Happy Halloween, or if you’re reading this after Halloween, Happy November! I know Halloween is all about scary stuff, but we need to get in the Halloween spirit and what’s Halloween without giving out candy to the trick-or-treaters in their costumes? This week, I’m hoping for no tricks and all treats! All I ask is that no one dresses up as ghosts like Quentin Johnston, Jerry Jeudy and Jake Ferguson did last week on the fantasy scoreboard.
Besides, we already survived the scariest week of them all with last week’s “Byemageddon.” I started giving out the treats early, though! I gave out King-Size sleepers in Joe Flacco (+8.9 fantasy points over projection) and Tyjae Spears (+7.7). The Gummy Bears… sorry, the Chicago Bears were a hit too, with Olamide Zaccheaus (+2.4) and Colston Loveland (+0.3). It wasn’t all treats, though, as I got tricked by Kendrick Bourne, but he was only one point under projection. Altogether, it came to a total of 20.3 points over projection, making it my third straight week scoring 20 points over projection!
Let’s dig into the candy bowl and see what treats… I mean, Shore Thing Sleepers, we can find for Week 9! Yes, as it’s the weekend of Halloween, this will be full of candy puns and jokes, if you couldn’t tell already. After all, we’ll be the Smarties, since we know which sleepers to watch out for!
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Consideration: Week 9 Sleepers (2025)
Quarterback
Jared Goff (Detroit Lions)
If Gobstoppers are jawbreakers that change colors and flavors, Jared Goff is the Lion that changes performances depending on whether he’s on the road or at home. Well, he’s at home this week! If you’re curious about the splits, on the road, Goff is averaging 222 passing yards, 1.7 touchdowns, 0.2 interceptions and 15.3 fantasy points. Meanwhile, at home, that average is 247.6 passing yards, 2.6 passing touchdowns, 0.6 interceptions and 19.6 fantasy points. There is a big caveat, though, because Goff has actually struggled in his last two home games, where he was held to under 250 passing yards, threw an interception and stayed under 14 fantasy points.
So, how can he get back on track at home? It’s his opponent! This week, the Vikings will try to be the “Goff-stoppers” and they have not stopped the quarterback since coming back from their bye week. Your jaw won’t break, but you will need to pick it up off the floor after I tell you what the quarterbacks have averaged against the Vikings in the past two games. You ready? Quarterbacks are averaging 302.5 scrimmage yards, three passing touchdowns, 0.5 interceptions and 25.1 fantasy points. If the average isn’t telling you the full story, then know that the Vikings have allowed a quarterback to have 289+ scrimmage yards, three passing touchdowns, and 24+ fantasy points in back-to-back games. Jared Goff at home with a generous matchup? Sign me up!
Running Back
Tyjae Spears (Tennessee Titans)
We want candy, not spearmints! Before causing a ruckus for giving out a spearmint for Halloween, let me explain myself. Tyjae Spears has been minty fresh since the Titans fired Head Coach Brian Callahan after Week 6. They then “simplified” the offense, but despite Spears being out-averaged in opportunities to running back Tony Pollard, it’s been Spears who has provided the fantasy points. In those two games, Spears out-averaged Pollard in scrimmage yards by 61 to 57. He also out-averaged Pollard in fantasy points with 12.1, compared to Pollard’s 9.2! That’s not all, as in his last three games, Spears has 40+ scrimmage yards and at least seven fantasy points.
Now, let’s get into the matchup. Yes, the Chargers kept the Vikings’ running back duo to 30 scrimmage yards or fewer last Thursday night. But that’s just a weekly snapshot; let’s look at it from a bigger picture. The last five weeks is where it gets really interesting; the Chargers have allowed the ninth-most rushing yards and are tied for a league-high seven rushing touchdowns to the running back position in that span.
See, before stopping the Vikings, the Chargers had allowed a running back to have 94+ rushing yards, 22+ receiving yards, multiple rushing touchdowns and 29+ fantasy points in three straight games. Now, I think that’s a little too high for Tyjae Spears, but it’s nice to know there’s a possibility for him, especially for a running back with three straight games of 22+ rushing yards, 18+ receiving yards and seven-plus fantasy points in his last three games. He is also the healthier of the duo, as Tony Pollard was limited in Wednesday’s practice with a neck issue, but was a full participant in Thursday’s practice.
Chuba Hubbard (Carolina Panthers)
We’ve all been there at least once. Someone gives you “Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum” for Halloween. Were you expecting it? No. Are you going to argue about free bubble gum? No. That’s how I feel about this Panthers Running Back By Committee (RBBC) between Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard. Were we expecting Dowdle to blow up like this? No. Am I going to argue that Hubbard should be the RB2 after Dowdle has looked more impressive in the past two games they’ve played together? No.
