Julius Thomas Fantasy Week 12: Jordan Reed and Delanie Walker Top Tight End Sleeper Pickups After Injury

Nov 22, 2013 03:46 PM EST

The Denver Broncos have a very anticipated game on Sunday night football against the New England Patriots and one of the biggest questions for the team will be whether tight end Julius Thomas plays or not and for fantasy owners worried about his knee injury from last week, two solid start options to use in his place includes Jordan Reed and Delanie Walker.

Thomas has been one of the most productive tight ends in football and he is third in the league with 10 touchdowns and he has scored four over his past five games, including two in the past two. Thomas has been one of the most consistent targets for Peyton Manning this season and he is one of the leading tight ends with 45 receptions for 590 yards and 10 scores and he was limited in practice this week, making him questionable for Sunday night's game, so watching the injury report leading up that will be crucial for owners. Thomas has been a consistent option for teams this season and he has nine catches in the past three games and over 10 targets in that span.

Last week Thomas had 43 yards and three catches and the previous game he had 96 yards on as many receptions and he has been very impressive over the past month and a half, scoring six touchdowns in the past six games and if he plays he will continue to be a prime red zone target. Thomas's injury looked bad last week, but it wasn't very serious, but that doesn't mean he could be limited on Sunday night and since it's the late game, owners may want to hang onto a sure thing instead.

Reed has some injury issues of his own, but his upside is very good and he could be an option if owners stick with Thomas and he is held out, as the Redskins play on Monday and he could be used without any problems. Reed had just one catch for 12 yards last week and before that he had been very productive, making 45 catches for nearly 500 yards this season with three touchdowns and before playing the Eagles, Reed had at least six catches in three of the past four games and at least nine targets in that same span. Reed has two touchdowns over the past five weeks and his biggest game came against the Bears when he had nine catches for 134 yards and a score.

Walker is coming off of a nice game with 10 catches for 91 yards and a score against the Colts on 10 targets and he has scored twice in the past two games and three times in the past four and with Jake Locker out, he should be a solid option for the Titans. Walker has 39 catches for 403 yards and five touchdowns this season and he has been targeted 18 times in the past two games and could be solid against the Raiders in Week 12.

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