Sneaky Starts: Week 8

Oct 26, 2012
Sneaky Starts: Week 8

As injuries and bye weeks pile up, all but the luckiest fantasy owners will at some point need to find the proverbial diamond in the rough -- a waiver wire or bench player who is capable of putting up some points in a pinch. This weekly feature is dedicated to that part of fantasy football. It's not pretty, but it's part of the game.

Week 7's Sneaky Starts included Josh Freeman (QB2), Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB6), Brandon Weeden (QB9), Jonathan Dwyer (RB13), Vick Ballard (RB17), Andre Brown (RB20), Felix Jones (RB26), Alex Green (RB31), Randall Cobb (WR2), Santana Moss (WR4), Jeremy Kerley (WR13), Lance Moore (WR14), Josh Gordon (WR15), Chris Givens (WR26), Devery Henderson (WR32), Brandon Gibson (WR38), Stephen Hill (WR40) and Heath Miller (TE4).

Now that we have at least four weeks of data, we're able to use Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed (aFPA) by position. For more detail, click here.

Note: These recommendations do not override our weekly rankings, which are updated throughout the week and weekend.

Browns QB Brandon Weeden (vs. SD)
Weeden is averaging 277 yards and 1.5 TDs over his last six games and is turning into a reasonably solid start given the right matchup, especially considering the emergence of Josh Gordon. The Chargers are #18 in QB aFPA, and have given up nine passing touchdowns in the last three games.

Titans QB Matt Hasselbeck (vs. IND)
We were expecting more out of Hasselbeck last week against the Bills, but the Titans ended up with four rushing touchdowns and just one passing TD. The Colts present another good matchup; Indy is #27 in QB aFPA.

Rams QB Sam Bradford (vs. NE)
The game is in London, which makes us a little leery, but Bradford figures to throw quite a bit to try to keep up with the Patriots, who are #31 in QB aFPA.

Jaguars RB Rashad Jennings (@ GB)
The Packers are mediocre against opposing RBs (#17 in RB aFPA). The Jaguars figure to be trailing for most of the game, but Jennings is fully capable of contributing in the passing game as well as the running game.

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