Fantasy Football 2014: 5 Week 9 Sleepers to Start in a Pinch

The fantasy football 2014 bye-week schedule is vastly different than in years past. Only two teams total missed some weeks, while up to six sit out others. Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay and Tennessee are taking a break this week, which is brutal news to some fantasy owners. Fortunately, Brandon LaFell, Ronnie Hillman and Alex Smith are available to bail you out.

Injuries never take a bye, of course, so Jordan Cameron, A.J. Green and Calvin Johnson owners will find some 11th-hour relief if their guys are late scratches.

A sleeper in this context is any player available in approximately 50 percent or more of ESPN fantasy leagues with a favorable matchup per ESPN’s fantasy points against statistic.

Defense/Special Teams: Minnesota Vikings vs. Washington Redskins

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Minnesota is quietly putting together a great defensive campaign, with all the attention on Adrian Peterson and Teddy Bridgewater. The Vikings rank 11th overall in defense, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Washington heads to Minneapolis high off a stunning divisional road win on Monday night in Dallas. Then it’s off to a greatly anticipated Week 10 bye for the players. This game has “emotional letdown” stamped all over it for the Redskins.

Washington’s uncertain quarterback situation is a slight disadvantage for the Vikings. Jay Gruden still doesn’t know if Colt McCoy will start his second straight or if Robert Griffin III will return from his dislocated ankle, according to The Washington Post’s Mike Jones:

"

We’re not going to rush Robert back, no matter what happens. We’re going to make sure he’s 100 percent, and until we feel like he’s 100 percent, Colt will still play. Colt did a great job, obviously, leading us to victory against Dallas, but it’s still going to be predicated on when the doctors say he’s 100 percent, when Robert feels like he’s 100 percent and when I feel like he’s ready to take the game-time reps.

"

Fortunately for the Vikings, McCoy and Griffin are both mobile QBs, so the game-planning is similar.

The Redskins are ranked 23rd in D/ST PA, surrendering seven points per game. This should be a productive matchup for a Vikings defense coming off a euphoric overtime win of their own.

Honorable Mention

• Cleveland Browns vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Washington Redskins at Minnesota Vikings

Week 8 Results

• Miami Dolphins (featured), finished first with 26 points
• Dallas Cowboys, tied for 19th with two
• Minnesota Vikings, tied for second with 20

Miami was the most added at any position last week, joining 51.9 percent of ESPN leagues.

Tight end: Larry Donnell, New York Giants vs. Indianapolis Colts

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Donnell makes the sleeper list on a technicality since he barely dipped below 50 percent ownership last week, stopping at 48.2. We can safely assume New York’s Week 8 bye stands as the only reason he was dropped in 7.8 percent of ESPN leagues, tied for 10th-most with Detroit’s Matt Prater.

The 2012 undrafted free agent out of Grambling State—Go Tigers!—didn’t help his own cause, posting goose eggs in Weeks 5 and 6 before fumbling twice against Dallas in Week 7.

But Eli Manning and Ben McAdoo are seeking weapons to replace Rashad Jennings—still out with an MCL sprain—and Victor Cruz—on IR. The 6’6”, 265-pound red-zone magnet fits the need, already hauling in four touchdowns this year, three in Week 4 against Washington.

He ranks sixth in red-zone production among TEs with 25 points, according to CBS Sports—one place ahead of Jimmy Graham.

Indianapolis ranks 27th in TE PA, boosted by the 28-point dagger wielded by Julius Thomas and company in Week 1. The Colts improved since but are still vulnerable to TE points, as demonstrated by Heath Miller’s 17 points in Week 8.

Donnell makes a great bye-week filler for Martellus Bennett and Delanie Walker owners, as well as an injury replacement for those coping with Jordan Cameron’s latest concussion.

Honorable Mention

• Dwayne Allen, Indianapolis Colts at New York Giants
• Clay Harbor, Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 8 Results

• Owen Daniels (featured), did not play
• Charles Clay, tied for 41st with zero
• Scott Chandler, 12th with seven

Sometimes you’re just as well off leaving the guy on bye in your lineup than cutting somebody for a one-week flier that tanks like Daniels and Clay did.  

Wide receiver: Brandon LaFell, New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos

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LaFell is emerging as Tom Brady’s top WR weapon over a limited Julian Edelman and an ineffective Danny Amendola.

Player	Tgts	Rec.	Yds.	YPC	TDs	Pts.
LaFell	49	30	461	15.4	4	67
Edelman	69	45	467	10.4	1	53
Amendola	14	7	47	6.7	1	8

The 2014 free-agent signee from Carolina is quietly tied with Mike Wallace for 19th among fantasy WRs.

