Everybody knows to start Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers and Julio Jones. In this article we will be covering deep sleepers, guys that a lot of people may be able to find on their waiver wire. If you’re desperate for an emergency play or a cheap DFS option, this is where you find those guys. Just remember all these guys are longshots. Don’t bench your stars for them!

QB Brian Hoyer, HOU
Hoyer has been named as the Week 12 starter for Houston. There are an abundance of concerns with him, especially when you consider T.J. Yates just won the Texans two games. However, this week Hoyer has the perfect matchup against the nightmarishly bad New Orleans Saints pass defense. The Saints are allowing the most points to fantasy quarterbacks, and they are leading all teams by five fantasy points per game in that stat. That may not seem like a lot, but that’s an enormous amount of points. Consider this, the Saints are allowing 25.5 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, while the Baltimore Ravens are next with 20.5 ppg. The Carolina Panthers are allowing the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing QBs at 15.6 ppg. So, the gap between one and two is larger than the gap between two and 30. That’s an unbelievable amount of incompetence from the Saints defense. As long as he manages not to get benched for a game, Hoyer should be a nice option.

RB Raheem Mostert, BAL
Mostert is an athletic freak. With Justin Forsett now sidelined for the rest of the season, Mostert should get a shot to show off his impressive skillset in the regular season. He led all players this preseason with 361 yards on 53 touches. His upside is huge and he is always a big-play threat. His explosiveness and athleticism makes him very dangerous. Buck Allen will be the starter on Sunday but there is no guarantee he will be a feature-back caliber player. If preseason was any indication, Mostert’s value could be incredible. The undersized back is as dangerous as any in the league.

RB Ahmad Bradshaw, IND
Bradshaw has seen an uptick in touches over the past three weeks. Last week, he carried the ball nine times and caught four passes. He’s also scored three TDs over the past two weeks. Anyone that has watched this guy throughout his career knows how good he can be. The issue has never been talent, he just can’t stay healthy. Nonetheless, he’s always been a fantastic fantasy contributor when healthy. So it should not come as a shock if he plays very well down the stretch. In the area of 15 touches per game is ideal for Bradshaw.

The Colts 32-year-old starting RB Frank Gore is currently suffering from both knee and quad injuries. He has missed practice time this week and may be limited moving forward. They increased his touches recently and he almost immediately began to break down. Don’t be surprised if the team goes back to managing his snaps. If that’s the case, Bradshaw should be a viable option.

WR Cody Latimer, DEN
Latimer has emerged as an actual target with Brock Osweiler at quarterback. Prior to Week 10, Latimer had one target and no receptions. Over the past two weeks he’s caught five of eight targets for 52 yards and a TD. He’s not a star by any means, but he may have chemistry with Osweiler. We saw Jordan Matthews surface in a similar fashion when Mark Sanchez replaced Nick Foles last season for the Eagles. Latimer should also see an uptick in snaps and targets in the immediate future. Emmanuel Sanders has confirmed that he is dealing with a high-ankle sprain. It’s uncertain how much or if he will play this week. Latimer could be a sneaky good play in deeper leagues.

WR Javontee Herndon, SD
The Chargers WR corps has been decimated. Keenan Allen has been placed on season-ending injured reserve with a lacerated kidney. Malcom Floyd is out indefinitely with a torn labrum in his shoulder. Antonio Gates is dealing with a significant knee injury and now a hip issue as well, so he’s nowhere near 100 percent. Herndon could be legitimately competing with Dontrelle Inman for a starting job. At the very least he should be the third option at wideout. Herndon saw more targets than Dontrelle Inman last week and only one less than now WR1 Stevie Johnson. He caught five of his seven targets for 37 yards. There is a great chance he continues to see a high volume of targets out of necessity.

TE Vance McDonald, SF
McDonald has all of a sudden become perhaps the TE1 in San Francisco. Two things have led to this development. Vernon Davis was shipped off to Denver and Blaine Gabbert has taken over as the 49ers’ starting quarterback. Garrett Celek was expected to be the top TE as he was when Davis was injured earlier in the season. Celek was actually pretty productive. However, over the past two weeks, both games which Gabbert started, McDonald has seen nine targets to Celek’s five and saw more targets in each game. McDonald has racked up six catches for 84 yards and a TD during this span. Previously he had just seven receptions for 45 yards and no TDs all season. If McDonald keeps seeing looks from Gabbert, he may be worth consideration as a deep sleeper.