NFL Soup|Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Deep Fantasy Football Sleepers For Week 13 

Carolina Panthers

D-Will could shine this week with J-Stew out.

Time is ticking away for you to make your last ditch effort for a playoff spot in your fantasy football league. If you’re hurt by poor play or terrible injuries, you may not have much more choice at this point than to dig deep into the waiver wire and take a shot in the dark on some lost souls. Due to many different circumstances, I have a feeling that the following guys owned in less than 95% of fantasy football leagues have a shot at putting up solid production in the week you arguably need them the most.

Pick and choose your poison as we filter through some of the top deep fantasy football sleepers for week 13:

Charlie Batch, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers (Available in 99% of leagues)

Batch is old and has had a weak arm for pretty much his entire career. He’s far from a safe play, but he should get Antonio Brown back this week and he’s played well in place of Ben Roethlisberger before. He was awful last week (three picks), but then again, so was his entire team (8 turnovers). I’d take him over Ryan Lindley, though.

If for some reason Ryan Tannehill (91%) is still around, he’s a much better play against a weak Patriots pass defense. And if Jake Locker is hanging around (83%), I actually like him a lot against a Texans defense that has gotten burned the past couple of weeks.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Carolina Panthers (46%)

Let’s face it, RB is a thin position and you’re not going to find deep sleepers most weeks, let alone ones sitting around in over 90% of leagues. D-Will doesn’t fit the mold of this column, but he is out there in a good amount of leagues still, and is the full-blown starter for Carolina this week (Jonathan Stewart is out). He should have solid value and is your best waiver wire bet at the position this week. If he’s not available, may God be with your running backs this week.

Riley Cooper, WR, Philadelphia Eagles (99%)

Cooper is starting with DeSean Jackson out, so he has a shot at decent production. He’s a bit shaky with Nick Foles under center, but the Eagles have to unleash their rookie eventually. He’s a bit riskier than some of these other guys, but at least Cooper is starting and has the size and speed to make an impact.

Dane Sanzenbacher, WR, Chicago Bears (99%)

Both Devin Hester and Alshon Jeffery are out for week 13, meaning Sanzenbacher is not only active, but should play a decent amount. He’s a shifty slot receiver who is pretty underrated, so he could rack up a few catches and possibly even sneak in a score.

A.J. Jenkins, WR, San Francisco 49ers (99%)

Kyle Williams is out this week and Jenkins is now active for the first time as a rookie. He’s raw and inexperienced as heck, but with Colin Kaepernick looking for the big play more than Alex Smith ever did, he could have a shot at some down-field action.

Marvin Jones, WR, Cincinnati Bengals (99%)

Mohamed Sanu is on injured reserve and Andrew Hawksin is still banged up, which gives the raw rookie Jones some extra playing time. He’s wet behind the ears, but he has good play-making ability and could be a nice deep sleeper in week 13.

Rob Housler, TE, Arizona Cardinals (99%)

Housler caught eight balls last week and hasn’t had less than five targets come his way in his past four games. Ryan Lindley clearly trusts him, so he’s a decent bet for solid production again this week.

Lance Kendricks, TE, St. Louis Rams (99%)

Danny Amendola is out, so there could be a few more balls to go around in St. Louis. I wouldn’t expect much more than 1-2 shots in the red-zone, but the extra targets offer up a little more potential than usual, at least.

About the author: Kevin Roberts

Kevin Roberts owns and operates NFL Soup and heads the fantasy football division of the site. Roberts also finished 2nd in the Wide Receiver position in Fantasy Pros expert fantasy football rankings in 2010 and 3rd in the Quarterback position in 2011. In addition to running the fantasy football section of the site, Roberts contributes to NFL Soup’s NFL Draft coverage and breaking news reporting. Follow Kevin on Twitter @NFLSoupKevin

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