Sneaky Starts: Week 13

Nov 27, 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 12, our Sneaky Starts included Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB3), Alex Smith (QB5), Josh McCown (QB6), Carson Palmer (QB7), Mike Glennon (QB13), Benny Cunningham (RB7), Shane Vereen (RB22), Brandon Jacobs (RB25), Tiquan Underwood (WR3), Tavon Austin (WR9), Nate Burleson (WR14), Emmanuel Sanders (WR18), Rod Streater (WR23), Rueben Randle (WR34) and Ace Sanders (WR36).

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

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 13:

Bears QB Josh McCown (@ MIN)
In approximately 16 quarters of play this season, McCown is averaging 69 yards and 0.44 TD, which extrapolates to 276 yards and 1.8 TD over a full, four-quarter game. Last week, he threw for 352 yards and two TDs against a surging Rams defense. This week he faces the Vikings, who are last in the league in QB aFPA. Tasty.

Bengals QB Andy Dalton (@ SD)
In seven games in which Dalton has faced a pass defense in the bottom half in QB aFPA, he has averaged 264 yards and 2.4 TDs, and the Chargers are #22 in that category.

Cardinals QB Carson Palmer (@ PHI)
Palmer has thrown two TDs in four straight games, and is averaging 325 yards since his team’s Week 9 bye. This week he faces an Eagles pass defense that is #24 in QB aFPA.