Sneaky Starts: Week 12

Nov 25, 2015

All but the luckiest fantasy owners at some point need to find the proverbial diamond in the rough – a waiver wire or bench player 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.

Last week’s Sneaky Starts featured Brock Osweiler (QB8), Darren Sproles (RB14), Theo Riddick (RB25), Shaun Draughn (RB27), Devin Funchess (WR9) Kamar Aiken (WR17), Danny Amendola (WR12), Brandon LaFell (WR34), Crockett Gillmore (TE8) and Coby Fleener (TE17) all posted starter- or flex-caliber numbers in Week 11.

Let’s look at Week 12…

Quarterbacks

Brian Hoyer, Texans (vs. NO)
Back under center after a week off due to a concussion, Hoyer has a fantastic matchup with the league’s most generous pass defense. Not counting Week 10, Hoyer is averaging 18.1 FP per game, about what Eli Manning is averaging on the season.

Josh McCown, Browns (vs. BAL)
Due to Johnny Manziel’s bye-week hijinks, McCown is once again starting for the Browns. Since Week 3, McCown is averaging 18.7 FP (11^th-best in the league) and his matchup with the Ravens (#31 in QB aFPA) doesn’t get much better.

Marcus Mariota, Titans (vs. OAK)
Mariota has produced against shaky pass defenses. He has averaged 20.3 FP in the six games in which he’s faced a defense that is outside the top 12 in QB aFPA. The Raiders are 26^th in that metric. Moreover, Kendall Wright should be returning to the fold, giving Mariota another weapon to utilize.