Fantasy Football: 5 sleeper plays with upside for Week 12

• A number of injuries to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on defense could put the Indianapolis Colts in a prime spot for Week 12: Gardner Minshew may just earn his second top-five finish of the season if he can take advantage of some injuries to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary.

• There might be enough run to go around for both Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier in Week 12: Amid recent struggles from the New Orleans Saints rushing defense, expect the Atlanta Falcons‘ run game to have an edge that could put Allgeier right back into flex territory for Week 12.

• With TE Mark Andrews likely out for the season, the Baltimore Ravens will need to lean on other contributors from the slot: Though WR Nelson Agholor has seen a decreased role since rookie Zay Flowers‘ emergence, a plus-matchup and some injuries to the Ravens’ receiving corps could necessitate he get involved early in Week 12.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Just because we’re weeks out from the fantasy football playoffs doesn’t mean our lineups are all figured out to this point. Whether you’re in need of a high-upside flex or streaming quarterback for your fantasy lineups, here are five sleeper plays to consider with high upside (albeit, often high risk) for Week 12.

QB Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts

Since stepping in for QB Anthony Richardson, Gardner Minshew has had more downs than ups for fantasy, but if there’s any matchup that might be the cure for that, it’s this one. Coming off a Week 11 bye, this offense is looking relatively healthy. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, however, are in much worse shape. There are several players on the injury report in the Bucs secondary this week, including safety Ryan Neal and starting cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean. Meanwhile, they’re also managing injuries with several contributors in the pass rush, with linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White both looking unlikely for Week 12.

Since the Buccaneers’ Week 5 bye, they have allowed 22 or more fantasy points to all but two quarterbacks they’ve faced, including Desmond Ridder and Will Levis – two quarterbacks nobody expects to surpass that mark even in the best of matchups. Also notable, Minshew ranks second among quarterbacks with an 83.5 rushing grade this season from a clean pocket, which could be a huge plus if the Bucs are unable to establish a solid pass rush without David and White in the mix.