Week 12 PPR Waiver Wire Sleepers & Starts for Deeper Leagues

There’s a pretty decent chance if you're looking for a deep PPR sleeper in Week 12 that you're still fighting for a playoff spot, hoping to find that one last gem to win you your week. Lucky for you, there are actually quite a few decent names this week. Typically I'd try to limit this batch of players to a “top five,” but with just two teams on bye, we've ended up with eight. Well, more like seven and a half… you'll see what I mean in a second.

As always, all players listed are sleepers with PPR value in 12+ team leagues and are available in no more than 60% of Fleaflicker leagues, in keeping with our deep sleeper theme. There is a floor-versus-ceiling rating underneath each player that indicates his range of performance for this particular week. You should use that as a gauge for which player is right for your team, weighing risk versus reward for your team’s needs.

Week 12 Sneaky Starts & PPR Sleepers

Floor/Ceiling Scale: Low 0-5 points, Medium 6-12 points, High 12-18 points, Very High 20+ points

Cecil Shorts and Allen Hurns (WRs, JAC)

47% and 34% Owned in Fleaflicker Leagues

See what I mean about seven and a half? I’m grouping these guys together for two reasons. First, as you can see from the ownership numbers, it’s more likely that Shorts is owned in your league, and if he is, Hurns is still worth a shot. Second, with Allen Robinson done for the year, both of these players will possess value, as either guy can go off in any given week. It’s a classic crutch argument that the Jaguars will be down and have to throw, but hey, as much of a crutch as it is, it’s still true.

Had the Jaguars not been on a bye last week, both of these players would have made this column as sleepers. Shorts is likely to receive more targets, resulting him in being closer to the true PPR receiver, while Hurns will be more of a big-play guy. No one is ever happy about the real-life implications of football injuries, but Robinson going down actually gives us a tad more clarity in this murky receiving corps. Hopefully Marqise Lee doesn’t eat too much into either player’s looks, which would send this whole thing right back into the tossup it was two weeks ago.

Shorts Floor: Medium, Ceiling: Very High

Hurns Floor: Low, Ceiling: High

Isaiah Crowell (RB, CLE)

40% Owned in Fleaflicker Leagues

Speaking of real-life events giving us fantasy clarity, the Cleveland Browns released off-season signee Ben Tate this week. That leaves us with Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West as the running back tandem in Cleveland. A three-headed monster (or puppy, as I alluded to last week) is never fun in fantasy, so we will absolutely take a downgrade from three to two. I prefer Crowell given his production and workload of late compared to West.

Throw in the fact that the Falcons are notoriously bad against the run, and you actually have a pretty good chance that Crowell has a solid game here. You might be wondering why I didn’t bunch Crowell and West together the way I did with Cecil Shorts and Allen Hurns. Aside from my genuine preference of Crowell over West, West is actually owned in well over 60% of leagues, leaving Crowell as the only true “deep sleeper” at running back on the Browns.

Floor: Medium, Ceiling: High (with Ben Tate gone, Crowell’s workload should increase and the matchup is tasty.)

Tre Mason (RB, STL)

52% Owned in Fleaflicker Leagues

I’m actually kind of surprised Tre Mason isn’t owned in more leagues, given how terrible the position has been as a whole this year. I understand that the Rams utilized a running-back-by-committee/hot-hand approach for the earlier part of the year, but over the past three weeks, Mason has had 62 carries compared to Benny Cunningham’s whopping 10. (Don’t even get me started on Zac Stacy. He’s essentially invisible.)

I think it’s safe to say that the timeshare approach is behind us, and it’s about damn time. Mason is the clear number one back on the Rams going forward, and in a league where it’s extremely difficult to find a lead back on the waiver wire, Mason is absolutely worth an add, as well as a start.  The Rams head to San Diego this week, and while it isn't necessarily a great matchup, it’s not bad either. In fact, it’s exactly a middle-of-the-road defense, allowing the 17th-most fantasy points to opposing running backs. You can do far worse than Mason at running back this week. He’s worth rostering for depth purposes, as well.

Floor: Medium, Ceiling: Very High (Mason is talented enough to go off and safe enough at this point not to worry about getting a zero.)

Kenny Stills (WR, NO)

40% Owned in Fleaflicker Leagues

The New Orleans Saints are notorious for spreading the ball around to an obnoxious degree, particularly when it comes to fantasy relevance. That said, this is the third blurb where I have to mention external circumstances potentially impacting your fantasy roster. Fellow wide receiver Brandin Cooks recently had surgery on his broken thumb, and he's been placed on injured reserve, ending his season. That leaves Kenny Stills and Marques Colston to fill the void left by Cooks at wide receiver.

Personally, I’m done believing Colston is ever going to bounce back at his age, so I’ll happily put my faith in the younger, higher upside player in Stills. Cooks had been second on the team in targets behind tight end Jimmy Graham, so there’s plenty of room for Stills to put up numbers. The problem is, as mentioned above, that the Saints spread the ball around way too much to feel fully confident in any one particular guy not named Graham. Stills has the ability to get open down the field and become the Saints new deep threat, but be wary that there’s an equal chance he does close to nothing.

Floor: Low, Ceiling: Very High (This is the ultimate high risk/high reward situation.)

Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TE, TB)

15% Owned in Fleaflicker Leagues

Insert starting tight end facing the Chicago Bears here. That’s basically the thought process behind recommending ASJ this week. The Bears are dead last when it comes to defending against the tight end position, so don't be surprised if you see ASJ’s biggest game of the year here. He hasn’t done much of anything up until this point, so this is more about how desperate your team is at tight end.

If you're sitting there with a banged-up Julius Thomas or Dwayne Allen, ASJ is worth a flyer. Josh McCown is no superstar quarterback by any means, but with the Buccaneers continuing to struggle to run the ball, someone has to catch it besides Mike Evans, right?

Floor: Low, Ceiling: High (Grab him if you’re hurting at TE in a deeper league.)

Charles Clay (TE, MIA)

51% Owned in Fleaflicker Leagues

Speaking of tight ends with yummy matchups, the Broncos rank ninth-worst in defending against the tight end, and they've given up four touchdowns to opposing tight ends over the last four weeks. Clay has struggled to find the endzone this year, but he does still get receptions. If you’re in a PPR league, you’re well aware that that’s what the 'R' stands for. Clay has 17 receptions over the last three weeks; if my math is correct, that’s 17 points in PPR leagues off catches alone.

How’s that for hard-hitting fantasy analysis? In all seriousness though, Clay is the safer tight end listed this week, as he’s more guaranteed to get targets given the quality of offense he plays in combination with the matchup.

Floor: Medium, Ceiling: High

Kenny Britt (WR, STL)

19% Owned in Fleaflicker leagues

Of all the players listed this week, this one gave me the most pause. Kenny Britt has been infuriating to own over the last few years, but at a certain point, desperation calls. The Rams were in desperate need for a true number one target after Brian Quick went down, which led to Britt exploding for 128 yards and a touchdown against Denver last week. This was also Shaun Hill’s first start for the Rams, which actually might be a positive for Britt.

Sometimes all it takes for a wide receiver to start putting up numbers is the right chemistry with the starting QB. The counterargument to that would be that the Rams/Broncos game went nothing like anyone expected. This is definitely the most desperate player on this list, as I can’t imagine anyone would feel confident starting Britt unless you're seriously hurting at WR or you're in a league deeper than 12 teams with limited options on the waiver wire.

Floor: Low, Ceiling: High (Could be the start of something between Britt and Hill. Could also be a one-week wonder.)