It is officially time to examine the Week 12 Fantasy Football Sleepers, as we pack up all bye week conversation for the remainder of the season. As always, this week’s sleepers were either selected toward the latter half of your fantasy drafts, or spent time residing on your leagues’ waiver wires until this week. Either way, a combination of their ability and their specific matchups, has propelled them into a position to enhance your scoring total should you decide to start them.
With that, here are the sleepers for Week 12. For a comprehensive look at this week’s rankings for QBs, RBs, and WRs, just click the following links:
https://fantasyknuckleheads.com/week-12-qb-fantasy-football-rankings/ https://fantasyknuckleheads.com/week-12-rb-fantasy-football-rankings/ https://fantasyknuckleheads.com/week-12-wr-fantasy-football-rankings/
QB
Russell Wilson @ Dolphins
Chad Henne vs. Titans
Henne entered Week 11 with 38 passing attempts, 21 completions, and one TD. But his fortunes changed substantially when Blaine Gabbert injured his throwing elbow last Sunday. Henne then injected life into a dormant offense, and launched himself into fantasy relevance by connecting on 16 of 33 attempts for 354 yards and four TDs. His yardage and scoring totals both exceeded anything that Gabbert delivered in two seasons, and accentuated how thoroughly the former starter had held Jacksonville’s offense captive with his inadequacies. The Jaguars had regularly occupied a spot at the bottom of the NFL’s scoring rankings, averaging a paltry 14 points per game. But under Henne’s direction the team generated 37 in Houston. Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon are legitimate playmakers who can help Henne collect sizable numbers in upcoming contests. That includes this week’s matchup with the Titans, who are yielding 31 points per game.
RBs
Ronnie Hillman @ Chiefs
Willis McGahee's season ending injury has created an opportunity for fantasy owners to sprint toward their waver wires, and select Hillman. He could become a very productive back on a dominant team, that moves the ball with great efficiency behind Peyton Manning. That would enable him to deliver favorable production this week and beyond. However, he could also be employed in a time share with Lance Ball, that could also include Knowshon Moreno. Providing that Moreno can extricate himself from the moth balls that he has been cloaked in. But Hillman can be an effective outside rusher, and appears to have sufficient blocking skills that would allow him to remain alongside Manning. If he is on your roster, he could pay huge dividends Sunday against Kansas City’s 25th ranked rush defense.
Bryce Brown @ Panthers
Brown has averaged 4.4 YPC and amassed 141 yards with the with the 32 rushing attempts that he has been allotted. Which means that from what we have seen of his limited appearances, it appears that he can be effective should he be allotted a massive workload. And that certainly might occur on Monday night if LeSean McCoy’s concussion issues do not subside. That is why Brown could be the solution to any running back dilemmas that you might be experiencing this week. If you are a McCoy owner who has already secured Brown as an insurance policy, you now have the luxury of waiting until Monday to plug in whichever back the Eagles ultimately start. But if you own Brown but do not also possess McCoy, make sure that you can withstand the risk of depending on Brown. Because his status as a starter may not be known until Monday Night.
WRs
Justin Blackmon vs. Titans
Blackmon’s stock has risen significantly since he generated the third most receiving yards ever by a rookie in Week 11. But can he build upon what he accomplished? Or will he return to the level of production that made him a massive disappointment? The belief here is that several events have dramatically improved his chances of remaining a viable option. One is the continued opportunity to work with Henne, who ignited Jacksonville’s passing attack with downfield throws after replacing a Gabbert last Sunday. With Henne officially under center for the remainder of the season, Blackmon’s chances of garnering targets and generating sizable yardage have increased significantly. They improve even further with the absence of Laurent Robinson, who would have supplied competition for targets, but instead has joined Gabbert on injured reserve. There are enough factors working for Blackmon to believe that he will once again deliver high quality production in his matchup with Tennessee’s 26th ranked pass defense.
Sidney Rice @ Dolphins
After the first three weeks of the season, Rice had only collected eight receptions, and had only managed one touchdown in his first five games. However, he is quietly assembling his best numbers since 2009 after a recent surge in targets and production. Quarterback Russell Wilson has thrown to Rice at least seven times in two of Seattle’s past three games, helping Rice amass 163 yards, and 12 of his 34 catches for the season. He has also produced four touchdowns during that span, which matches his season totals from 2010 and 2011 combined. He could easily score again this week, when he faces Miami’s 27th ranked pass defense.
TE
Dallas Clark vs. Falcons
After five games this season, Clark had only assembled nine catches on 14 targets. But since that time, he has been targeted 27 times, including a season high 11 last Sunday at Carolina. As a result, he has accumulated 27 receptions, which has been punctuated by a season best seven in Week 11. The additional opportunities enabled him to also deliver a new season highwith 58 receiving yards. He will still be forced to share red zone looks with Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams. But Josh Freeman has been targeting him near the goal line with greater frequency, which has helped Clark score in two consecutive games. this week he lines up against the Falcons, who have been respectable against the pass. But the Buccaneers have enough weapons to move the ball consistently, which will provide Clark with opportunities to reward fantasy owners.
DST Patriots
Patriots @ Jets
For those of you who have not locked into an every week starting defense, the Patriots might not have been one of the units that you were looking for when perusing the waiver wire. Mainly because they rank next to last in defending the pass, and have allowed a league worst 21 TDs through the air. But can how many scoring passes can Mark Sanchez or Tim Tebow realistically be expected to generate in this game or any game for that matter? Sanchez has only thrown multiple TD passes in two games this season, and just one since opening day. He did manufacture 328 yards when he faced New England in Week 7, but was held to just one scoring pass. His play has also degenerated since that time, and the Patriots are opportunistic enough to take advantage of it. They have produced 21 sacks, and have collected 13 INTs. And they just finished intercepting three Andrew Luck passes in Week 11, while also forcing him to fumble, and sacking him five times. They should harass Sanchez with enough frequency to generate multiple turnovers, and deliver fantasy points.
