Sneaky Starts: Week 12

Nov 22, 2013

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.

In Week 11, our Sneaky Starts included Carson Palmer (QB3), Alex Smith (QB6), Mike Glennon (QB13), Bobby Rainey (RB1), Rashad Jennings (RB5), Ryan Mathews (RB13), Shane Vereen (RB30), Marquise Goodwin (WR8), T.J. Graham (WR10), Jarrett Boykin (WR26), Rob Housler (TE16) and John Carlson (TE17).

At 4for4, we use Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed (aFPA) by position heavily in our rankings and analyses. For more detail, click here.

Note: These recommendations do not override our weekly rankings, which are updated throughout the week and weekend.

Let's take a look at some of the best Sneaky Starts for Week 12:

Texans QB Case Keenum (vs. JAX)
Keenum was benched late in the third quarter against the Raiders and to that point he had thrown 170 yards, one TD and his first interception of the season. In 15 quarters, he's averaging 66 yards and 0.53 TD per quarter, which extrapolate to 264 yards and 2.1 TDs over a full game. Given a nice matchup against the Jaguars, he should produce nice numbers in Week 12.

Bears QB Josh McCown (@ STL)
Given the conditions in Chicago last week, McCown's 216 yards and a TD should be appreciated. This season, he's averaging the 11th-most yards per attempt of all QBs who have attempted at least 100 passes. Indoors with a full complement of weapons in the passing game, McCown should produce.

Giants QB Eli Manning (vs. DAL)
In their last meeting, Manning threw for 450 yards and four TDs against the Cowboys. He may throw 1-3 more interceptions, but he should rack up some yards and TDs in a nice matchup with a struggling Dallas defense.