Don’t You Forget About Me: 2014 Fantasy Football Sleepers
With all the hoopla about hot new rookies coming into the league and already studly players becoming even more dangerous in new offenses, it’s easy to forget about some of the trashy more veteran, unsexy players who will be available late in your drafts. Try not to forget about these guys come draft day:
Mike Williams WR, Bills: I always loved WIlliams as a Buccaneer even though he was a miscreant human in Tampa. He could be had for peanuts in most drafts, and he would almost always come through for you. Last season was shortened by injury, but he’s healthy now and he’s still only 27. As the “1B” receiver and red-zone threat in Buffalo this year, Williams has considerable upside at his current ADP in the 15th round or later. His success is tied to E.J. Manuel’s arm, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take at the end of the draft.
Steve Smith WR, Ravens: Everyone has given up on Steve Smith as a fantasy prospect, but someone forgot to alert the man himself. He’s playing like a beast this preseason as Joe Flacco’s favorite target thus far, and though he may break down at some point, he still works harder than everyone else at getting open. Don’t sleep on him.
Miles Austin WR, Browns: Someone has to catch balls in Cleveland, and as long as his hamstrings are intact (which we’re not entirely certain is physically possible at this point), Austin will be at least the number 2 option in the passing game along with Jordan Cameron. You could do much worse for a WR 4 or 5.
Andy Dalton QB, Bengals: As far as starters in the preseason go, Dalton is only behind Brady, Manning, Rodgers, and Brees in passing yards. It sounds an awful lot like last season when Dalton finished as QB3 in standard leagues while no one seemed to take notice. His attempts are going to go down this year, but it looks like he’s replacing quantity with quality as his average yards per pass leads all starters in the preseason. If you get stymied at the QB position in your draft, don’t feel bad about taking Dalton.
Shonn Greene RB, Titans: It seems as if all of football has proclaimed Bishop Sankey as the lead back in Tennessee aside from the Titans coaching staff, and they’re really the only opinions that matter in this case. Greene is running with the first team, and even if that changes at some point this season, he’ll still be the primary short-yardage and goal line back.
Fred Jackson RB, Bills: Get C.J. Spiller out of your mind, and firmly insert Fred Jackson in his place except much later in your draft. Jackson is getting disgusting on running and passing downs for the Bills, and they’re going to be among the league leaders in rushing attempts. Jackson is going to have to give the coordinates for the fountain of youth one of these days because he continues to defy time with his freakish athleticism.
Greg Jennings WR, Vikings: I’m not crazy about Jennings, but Matt Cassel is – and he’s going to start the year out as the Vikings QB. Cordarrelle Patterson is the guy in Minnesota, but Jennings should have decent games as the reliable possession receiver. He has sneaky value, as evidenced by his run in last year’s fantasy playoffs. He’s also really good at running the kind of timing and read routes that Bridgewater’s good at throwing, which even bodes well for Jennings even after Teddy’s imminent insertion into the lineup at some point.
Knowshon Moreno RB, Dolphins: As Moreno finds his legs in Miami, we’re going to see more and more of him on the field. It’s a committee in the Dolphins backfield, but my bet is on Moreno to come out as the top fantasy back in town.
Joe Flacco QB, Ravens: Flacco looks like a new man this season with Smith and Pitta under the fold. He’s as sharp as ever, and he’s moving the Ravens offense downfield with ease. He’s going to help a lot of people win in 2 QB leagues.
Mark Ingram RB, Saints: It seems like he’s been on the stationary bike on the Saints sidelines forever, but Ingram is only 24 – he just has a ton of tread on his tires. He looks better than ever this year, though, and with no Darren Sproles, Ingram is going to get his fair share of carries. He even might get involved in the prolific Saints passing game. His late late-round ADP is criminal, and you can pick him up while other players are drafting their kickers.
Heath Miller TE, Steelers: The potential steal of the tight end field in this year’s drafts, Miller is going to rack up targets, especially in the end zone. His injury plagued 2013 season has a lot of guys wary, and there are so many new toys to play with at tight end that people forget that Miller is even around. He’s a TE2 with TE1 upside.
