Keepers, Sleepers, and Jeepers: Week Twelve

By Adam Filadelfo (@FNTSYArchitect)

With time winding down in the fantasy season, owners have to make moves right now that will impact their fantasy teams not only for the remainder of the season, but for the playoffs as well. With the bye weeks finally starting to calm down, owners still have to contend with injuries and starting players not performing up to their projections. The waiver wire can be a friendly place if you know what to look for. It can also be a cold and desolate place if you don't know what to look for. With week 12 a couple of days away, it's time for fantasy owners to visit their waiver wire once again and see what players can be of use heading into the final weeks of the regular season.

Keepers

Jonas Gray- Running Back- New England Patriots- With the cold weather here, teams will need to lean a little more on their ground game. With the cold weather in New England rapidly approaching, it appears the Patriots have found their power run game in Jonas Gray. Ever since Steven Ridley went down for the season, the Patriots seemed to rely heavily on Shane Vereen in the passing game as well as the run game. Week 11 changed all of that with the emergence of Jonas Gray and his 38 rushes for 199 yards and four touchdowns. Fantasy owners should not expect that type of game from Gray on a weekly basis but it is nice to know there's a running back this late in the season available on the waiver wire that can help fantasy owners heading into the cold weather games.

Coby Fleener- Tight End- Indianapolis Colts- With Dwayne Allen considered day to day, his fantasy owners need a contingency plan if he doesn't suit up for week 12. With a stellar matchup on tap versus the Jaguars, the best replacement for Allen is his teammate, Coby Fleener. Week 11 saw Fleener post seven catches for 144 yards and score double digit fantasy points for the second week in a row. Fleener is averaging almost seven fantasy points per game this season and has to be considered a top tight end if Dwayne Allen is a no go.

Isaiah Crowell- Running Back- Cleveland Browns- Now that Ben Tate has been released, it's all about Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West. While it may be difficult to trust either back on any given week, it appears the starting job is Crowell's to lose. He was the lead back in week 11 and posted his fourth double digit fantasy points game this season. Crowell is averaging almost eight fantasy points per game and has five scores on the season.

Zach Mettenberger- Quarterback- Tennessee Titans- Fantasy owners looking for a quarterback to get them through the rest of the season should look no further than the Titans rookie. Mettenberger is averaging 14.5 fantasy points per game since he took over the starting job four games ago and of those four games, has scored 20 or more fantasy points three times. Mettenberger may be the quarterback to bring some of the Titans receivers back to fantasy relevance.

Sleepers

Kenny Stills- Wide Receiver- New Orleans Saints- With the news that Brandin Cooks will miss significant time following hand surgery, second year wide out Kenny Stills moves up on the Saints depth chart. In nine games this season, Stills has 42 targets and 31 receptions for over 400 yards and a couple of touchdowns. He's averaging over six fantasy points per game and should see a nice uptick in targets and overall production with Cooks out for a while.

Juwan Thompson- Running Back- Denver Broncos- Even though Thompson is not the premiere back for the Broncos, he's only an injury or fumble away from being the top back in a Peyton Manning led offense. With Montee Ball re injuring his groin and Ronnie Hillman done for about a month, Juwan Thompson is second on the depth chart behind C.J. Anderson and could end up seeing more playing time should anything happen to Anderson. Week 11 was not kind to him seeing how he only had one catch for three yards and no carries at all but again, he's only a fumble or injury away from getting the starting job.

Cody Latimer- Wide Receiver- Denver Broncos- Right now Latimer sits at one target on the season (which he caught) for nine yards but with the decline of Wes Welker and the concussion to Emmanuel Sanders, Cody Latimer may see more playing time in the coming weeks. As fantasy owners know very well, any receiver in a Peyton Manning led offense can be a great fantasy asset. Especially down the stretch and heading into the playoffs.

Latavius Murray- Running Back- Oakland Raiders- I realize it may be difficult for fantasy owners to find any silver lining when it comes to adding Raiders players to their roster but with Maurice Jones- Drew and Darren McFadden not carrying their weight and the Raiders officially eliminated from the playoffs, it may be time for the Raiders to see what Latavius Murray can do for them. In the five games Murray played this season, he has 10 rushes for 54 yards. Running back starved fantasy owners will want to keep an eye on Murray for the stretch run and into the playoffs.

Chris Hogan- Wide Receiver- Buffalo Bills- Week 11 saw Chris Hogan lead all Bills wide outs in receiving. Hogan hauled in seven of his nine targets for 74 yards. Chris Hogan now has at least five catches in four of his last five games and could be a sneaky fantasy asset late in the season.

Jeepers

Andre Holmes- Wide Receiver- Oakland Raiders- While one Raiders player made the "sleepers" list, another makes the "Jeepers" list. Andre Holmes was a hot waiver wire add earlier in the season and has now become a player that may be better suited to stay on the waiver wire. Holmes has not scored double digit fantasy points since week eight and of his six targets in week 11, only managed to secure two of them. He's coming off of his second lowest scoring output of the season in week 11 and is becoming more difficult to trust each week.

Shaun Hill- Quarterback- St. Louis Rams- This is a case of Shaun Hill being a better NFL player than fantasy player. While Hill had a decent game versus the Broncos in week 11, it wasn't enough to help fantasy owners out very much seeing how he plays the very important position of quarterback. Hill passed for 220 yards and a touchdown but again, fantasy owners will need more from the quarterback position. Hill is a better option in two quarterback leagues than he is in a single quarterback league.