Welcome to Sleeper Picks. Sleeper’s newest offering promised plenty of entertainment and action, and they delivered. We will break down our top three picks for this week’s NFL action. Sleeper is quickly becoming one of the most popular season-long fantasy platforms, and they are expanding into other areas based on demand. Each week in this space, we’ll talk about some strategy for the new platform while providing our favorite NFL more/less picks.
Sleeper Picks NFL Conference Championship
Season record: 43-32
Sam LaPorta (TE – DET): 48.5 receiving yards
LaPorta looked more like himself in the Divisional Round, and the Lions will need more of the same to have a chance against the 49ers this weekend. San Francisco has allowed five different tight ends to record 49 or more receiving yards against them and six to record 47 or more. Their worst game against the position came against second year tight end Trey McBride, who lit them up for 102 receiving yards off 10 receptions. That wasn’t their only double-digit reception game allowed this season either, as T.J. Hockenson recorded an 11-86 line against them during Week 7. LaPorta is still dealing with the knee injury but looked good enough last week to tap for this weekend against a 49ers team that has proven it can be beaten by the tight end position. Expect to see a safety cheating to try to contain Amon-Ra St. Brown, which should, in turn, allow LaPorta to have a big game, provided he can reel in an efficient number of his targets. Lock in the More on LaPorta for Championship Weekend.
Pick: More
Rashee Rice (WR – KC): 59.5 receiving yards
Rashee disappointed last week with just 47 receiving yards against the Bills but saw just four targets in a game where the Chiefs completed just 17 of 23 pass attempts and had the ball for just 23 minutes versus the Bills’ 37 minutes. He should be more involved this week, especially if the Chiefs find themselves falling behind the Ravens. Rashee has recorded 64 or more receiving yards in six of his last eight games and 57 or more in seven of eight. He has a tough test against a physical Ravens team that can cover at both safety and linebacker, but the Chiefs will put him in motion and give him targets close enough to the line of scrimmage for him to hit the 60 receiving yards required for this total, provided he makes it through the game unscathed. Baltimore is going to focus on stopping Travis Kelce on Sunday, so it will likely be up to Rice to ensure that the chains keep moving if Isiah Pacheco finds less room to run against a terrorizing Ravens defensive front. Rap the More on Rashee for Championship Weekend.
Pick: More
Christian McCaffrey (RB – SF): 69.5 rushing yards
There is another CMC promo line this week, and users need to take advantage. Unlike the Lamar Jackson line, which was set too high to begin with and then was ‘reduced’, the CMC is a legit discount at 69.5 rushing yards. The Lions have actually been pretty good against the run this season, but there is, of course, only one CMC. The 49ers are going to need to lean on McCaffrey more than usual with Brock Purdy struggling. This will especially be true if Deebo is active as more of a decoy than an actual weapon. CMC has posted 78 or more rushing yards in eight of his last nine games and has topped 64 in each of them. McCaffrey is going to have to have success on the ground for the 49ers to win this game, as everything they do with Purdy under center starts with the All-World threat in the backfield. Clap the More on CMC for the Conference Championship.
Pick: More
Writers note: The lines are constantly changing on Sleeper, so there is a high probability that one or all of the numbers may no longer be the same when you open your app. There are excellent values when they are first posted, with the only catch being that they are not all released at the same time. Vigilance could provide a solid return on investment this season, literally.
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Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.
Writers note: The lines are constantly changing on Sleeper, so there is a high probability that one or all of the numbers may no longer be the same when you open your app. There are excellent values when they are first posted, with the only catch being that they are not all released at the same time. Vigilance could provide a solid return on investment this season, literally.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.