“Now is the Winter of our discontent,” Shakespeare once quipped about the lack of running back sleepers in his fantasy football league. While I can’t write it more poetically than the Bard, I can pick running back sleepers better than him, because he’s dead. Anyway, the usual drill applies: All of these sleepers are unowned in 50% or more leagues and I’ll even dumpster dive past all things rotten in the state of Denmark to get you a gem that’s available in at least 90% of Yahoo! leagues.
Week 12 Running Back Sleeper:
Jonathan Williams at Houston (42% Owned)
With Indianapolis on a short week and a Thursday game, odds are both Marlon Mack and Jordan Wilkins will remain hobbled (Wilkins was removed from the injury report, but I can’t imagine they’re going to give him a heavy workload). That opens a huge opportunity for Williams, who racked up 116 rushing yards with the Indy duo unavailable last week. Houston’s run defense is pretty good: Just outside of the top 10 in terms of fewest points allowed to opposing running backs. So don’t expect a game-winning week here, but Williams is worth a pickup for the high floor.
Also, let’s not forget that Houston melted down against the Ravens, last week. Now, obviously, everyone has been melting down at the white-hot feet of the Ravens, but it’s not like anyone would be surprised if Houston’s sluggish defense carries over to another game 4 days after this massacre. Williams is my choice for most solid week 12 running back sleeper pickup.
Week 12 Running Back Sleeper:
Bo Scarbrough at Washington (26% Owned)
On the plus side: Scarbrough turned enough heads to move from a practice squad spot on Friday to a starting role on Sunday. He did well enough: averaging almost 4 yards per carry and notching a score. If you’re really hurting for a starter, this is pretty good for this late in the season. Hey, maybe Bo will be an amazing diamond in the rough that is Detroit’s backfield.
On the negative side: A Detroit running back hasn’t been a consistent fantasy play in like 5 years. Also, Jeff Driskel is a decent mobile quarterback, which hurts the fantasy production of the RBs. Plus, Scarbrough caught zero passes last week, so you’re kind of working without a net when it comes to his floor. Still, he’s not a bad play against an agonizingly bad Redskins defense, this week.
Week 12 Running Back Sleeper:
Raheem Mostert versus Green Bay (11% Owned)
Mostert isn’t available enough for my deep dive pick, but I like him enough to put him on here, anyway. The Niners are all banged up, they might be without George Kittle, Breida, and Samuel. Mostert has looked great when getting the ball, we could see a few big runs from him making desperate fantasy owners happy.
Plus, let’s not overlook that the Niners face a Green Bay squad that just can’t stop anything on the ground. They’ve allowed the 4th most points to running backs. We could easily see a game script where the Niners just take an early lead then lean heavily on their defense and rushing game.
Deep Dive Week 12 Running Back Sleepers:
Patrick Laird at Cleveland and Kyle Juszczyk versus Green Bay (Both 0% Owned)
Sometimes you can find winning lottery tickets in liquor store dumpsters. Laird of the Miami Dolphins and all-world Fullback Juszczyk both finished as top 10 most-targeted RBs in week 11. That’s the kind of floor we like with a Niners offense that’s not fully healthy and the Dolphins’ need to establish a short game without actually, you know, running the ball. I bet you could get 5 points in standard and maybe even double digits in PPR leagues. Best of luck!
For free fantasy football advice, join our Discord and follow us on Twitter
You can find the rest of our Week 12 advice here (be sure to check back as the week develops!)
[Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sonofgroucho/3034843317 under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/]