Even though Dave Canales did say, “It’s something we’re looking at,” when asked about giving Dowdle a heavier workload, I’m definitely more than okay with both Dowdle and Hubbard this week. Ever since this thing started, Dowdle has averaged 75 scrimmage yards (66.5 rushing and 8.5 receiving) for eight fantasy points, while Hubbard has averaged 44.5 scrimmage yards (32.5 rushing and 12 receiving), 0.5 touchdowns and 8.4 fantasy points. Now, Hubbard is obviously averaging more because of the touchdown, but I’m not going to argue against 7.5+ fantasy points in this role.
That leads me to the matchup. The Packers have gone three straight games allowing a running back duo to have 32+ scrimmage yards and score at least 5.2+ fantasy points. Yes, that is a low threshold, but the Panthers have been more than happy to use the running backs this season, and their backfield has the second-most touches with 235 and the third-most scrimmage yards with 1,227. That being said, let’s not forget that this RB duo has scored 7.5+ fantasy points in two of their last four games together. After all, it’s big numbers, no troubles. Right?
Wide Receiver
Chimere Dike (Tennessee Titans)
Mike and Ike might need a rebrand to Dike and Dike (pronounced DEE-kay), because if you don’t know the answer to who leads the Titans in receiving yards in the past two games, the answer is Dike and Dike! If you don’t know by now, the fiery wide receiver from Florida, Chimere Dike, has gone back-to-back games with four-plus receptions, 70+ yards and 16+ fantasy points. And as I’ve previously noted, both of these games were under the new interim Head Coach, keeping it “simple.”
Well, if they want to keep it simple, why can’t I? The Chargers have allowed a wide receiver to have 74+ receiving yards and 14.4+ fantasy points in four straight games. I should also mention that in three of those games, the Chargers have allowed a 95+ yard wide receiver to score 14.8+ fantasy points. That’s not all! In back-to-back games, the Chargers have allowed a receiver duo to have 11.6+ fantasy points. Finally, the simplest stat of them all; when the Chargers have faced a wide receiver with four-plus receptions, they average 78.3 receiving yards, 0.3 touchdowns and 16 fantasy points. Chimere Dike is on fire right now, so why not fire him up into your lineup?
Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks)
I’m not sorry for giving out Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for Halloween, just like I won’t be sorry for giving out Cooper Kupp as a Shore Thing Sleeper this Halloween weekend. It’s been an up-and-down season for Kupp. He has three games with over 40 receiving yards and 11.9+ fantasy points, but then, in the other four games, he had 32 or fewer receiving yards and 6.6 fantasy points or fewer.
That’s when I took a closer look at those good games and noticed something. This season, when facing a team that is currently in the top ten for most fantasy points allowed to wide receivers, Cooper Kupp is averaging 4.5 receptions for 65 yards, 0.5 touchdowns and 14 fantasy points. Do you want to guess where the Commanders are ranked against the wide receiver position this season? They’ve allowed the tenth-most fantasy points to the position and that fits our threshold! It’s really been a huge treat as of late, like those peanut butter cups, especially in three of the last four games. Why is that? The Commanders have allowed a wide receiver duo to have 39+ receiving yards and 10.3+ fantasy points, with the WR2 averaging 4.6 receptions for 58 yards, 0.3 touchdowns and 12.4 fantasy points in those games.
NOTE: Cooper Kupp was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice with a heel and a hamstring. If Kupp were to miss this game, I would plug in his Seahawks teammate Tory Horton.
Tight End
Evan Engram (Denver Broncos)
We’ve all encountered someone who gives out those fun-size bags of Teddy Grahams. While it’s not candy, it’s a quietly respected treat. Which is ironic, because I feel like Evan Engram has also been a quietly respected treat as of late. In Engram’s last four games, he saw at least four receptions and four targets, having 33+ receiving yards and 7.6+ fantasy points and putting him at TE12 in that span for PPR scoring. Last week, he actually ended a three-game streak of scoring at least nine fantasy points.
Then, when I looked at the matchup, that’s what really made me smile. The Texans were very rough against tight ends before their bye week, only allowing one tight end to have double-digit fantasy points and more than 25 receiving yards. Something must’ve happened during their bye week, though, because after their bye, the Texans have gone back-to-back games allowing a tight end to have four receptions, 42+ yards and 8.2 fantasy points. The Texans only allowed two tight ends in their first five games to score more than 7.2 fantasy points, but in these past two games, they’ve allowed three tight ends to hit that threshold. Granted one was because of a two-yard touchdown, but the fact that three tight ends have done it in this short span is something that I think Evan Engram, the Broncos and you, the sharp fantasy football manager, can exploit.
Thanks for reading this week’s “Shore Thing Sleepers.” If you’re looking for more fantasy content like this or need help with the last-minute fantasy football start/sit decisions for your roster, you can find me on Facebook at “Fantasy Sports Start or Sit’Em Questions,” Twitter/X @FSSOSEQ or on BlueSky!
*Photo Credit: Isaiah J. Downing – USA TODAY Sports*
