Fantasy Football 2014: 5 Week 10 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. Houston, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New England, San Diego and Washington are taking a break this week, which is brutal news to some fantasy owners. Fortunately, Mychal Rivera, Davante Adams and Mark Sanchez are available to bail you out.

Injuries never take a bye, of course, so Tony Romo, Giovani Bernard and Nick Foles owners, look no further for desperate lineup fillers.

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: Dallas Cowboys at Jacksonville Jaguars (in London)

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Jet lag shouldn’t be a factor since the Cowboys landed in London already. Injuries might be, but Rolando McClain is expected to start Sunday. Tyrone Crawford is the only starter lost from Week 9’s slugfest with Arizona.

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Jerry Jones said LB Rolando McClain’s right knee should be fine. No structural damage. He did move slowly out of locker room.

— Brandon George (@DMN_George) November 2, 2014

#Cowboys disruptive DT Tyrone Crawford suffered a sprained MCL during the game, source says. Will miss some time, tests now to see who much

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 3, 2014

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The Dallas defense is average by NFL (15th) and fantasy (17th) standards but ranks ninth in takeaways with 14. That’s good news considering Jacksonville ranks second in giveaways with 19.

Rookie Blake Bortles and company rank dead last in D/ST fantasy points against, averaging 14.2 points per game.

This is the easiest and most obvious streaming defense this week, with the Cowboys being available in 78.8 percent of ESPN leagues.

Honorable mention

• Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Jets
• Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears

Week 9 results

• Minnesota Vikings (featured), finished tied for 12th with seven points
• Cleveland Browns, tied for ninth with eight
• Washington Redskins, 23rd with zero

Hopefully, you were able to add the Vikings or Browns and ignore any mention of the Skins.

Tight End: Mychal Rivera, Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Rivera ascended swiftly from deep sleeper to potential TE1 with back-to-back career performances in Weeks 8 and 9. He nabbed seven receptions for 83 yards, followed by eight for 38 and two touchdowns.

Head coach Tony Sparano and offensive coordinator Greg Olson both mentioned Rivera is a trusted factor in the offense, according to Vic Tafur of SFGate.com.

This is a huge development with the Broncos and their ailing linebacker corps limping into town.

Denver already ranks 25th in TE points against, fresh off giving up nine catches for 105 yards and a touchdown to Rob Gronkowski in Week 9. Then Nate Irving went down with a sprained MCL, joining Danny Trevathan on the sidelines.

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Initial diagnosis is that Broncos MLB Nate Irving has a sprained MCL that is not considered season ending, but more testing ahead.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 3, 2014

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Third-year special teamer Steven Johnson and/or rookie Lamin Barrow will replace Irving this week.

Rivera—available in 97.8 percent of ESPN leagues—is rising just in time to rescue Gronkowski, Antonio Gates and Dwayne Allen owners dealing with the bye.

Honorable mention

• Charles Clay, Miami Dolphins at Detroit Lions
• Heath Miller, Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Jets

Week 9 results

• Larry Donnell (featured), tied for 11th with eight
• Dwayne Allen, ninth with 11
• Clay Harbor, tied for 30th with zero

If you picked up Harbor, you could have scored just as much with Jermichael Finley, Tony Gonzalez or Aaron Hernandez—all owned in at least 0.1 percent of ESPN leagues. Not kidding.

Wide Receiver: Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears

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Jarrett Boykin appeared to be Aaron Rodger’s No. 3 WR entering 2014, which is why he registered 17 places higher than Adams in ESPN’s average draft position ranking. But with only two catches on seven targets to Adams’ 24 on 35, it’s obvious Adams is the WR3 in Green Bay’s dangerous offense.

Adams maintained a steady 7.25 fantasy points-per-game pace heading into the Packers’ Week 9 bye, alternating high yardage with touchdowns.

Week	Rec.	Yds.	TDs	Pts.
Wk 5	1	11	1	7
Wk 6	6	77	0	7
Wk 7	1	21	1	8
Wk 8	7	75	0	7

Chicago ranks 17th in WR points against, thanks in part to a 239-yard, four-touchdown thrashing by the Packers in Week 4. This reflects favorably on Adams, who is available in 90.9 percent of ESPN leagues.

T.Y. Hilton, DeSean Jackson and DeAndre Hopkins owners could do worse in search of bye-week relief.

