Fantasy Football Sunday Sleepers NFL Week 14: Kitna, Starks and More

Looking for a sleeper option who may be available on your waiver wire who could make a major impact this week?  Let’s take a look at a few options (for consideration on this listing from week-to-week, a player must be owned in less then 50 percent of both Yahoo and ESPN leagues):

Quarterback

Jon Kitna – Dallas Cowboys – vs. Philadelphia

 He’s had some good days and some not so good days over the past few weeks (at least in terms of yards).  All you have to do is look at the numbers:

• Week 10 at NYG – 327 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
• Week 11 vs. Det – 147 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
• Week 12 vs. NO – 313 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
• Week 13 at Ind – 167 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

In fact, since taking over in Week 7, Kitna has traded under 200 yard games with games of at least 300 yards.  If the trend continues, that puts him on track to exceed 300 yards again this week.  That will be tougher without Dez Bryant, but it is not too hard to imagine the Eagles going up big early and the Cowboys trying to keep pace. 

That will mean a lot of attempts for Kitna and with it comes opportunity to succeed.

Kitna is currently owned in 33 percent of Yahoo leagues and 15.5 percent of ESPN leagues.

Other potential quarterback sleepers:

• Matt Hasselbeck – Seattle Seahawks – 19 percent of Yahoo leagues and 14.2 percent of ESPN leagues
• David Garrard – Jacksonville Jaguars – 43 percent of Yahoo leagues and 42.7 percent of ESPN leagues

Wide Receiver

Jordan Shipley – Cincinnati Bengals – at Pittsburgh

 This is a very deep sleeper, so keep that in mind before you depend on him.  The fact is that the Steelers defense is not quite as good as we want to believe, at least against the pass.  Teams that can spread them out can have success and with Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco, Shipley and Jermaine Gresham, the Bengals have the weapons to spread the field.

In the past two weeks alone, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Joe Flacco have each thrown for at least 265 yards.  I’m not about to say that those passes are going to be directed at Shipley, but he could be given an opportunity.  He has 44 receptions for 543 yards and two touchdowns on the year, including four receptions for 47 yards in Week 9 against the Steelers.  He’s had at least four receptions in seven games on the season, and if you need a real deep sleeper, you could roll the dice on him.

Shipley is currently owned in eight percent of Yahoo leagues and four percent of ESPN leagues.

Other potential wide receiver sleepers:

• Nate Burleson – Detroit Lions – 21 percent of Yahoo leagues and 29.6 percent of ESPN leagues
• Earl Bennett – Chicago Bears – 15 percent of Yahoo leagues and 2.4 percent of ESPN leagues

Running Back

James Starks – Green Bay Packers – at Detroit

His story has been fairly well publicized this past week, hasn’t it?  The sixth-round pick made his NFL debut in Week 13, getting 18 carries for 73 yards against the San Francisco 49ers.  It would appear that he has taken over the lead back duties over Brandon Jackson, and at this point in the season that type of opportunity goes a long way.

Against a Lions defense that is allowing 127.4 rushing yards per game and tied for second with 15 rushing touchdowns allowed, it’s hard not to like him.

Starks is currently owned in 21 percent of Yahoo leagues and 3.9 percent of ESPN leagues.

Another potential running back sleeper:

• Tashard Choice – Dallas Cowboys – 29 percent of Yahoo leagues and 15.9 percent of ESPN leagues

Make sure to check out Rotoprofessor’s Week 14 Rankings:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 40 Running Backs
• Top 60 Wide Receivers
• Top 20 Tight Ends
• Top 15 Kickers
• Top 15 Defenses
• Waiver Worthy
• Start ‘Em or Sit ‘Em

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