2015 Fantasy Football: Week 12 Gold Mine
It’s time to make the final push. As we are only a few hours away from the kickoff to the final games of the third quarter of the NFL season, most fantasy teams have just a few games left to make the push towards the playoffs.
If you are lucky enough to be sitting within one or two games of the playoffs, your season is still wide open. Despite the crazy way the season has gone down with the amount of injuries we have seen take place, the number of teams who are still in it has been astonishing.
However, although there are still plenty of teams vying for the playoffs in many leagues, there is still work to be done and there are still way too many players on the waiver wire who could be viable fantasy options.
Below you’ll see a list of players who are owned in less than 35% of ESPN Fantasy leagues. If you don’t play on ESPN don’t worry, each players percentage of ownership in Yahoo, NFL as well as salaries in Fanduel and Draftkings are available as well.
Jameis Winston (TB): ESPN: 34.6; Yahoo: 38; NFL: 24.9; FD: 7.3; DK: 5.5
Is it too late in the season to be talking about Jameis Winston? Absolutely not. The rookie QB out of Florida State is starting to find his groove and is proving the Bucs made a great decision picking the troubled youngster #1 overall. Winston has now thrown for at least 245 yards in three straight games and in four of his last five games. Adding to his consistent yardage is his 11 touchdowns in his last five games, including three on the ground. Winston is doing it all and in leagues that offer only four points to passing touchdowns, he is adding a ton of value to your fantasy teams.
So why is he only owned in 34% of ESPN leagues? Winston put up his best game of the year last Sunday beating the Philadelphia Eagles secondary for five passing touchdowns, and in week 12 he has just as good of a match up taking on Indianapolis. The Colts are 22nd in the league against opposing QBs and are coming off a three touchdown game of their own as Matt Ryan and the Falcons were able to carve up their secondary.
Theo Riddick (DET): ESPN: 34.1; Yahoo: 24; NFL: 2.7; FD: 5.5; DK: 3.5
I spoke about Theo Riddick earlier this season and since then he has scored double digit fantasy points three times. Since Week 6 when I spoke about him last, Riddick has caught at least three passes in each of those games with at least 30 yards receiving in all but one. Riddick, who is currently labeled as the #2 halfback on the Detroit Lions depth chart, is not going to get a lot of touches from the running game, but his ability to get on the field and stay on the field provides a ton of value to any fantasy team looking for a FLEX on short notice. Riddick has played 295 snaps this season and has touched the ball 76 times with 12 other targets going his way, good for more than 30% of the amount of time on the field.
Brian Hoyer (HOU): ESPN: 31; Yahoo: 28; NFL: 4.3; FD: 7.1; DK: 5.0
Another player talked about earlier this season, Brian Hoyer has played well in his second stint this year after coming back on the field for Ryan Mallet earlier in the season. Hoyer, who is returning from a concussion a couple of weeks ago, has thrown for at least 270 yards in three of his six games back on the field with at least two touchdowns in all but one, coincidentally the one being his concussion game. Hoyer is now going to get his third stint with the club after TJ Yates took over the team for Hoyer when he went down.
The Texans get a favorable match up this week as they take on the Saints who can’t stop a nosebleed. Ranked 32nd in the league against opposing QBs, the Saints are coming off a bye and the firing of their defensive coordinator, which could help change things around but don’t count on it. The players are still on the field, and it has been the players who have given up 14 passing touchdowns in their last three games, including six to Eli Manning just three weeks ago. If Hoyer can stay on the field, it should be a big day for the Texans offense in this one.
Brent Celek (PHI): ESPN: 7.8; Yahoo: 9; NFL: 1.6; FD: 5.8; DK: 3.2
With the news that Zach Ertz is out, Brent Celek is guaranteed to get the playing time that we have felt he has deserved for some time now. In 2014, with Mark Sanchez found Brent Celek at least four times in three games with at least six targets in all three of them. Although Celek didn’t score, he did have at least 45 yards in all three. Two weeks ago Celek shined with 10 targets, seven receptions and 79 yards. He failed to score but 14.9 fantasy points in PPR for a player that no one thought would produce is pretty solid. And he scored Thursday against the Lions.
Cole Beasley (DAL): ESPN: 6.7; Yahoo: 10; NFL: 5; FD: 5.2; DK: 3.2
Following his nine reception, 112-yard, two touchdown game against the Giants three weeks ago, Cole Beasley has been shut down with only two receptions and 22 yards in the last two games combined. Beasley has struggled as of late, but he did start the season off where he ended it last year with at least four receptions in five straight games to kick the 2015 season off. He got several looks from Matt Cassel after Tony Romo was injured on Thursday, and he found his way into the end zone.