Thomason: Sleepers & Daily Fantasy Value Plays For Week 11
By Jack Thomason--
(CBS) Let's take a look at Week 11 sleepers/value plays for both season-long and daily fantasy leagues.
Quarterback
Brock Osweiler, Broncos (at Bears) – Chicago ranks 18th in pass DVOA, and Osweiler gets the keys to the Denver offense this week. He threw for 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception in limited time last week against Kansas City and will have a full week of preparation, as the starter, heading into Sunday's game. This is much more about the price and value than it is loving Osweiler, but any time a player is at or close to minimum pricing and volume will be there, he needs to be considered. We know he has quality weapons who can make him look good. ($6000 on FanDuel; $5000 on DraftKings)
Mark Sanchez, Eagles (vs. Buccaneers) – "Sanchise" is back, and if you're a fan of the cheap quarterback, he fits the bill. Sanchez also gets a great matchup this week at home against the Buccaneers, who have allowed the third-most passing touchdowns (19) and rank 24th in pass DVOA. The flexibility that paying down at quarterback can give you in the rest of your lineup is hugely beneficial, and Sanchez should be able to give you 250 yards and two scores, rather easily, in this contest. Fire him up at $6400 on FanDuel or $5000 on DraftKings.
Running back
Darren McFadden, Cowboys (at Dolphins) – At this point, neither of these two running backs are sleepers, but they are values. McFadden's going to have the luxury of Tony Romo being back under center and the first real threat of a pass game to take the eighth man out of the box. He should also see plenty of passing targets as well. Miami looked better against the run last week but still ranks 21st in DVOA and 24th against running backs. Look for McFadden to carry the load behind a nasty offensive line and take advantage of his $200 price drop on FanDuel to $6800. His $5000 price tag on DraftKings is only $100 more than last week.
Frank Gore, Colts (at Falcons) – With Andrew Luck out with a lacerated kidney, the Colts will turn to Matt Hasselbeck, which really means a heavy dose of Gore. In Hasselbeck's two starts, Gore saw his second- and third-most rushing attempts in a game this season with 17 and 22. We should be expecting more of the same against an Atlanta defense that ranks 30th to running backs in pass DVOA and 16th in rush DVOA. I think Gore's a good value play at $6600 on FanDuel and $4700 on DraftKings. Let's remember this is a Falcons team that just lost to Blaine Gabbert and the 49ers before their bye week. They allowed Shaun Draughn to go for 20 touches and 96 total yards.
Receiver
Danny Amendola, Patriots (vs. Bills) – Patriots receiver Julian Edelman has been lost for the rest of the regular season, and running back Dion Lewis tore his ACL the week before. That equates to more than 35 percent of the Patriots' total receptions. Amendola's going to be busy, and we saw it last week when he caught 10 balls for 79 yards on 11 targets. Expect more of the same, and his current pricing of $6100 on FanDuel and $4000 on DraftKings makes him a steal.
Stevie Johnson, Chargers (vs. Chiefs) – He played 100 percent of the snaps in Week 9 before the Chargers' bye week -- and who else is Philip Rivers going to throw to? While Antonio Gates is going to be healthier out of the bye, there's a good chance he isn't 100 percent. With the Malcom Floyd and Keenan Allen injured, Johnson is San Diego's default No. 1 receiver. He should see plenty of targets (he saw 10 in Week 9) and has a solid matchup with the Chiefs secondary tied for fifth-worse in allowing 17 passing touchdowns. ($5700 on FanDuel; $3900 on DraftKings)
Tight end
Eric Ebron, Lions (vs. Raiders) – The Raiders now have company for the team giving up the most points to tight ends (the Saints), but they're still last in the league, regardless if the share the title with someone else. While he has cooled down over the last couple of games, Ebron presents good value ($5400- on FanDuel and $3500 on DraftKings) and big time athletic upside to do a lot of damage against this porous Raider pass defense. He has seen 13 targets over the last two weeks, so opportunity has been there. The points should pile up this weekend.
Jacob Tamme, Falcons (vs. Colts) – The Colts rank 23rd against opposing tight ends in pass DVOA, and Tamme has been the secondary option for Matt Ryan, behind Julio Jones. In the last five weeks, Tamme has seen three games with double-digit targets and is averaging 8.6 per game. The opportunities are there for Tamme to have a large impact against a weak Colts secondary, and the price is right at $5300 on FanDuel and $3600 on DraftKings.
Others considered: Alex Smith, Matt Stafford, Karlos Williams, Danny Woodhead, John Brown, Dorial Green-Beckham, Crockett Gillmore and Richard Rodgers.
Jack Thomason is 670 The Score's fantasy football expert and co-host of "Chicago's Fantasy Football Today," which can be heard every Sunday during football season from 8-9 a.m. CT on WSCR-670 and 670thescore.com/listen. Follow him on Twitter@jthomason77and feel free to ask fantasy questions.
