In this article KFFL breaks down the fantasy football sleepers of the week. We will avoid marquee names because players of that caliber are rarely benched, regardless of their matchup. Instead, we will focus on the players that make your fantasy lineup decisions stressful each week. Read on to learn which midrange to low-end players you wouldn't necessarily consider that you need to get into your lineup.
Note: All statistics are from Week 3 to Week 6, unless otherwise stated.
Fantasy football sleepers: Running backs
Willis McGahee, Baltimore Ravens vs. Buffalo Bills
Fantasy value: Low-end No. 2
May the Forsett be with you
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- McGahee was not traded at the deadline and will retain No. 2 duties
with Baltimore.
- The Ravens are giving top back Ray Rice more goal line duty, but
McGahee will continue to see work there, too. Though he didn't record a stat
in Week 6, McGahee had 28 utilizations combined in the previous two games
while also tallying two touchdowns and 106 yards.
- Buffalo should make it easy for the Ravens to lean on the run game
this week, having allowed a spicy 197.0 yards and 1.33 touchdowns per game
to opposing backs.
Justin Forsett, Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals
Fantasy value: Low-end No. 3
- The recently acquired Marshawn Lynch hasn't
been named the starter but should continue to see most of the backfield work;
he received 20 utilizations in Week 6. Forsett, however, wasn't too far behind
with 14, including two red zone utilizations. Many fantasy owners might be
giving up on Forsett too soon.
- The Cards should be able to accommodate both options. Arizona has given
up 128.3 rushing yards and 1.00 touchdowns per game to carriers. Tailoring
to Forsett's strong play this week, they have also allowed 5.00 receptions
and 33.7 receiving yards per game to backs.
- In his Week 10 meeting with Arizona last year, when his workload had increased,
Forsett cut them up for 123 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries, along
with five catches for 26 yards.
NEW - Deji Karim,
Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas
City Chiefs
Fantasy value: Flex or bench
- Karim's work has been infrequent given his rookie status and Maurice
Jones-Drew's abilities. Karim received 15 carries in Week 5 with Jones-Drew
hurt during the game. The rook averaged 4.7 yards per carry, though it came
against the Buffalo Bills' abysmal run defense.
He has shown some flashes of his running ability with his special teams work,
too.
- The Jags might give Karim more than his usual workload. They're expected
to use an increased ground attack with Todd Bouman
possibly starting behind center. Even if Trent
Edwards (thumb) goes, Jacksonville's offense will probably be limited
some. David Garrard (concussion) is also iffy
because of a concussion suffered Monday night.
- Running backs are averaging a decent 4.3 yards per carry (14th most in the
league) against Kansas City this year. The Chiefs
have allowed only 90.7 rushing yards to backs per game, but they've also allowed
1.33 offensive touchdowns, 8.00 receptions and 63.3 receiving yards per contest
against them.
About Tim Heaney

Tim's work has been featured by USA Today/Sports Weekly, among numerous publications, and recognized as a finalist in FSWA's awards. The Boston University alum competes in Tout Wars and LABR and has won numerous industry leagues in both baseball and football.
During baseball and football season, he's on The Reality Check with Glenn Clark every Wednesday on 1570 AM WNST in Baltimore. He hits the airwaves every Thursday at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio, where he often crashes other shows, as well.
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