Sneaky Starts: Week 8

Oct 24, 2014

All but the luckiest fantasy owners at some point need to find the proverbial diamond in the rough -- a waiver wire or bench player who is capable of putting up some points in a pinch. This weekly feature is dedicated to that part of fantasy football. It's not pretty, but it's part of the game.

How did our Sneaky Starts fare last week? There are always a few (or several) duds, but Carson Palmer (QB14), Joe Flacco (QB15), James Starks (RB20), Bernard Pierce (RB24), Jerick McKinnon (RB21), Jonathan Stewart (RB30), Bishop Sankey (RB32), Doug Baldwin (WR4), Odell Beckham (WR6), Kenny Stills (WR7), Torrey Smith (WR11), Allen Robinson (WR18), Davante Adams (WR31), Cordarrelle Patterson (WR39), Dwayne Allen (TE6) and Jermaine Gresham (TE18) all offered up starter- or flex-caliber numbers in Week 7.

Throughout the article I’ll refer to our main strength of schedule metric: Schedule-Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed (aFPA). Click here for more detail. Also, be sure to check out our Defense Knowledgeseeker Report to see how teams have fared against specific players.

Quarterbacks

Carson Palmer, Cardinals (vs. PHI)
Palmer has thrown for 250-plus yards and two TDs in each of his three starts and has a nice matchup against the Eagles in Week 8. This isn’t rocket science.

Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins (@ JAX)
Since HC Joe Philbin refused to name him the starter heading into Week 4, Tannehill is averaging 266 yards, 2.0 TD and 44 yards rushing in the last three games. The Jaguars are #23 in QB aFPA.

Alex Smith, Chiefs (vs. STL)
Smith has thrown 9 touchdowns in his last four games and usually adds 20-30 rushing yards as a bonus. The Rams are a great matchup (#31 in QB aFPA).