Week 13 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Nick Foles and Sterling Shepard among upside options, plus DFS lineups
In a huge Week 13 for many Fantasy teams, Jamey Eisenberg shares his sleepers and Daily Fantasy lineups.
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3 min read
I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving Day with your family and friends. It was a great day of football, especially for some of the sleepers we recommended in the Thursday games.
In Start 'Em and Sit 'Em, we suggested to play Anthony Miller and Cole Beasley, and both went off. Miller had nine catches for 140 yards on 13 targets at Detroit, and Beasley had six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown on seven targets at Dallas.
You have to love the revenge game for Beasley against the Cowboys. And Miller took advantage of Taylor Gabriel (concussion) being out.
I also had Josh Allen, David Montgomery, Devin Singletary and John Brown as players to start, and all of them had productive games. Allen outscored Drew Brees, and Singletary and Montgomery were better than Ezekiel Elliott and Alvin Kamara in non-PPR leagues.
Now, I also said to sit Kenny Golladay and Jason Witten, and both were successful. Golladay was a pleasant surprise with David Blough starting for the Lions in place of the injured Jeff Driskel (hamstring). And Witten played well against the Bills, who had been excellent at defending tight ends all year.
I wish I got every call right on Thanksgiving, but that's not realistic. It was fun to see Miller and Beasley come through, and hopefully the rest of the sleepers listed here will deliver as well.
Along with the sleepers, there are also lineups for you to consider on FanDuel and DraftKings below. Thanksgiving was a fun start to Week 13, but there is plenty of more football still to come Sunday and Monday.
Week 13 Sleepers
Quarterbacks
Foles was bad last week at Tennessee and has not thrown the ball well in his two starts since coming back from a broken collarbone in Week 1. He did have 21 Fantasy points against the Colts, but he scored just 14 points against the Titans. Both of those games were on the road, so we'll see how he does coming back home, and the hope is he takes advantage of this matchup against Tampa Bay. While the Buccaneers did hold the Falcons quarterbacks to 15 Fantasy points in Week 12, they still allow 26.6 points per game to the position for the year.
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With the Bengals hoping to get at least one win this season, Dalton is back to replace Ryan Finley as the starter in Week 13 against the Jets. Prior to the Finley experiment, Dalton was a decent Fantasy quarterback, scoring at least 20 points in three of his past four games. This is a good matchup to trust Dalton since the Jets have allowed four of the past five quarterbacks to score at least 20 Fantasy points.
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Goff has been a terrible Fantasy quarterback of late, and he limps into Week 13 with a combined 11 Fantasy points in his past three outings combined against Pittsburgh, Chicago and Baltimore. It's hard to trust him in any leagues, but this is a good matchup against the Cardinals, who have allowed nine of 11 quarterbacks this year to score at least 20 Fantasy points, including four in a row. In his past four meetings against Arizona, Goff is averaging 19.0 Fantasy points per game, so hopefully he's at least in that range again this week.
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Running backs
I'll give Guice another chance as a flex option this week against the Panthers, who have allowed a running back to score a touchdown in 10 of 11 games this year. For the season, Carolina has allowed the most touchdowns to running backs with 19. Guice continues to split carries with Adrian Peterson, but hopefully Guice is the one falling into the end zone for Washington this week.
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We'll see how the Cardinals split touches with Drake, Chase Edmonds and David Johnson now that Edmonds is back from his three-game absence with a hamstring injury. I still expect Drake to get the majority of work, and he's scored at least 13 PPR points in two of three games with the Cardinals after being traded from the Dolphins prior to Week 9. The Rams have allowed a running back to score in three of their past four games.
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Williams continues to be a solid flex option or low-end PPR starter almost on a weekly basis, and hopefully that continues this week. He's scored at least 12 PPR points in five of his past six games, and he has at least six catches in two of his past three outings. Aaron Jones is still the best Fantasy running back for the Packers, but Williams is no slouch, especially in PPR. Jones and Williams should both do well against the Giants this week since New York allows the eighth-most rushing yards to running backs this season.
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James Conner (shoulder) is likely out again for the Steelers, which should put Snell in a committee with Jaylen Samuels and Kerrith Whyte. Snell should be the lead rusher after his performance in Week 12 against Cincinnati with 21 carries for 98 yards, along with one catch for 5 yards on one target. Whyte will also get some work after he had six carries for 43 yards, with Samuels working on passing downs. I'd use Snell as a flex option this week against the Browns, and I expect the Steelers to lean on their ground game a lot in this matchup.
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Since joining the Browns in Week 10 following his eight-game suspension, Hunt has scored at least 11 PPR points in three games in a row. He scored his first touchdown in 2019 last week against Miami, and he has two games with at least six catches. One of those was against Pittsburgh in Week 11 when he had six catches for 46 yards on eight targets, along with six carries for 12 yards. Hunt is a flex option at best in non-PPR leagues but a low-end starter in PPR.
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Damien Williams (ribs) could be out, which would make McCoy and Darrel Williams potential options in all leagues as at least flex plays. Damien Williams missed two games earlier this season and left Week 11, and in those three games we've seen McCoy and Darrel Williams do well. For McCoy, he had 38 combined PPR points in the two games Damien Williams missed in Week 3 against Baltimore and Week 4 at Detroit. And McCoy had 14 PPR points against the Chargers after Williams left. As for Darrel Williams, he had 33 combined PPR points against the Ravens and Lions, and then he had 11 PPR points against the Chargers. Keep an eye on Damien Williams' status heading into Week 13 against Oakland, but McCoy and Darrel Williams could be great if given bigger roles.
