Sneaky Starts: Week 13

Nov 26, 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 duds, but Zach Mettenberger (QB7), Kyle Orton (QB13), Josh McCown (QB14), C.J. Anderson (RB3), Isaiah Crowell (RB6), Trent Richardson (RB19), Dan Herron (RB21), Tre Mason (RB22), Terrance West (RB30), Pierre Thomas (RB38), Anquan Boldin (WR4), Jarvis Landry (WR7), Marques Colston (WR11), Justin Hunter (WR16), Mohamed Sanu (WR23), Torrey Smith (WR29), Kenny Stills (WR30) and Delanie Walker (TE3) all finished with starter- or flex-caliber numbers in Week 12.

Let's take a look at the top Sneaky Starts for Week 13:

Quarterbacks

Note: He probably doesn’t qualify as Sneaky anymore, but Ryan Tannehill is a nice start against the Jets, who are #29 in QB aFPA.

Mark Sanchez, Eagles (@ DAL)
Sanchez is the #6 QB since taking over as the starter in Week 10. This promises to be a high-scoring game, so even if he turns the ball over a couple of times, he should be able to produce a solid fantasy line with a lot of yards and 2-3 touchdowns.

Andy Dalton, Bengals (@ TB)
The Bucs defense is playing better pass defense of late, but Dalton should still be able to produce given his stable of weapons in the passing game.

Alex Smith, Chiefs (vs. DEN)
Ryan Tannehill, Shaun Hill and Derek Carr averaged 213 yards and 2.0 pass TD in the last three games against the Broncos. Smith will have to throw in this one.

Drew Stanton, Cardinals (@ ATL)
The Falcons were decent against Brian Hoyer last week (3 INT), but he did throw for 322 yards, and Atlanta is #24 in QB aFPA this season. Stanton didn’t do much against the Seahawks last week (big surprise), but he threw for 306 yards and two TDs against the Lions in Week 11, and had 244 yards and two scores against the 49ers in Week 3.