As bye weeks and wide receiver injuries pile up, fantasy football owners can be left scrambling. As the weeks progress, you may need some help just for one week to help float you past byes or patch over your roster for injuries. Here are three sleeper wide receivers to help you out (owned in 50% of leagues or fewer for two, and in fewer than 10% for the third, for you deep divers). All figures are based on Yahoo! Ownership percentages as of Saturday.
Cole Beasley versus Cincinnati (41% owned)
Cole Beastly has become the apple of rookie QB Dak Prescott’s eyes, absorbing an average of 7.25 targets per game thus far this season. He has turned this into at least seven fantasy points in each of the last three weeks, and that is without scoring a touchdown. This guarantee of the high basic volume is exactly what you would need from a bye week fill-in if the rest of your roster is full of high variance players (like DeSean Jackson, for example). If Beasley scores a touchdown, he’ll make it into high WR2 territory this week. Either way, he has the basic volume to make it work.
He takes on the Bengals, who are neutral-to-good wide receiver matchup thus far this season. They have given up six touchdowns to receivers in four games so far, and are inconsistent in matchups (they shut down Antonio Brown, but Manny Sanders torched them). Beasley will get the opportunity and is worth a look if you need him.
Tajae Sharpe at Miami (34% owned)
Sharpe had many, myself included, salivating at his prospects entering the season. He not only stormed up the Titans depth chart, but he also did it with such force and ferocity that his competition isn’t even on the roster anymore. He’s also absorbing an abnormally high amount of targets from Marcus Mariota (he hasn’t gone under seven targets yet) but is production is severely lacking. He is better than nine catches on 21 targets over his last three games. He should regress back to his talent sooner rather than later. The Titans take on a Miami team that was just obliterated on Thursday Night Football by Cincinnati, and who have given up the fourth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. This is Sharpe’s last stand to be a viable fantasy football option and one he should take advantage of.
Nelson Agholor at Detroit (6% owned)
Last year’s first-round pick was developing a quick rapport with quarterback Carson Wentz until he dropped to just three targets week three after absorbing an average of six in weeks one and two. This will be a return to the trend we saw the first two weeks of the season, as the Eagles take on a pathetic Lions pass defense that has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to the wide receiver position this season, including six receivers getting at least 90 yards or a touchdown thus far this season. If you’re diving this deep, you’ll be happy to get either. Agholor is worth a shot for that production.