NFL Fantasy Football Week 11 Sleepers: Thigpen, Bush and More

Ryan LesterNov 18, 2010

Sometimes, match-ups dictate that you have to roll out less than ideal lineups, especially when your players are nicked up. That’s the nature of the beast. Sometimes you need a fantasy gem to be successful. Here are some of the under the radar players that could possibly pull out a win for you.

Tyler Thigpen, QB, Miami Dolphins
The Bears have a short week, meaning they don’t have a lot of time to prepare for the athletic quarterback, especially considering there isn’t a lot of film to study on him. Thigpen can produce with both his arm and his feet. If you have better options, I would use them, but Thigpen is the definition of a sneaky play this week.

Troy Smith, QB, San Francisco 49ers
So he’s not exactly a sleeper after throwing for 356 yards last week, but he’s on very few fantasy teams and in even fewer starting lineups. He showed what he can do last week and he's facing a Tampa Bay team that has allowed 15 touchdown passes on the season.

Danny Woodhead, New England Patriots
The Patriots will look to win the time of possession battle against the Colts, by using Woodhead, Welker and their tight ends in short pass plays. Last week, Rob Gronkowski was heavily used in the red zone. I can see Belichick mixing it up with Woodhead this week.

Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints
Bush is expected to return in time to play against the Seahawks, who have struggled against the pass. The Saints could tap into Bush’s skills both in the passing game and on the ground. I would personally wait a week to use him, but if you’re desperate, he could be an option.

Danny Amendola, St. Louis Rams
He’s only combined for 108 yards in his past three games, but he scored a touchdown in each of them. The Rams face Atlanta, who is giving up 260.1 passing yards per game and have allowed 16 passing touchdowns.

Seyi Ajirotutu, San Diego Chargers
The Chargers are banged up in the passing game, but Philip Rivers keeps turning out big performances. Ajirotutu stepped up before the bye and could have another strong game as the rest of the WRs heal. Denver was destroyed through the air by Kansas City last week and could get burned again this week.

Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals
Gresham had a breakout performance with nine catches for 85 yards and a score against a Colts team that is usually tough against tight ends. Look for him to build on that performance against the Bills, who have allowed 18 passing TDs.

Miami Defense
The Dolphins rank 11th in the league with 23 sacks. With Jay Cutler coming to town, look for them to build on that number. They should also force multiple turnovers from the Bears.