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Wide receivers
I like Shepard and Darius Slayton this week with Golden Tate (concussion) and Evan Engram (foot) likely out. Shepard returned from a five-game absence with a concussion in Week 12 at Chicago with five catches for 15 yards on nine targets, and he has nine targets in four games in a row. Slayton has scored at least 10 PPR points in three of his past four games, and he has 21 targets in his past two outings. The Packers have also allowed six receivers to score at least 13 PPR points in their past four games.
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Kirk has only scored in one game this season, which was against Tampa Bay in Week 10, but he's scored at least 10 PPR points in six of eight games this season. He has 19 targets in his past two games, and he's worth trusting as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in non-PPR leagues and a low-end starter in PPR. The Rams have allowed eight receivers to score at least 11 PPR points in their past four games.
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Westbrook just had eight catches for 69 yards on nine targets in Week 12 at Tennessee, and he should continue to be heavily involved from Foles. He has a great matchup in Week 13 against Tampa Bay since the Buccaneers have allowed eight receivers to score at least 13 PPR points in their past four games. Chris Conley is also worth a look in deeper leagues, and he has 17 targets in his past two games. D.J. Chark is obviously a must-start receiver for the Jaguars this week.
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Since Ryan Tannehill has taken over as the starter for the Titans, Brown has three games with at least 12 PPR points, including two touchdowns over that span. He should continue to be the leading receiver in Tennessee, and he's worth trusting as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver this week against the Colts. It would be great if he had more targets (he only has 26 in his past five outings), but his big-play ability is worth buying into, especially with how well Tannehill has done.
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Jeffery probably deserves to be on the start list for Start 'Em and Sit 'Em, but I wasn't sure of his injury status when I wrote that Wednesday morning. So let's put him here now that he's expected to return from a two-game absence with an ankle injury. It's been a rough season for Jeffery, who has missed three games due to injury and has just five games with double digits in PPR points. He hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 6, but I'll gamble on him this week against the Dolphins. Miami has allowed the most touchdowns to opposing receivers this season at 19, and the Dolphins have given up five touchdowns to receivers in the past two weeks.
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It appears like Dorsett will return after being out in Week 12 against Dallas with a concussion. The last time we saw him he had three catches for 33 yards and a touchdown on five targets at Philadelphia in Week 11, and Mohamed Sanu (ankle) could be out again. Now, if Dorsett is still banged up, look at Jakobi Meyers or N'Keal Harry, in that order, as replacement options, especially if Sanu sits. The Texans have only allowed one touchdown to a receiver in their past three games, but I would use Dorsett as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver this week if he plays as expected.
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Tight ends
If Gerald Everett (knee) is out this week, fire up Higbee as a tremendous streaming option against the Cardinals. No team allows more Fantasy points to opposing tight ends than Arizona, and it's not close. The Cardinals have allowed a tight end to score in all but two games this season, and they have given up 12 touchdowns to the position.
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If Evan Engram (foot) and Rhett Ellison (concussion) remain out this week, Smith is worth using as a streaming option against the Packers, who have struggled with tight ends all season. Without those guys last week, Smith had five catches for 17 yards and a touchdown on six targets at Chicago. In their past five games, the Packers have allowed five touchdowns to tight ends.
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Goedert lost a fumble in Week 12 against Seattle, which knocked him down to eight PPR points, otherwise he would have scored at least 10 PPR points in four of his past five games coming into Week 13. He could lose some targets with Jeffery (ankle) and Nelson Agholor (knee) likely back against the Dolphins, but I would still trust him as a streaming option at Miami. The Dolphins have allowed two touchdowns to tight ends in their past two games.
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Week 12 Preview
DFS LINEUPS
DraftKings
QB - Carson Wentz ($5,800) at MIA
RB - Ronald Jones ($5,100) at JAC
RB - LeSean McCoy ($4,800) vs. OAK
WR - Tyreek Hill ($8,900) vs. OAK
WR - Chris Godwin ($7,700) at JAC
WR - Alshon Jeffery ($5,100) at MIA
TE - Ryan Griffin ($4,300) at CIN
FLEX - Tyler Boyd ($5,500) vs. NYJ
DST - Ravens ($2,800) vs. SF
I'm stacking two Eagles here with Wentz and Jeffery, and hopefully they take advantage of the matchup with the Dolphins. I also like a pair of Buccaneers with Jones and Godwin, and they have a favorable matchup at Jacksonville. Jones is among my favorite players in seasonal and daily leagues this week.
I'm also using a pair of Chiefs here with Hill and McCoy, and Hill should dominate the Raiders if his hamstring is 100 percent. That's the expectation, and McCoy should be great if Damien Williams (ribs) is out.
I like the setup for Boyd against the Jets with Dalton back, and Griffin should stay hot in that game against the Bengals defense. And even though the 49ers have a great team, I expect their offense to struggle in Baltimore, which is why I'm going with the Ravens defense this week.
FanDuel
QB - Sam Darnold ($7,600) at CIN
RB - Aaron Jones ($8,000) at NYG
RB - Ronald Jones ($6,200) at JAC
WR - Cooper Kupp ($7,800) at ARI
WR - D.J. Chark ($6,900) vs. TB
WR - Jamison Crowder ($6,300) at CIN
TE - Travis Kelce ($7,100) vs. OAK
FLEX - DeVante Parker ($6,000) vs. PHI
DST - Chargers ($3,900) at DEN
Darnold is my Start of the Week in Week 13, and I like the way he's playing going into a favorable matchup against the Bengals. I'll stack him with Crowder.
I'll play Ronald Jones here again, but I also expect Aaron Jones to have a big game against the Giants. He's a rebound candidate for me in Week 13, as is Kupp, who has been struggling of late. But I love the matchup for him against the Cardinals.
Chark has a quality matchup against the Buccaneers, and Parker should continue to be great against the Eagles. I'll also spend the money for Kelce, who should dominate the Raiders at home.
