Is that Johnny Football's music?
As we get to the end of the season, there will be fewer chances for random surprise fantasy performances. They'll happen, but this time of year, more of the "sleeper" performances come from guys who were once stars, or at least fantasy performers who had faded.
The last few years, we've had several examples of guys who have had bad years, only for us to buy back in the next year. Chris Johnson springs to mind, as does Doug Martin (more on him later). It seems to me that fewer of the guys actually succeed in their rebound seasons than we'd like to believe.
So instead of waiting for an offseason of theoretical rejuvenation, I think it would be more helpful to keep a closer watch on guys who rebound in the middle of the season. At least we know they still have it in them; the next-year rebound guys are much more theoretical and up-in-the-air.
Sleeper quarterbacks in Week 13
Matthew Stafford, DET (390 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 1 fumble lost, 21 fantasy points)
You can't always play against the Bears. But this game -- Stafford's first of 20-plus fantasy points since Week 4 -- at least showed that he still has such games in his arsenal. Stafford is no longer the guy knocking on the door of that top tier of fantasy quarterbacks, but he still has enough firepower to be a week-to-week helper.
Johnny Manziel, CLE (63 passing yards, 13 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 9 fantasy points)
Manziel came in for Brian Hoyer in the fourth quarter after the starter put up five interceptions and no touchdowns in the preceding seven quarters. He led a touchdown drive on his first opportunity, and ended up with at least respectable numbers, considering how little he played. The team hasn't yet said who will play quarterback in Week 14, but if it's Manziel, he will be fantasy-interesting in the Tim Tebow sense, as a quarterback who should offer enough rushing yards to at least be interesting. And if it turns out Manziel is competent or even good? Might be time to invest.
Sleeper running backs in Week 13
Dan Herron, IND (88 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 8 receiving yards, 1 fumble lost, 12 fantasy points)
In two games since becoming a relevant part of the Indianapolis offense, Herron has put up exactly 96 yards each game, and scored his first career touchdown Sunday. The problem, though, is that Herron lost a fumble in each of those games, and as long as he's doing that he'll be really hard for the Colts to trust as an every- or most-down back. He's worth monitoring, but he'll need to work on ball security.
Doug Martin, TB (58 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 3 receiving yards, 11 fantasy points)
Martin had his best game since Week 4 Sunday, with Charles Sims and Bobby Rainey offering little for anyone to be excited about. He got the starting job back in Tampa Bay, due mostly to the failures of the aforementioned other running backs. He's still not exciting for fantasy, but the Buccaneers don't appear to be entertaining the notion of going away from him, so there might be a tiny something there.
Sleeper wide receivers in Week 13
Kenny Stills, NO (162 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown, 22 fantasy points)
Stills has clearly been the biggest beneficiary of Brandin Cooks' absence. Sunday, he was the only New Orleans player to go for more than 17 receiving yards. Stills now has 13 catches, 15 targets and 260 yards in his last two game, and considering how much Marques Colston has struggled, he's starting to look like a viable WR2 or flex play.
Davante Adams, GB (121 receiving yards, 12 fantasy points)
People kept wondering if they should invest in Adams, and I kept advising against it -- his targets in general weren't consistently high enough to offer any value if he wasn't scoring a touchdown. And frankly, that's still true after he had two, two and four targets in the three games before being targeted 11 times Sunday. But it looks like the Packers are making an effort to at least work the rookie into the offense a little more. He's still only on the fringes of rosterability, but if something were to happen to either Jordy Nelson or Randall Cobb, Adams would suddenly become a WR2.
Sleeper tight end in Week 13
Heath Miller, PIT (82 receiving yards, 8 fantasy points)
My problem with Miller all along has been that he'll have an occasional (and absolutely unpredictable) big game, and then he'll follow it up with a bunch of 1's and 2's, and you won't be able to use him again. And without being able to guess when those big games might come, they're hard to capitalize on. In his last two games, Miller hasn't scored, but he has averaged 76.5 yards per, and with 19 targets in those two. I still don't expect him to rise into the range of starting tight ends, but it's no longer silly to consider.
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