Fantasy Football: Week 12 Sunday Sleeper Squad
The Sunday Sleeper Squad is a team made up of players that might be hanging around on waivers or offer a contrarian approach and can offer you a helping hand this week if you’re a team in need. Or maybe you have rostered one of these guys and now is the time to unleash them. And at this point in the season, you are probably in need of some kind of fantasy help. These factors could be matchup, injuries, both, or something totally off the wall leading us to our conclusion as to why these players could pay off. Of course, these are the ultimate boom-or-bust plays so may the odds be in your favor if you’re playing someone on this list. Let’s take a look at who made my Week 12 Sunday Sleeper Squad.
QB/ Daniel Jones/ NY Giants: He is coming off a bye and gets a Cincinnati defense that isn’t very intimidating. The last time we saw Jones he came away with a solid rushing performance and I expect that to continue. The Giants’ run game hasn’t been great but if Jones can become a constant threat there he comes with a tremendous weekly floor. Look for him to have another solid rushing day against Cincinnati.
WR/ Antonio Brown/ Tampa Bay Buccaneers: He had a bunch of Targets since he’s been on the field and that should translate into TDs very soon and in a game with Kansas City this week Tampa Bay will need all the points they can get. Look for Brown to show glimpses of his old self this week and get loose for a deep score.
WR/ Sterling Shepard/ NY Giants: As mentioned with Jones, the Bengals are a fantastic matchup as they’ve allowed 14 WR TDs this season. In every healthy game, he has played Shepard has at least 6 targets in every game. And even if he hasn’t been lethal in the red zone this year he has a history of drawing targets in the red zone, so this could be a nice week for him.
WR/ Michael Pittman/ Indianapolis Colts: He had 7 catches for 101 yards the last time he faced Tennessee and I don’t expect much to change this time around. Pittman has been mentioned as the big-body WR that Philip Rivers lives numerous times by me and he seems to be emerging as the clear WR1 in Indianapolis. He has 18 targets over his last 3 games.
RB/ Matt Breida/ Miami Dolphins: It’s a Fitzmagic Week against the Jets and Matt Breida should lead the way at RB with a little help from Malcolm Perry and Patrick Laird. Breida has a history of being injury prone but this week he will be asked to take on a solid load against an awful Jets defense. No Myles Gaskin or Salvon Ahmed makes Breida a sneaky play.
RB/ Brian Hill/ Atlanta Falcons: Another volume-based play as Todd Gurley will be out against the Raiders. The Raiders are not good against opposing RBs making Hill another sneaky play. Hill Hs looked more explosive than Gurley all season in limited action and now we will get to see him in full scope. With Gurley’s knee history Hill could be more than a one week plug and play.
TE/ Dalton Schultz/ Dallas Cowboys: Schultz has averaged seven targets over his last three games and has scored 11-plus fantasy points twice in that time.
FLEX/ James White/ New England Patriots: More injuries creating more opportunities in New England with Rex Burkhead getting injured. White had lost work to Burkhead but now regains a chokehold on the pass-catching specialist role. Arizona might present the type of matchup where the Patriots have to go to a passing attack given the Cardinals’ explosive offense. He’s coming off a heavy involvement day and that should continue.
FLEX/ Nyheim Hines/ Indianapolis Colts: He dunked on the Titans last time around scoring 2 TDs and going for 115 combo yards. He’s strong as always in PPR formats but with Jonathan Taylor out it’s a 2 man show with him and Jordan Wilkins. He has a favorable matchup and the Colts have looked good since the bye week. He turned 18 opportunities (targets plus carries) into 115 yards from scrimmage and 2 touchdowns against the Tennessee Titans in Week 10 trust the matchup with Taylor out.
