Fantasy Football Sleepers Week 14
This week the optimum word is sleepers because after Week 13 where there were no teams on a bye week, this week there are six teams on a bye which will include pivotal fantasy football players many of them your starting fantasy football quarterbacks.
So, if you are lamenting what to do without the services of Lamar Jackson, Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels, may I suggest a dip into the sleeper pool, it’s a deep dive into the deep end, but you got this.
There will of course an overload of quarterback-needy teams, but first, let’s see
LAST WEEK’S SLEEPERS
- Bryce Young: 26/46, 298 yards (come on Bryce we only needed two more yards for DraftKings bonus!), 3 rushing attempts, 17 yards.
- Quentin Johnston: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 12 yards (to be fair his stats were second most on the team that performed woefully inept all day)!
- Gus Edwards: 6 carries, 32 yards, 5.3 average, longest run 12 yards.
- Pat Freiermuth: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 68 yards, 1 touchdown.
[the_ad id=’104525′]
Titans -3.5 vs Jaguars
Since his return from his shoulder injury, Levis has shown some sparkle, some may even call it Jameis Winston-lite tendencies (both the good and the bad). He currently sits as QB30, but in his last four games, he has amassed 19.1, 16.6, 17.1, and 16.2 fantasy points.
This week he will get to go against the Jacksonville Jaguars who (C.J. Stroud notwithstanding) have allowed an average of 284.2 passing yards (the most), two touchdown passes per game, and 25.2 average fantasy points to the quarterback position.
Fun fact, the Titans are still mathematically in the playoff race, which should be added motivation, and this is Calvin Ridley’s first return on the opposite side of the team he played for last year.
Prop Bets
- Passing Yards, O 199.5 (-145), U 211.5 (-114)
- Passing Attempts, O 29.5 (-117), U 29.5 (-108)
- Passing Touchdowns, O 1.5 (+163), U 1.5 (-200)
Raiders +6.5 @ Buccaneers
Last week O’Connell threw for 340 yards, with two touchdowns and zero interceptions against the Kansas City Chiefs. This week’s opponents, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are allowing an average of 1.8 passing touchdowns per game and are 30th in passing yards allowed per game with 258.3 and in their last three games have allowed 265.3 passing yards per game.
The Buccaneers have also allowed Carolina Panthers’ Tommy Tremble to gather 77 receiving yards on five receptions last week and even a hobbled Theo Johnson managed 39 receiving yards against them.
I mention this because O’Connell will not only have Jakobi Meyers but is blessed with having Brock Bowers at his disposal. The rookie tight end is averaging 73.7 yards per game and has four touchdowns scoring three of them in his last four games.
Last week with O’Connell slinging the ball Bowers finished with 140 receiving yards and Meyers had 97.
The Buccaneers defense is also giving up the second most fantasy points per game (24.8) to the quarterback position. Mayfield and the Buccaneers are playing for the lead in the NFC South, so the chances of O’Connell and the Raiders being pushed is legit and is the basis for the game having the (now) second-highest implied total (46.5) for the week.
Prop Bets
- Passing Yards, O 227.5 (-114), U 229.5 (-115)
- Passing Touchdowns, O1.5 (+125), U 1.5 (-165)
- Interceptions, O 0.5 (-125), U 0.5 (-105)
Bears +3.5 @ 49ers
Suggesting Swift makes me nervous; he hasn’t been part of the Thomas Brown/Caleb Williams reclamation tour. Last week against the Detroit Lions, Swift averaged 3.5 yards per carry and finished with 39 rushing yards. In Week 12 against the Minnesota Vikings in overtime, he averaged 2.3 yards per carry and finished with 30 yards on 13 carries.
But I am all for the “new interim coach” bump narrative and the 49ers are decimated on both sides of the ball. In the last three weeks, the 49ers have allowed 161.0 rushing yards per game and are giving up the fifth most fantasy points to the running back position. They have also surrendered 54 receptions on 62 targets to running backs.
The Matt Eberflus era is over and the suspense of what that means on the football field is the question. It certainly won’t make Swift a better runner between the tackles but maybe playing to his strengths is a possibility?
Prop Bets
- Rushing Yards, O/U 46.5 (-137)
- Anytime Touchdown Scorer, +140
[the_ad id=’104521′]
Saints -4.0 @ Giants
I wanted to go with a tight end but Taysom Hill is out, Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau were both limited, Johnson with a foot injury and Moreau with a shoulder injury and then I remembered: a) the Saints are playing the Giants and b) Valdes-Scantling has four touchdowns in three games.
Again this is not a choice you will make for volume so PPR people this may not be for you as Valdes-Scantling has 36, 87, and 109 yards, he is trending the wrong way for yards, but he has managed to make it into the end zone in each of those games.
The Saints are mathematically still in the playoff hunt, the Giants are not. The Giants’ last win came in Week 5, the Saints are 2-1 under interim head coach Darren Rizzi.
The Giants will be without defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and their defense could also be without the services of tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches and linebacker Bobby Okereke. It’s all about motivation around this time and with six teams on a bye, it is hard to look past the connection between quarterback Derek Carr and Valdes-Scantling and it’s something that one team still has playoff aspirations and the other is looking to play either Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito under center (no disrespect intended).
Prop Bets
- Receiving Yards, O/U 35.5 (-115)
- Anytime Touchdown Scorer, +310
- First Touchdown Scorer, +1300
Looking for a tight-end sleeper?
Chargers +4.0 @ City Chiefs
I am starting to think that I might be obsessed with the Chargers…having suggested two last week (my apologies for that) and now going right back to the well, albeit with a different position.
First, this is a Sunday night game, and it is in Kansas City, where the Chiefs have clinched a playoff run and the Chargers are still in the hunt. If you have noticed the Chiefs are not quite the juggernaut that we are used to seeing, still they are a ridiculous 11-1.
This game total is a paltry 42.5 and there is a chance that Ladd McConkey will be playing hobbled. Hello, Dissly. Last week was a dud for not only Dissly but the entire Chargers team (we will call it an aberration), Dissly specifically ran only 20 routes and saw one target, which resulted in zero receptions and zero yards…against the Atlanta Falcons! I am as stunned as you are.
This week he gets the Kansas City Chiefs who normally produce paralyzing fear in opponents…not this year.
Last week Las Vegas Raiders’ tight end Brock Bowers collected 140 receiving yards and one touchdown against the Chiefs, the week prior Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers came within a field goal of the Chiefs, and even backup tight end Dawson Knox gathered 40 yards against them.
This is all to say that the Chiefs are allowing the fifth most fantasy points to the tight end position (13.2) and have allowed four touchdowns to the position.
Let’s ride this Chargers’ obsession for at least one more week.
Prop Bets (from DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Anytime Touchdown Scorer +330
- Catch a pass in the Chargers First Drive ~ Yes +165
- First Touchdown Scorer +1700
Are you coasting into your fantasy playoffs or is this a must-win week?
