Fantasy Football: 4 Sleepers for Week 13
The word "sleeper" gets thrown around a lot in the world of fantasy football, to the point where an actual definition may vary from person to person. In general, in my eyes, sleepers are players who may be flying relatively under the radar in a particular field.
In any case, we all need to find a sleeper from time to time. Whether you're a season-long fantasy football manager looking to roster a potential breakout player before your league-mates, someone playing NFL DFS on FanDuel who needs a spike week from a low-salaried player, or even just a manager in a pinch due to byes or injuries, we have you covered.
Here are some fantasy sleepers who could have a big week this week.
We'll reference our NFL projections. All NFL odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.
Fantasy Football Sleepers: Week 13
Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers
FanDuel Salary: $6,600
Building a case for Bryce Young in Week 13 wasn't on my bingo card, but here we are. I'll spare you all the obvious reasons why we shouldn't trust him and instead focus on his high ceiling outcome for Sunday, which is noteworthy at his modest salary.
Young is averaging 13.7 FanDuel points in four games since reclaiming the QB1 role for the Carolina Panthers. He notched 16.52 FanDuel points this past weekend after throwing for 263 yards and a touchdown against a brutal Kansas City Chiefs defense.
He looks as comfortable as we've seen him in his professional career, which checks out considering he's already hit rock bottom. Entering the season, the pressure was on for the former No. 1 overall pick to rebound after a tough rookie campaign. Three atrocious starts later, Young was put out of his misery in favor of Andy Dalton. Pressure isn't exactly an issue anymore. The 3-8 Panthers aren't competing for a playoff spot and Young has come out of the benching playing free ball.
This week, he'll draw a matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs struggle with a 28th-ranked schedule-adjusted pass defense. They're also allowing the most FanDuel points per game to opposing QBs. To add, this game features a 46.5 over/under and has the Panthers as just 6.5-point home 'dogs.
The masses are sour enough on all things Bryce Young that he figures to be a unique play in Week 13. You can roster Young, one of either Adam Thielen or Xavier Legette, and a mid-salary defense and have an average salary of $7.3K remaining for the rest of your lineup. There's a legitimate chance that a Young and Thielen or Legette stack can combine for 35 FanDuel points in this matchup. That upside is pretty intriguing since their salaries would allow you to ball out on the rest of your lineup.
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
FanDuel Salary: $6,700
Brian Thomas Jr. has monster potential for Sunday, can be obtained at $6.7K, and is projected to be just the 30th most popular WR on the Week 13 main slate (per RotoWire). With that, the rookie has earned himself an inclusion on our sleepers list.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off a bye and Thomas Jr. has notched less than six FanDuel points in two of his last three outings. That could certainly be part of the reason why the masses aren't drawn to him this week.
The rookie logged between 13 and 24 FanDuel points in all but one game from Week 4 to Week 8 and is primed to re-enter that range against the Houston Texans this Sunday. The Texans are letting up the seventh-most targets, fifth-most yards per catch, and the most touchdowns to opposing wideouts. All in all, they're allowing the eighth-most FanDuel points per game to the position.
Thomas Jr. is enjoying a 19.7% target share, 25.9% air yards share, 17.9% red zone target share, and 23.1% end zone target share this season. In three games without Christian Kirk (collarbone), he's seen a 25.0% red zone target share. This AFC South battle is showing a close 4.5-point spread and a 43.5 game total, so BTJ should be involved in a plus game environment, too.
Gus Edwards, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
FanDuel Salary: $5,900
J.K. Dobbins left Monday night's game with a knee injury and did not return. Dobbins has a history of brutal knee and lower leg injuries, which has limited him to just nine games in his prior three seasons.
Gus Edwards is projected to have a mere 0.75% rostership rate (via RotoWire) on Week 13's main slate. While that rostership rate will rise if Dobbins ends up being ruled out, it might not shoot up enough, making Edwards an intriguing sleeper pick.
Gus would assume a massive role in the event that J.K. can't go in the short week. When Edwards missed three games earlier this season, Dobbins ate up the lion's share of duties in the backfield while Kimani Vidal was relegated to 4.6 carries per three games and was pretty inefficient, gaining just 2.4 yards per carry.
The once run-heavy Los Angeles Chargers have become a more pass-heavy team -- a successful one, at that -- though they've still run the ball on 46.7% of plays (ninth-most in the NFL) across their last three. This week they'll meet up with the Atlanta Falcons, who come in with a middle-of-the-road 16th-ranked schedule-adjusted run defense and let up 4.36 yards per carry to opposing backs.
If a Dobbins-less game leaves Edwards with a dominant role in the backfield, I'll have hard time denying him at this $5.9K salary, especially if he goes at all overlooked.
Dalton Schultz, TE, Houston Texans
FanDuel Salary: $5,200
Let's circle back to that Texans-Jaguars game and look for Dalton Schultz to do something.
If you've been playing DFS all season, there's a good chance you have tried to make Schultz work to no avail. Injuries to Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs never gave Schultz the bump we had hoped for and he has still yet to reach the end zone this season.
With that said, he's got a pretty awesome matchup this weekend and has become a less unpopular play at tight end, so he might be worth considering.
The Jags are coughing up the 11th-most yards, sixth-most yards per catch, and the fifth-most touchdowns to tight ends. They're allowing opponents to score a massive 28.7 points per game, which instantly puts Schultz in the scoring conversation.
It's been a tough few weeks for C.J. Stroud and company, but we know this offense is capable of going haywire and they have the matchup to do just that in Week 13. Schultz is seeing a 15.2% target share and 10.0% red zone target share in four games since Diggs has been sidelined. If you're not working Nico Collins or Joe Mixon into your lineup, Schultz can help give you exposure to the Texans' offense.
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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.