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Top five fantasy football sleeper wide receivers to start in NFL Week 12

Top five fantasy football sleeper wide receivers to start in NFL Week 12

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By: Zach Thompson

Every week, the fantasy football landscape at wide receiver shifts with some fringe options stepping up with big games. These “fantasy football sleepers” who wake up with huge games often make the difference between a fantasy football win and a fantasy football defeat, either in season-long formats or in weekly DFS contests.

Every Saturday this season, I’ve been searching through value options and trying to pull out the best fantasy football sleepers at wide receiver from the bargain bin. Whether you need to grab a last-minute option off the waiver wire to fill out your season-long roster or are searching for a cheap play for your DFS roster, these plays could out-produce expectations and help you get that big win this week.

While some superstar receivers are very reliable, some uncontrollable factors are inherent to the position. Primarily, receivers rely on their quarterback getting them the ball, so when Dak Prescott (hamstring) and Brock Purdy (shoulder) go down, they take down their receivers with them. On top of QB struggles, Week 12 is especially tricky with SIX teams on bye weeks.

In week 12, the main DFS slate has 10 games on Sunday afternoon, and the biggest contest is the NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st]. I’ll keep my fantasy football sleepers to that 20-team player pool to make this post as versatile as possible.

Earlier this week, I listed my top-25 plays at wide receiver, and the options highlighted here don’t quite crack that list. However, I love the upside they bring at their DFS salary, and they also make sense as a last-minute grab-and-play option off the waiver wire.

My five sleeper wide receivers last week were Devaughn Vele ($3,900; 10.6 FPTS), Kayshon Boutte ($3,500; 7.3 FPTS), Mack Hollins ($3,800; 4.7 FPTS), Calvin Austin ($3,600; 0.9 FPTS) and Marvin Mims Jr. ($3,100; 13.3 FPTS). Mims was a big hit at his bargain salary, and the other options were solid aside from Austin, who struggled in Week 11 but already had 16.8 FPTS in Week 12 vs. the Browns on Thursday Night Football.

Several of the same names pop up in this week’s fantasy football sleepers since they’re still affordable and in line for solid workloads. So without further preamble, here are my top five fantasy football sleepers at WR for Week 12:

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Tennessee Titans ($4,100)

Westbrook-Ikhine had one of the most memorable touchdowns of the season last week against the Vikings, going for a massive 98-yard score and almost securing the 100-yard bonus on that single play.

He finished the game with 117 yards and 22.7 fantasy points, but the most encouraging factor was that he was tied for the team lead with six targets.

Earlier this week, I looked at if Westbrook-Ikhine could provide consistency, and #spoileralert, I think he can. Especially at barely over $4,000 in a favorable matchup, I like NWI a lot this week.

Westbrook-Ikhine’s main competition for targets, Calvin Ridley ($5,700) has been battling illness this week but doesn’t have an injury designation. If he’s less than 100%, though, more looks could go NWI’s way, giving him even more potential in addition to his impressive ability to score touchdowns at a very high rate throughout his career.

Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots ($3,500)

Two weeks ago I had a hunch on Kendrick Bourne ($3,600) and included him as a flier play in my fantasy football sleepers. He didn’t play a single snap that week against the Bears, so I left him out of my post last week when he went off for 18.0 fantasy points and his first touchdown of the season. Both Bourne and Boutte have upside with Drake Maye ($5,500) at quarterback for New England, but it is tricky to figure out who will be involved on a regular basis.

Boutte has been slightly more consistent, so I’m rolling with him this week even though it’s a tough matchup against the solid Dolphins’ secondary. Boutte has exactly four catches on six targets in each of the last two weeks, producing 47 and 33 receiving yards. He has six targets in each of his last four contests.

Boutte is still owned in under 10% of season-long leagues and can be a solid addition based on his consistent workload. If you need a last-minute scoop and start, he’s a relatively good option with a high floor. He hasn’t found the end zone since Maye’s first start, but he gets enough targets to be slightly more stable than Bourne.

KaVontae Turpin, Dallas Cowboys ($3,300)

For the middle pick in my fantasy football sleepers, let’s throw out stable and swing for the fences. Turpin is a big play waiting to happen for the Cowboys, as he reminded everyone on Monday Night Football against the Texans.

Turpin finished second on the team behind only CeeDee Lamb ($7,300) in receiving yards, converting all three of his targets to catches and producing 86 yards. He played 28% of snaps for Dallas after playing just 13% in Week 10 against the Eagles and not getting a single target.

He outproduced both Jalen Tolbert ($4,100) and Ryan Flournoy ($3,000), who played more snaps than him, and he should be earning a bigger role in an offense desperate for playmakers.

Brandin Cooks ($4,500; knee) is questionable to return on Sunday after a knee infection, but even if the receiver is available, Turpin still offers enough sizzle to be worth a flier play. He’s definitely not a “safe” pick, but has already had the best season of his career and has the potential for more if Dallas’s offensive minds can scheme him some more chances in space.

Devaughn Vele, Denver Broncos ($3,900)

We’ll finish the fantasy football sleepers this week with back-to-back Broncos, starting with their gigantic slot option rookie Devaughn Vele. Vele is starting to get some attention in season-long leagues due to his consistent workload over the last few weeks, and he’s a solid waiver wire pickup for this week against the Raiders.

Vele has played at least 33% of snaps in six straight games and over 66% of snaps in each of the Broncos’ last two contests. He seems to have claimed a regular role as the team’s second receiver behind Courtland Sutton ($5,800), and both have emerged as good fantasy plays with Bo Nix ($6,300) playing very well.

Vele scored his first NFL touchdown in Week 10 vs. the Chiefs and followed that up with four catches on five targets for 66 yards in Week 11 against the Falcons.

Vele has a great matchup this week against the Raiders, who have allowed the most fantasy points per game and the sixth-most receiving yards per game to slot receivers since Week 6.

This week, Vele is my favorite DFS play under $4,000 and a strong season-long pickup if you don’t trust the ever-shifting Patriots’ receiver room.

Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos ($3,200)

Besides Vele stepping up as the team’s No. 2 WR, another recent important change in Denver happened in its backfield. The Broncos mixed in rookie Audric Estime ($4,700) as an early-down option and also started using Mims in the backfield as a third-down option. It’s crowded there with Estime, Jaleel McLaughlin ($4,500) and Javonte Williams ($5,200) all battling it out for playing time, but Mims is getting enough work to be worth a look as an ultra-cheap play.

Last week, he played 14 of the team’s 62 offensive snaps and produced a season-high 13.3 fantasy points. He had a touchdown and 49 yards on his two catches and added four rushing yards on three carries.

He’s still a boom-or-bust play without a ton of touches, but he brings enough big-play potential to be worth a flier play for a second straight week since it does seem like coach Sean Payton is committed to getting him touches in one way or the other.

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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbookand all odds subject to change.

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

Zach Thompson
Zach has been part of the DraftKings team since 2017 and covers baseball, basketball, golf, football and any other sport that offers DFS fun. He has been playing fantasy sports since box scores were only available in the newspaper the following day. Even though he grew up almost 8,000 miles away in Guam, he is a diehard Boston sports fan but will take a fantasy value play wherever he can get it, even if it’s from the Yankees.
Disclaimer

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.