Week 13 Fantasy Football RB Sleepers
The bye weeks are over, so only the truly desperate are searching for RB sleepers at this point. Either that or you’re a savvy owner who likes to stream RB sleepers, like an insane fantasy football dare devil. Either way, you are welcome here. This week, like all weeks, we highlight three RB sleepers available in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues. For those of you in deeper leagues, one of these RB sleepers is available in 90% or more of Yahoo! leagues.
LeGarrette Blount versus Los Angeles Rams (33% owned)
Its official that Kerryon Johnson will not make it back to the field this week, which means more of LeGarrette Blount. Blount isn’t good, but what he can do is pummel an opposing defense until they break, allowing him to run free. He did just that last week against the Bears, who are one of the best run defenses in the league. He pulled off a Thanksgiving Miracle, running for 88 yards and two scores. The Rams are a middling run defense on the year, but they’ve been gashed by RBs in the last few weeks. They’ve yielded at least 70 yards to four different running backs, and have given up five rushing touchdowns to the position in their last four games. I can only talk about the rush defense part of their RB defense as Blount will be limited by Theo Riddick on passing downs, but will still get plenty of runs and will be their goal-line back. Give him a shot in standard leagues, but his lack of pass-catching hinders him in PPR formats.
Frank Gore versus Buffalo (28% owned)
If any other running back had at least twelve carries for four straight games, fantasy football pundits would be jumping all over him. When that back is 100 yards old, not so much. Gore is a great desperation play because he’s going to churn out some yardage no matter what is happening around him, as he’s gotten at least 6 fantasy points in four straight weeks, and he is yet to score a touchdown. There should be a change in that sometime soon, at least by pure regression. Kenyan Drake is still banged up, which means more opportunities for Gore this week, and he gets those opportunities against the ninth-worst defense against running backs on the year. The Bills mostly fell apart starting five games ago, and they’ve given up eight running back touchdowns and four 16+ fantasy point games in that time.
Ty Montgomery at Atlanta (9% owned)
Montgomery got 40% of the RB snaps last week, and it’s looking like Alex Collins isn’t going to be playing this week. That means more TyMont this week, and he pulled off 68 yards on just eleven touches last week. Pull that up to fifteen, given the likely shootout they face in Atlanta this week, and you have around 80 yards for TyMont with a good shot at a score. It’s a desperation play, no doubt, but a desperation play against a run defense that has allowed nine running backs at least 90 yards and fourteen RB touchdowns on the year.
