“Shore Thing Sleepers” isn’t your ordinary fantasy football Week 13 start/sit article. Instead, our analyst duo of Seth Woolcock and Nate Polvogt highlight lower-valued players that can provide starting-caliber production for a specific week. These are usually players near the end of your bench or even on the waiver wire/free agency. You can catch an additional sleeper pick live at the end of our weekly in-season Friday podcast episode.
Rostership percentages are based on ESPN Points Per Reception (PPR) redraft fantasy football leagues.
Week 13 Start/Sit Consideration: Shore Thing Sleepers
Jimmy Garoppolo (QB, San Francisco 49ers) | 45.1 Percent
At quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers in a battle between teacher and pupil is a resurgent Jimmy Garoppolo. Thanks to a 5.3 percent touchdown rate and career-low interception rate (1.3 percent), Garoppolo has been the QB11 on a points-per-game basis over the past two months.
This week he’ll battle Mike McDaniels’ Dolphins, a top-three matchup for QBs this season and over the past month. The QBs they’ve faced in the past four weeks are Kyle Allen, Jacoby Brissett, Justin Fields and Jared Goff – not exactly world-beaters. With this being a different offense than McDaniel knows with the addition of Christian McCaffrey, I’m confident Garoppolo provides for Kyle Shanahan and fantasy managers alike. – Woolcock
Josh Palmer (WR, Los Angeles Chargers) | 75.3 Percent
The Los Angeles Chargers were supposed to be a powerhouse offense in a loaded AFC West this season. Unfortunately, injuries to wide receivers Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Jalen Guyton, on top of an early season rib injury to quarterback Justin Herbert, put a damper on those expectations. However, in the absence of the team’s top receivers, second-year WR Josh Palmer has emerged as a reliable option.
While Allen is off the team’s injury report heading into Week 13, Williams will be inactive Sunday. In Week 11, with Allen playing, Palmer managed his best game of the season against a weak Kansas City secondary. He subsequently logged eight catches on ten targets for 106 yards and two touchdowns. This week, they are up against a Las Vegas secondary that has been almost as bad as Kansas City. Through Week 12, the Raiders allow just 4.1 fewer PPR points on average to receivers than the Chiefs. Palmer certainly looks to be a big part of the Chargers’ offense in a must-win division game. – Polvogt
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