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Would you suggest dropping Carlos Hyde and picking up the likes of Mark Ingram or Joique Bell? Not having Sproles in NO makes it very tempting. I already have Shady, Gio, Ellington, and a handcuff of Spoles. I am looking for an upside homerun for my bench spot. Only other bench spot would be to drop Terrance Williams but I am very hesitant as I am weaker in WR. (Alshon, Michael Floyd, C. Patterson). Any thoughts would be appreciated.
tcards19-
We love your WR. This is razor thin, we have Joique ranked above Hyde and Hyde ranked above Ingram- all very close. Don’t see Joique as a home run. If Gore went down- Hyde would be a grand slam. The Ingram idea is tempting for all the reasons you mention. Just hard for us to see the Saints giving anybody a workhorse role. He’s got to compete with 2 other RBs- Hyde only competes with 1. The flip side is Ingram will be playable early in the season and could have a big game or two- whereas Hyde may not be. Seeing as you don’t own Gore- we’d probably take a chance on Ingram here and drop Hyde- you are in really good shape at RB.
tcards19-
If you do that- you must understand that the Gore owner will likely swoop him up immediately
how many teams in the league?
10 Teams and .5 PPR
Does the signing of Tim Wright in NE give him immediate fantasy relevance? I have Ertz now, and an open spot in my roster (thank you Mr. Gordon), should I grab Wright or Kelce?
xraytakr-
Kelce NO QUESTION. Good luck- that is a tremendous pick up before the season starts.
Thanks again, Bryon…..on a side note, I used your cheat sheet while I drafted, but apparently had a brain fart, and marked off Julio Jones before he was taken. Ended up taking Alshon in the 3rd, then Jones was taken right behind me……did I totally screw myself?
xraytakr-
It’s a slight mistake, but luckily you ended up with another stud. You should be fine. Good luck
So I lost count of my WR draft picks during a draft last night and because of the league settings I am at full capacity at that position. My last pick up was Justin Hunter only because he was higher on the adp list and I knew I’d be able to get Benjamin the next round. Should I drop hunter and pick up Benjamin off waivers and lose my #2 waiver position? Yes, that’s right Benjamin went undrafted!!! I’m STACKED at WR due to my two keepers (d.thomas, b. Marshall) plus i picked up Patterson and Nelson. RB is not that solid, Morris, Gerhart, sankey, & d.freeman. But when I need to make a trade later, maybe Benjamin will be the better WR? This is a ppr league.
jschles14-
Yes- we like Kelvin Benjamin more- esp in PPR. If Sankey or Freeman pans out you should have solid group of RBs. Good luck.
just had the 8th pick in a 12 team yahoo standard league using the updated cheatsheet and ended up with the following squad below … did i draft too many rbs? graham was an easy pick at 8 but toughest part of the draft was my 2nd rd pick where i had to pick from montee ball, rodgers, or gronk … couldn’t take ball over rodgers and when gronk fell to me in the 3rd.. i had to pull the trigger… also am i screwed at wr? and one last question… who do i drop for a kicker?
qb : rodgers
wr: harvin
wr: benjamin
rb: r. jennings
rb: t. richardson
te: graham
flex (r/w/t): gronk
def: chicago
k: n/a
bench: ridley -sproles – a. williams – greene – j. hunter – r. woods
also, just got a last minute invite for another 12 team league draft tonight with the following roster and scoring settings https://i.imgur.com/oOF1QJB.jpg so basically 6pt passing td’s and a lot of yardage bonuses it looks like … of course i want to roll with the rw cheatsheet so does anything change at all on the cs for this league setup?
renourka-
No, the cheat sheet is actually great for 6 pt TD leagues. Manning needs to be on your radar at #6 and beyond in RD1`. We also love Drew Brees in that format this year. All is pretty well reflected on the cheat sheet. Wouldn’t beat you up for taking either guys a tiny bit earlier in this format. Good luck.
renourka-
This is a very dangerous team anchored by your corps of studs- Rodgers, Graham, Gronk, Rashad. We really like your WR, you will just need to make some good matchup play decisions during the season. Hunter and Kelvin are two of the big upside guys we love this year. If either, or both hit- you are money with Harvin. You did not draft too many RBs- you built a nice stable to choose from for that RB2 spot every week. It’s tough to drop any of these guys we like them all. It comes down to Shonne Greene or Robert Woods- depends on which position you want to keep more depth at. Big argument for Greene as a sleeper being the starter- who knows when Sankey will over-take him (we tend to think sooner than later- but the preseason hasn’t supported that). Woods is the guy we expect to lead the Bills in receiving. Only problem there- how much do you want to buy stock in EJ Manuel and a run first offense- really like Woods though as a sleeper WR4 type. Good luck
thanks for the reply man! feeling better about my team already… love the site btw