Week 13 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: DeAngelo Williams and More Sneaky Flex Plays

No matter what week it is, choosing a flex option in fantasy football can be a puzzling endeavor. This is especially true for teams that didn't come away from their draft with a defined flex player. This will only be compounded in Week 13 with the playoffs looming in most fantasy leagues.

More than likely, your fantasy league's playoffs start either in Week 14 or Week 15, so winning in Week 13 could mean the difference between making the playoffs and missing them. While these picks may not be for the faint of heart, here are three sneaky flex plays who will make you look like a genius this weekend.

Mark Ingram - New Orleans Saints

On a team as pass-happy as the New Orleans Saints, production has been spotty from running back Mark Ingram. For the majority of the season, Ingram has done very little, but he has eclipsed the 80-yard mark in rushing in two of the past three games and has a matchup with the Detroit Lions' mediocre run defense on Sunday night.

Much of Ingram's success has to do with how far ahead the Saints are in the game. New Orleans played with the lead all game long last week against the New York Giants, and as a result he received 13 carries and picked up 91 yards. While I don't think the Saints will be as dominant over Detroit as they were against the Giants, I think Ingram will be featured more heavily than usual to neutralize Detroit's potent pass rush.

Nate Washington - Tennessee Titans

With Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson playing so well right now, it may seem like a risky venture to start any of the Titans' wide receivers in fantasy at this point. The Titans have a very advantageous matchup on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills' awful defense, however, so there should be plenty of production to go around for everyone.

Buffalo's defense is poor in every aspect, but it hemorrhages yardage through the air as the secondary struggles in coverage. Washington has been very hit or miss in recent weeks, but when he has a good game, it is normally a huge one. The Bills are very susceptible to being beat on deep patterns, and that is Washington's forte. All it takes is on bomb for Washington to have a big fantasy performance, and I believe he'll come through.

DeAngelo Williams - Carolina Panthers

Despite signing him to a monster contract prior to the season, the Carolina Panthers haven't sufficiently utilized running back DeAngelo Williams this season. Much of that has to do with the play of rookie quarterback Cam Newton, who is a major dual-threat. Williams has a cushy matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 30th-ranked run defense on Sunday, however.

Williams still hasn't been getting many touches as of late, but he has made the most of them with rushing performances of 69 yards and 73 yards in his past two contests respectively. Williams also scored twice last week as he is becoming more involved in the offense. Tampa's defense has been awful against the run and will likely be focused on stopping Newton, so I think Williams should be in for a surprisingly-good game.