Week 13 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Jaylen Warren Is Emerging
Injuries and changing roles continue to leave holes in our rosters, so Jonathan Fuller has dropped by with his favorite Week 13 fantasy football sleepers to help you fill those voids:
The holidays are here and the fantasy football playoffs are right around the corner, truly the best time of year for football fans. If you're reading this article, you either have teams in playoff contention or are a true fantasy football sicko—either way, it deserves congratulations.
There are no teams on bye this week, which hopefully means you won't have to dig too deep to field your starting lineup, but if you are dealing with injuries or just poor performance from one of your starters, we've got you covered. I've scoured the Week 13 fantasy football rankings to find one sleeper at every position who I believe you can count on in a pinch.
Fantasy Football Sleepers For Week 13
For QB and TE, I've selected a player outside the consensus top 12, while the RB sleeper has to be outside the top 24 and the WR outside the top 36.
Depending on your league size, some of these players may be on waivers, but more realistically these are bench depth pieces that are worth considering in your starting lineup if you're not confident in your starter. These players can also make for good under-the-radar DFS plays if you're in those streets.
As always, thanks for reading, and have a happy Thanksgiving!
QB Sleeper For Week 13 Fantasy Football
Geno Smith - Seahawks
Although he hasn't received a ton of recognition, Geno Smith has been playing good football this season. He's currently second in passing yards, barely trailing Lamar Jackson, and ranks seventh in completion percentage over expected (CPOE). The only reason he hasn't been better for fantasy is because he has just 12 passing TDs. Smith has only had two games with multiple passing TDs so far this season despite throwing for 300+ yards on four occasions. For comparison, Smith has just 18 fewer passing yards than Lamar Jackson (in one fewer game) but has 15 fewer passing TDs on the season.
The lack of passing TDs on its own makes Smith a positive regression candidate, and now he gets to face a defense that has been playing its worst football recently. The Jets' pass defense looks good when viewing full-season stats, but in their last two games, they have allowed 272 passing yards to Anthony Richardson and 266 passing yards to Kyler Murray, well above their season averages.
Nov 24, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) rushes against the Arizona Cardinals during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
At 3-8, the Jets' season is all but over while the Seahawks just moved into first place in their division, so these teams are trending in opposite directions and have very different goals for the rest of this season.
That being said, the two things that make me nervous about this matchup are the Seahawks having to travel across the country for an early kickoff and the Jets coming out of their bye with an extra week to prepare for their game. There is a chance New York comes out as the more prepared of the two teams, but in my opinion, those concerns are offset by this being a revenge game for Geno Smith.
You don't have to buy into narratives if you don't want to, Smith is still a good play without factoring in the revenge game, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if Seattle makes it a point for Geno to have a huge game against his former team.
RB Sleeper For Week 13 Fantasy Football
Jaylen Warren - Steelers
It's been happening slowly, but Jaylen Warren's role in the Pittsburgh offense has been growing steadily. He's had double-digit opportunities in each of his last four games and scored 10-plus fantasy points in each of his last two. Warren has also been a more efficient rusher than Najee Harris in each of Pittsburgh's last three games, so there is no reason for his role to decrease.
The matchup with the Bengals isn't great, Cincinnati has been pretty good at limiting production from opposing RBs, but Warren should easily see double-digit touches once again. Interestingly, this game has a 46.5-point total and the Bengals are favored by 3 points. If Pittsburgh falls behind, that should also benefit Warren as the passing work has been closer to a 50/50 split than the rushing work.
This recommendation also partially comes down to my belief that Warren is just better than Harris. It's taken longer than I thought due to injuries limiting him early in the season, but Warren is coming on strong and making a case to have an even split with Najee. In a competitive game against a good offense like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh may have no choice but to lean on the better RB. This gives Warren sneaky upside in addition to the solid floor he has established in the last few games and makes him a good start in any type of PPR format.
WR Sleeper For Week 13 Fantasy Football
Michael Pittman - Colts
It seems that sitting out Week 11 was the right decision, as Michael Pittman returned to form in Week 12. He posted his highest targets per route run rate since Week 4 and most fantasy points since Week 6.
Looking forward, the stars are aligning for Pittman to become startable again. Josh Downs is expected to miss Week 13, which should make Pittman the first read on most passing concepts. The Colts also get a very favorable matchup against a Patriots team allowing the 7th most fantasy points to opposing WRs.
The other thing that gives me hope for Pittman is how much better Anthony Richardson has been playing since he returned to the starting lineup. The counting stats weren't quite as good in Week 12 as they were in Week 11, but Richardson still made plenty of great throws, many of them just happened to be negated by drops and penalties.
With less target competition and a soft matchup, Pittman is a solid WR3 play for the week even if he falls outside the top 36 in consensus rankings, so don't be afraid to plug him into your starting lineup.
TE Sleeper For Week 13 Fantasy Football
Will Dissly - Chargers
It is completely understandable if you have not been paying attention to the Chargers' TE rotation. If you have been, you will have noticed that Will Dissly has become a major part of the passing game.
Since Week 6, Dissly has averaged more than six targets per game, and even more recently he has been getting involved downfield, posting his two highest aDOTs of the season in the last two weeks.
This week the Chargers get to face a Falcons team giving up the seventh most passing yards per game. With Justin Herbert playing at a high level, the Chargers should be able to move the ball effectively in this game. Another thing to watch is the status of J.K. Dobbins, who left Monday Night Football with an injury. If Dobbins misses Week 13, it could push the Chargers into a more pass-heavy game script without their most effective rusher.
The only thing that has been lacking from Dissly's role is end zone targets, as he has just one this season. For the time being, he is a middling TE2 option most weeks who is startable in good matchups like this week. If he starts getting consistent work in the red zone, he could quickly ascend to a low-end TE1.
