7 Deep Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 11, Presented by Casper
Holes in your fantasy football lineup can be tough to deal with. The often leave you restless and fidgety until your lineups lock. But the right sleepers -- even in deep, 14- and 16-team leagues -- can offer respite.
Check out these seven deep sleepers for Week 11.
Quarterback
Colin Kaepernick (Owned in 14.1% of ESPN Leagues)
You generally want to shy away from quarterbacks as 13.5-point underdogs with implied team totals of just 19 points, but Colin Kaepernick can pick up points regardless. Kap has posted 22.2 and 23.9 points against the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals in consecutive weeks, and his game script against the Cardinals was projected to be about the same as it is this week.
It's a tough week for quarterbacks in this ownership range, but Kaepernick should produce well enough in a pinch -- but you can also look to Alex Smith, too.
Running Back
Kenneth Dixon, Baltimore Ravens (10.5%)
In Week 10, Kenneth Dixon didn't do enough to supplant Terrance West as the Baltimore Ravens' starting running back, and that's okay. His ownership will spike, but he did play just 32% of the team's snaps on Thursday Night Football, so it's not like he's a must-add option for most players.
Dixon managed to turn his 6 carries into 38 yards and his 7 targets into 5 catches for 42 yards. The receiving is really what we're focusing on here. As seven-point underdogs against the Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore could be throwing earlier than they might like. West has just 2 catches on 5 targets for 18 yards in the two games since Dixon hit the field, so that points to extra looks for Dixon in Week 11.
Chris Thompson, Washington (29.4%)
The attention in the Washington backfield is on Rob Kelley -- and rightfully so. Kelley played 67% of the snaps last week while Matt Jones was a healthy scratch. He netted 22 carries for 97 yards against a tough Minnesota Vikings defense, his second straight game with at least 21 carries. This week, they draw the Green Bay Packers, who have given up four touchdowns to running backs in their past three games. Still, the Packers rank third against the run, per our metrics, so it's not a pushover matchup by any means.
Washington is a 2.5-point home favorite, which isn't good for a passing game script, but Chris Thompson offers an outlet for the offense that Kelley doesn't (he has just three catches). It's quite possible that Kelley gets 20 carries against a tough front-seven, but with three catches or more in five straight games, Thompson offers some PPR playability for a team with a sixth-ranked 26.5-point implied team total this week.
Wide Receiver
Quinton Patton, San Francisco 49ers (0.4%)
You want a deep sleeper? Here's one. Quinton Patton caught just 3 passes last week for 52 yards but garnered 9 targets from Kaepernick against the Cardinals. The week before, he reeled in 6 of 9 for 106 yards against the Saints. Since Week 6, when Kaepernick took over, Patton leads the team's receivers in targets (29), catches (16), yards (223), and snaps (224).
Since the bye (so, the past two games), he has 18 targets to Jeremy Kerley's 13 and Torrey Smith's 7. He has 9 catches to Kerley's 10 and Smith's 4. But he has 158 yards to 93 for Kerley and 44 for Smith. As a massive underdog and with nine targets in consecutive games, Patton is shaping up to have a pretty high floor for a player who is virtually unowned in all leagues.
Ted Ginn, Carolina Panthers (6.2%)
Ted Ginn Jr. has a reputation of being an all-or-nothing player. Without a score yet this year, you'd think it's been mostly nothing in that dichotomy. You'd be partially right, as he hasn't even hit nine half-PPR points, but he's had five receptions in four straight games. Pair that with between 40 and 54 yards in each, and you have a pretty consistent performance in full PPR formats.
His snap rate has climbed since their bye: 52%, 67%, and 74% in his past three. Pair that with a matchup against the New Orleans Saints with a 27.5-point implied team total, and this could be the week that Ginn breaks off a big play.
Tight End
Ladarius Green, Pittsburgh Steelers (7.8%)
In his first game of the season, Ladarius Green played just 12 snaps, 16% of the Pittsburgh Steelers' plays. That's not great. But he did see four targets. That 33% target rate is tops among tight ends in a single game with at least 12 snaps played this season. Even if his snaps are limited severely, it looks like he'll get the ball thrown his way when he's out there.
Against the Cleveland Browns, who are the best tight end matchup possible, per our DFS tools, and with an implied team total of 28.5, Green is worth it this week even on a snap count.
Flex
C.J. Fiedorowicz, Houston Texans (25.1%)
Despite having a bit of a down game -- just 4.1 half-PPR points -- last week, C.J. Fiedorowicz actually played his highest snap rate of the year at 87%. Prior to last week, he hadn't topped 75% in a game. Fellow tight ends Ryan Griffin and Stephen Anderson scored touchdowns last week, which easily could have gone to Fiedorowicz, who owns a 33.3% red zone market share over his past three games. That ranks him third at the position in that span.
His matchup gets easier this week against the Oakland Raiders on Monday night. Oakland ranks 24th against tight ends, per our DFS tools. Despite the 6-point underdog status, his Houston Texans are in a game that has a passable over/under of 46 points.
