver with his 40 yards, eventually ceding that distinction to Terrace Marshall Jr. (whom we'll talk about more in a moment).

Blackshear was also the only rusher to find the end zone for Carolina on Sunday, the first score of his career.

He also had a 56-yard kickoff return at the start of the second half.

Before Sunday Night Football, Blackshear was among the top 10 running backs in fantasy this week. Though the situation may change once Hubbard returns, he's certainly worth adding to your bench ahead of Week 10.

Rostered: 51 percent

Week 9 stats: 9 att, 51 rush yds, 3 rec, 21 rec yds, 1 rec TD, 16.20 pts

The Dolphins acquired Jeff Wilson Jr. at the trade deadline, and needless to say, he impressed in his Miami debut.

In addition to leading the Dolphins on the ground Sunday in their 35-32 win over the Chicago Bears, he also brought in all three of his targets in the passing game, one of which was a crucial touchdown.

Heading into Sunday Night Football, that was all good enough to make Wilson the No. 6 running back in fantasy.

The thought ahead of this game was that Wilson would serve as a backup to Raheem Mostert and that the latter would handle passing downs, but the two ended up with nine carries apiece and Mostert didn't catch either of his two targets in the passing game.

It also speaks to Wilson's potential that, reportedly, the San Francisco 49ers didn't want to trade him, but respected the fact that the running back wanted to look for a bigger role once the 49ers acquired Christian McCaffrey.

And some of Wilson's most positive reviews came from none other than quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who said, per the Miami Herald's Daniel Oyefusi: "For someone like him to come from the Niners and fit right into our offense like that tells you a lot about his work ethic, tells you a lot about who he is as a player and who he is as professional as well.”

It's not hard to see that the Dolphins organization is excited about Wilson, and in your waiver priorities this week, you should be, too.

Rostered: 5 percent

Week 9 stats: 3 rec, 53 rec yds, 1 TD, 14.30 pts

Terrace Marshall Jr. came into Week 9 on the heels of the best game of his season, with season highs in targets (nine) and yards (87).

Though he had fewer targets and fewer yards this week, he did find the end zone for the first time this season, and if that's a sign of things to come, putting in a claim for Marshall now could be prudent.

The Panthers' decision to move him to the perimeter after he spent the majority of his snaps in the slot last season has already paid off, as he looks much more natural there.

Of course, it's ironic to recommend two Panthers in fantasy as the team is coming off a 42-21 rout by the Cincinnati Bengals and had the worst first half in team history, with zero points on the board by halftime.

On the other hand, it's a sad but true fact that bad teams can be good for fantasy--especially when it comes to pass-catchers, as teams playing from behind will give those players more opportunities.

Sell on the Panthers, but buy on Marshall.

Scoring and rostered percentages via FantasyPros