Fantasy Football Week 13: Deep Sleepers Who Can Help Win Your Matchup

My six-pack of deep sleepers has been a staple for most Fridays this season, but with the fantasy playoffs just around the corner, most of you know exactly what your lineup will look like, so the need for sleepers won’t be as important. That means this will be the final week of deep sleepers, as I’ll be transitioning to more fantasy playoff-centric content starting in Week 14. 

As you make your final push for a spot in the playoffs or a top seed, finding a player or players to outperform their value can put your team over the top. But what are the perceived values of these players coming into Week 13? My six options range from those you can find on the waiver wire, such as Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, to one of your bench players, such as Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones.

Each league has those players who seem to end up on everyone’s roster at some point or another because they’re typically decent enough to take a chance on but not consistent enough to keep around. Jones is one of those players, and like many of the Bengals, it’s been hard to predict when he’ll come through. However, he’s a prime candidate to give you a boost in Week 13.

Who else can put you over the top in such a critical week? Let’s look at a few quarterbacks, a surprisingly productive running back and even a defense to help guide you to victory in Week 13.

Ryan Fitzpatrick

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Ryan Fitzpatrick is one of the best streaming quarterback options for Week 13.

You might think including New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on here is an attempt to chase points after his four-touchdown performance against the Miami Dolphins in Week 12. Actually, it’s taking a shot on a solid quarterback with good receivers and a favorable matchup this weekend. 

Fitzpatrick has always been a frenetic fantasy player, so typically, he’s only on your roster as a backup who can fill in for a bye week or as a short-term replacement. This year has been no different. He’s thrown for 250 yards on five occasions and multiple touchdowns in eight of 11 games. However, he’s never thrown for 300 yards and has topped two touchdowns just once. 

If you can hit Fitzpatrick on the right week, he’s more than capable of posting top-10 fantasy numbers. This is one of those weeks thanks to his opponent, the New York Giants.

In three of their last four games, the Giants have allowed at least 300 yards to the opposing quarterback. They’ve given up 300 passing yards six times on the season. Over the last four weeks, they’ve yielded the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.

It might be a home game for the Giants, but in the battle of MetLife Stadium, Fitzpatrick won’t be in typical road conditions. All the factors add up to some “Fitz Magic” on Sunday afternoon, which means he has a legit chance of being a top-12 option this week.

Shaun Draughn

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It's been a busy few weeks for Shaun Draughn.

As we enter the latter, more important stages of the fantasy season, staying away from players on bad teams or in bad situations is usually wise. If nothing else, it's at least a factor to use as a tiebreaker when choosing between personnel. For most of the season, I’ve shied away from using anyone from the San Francisco 49ers because their offense was in complete disarray under former starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick. 

Surprisingly, the 49ers are no longer a fantasy abyss, and it all started when they made the move to quarterback Blaine Gabbert in Week 9. That was also when running back Shaun Draughn took over as the main back for the 49ers. Since then, he’s done nothing but produce solid fantasy numbers over the last three games.

Draughn is averaging a little more than 14 carries per game but only around 49 rushing yards. However, he’s supplemented that with 17 receptions for 113 yards on 21 targets. In point-per-reception formats, he’s scored at least 12 points in each of his three games, which puts him right in the area of a low RB2/high RB3. That’s impressive considering he was likely a free pickup whom many grabbed with low expectations.

I’m buying into Draughn as a legit option once again this week because he can be even better with a nice matchup against the Chicago Bears. Over the last four weeks, the Bears have allowed 458 rushing yards (sixth-most) and 25 receptions (second-most) for 255 receiving yards (third-most), which puts them 10th in most fantasy points given up to running backs.

As a whole the 49ers offense has done a respectable job under Gabbert and should be able to keep this game interesting, even if the defense has trouble slowing down the Bears. Because of that, Draughn should be busy yet again, which would continue his trend of high snap counts (110 of 115 snaps played in the last two games, per Pro Football Focus). Volume, opportunity and opponent are all working in his favor.

Marvin Jones

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The Bengals shouldn't have any problems going to the air against the Browns, which is good news for Marvin Jones.

The Cincinnati Bengals are having arguably their best season of the Andy Dalton era. However, with Dalton spreading the ball around and the Bengals keeping everyone guessing as to which running back will get more snaps and carries, they’ve been a bit of a headache to deal with when it comes to fantasy. 

When someone as talented as wide receiver A.J. Green is frustrating to own on such a good team, you know no one is immune to getting overlooked. Marvin Jones has provided a strong presence as the second wide receiver to Green, but that hasn’t turned into consistent fantasy numbers. 

Jones has posted double-digit fantasy points in PPR formats in only six games this season. He has garnered at least five catches just four times and has at least 60 yards in five games. Jones has three touchdowns on the season but has been held out of the end zone in the last five games.

