NFL Week 9 Fantasy Football: Potential Sleepers

Caught in a bind with some of your starters on a bye week? Or maybe you have a player or two who is hobbled up a bit and you are unsure whether or not to start him this week?

Don't worry. You are not alone.

I have put together a list of some potential candidates who may very well be able to ease a bit of your stress this week.

Mikel Leshoure

Detroit will head to Jacksonville on Sunday to take on the 1-6 Jaguars, who have the eighth worst run defense in the league. Their pass defense didn't look as awful last week, as they held Aaron Rodgers to a mediocre performance.

It will be up to the Lions to set the tempo early with the run game to open up their passing attack. That's where Mikel Leshoure comes in the picture.

With the world unsure of whether or not Jahvid Best will step foot on the field in uniform again, Mikel Leshoure is the clear option to run the ball for Detroit moving forward. 

Cecil Shorts

Let's stay in Jacksonville and discuss Cecil Shorts. He is the only guy on the Jags to reel in 20 catches so far this season.

Three of those 20 balls went for scores.

He is averaging 20 yards per grab and is Blaine Gabbert's clear cut option in the slot.

James Jones

Whenever a player is on the injury report and suits up to play on Sunday, I am usually hesitant to put him in my lineup. In this case, Jordy Nelson has been battling an injury that has owners in doubt of his status.

Let's say he does play, a big time receiver such as Nelson could just be used as a decoy to open up targets for other downfield threats such as James Jones.

Look for Jones to have a big game this week against a Cardinals secondary that got torched by Alex Smith on Monday night.

Jonathan Stewart

Head Coach Ron Rivera has handed the baton to Jonathan Stewart. He is now the feature back in the coming games for the Panthers.

With all the money DeAngelo Williams is getting, it says a lot about the organizations' trust in Stewart.

Look for him to be extremely productive on Sunday against an awful Redskins defense.

Anquan Boldin

Obviously the guy is aging and is nowhere near who he was a few years back. But I am loving the matchup this week against the Browns.

Cleveland's top cornerback, Joe Haden, will be shadowing Torrey Smith much of the game, leaving Joe Flacco no choice but to throw Boldin's way.