It’s hard to know what a sleeper even is anymore when it comes to Fantasy Football, but, for the purposes of this article, we’ll use the term to mean an asset that’s likely to be undervalued heading into a given week. A player that’s going to be overlooked when it comes to ownership, yet one that has a reasonable path to make people regret that decision. Someone who might set your lineup apart from the pack in a GPP, if you will.
With that in mind, let’s go position-by-position for an early look at Week 15’s slate on DraftKings.
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QUARTERBACK
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles, $7,000
After averaging 31.4 DKFP across his first nine starts of the season, Murray’s failed to register even 20.5 DKFP in each of his past four games. Justifiably, you could chalk this up as simple regression — or you could point to a nagging shoulder issue — but I prefer to take an optimistic approach with the former first-overall pick. While Murray has been disappointing in recent weeks, his 13 rushing attempts in Sunday’s win over the Giants shouldn’t be overlooked. It was the most carries we’ve seen the QB handle since all the way back in Week 9, coincidently, the same contest when Murray last scored a touchdown with his legs. The point here isn’t just that Murray looked healthy against New York, it’s that he clearly felt healthy if he was willing to scramble almost as frequently as he had in his last three contests combined. If that’s truly the case, Murray has as high a DFS ceiling as any QB on this slate; yet, somehow, he won’t even be the most popular quarterback in his own matchup. There’s no doubt that Jalen Hurts ($5,900) will be heavily owned, along with high-end options Patrick Mahomes ($7,900) and Lamar Jackson ($7,900). That’s fine by me. I’ll gladly roster Murray and differ from the pack, especially with the Heisman winner rocking his cheapest price tag dating back to early October.
RUNNING BACK
Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams vs. New York Jets, $6,600
By no means am I suggesting that people have already forgotten about Akers’ incredible Thursday night performance against the Patriots, but I do think other RBs have stepped into his limelight in the past six days. For most owners, lineup construction this Sunday is going to be about the various ways one can fit both Derrick Henry ($9,500) and Jonathan Taylor ($7,200) into a single build, possibly leaving an asset like Akers undervalued. Heck, J.K. Dobbins ($5,900) might get more attention than his fellow rookie by the time things lock at 1 p.m. ET. That would be a huge mistake. Akers might not see a 79.4% snap share or 31 touches for a second-straight week, yet I doubt he’ll need that level of volume to take advantage of a Jets defense that appears to have thrown in the towel. I mean, less than 72 hours ago, Chris Carson ($6,800) registered 1.25 DKFP per touch versus New York, essentially in just a single half of action. The simple fact of the matter is that the Rams have an implied team total of over 30 points in this matchup and Akers has accounted for 13 carries inside the opponent 10-yard line in his last three games. It’s not a question of if he’s going to find the end zone in Week 15, it’s whether or not it happens multiple times.
WIDE RECEIVER
Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans vs. Detroit Lions, $5,800
While it might not seem like it on the surface, this is a play that does come with some risk. Depending on the status of Matthew Stafford (ribs), this script could get lopsided in Tennessee’s favor pretty quickly, which would not be ideal for a secondary receiving option like Davis. In fact, we saw that exact scenario play out last Sunday, when Davis saw just three targets in the Titans’ dominating victory over an overmatched Jacksonville squad. Still, volume concerns notwithstanding, this is a fantastic WR matchup on paper. Both of Detroit’s starting corners, Jeff Okudah and Desmond Trufant, are sidelined due to injury and that’s led to the Lions surrendering a whopping 9.2 yards per opponent pass attempt across the past three weeks — a full yard more than any other secondary in that span of time. Davis has also been an efficiency machine dating back to Week 12, as no qualified wideout has averaged more than his 15.9 yards per target within that stretch. Again, there’s a chance that this is a contest where no one eats but the aforementioned Henry, but Davis is in a nice spot with a salary below $6K.
TIGHT END
Jared Cook, New Orleans Saints vs. Kansas City Chiefs, $3,400
Editor’s Note: Saints QB Drew Brees (ribs) will start Sunday vs. the Chiefs, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The data for specific defenses against tight ends can be a little tricky to interpret. What matters more? That a secondary appears susceptible versus the position or that an opposing offense happens to feature their TE more than most? It’s a real chicken or the egg situation. Anyway, I bring this up only to somewhat soften how putrid the Chiefs have been against tight ends going back to Week 11. In that stretch, Kansas City has allowed some very good TEs to put up some unbelievable stat lines. To wit, Darren Waller (7-88-1), Rob Gronkowski (6-106-0) and Mike Gesicki (5-65-2), three of the league’s Top 10 tight ends, combined to average well over 20.0 DKFP in this matchup. Is Cook in that same class? Probably not at this point in his career, but the veteran does have two touchdowns in his past two games and he seems to be developing some chemistry with Taysom Hill ($6,000). Ideally, Drew Brees (ribs) would be starting this contest, yet with the Saints likely playing from behind, I’d expect Cook to do some nice things this weekend.
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