Sneaky Starts: Week 9

Nov 03, 2016

All but the luckiest fantasy owners need to find the proverbial diamond in the rough at some point – 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, Mike Gillislee, Devontae Booker, Rob Kelley, Quincy Enunwa, Davante Adams, Mohamed Sanu, J.J. Nelson, C.J. Fiedorowicz and Cameron Brate were standout Sneaky Starts.

Let’s take a look at Week 9:

Quarterbacks

Dak Prescott (@ CLE) and Jameis Winston (vs. ATL) look like strong starts again this week.

Colin Kaepernick, 49ers (vs. NO)
Kaepernick hasn’t been good as a passer (29 of 63 for 330 yards through two games), though he had a touchdown pass in each of his two starts and ran for 150 yards in that span. The Saints are yielding 8.0 YPA and this should be a relatively high scoring game; the 49ers are implied to score 24.3 points, so Kaepernick should get his.

Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins (vs. NYJ)
Tannehill had a rough stretch over the last three weeks – just one touchdown and two picks in that span – but this is a good spot for him since he’s coming off a bye and is facing a Jets defense that is #25 in QB aFPA.

Sam Bradford, Vikings (vs. DET)
Norv Turner retired this week, so I’d be willing to roll the dice on Bradford since he has a great matchup (Detroit is last in the league in QB aFPA) and should be comfortable with interim OC Pat Shurmur, who was his OC in 2015 while the duo was in Philadelphia. Within the last three weeks, Detroit has yielded an average of 262 yards and 1.8 passing touchdowns over the last four weeks.

Josh McCown/Cody Kessler, Browns (vs. DAL)
Kessler is expected to start if he can navigate his way through the concussion protocol, but I’m more interested in McCown if he is still under center against the Cowboys (#20 in QB aFPA). McCown has thrown for 601 total yards and four touchdowns (and four picks, by the way) in two starts this year.

Nick Foles, Chiefs (vs. JAX)
The Jaguars aren’t that bad against the pass, but the Chiefs have an implied total of 27.3 points and Foles acquitted himself well in spot duty against the Colts in Week 8, throwing for 223 yards and two scores.

Trevor Siemian, Broncos (@ OAK)
It’s hard to get excited about Siemian, but the Raiders have yielded 8.1 YPA and 1.9 pass TD per game this year.

Case Keenum, Rams (vs. CAR)
The Panthers are last in the league in YPA allowed (8.5) and have given up 2.3 pass TD per game. Keenum threw four picks before the bye, so he’s on the hot seat and is therefore a risky start.