Fantasy football stats: The sleepers of Week 11
You’d think by this point in the season we’d know where to expect production from, but you’d be wrong.
The deeper you go into a season, the less defined a “sleeper” can be. Early in the year, we can’t be sure how a player is going to be used, so many the sleeper is a guy who wins a job that we didn’t see coming, or a veteran bouncing back, or a rookie who impresses in camp.
By this time in the season, though, all of those issues will have worked themselves out, and we’ll be looking for different things. In this week’s sleeper list, we have a pair of quarterbacks who lost their jobs and reclaimed them, a pair of rookie running backs who needed help to get their jobs, a pair of veteran receivers who have gone up and down, and a tight end who hasn’t ever really had a moment.
In other words, sleepers this time of year can come from just about anywhere. And they do.
Sleeper quarterbacks in Week 11
Josh McCown, TAM (288 passing yards, 2 passing touchdown, 8 rushing yards, 19 fantasy points)
McCown has played four full games this season (not counting Week 3, when he left with an injury). In those four games, he has averaged 17 fantasy points, including 19 in each of the two games he’s played since getting his job back. And with a game at Chicago next week, there’s reason to think McCown could continue doing this.
Shaun Hill, STL (220 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 12 fantasy points)
When Sam Bradford went down in preseason, many of those in the know were touting Hill as "not great, but just as good as Bradford." I didn't really buy it, but at a bare minimum, Hill is much better than Austin Davis, and Davis put up multiple 20-point fantasy games as the St. Louis passer. You can't count on any great shakes out of Hill, but the Rams' quarterback is at least relevant now.
Sleeper running backs in Week 11
Alfred Blue, HOU (156 rushing yards, 15 fantasy points)
For years, Ben Tate was called "the top handcuff in fantasy," because most everyone figured if Arian Foster were ever to get hurt, Tate would be the obvious takeover and would be good enough to produce in a big way. But after 2009, it never really happened, Tate left and Blue came in. And then this year, Blue has been just an exceptional handcuff, filling in for Foster twice this season. Sunday, he ran all over the Browns to the tune of 156 yards, and if Foster were to miss more time, Blue would be a fantasy must-start. As it is, he needs to be owned everywhere, Foster owner or not.
Tre Mason, STL (113 rushing yards, 1 receiving yard, 11 fantasy points)
Mason got 29 carries Sunday, compared to two for Benny Cunningham. Zac Stacy never even saw a touch. The yardage from Mason was great to see, but even better was the fact that he appears to now well and truly have the running back job to himself. That could theoretically change at any moment, knowing that team, but Mason looks like a perfectly strong RB2 or flex play going forward.
Sleeper wide receivers in Week 11
Kenny Britt, STL (128 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown, 18 fantasy points)
Britt has had his moments this season, but struggled to get much going. With Brian Quick done for the year, Britt is the only truly competent wide receiver St. Louis has, and he had his biggest game of the season Sunday. Where that was because he works well with Shaun Hill or just one of those things is hard to say, but Britt is at least worth monitoring going forward.
Michael Floyd, ARI (54 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, 17 fantasy points)
The following chart shows Floyd’s game-by-game fantasy scoring this season:
| Game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Fantasy points | 11 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 17 |
That's the least predictable run of numbers I can imagine. He's clearly super talented, but he's also clearly part of a three-headed monster that also includes John Brown and Larry Fitzgerald, and it's nearly impossible to guess who will do what from game to game.
Sleeper tight end in Week 11
Garrett Graham, HOU (34 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown, 9 fantasy points)
The Houston tight end position has been one of the biggest fantasy wastelands this season. Ryan Griffin and C.J. Fiedorowicz haven't done anything at all, and while Graham had caught 12 passes entering Sunday, he had only 122 total yards and no scores. He found the end zone Sunday, but even with that, he couldn't reach double-digit fantasy points. Even with the tight end position struggling so much, Graham doesn't promise enough upside on which to spend a waiver claim.