Honorable mention

• Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Jets
• Justin Hunter, Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens

Week 9 results

• Brandon LaFell (featured), 21st with 11
• Andrew Hawkins, tied for 49th with three
• Allen Robinson, tied for 49th with three

Julian Edelman (tied for fourth with 20) and Allen Hurns (third with 23) stole LaFell and Robinson’s thunder.

Running back: Bobby Rainey, Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons

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The turbulence continues for the 1-7 Buccaneers offense as Josh McCown retakes the starting QB spot from the struggling Mike Glennon.

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BREAKING: Mike Glennon announces he has been told Josh McCown will start this week for the #Bucs. http://t.co/DA5kJIhWyp

— WDAE 620 AM/95.3 FM (@620wdae) November 4, 2014

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Rainey is one of the few bright spots in the Tampa Bay offense, notching 7.5 fantasy points per game behind a dreadful Doug Martin. With Martin banged up, Rainey earned the starting nod against Cleveland in Week 9, posting 121 total yards against his former club.

Rookie Charles Sims’ recovery from the injured reserve/designated to return list splashed across the fantasy news wires over the last week, but he didn’t see action in Week 9.

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Despite being activated Saturday, Bucs RB Charles Sims will not play today vs Browns, per league source. Mike James backs up Bobby Rainey.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 2, 2014

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Sims might cut into Rainey’s catches out of the backfield, but Rainey will hold the No. 1 spot until Sims proves himself on the NFL stage.

Atlanta backs into town with the league’s worst defense in RB points against. Rainey exploited the Falcons for 105 total yards in Week 3. Astute observers might recall Rainey also fumbled twice against Atlanta, but he hasn’t lost the rock since.

Owned in just 42.8 percent of ESPN leagues, Rainey is a useful replacement for the injured Lamar Miller and Giovani Bernard, as well as Arian Foster, Ahmad Bradshaw and Alfred Morris on their byes.

Honorable mention

• DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles
• Terrance West, Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 9 results

• Ronnie Hillman (featured), tied for seventh with 17
• Denard Robinson, ninth with 16
• Bobby Rainey, tied for 11th with 11
• Lorenzo Taliaferro, tied for 39th with 3

It was a productive week for sleeper backs including Matt Asiata (tied for second with 25), Chris Polk (tied for 11th with 11) and Terrance West (tied for 17th with 10).

Quarterback: Mark Sanchez, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Carolina Panthers

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Yes, it’s come down to this for distressed Tony Romo, Nick Foles, Andrew Luck, Tom Brady and Philip Rivers owners: Sanchez is a viable starter this week.

Don’t take my word for it; Chip Kelly is confident in his backup, according to the Associated Press (h/t Fox News):

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His preparation is just outstanding, and he prepared himself like he's the starter. He's already ready, he's always focused and always prepared to make plays, and that's part of his makeup. That's what we really liked about him. He's got a great work ethic.

"

Sanchez relieved Foles against Houston, posting a respectable 202 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Foles is expected to miss the rest of the season with a broken clavicle but might have been benched for Sanchez regardless. A league source told Mark Eckel of NJ.com:

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I think [GM Howie Roseman] is looking at quarterbacks. He's kind of soured on Foles, and I don't think he's alone. The organization isn't sold that he's the guy going forward.

"

Philadelphia enjoys an extra day to prepare for Carolina and its 25th-ranked defense in QB points against on Monday night. Plus, All-Pro guard Evan Mathis will return to stabilize a patchwork offensive line.

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Mathis will be back in the lineup Monday night vs. the visiting #Panthers.

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) November 5, 2014

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Sanchez might not be the long-term solution for your team or the Eagles, but he’s a must-add and start this week with 99.6 percent availability.

Honorable mention

• Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams
• Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos

Week 9 results

• Alex Smith (featured), tied for 14th with 15
• Brian Hoyer, tied for 11th with 16
• Andy Dalton, tied for 16th with 14
• Carson Palmer, seventh with 19
• Michael Vick, tied for 18th with 12

Hmmm, one out of five in the top 10 proves if you throw enough darts you’re bound to hit a bull's-eye.

Week 10 is the last of the unforgiving six-team bye weeks. Consider yourself lucky if you survive unscathed.