Yet he is owned in just 8.8 percent of ESPN leagues.

New England draws a tougher matchup this week with Denver and their seventh-ranked WR PA of 17.9 PPG stampeding into town. But the Broncos have allowed four WR touchdowns in the last three games.

You can bet Brady will be amped to rack up some more TDs in the 16th renewal of his legendary rivalry with Peyton Manning.

The list of bona fide starting WRs on bye this week is expansive: Jordy Nelson, Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson, Randall Cobb, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Sammy Watkins and Golden Tate.

LaFell will be your savior this week and a great WR2 option the rest of the season.

Honorable Mention

• Andrew Hawkins, Cleveland Browns vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 8 Results

• Doug Baldwin (featured), tied for 33rd with six
• Jarius Wright, tied for 78th with one
• Jordan Matthews, tied for 48th with four

Again, it’s debatable if you would have been better off swallowing the injury or bye week versus opening up a roster spot for these disappointments.

Running back: Ronnie Hillman, Denver Broncos at New England Patriots

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A debate opened in Week 8’s comment section regarding whether or not Hillman should still be referred to as a “sleeper.” He’s still owned in only 30.2 percent of ESPN leagues in spite of three straight double-digit performances replacing the injured Montee Ball.

That means 69.8 percent of ESPN leagues are still sleeping on Hillman, maintaining this status by definition.

C.J. Anderson is owned in seven percent more leagues than Hillman. He’s the Broncos' third-string back behind Hillman and Juwan Thompson.

Huh?

New England ranks eighth in the NFL giving up 129.6 rushing yards per game, according to Pro Football Reference. That included 134 yards and a touchdown from Knowshon Moreno; 199 and a touchdown combined between Knile Davis and Jamaal Charles; 107 and a touchdown to Chris Ivory and 114 yards by Matt Forte.

Plus, the Patriots show no signs of recovering, three weeks removed from losing linebacker Jerod Mayo for the season.  They enter Week 9 the 28th-ranked defense in RB PA.

If Hillman is still on your waiver wire three weeks after capturing a starting role in the league’s most prolific offense, what are you waiting for?

Honorable Mention

• Denard Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals
• Bobby Rainey, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cleveland Browns
• Lorenzo Taliaferro, Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 8 Results

• Ronnie Hillman (featured), tied for 15th with 12
• Jerick McKinnon, tied for 23rd with eight
• Anthony Dixon, tied for 37th with four
• Tre Mason, tied for 43rd with three

It bears repeating, Hillman is still available in 69.8 percent of ESPN leagues.

Quarterback: Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York Jets

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Smith hasn’t exactly lit up the scoreboard under Andy Reid, averaging 15.8 PPG in 21 starts.

If you’re still reading, you’re either a nervous Tony Romo owner or a desperate Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford or Matt Ryan owner unprepared for the bye.

There are plenty of viable choices to start at QB this week, as displayed in the honorable-mention section below. Smith rises to the top simply due to Kansas City’s matchup against the spiraling New York Jets.

The porous Jets defense—ranked 32nd in QB PA at 21.4 PPG—yielded at least two touchdowns to opposing QBs in eight games this season.

That list includes Derek Carr (two) in his NFL debut and Kyle Orton (four) in his NFL rebirth.

It’s impossible to imagine the tumultuous Jets will have the focus required to fly into Arrowhead and do anything besides lay down. Especially considering the 4-3, third-place Chiefs are anxious to keep pace in the dominant AFC West.

Smith’s shoulder strain suffered in Week 8 against St. Louis might be why the Chiefs offense devolved into dink-and-dunk, according to ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert. But Smith is expected to start Week 9 in spite of his “questionable” injury status.

Trust Smith as a conservative Week 9 replacement.

Honorable Mention

• Brian Hoyer, Cleveland Browns vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
• Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys
• Michael Vick, New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 8 Results

• Ryan Tannehill (featured), tied for 20th with 13
• Carson Palmer, tied for eighth with 21
• Alex Smith, tied for 25th with nine

Not a great week for sleeper gambles, but that’s why they’re sleepers, after all.

Be mindful of the waiver wire as kickoff approaches. Fellow owners will have to make tough lineup decisions with so many teams on bye and might drop a player they wouldn’t normally want to discard.

Check back Saturday night and Sunday morning to dig up a gem somebody tried to subtly leave behind.