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Fantasy Football Week 10 Waiver Wire: Mychal Rivera

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By @bradberreman24

Mychal Rivera, Oakand Raiders, Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

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The Oakland Raiders are not exactly flush with top level talent for fantasy football owners, as could be expected for an 0-8 team. That said, tight end Mychal Rivera had eight receptions for 38 yards and two touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9, and he now has 15 catches (on 20 targets) for 121 yards over the last two games.

Will Rivera’s fantasy stock continue to rise, or will he quickly fizzle?

A favorable matchup is coming for Rivera in Week 10, as the Denver Broncos enter the week allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to tight ends (9.5 per game, ESPN scoring). That includes three touchdowns to the position over their last two games, but it’s worth noting they faced Antonio Gates and Rob Gronkowski in those games. Rivera is not quite in that class yet, but he has become a centerpiece of Oakland’s passing game and a primary target for quarterback Derek Carr over the last two games and that has a good chance to continue.

After Week 10, three of Oakland’s next four opponents (San Diego Chargers-Week 11, St. Louis Rams-Week 13, San Francisco 49ers-Week 14) enter this week in the top-10 of the league against tight ends (ESPN scoring). The remaining matchup during that stretch, against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12, is decidedly neutral and the Raiders will play the Chiefs again in Week 15.

Prior to a rematch with the Broncos in Week 17, the Raiders will play the Buffalo Bills in Week 16. The Bills enter this week in the top half of the league against tight ends, and they’ve only allowed one touchdown to the position in their last seven games. So Rivera is not looking like a noteworthy option during championship week in a lot of fantasy leagues.

Week 10 is another tough bye week for fantasy owners, with six teams idle. The tight ends with the week off include Gronkowski and Gates, but other serviceable options like Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener, Jordan Reed and Garrett Graham are also unavailable this week. That alone makes Rivera a suitable plug-and-play option for Week 10, with a favorable-looking matchup on the slate and the Raiders sure to be throwing the ball plenty.

But Rivera is far from being a must-add for fantasy owners beyond this week,  due mostly to a stretch of matchups that range from tough to at best mediocre from Week 11-Week 16. I don’t expect his ownership percentage (three percent in Yahoo! leagues) to go up substantially at this point, but if fantasy owners do add him in droves this week Rivera stands to be widely dropped as the playoffs approach.

Brad Berreman is a Columnist at Rant Sports.com. Connect with him on Twitter.

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