So why is he worth a shot as a deep sleeper in Week 13? Well, for one, he had 12.8 fantasy points (in a PPR) thanks to five receptions for 78 yards when the Bengals faced this week’s opponent, the Cleveland Browns, back in Week 9. In their last four games, the Browns have given up the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, including 41 receptions for 650 yards and four touchdowns.

Jones' value would get a serious boost if tight end Tyler Eifert can't play. Thanks to a neck issue stemming from a stinger suffered in Week 12, Eifert hasn't been able to practice this week and is listed as doubtful, per Geoff Hobson of the team's website. Eifert is the NFL's touchdown leader with 12 through Week 12, so some red-zone opportunities could open up for Jones.

Without any real concerns about the matchup and recent, productive history against the Browns, Jones is a nice reach play with some upside for Week 13.

Jay Cutler

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Jay Cutler has been better in reality than fantasy, but he should produce for both against the 49ers.

The last few weeks haven’t been easy on the Chicago Bears, but thanks to the play of quarterback Jay Cutler, they were able to go 2-1 with wins in St. Louis and Green Bay and a close loss to the Denver Broncos in Chicago. Cutler had just one good fantasy week over that span (258 yards, three touchdowns versus St. Louis), but he’s been better in reality than fantasy. Those lines could cross in a positive way Sunday.

Cutler and the Bears host the San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field this week. The 49ers deserve credit for making the quarterback switch to Blaine Gabbert to give their offense some stability and legitimate production, but there’s been no quick fix for the defense.

Over the last four weeks (three games), the 49ers have given up the eighth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks thanks to 834 passing yards and four touchdowns plus another 38 on the ground with a rushing touchdown.

In addition to a finally healthy Alshon Jeffery, Cutler now has two capable and proven running backs in Matt Forte and Jeremy Langford, both of whom are reliable pass-catchers. While Cutler won't have wide receiver Marquess Wilson (foot), who's been ruled out for Week 13, wide receiver Eddie Royal (knee) has an outside chance of playing after receiving the questionable tag Friday, per Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.

Volume hasn’t been much of a problem for Cutler all season (30-plus attempts in eight of 10 games), and the San Francisco defense shouldn’t give him much trouble, so consider Cutler among the legit starting fantasy options in Week 13. Plus, as a bonus, you may be able to use him again next week against the Washington Redskins.

Washington Redskins Defense

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Playing the matchups for the best defense? Check out the Washington Redskins.

For the first time this season, I’m including a defense in my deep sleepers, and that’s because the Washington Redskins get to face the Dallas Cowboys with Matt Cassel, not Tony Romo, under center.

Cassel appeared in four games when Romo was out the first time with a broken collarbone, and the results were not very good. He threw four touchdowns to five interceptions and failed to throw for at least 230 yards three times. He failed to throw for at least 200 yards on two occasions.

Over the last four weeks, no team has given up more fantasy points per game to opposing defenses than the Cowboys. During that span, they allowed 11 sacks and Dallas quarterbacks threw seven interceptions.

Meanwhile, the Redskins have actually been one of the more productive fantasy defenses during the last month. In the last four games, they are tied for sixth in total fantasy points thanks in part to seven sacks and six interceptions.

An offense that is going in the wrong direction with a downgrade at quarterback is taking on a defense that’s actually been fantasy-relevant in recent weeks. That makes the Redskins one of the top streaming defenses in Week 13.

Sam Bradford

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Sam Bradford looked like he was turning the corner before the injuries he suffered in Week 10.

I saved the best for last.

OK, best is too strong of a strong word to describe someone like Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, but I’m holding onto the slimmest bit of optimism when it comes to him based on what we saw before he suffered a shoulder injury and concussion in Week 10.

Looking at that small sample size shows cause for hope. In Week 9, he completed more than 69 percent of his passes (25-of-36) for 295 yards and a touchdown in Dallas against the Cowboys. In Week 10, he completed 19 of 25 attempts (76 percent) for 236 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins in the first half before exiting with his injuries. 

The Eagles have been spiraling out of control since then due to the poor play of quarterback Mark Sanchez and their defense, which has been horrible in recent weeks after such a strong start to the season. Believe it or not, it’s the latter that could be the key to Bradford’s fantasy production. 

With the Eagles visiting the New England Patriots Sunday, quarterback Tom Brady will have to play without tight end Rob Gronkowski (knee) but does so against a defense that’s allowed 1,099 yards and 15 touchdowns to quarterbacks in the last four weeks. Even with Gronkowski out, Brady should still take advantage of this juicy matchup.

So, if the Patriots control the game because the Eagles can’t slow them down, then Bradford could be busier as a passer to keep things interesting or at least put up some garbage-time production. Opposing quarterbacks have thrown at last 40 passes in four of the last five games against New England, and three of them went for at least 270 yards.

If you’re banking on garbage-time production before a game begins, it’s not the strongest endorsement of a player. I do believe Bradford will be productive outside of garbage time, especially if he returns to the form we saw in the last two games he played before the injuries. He’s one of the deeper reaches at quarterback this week.

Fantasy stats courtesy of NFL.com.