Post by plax on Jun 14, 2013 19:16:16 GMT -5
Every year in fantasy football, there are always a select group of players who come out of left field and make a huge different for fantasy owners around the world. This past season, it was Alfred Morris, the running back of the Washington Redskins, Randall Cobb, a wide receiver of the Green Bay Packers, and Michael Crabtree, a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, among others. These players were drafted generally late in all league drafts.
Alfred Morris came onto the scene with a plethora of Redskins RBs to compete with, such as Roy Helu Jr, Evan Royster, and many others. Morris wound up winning the job, but did not win our hearts as a viable option. Thus, he was selected very late in drafts. In fact, on September 4th and September 5th, where many fantasy drafts tend to happen due to it being right before the start of the season, Alfred Morris was picked, on average, in the 12th round in a 12-team draft at fantasyfootballcalculator.com.
Randall Cobb had a good impact his rookie year coming out of Kentucky, playing behind the likes of Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, and James Jones, not to mention often-used TE Jermichael Finley. With Donald Driver retired and troubles with Jermichael Finley's hands due to a poor postseason, Cobb was poised to break out. So while he had the opportunity there and would take advantage of it, the fantasy football community was not buying it. On draft day (for fantasy football), Cobb went undrafted in many of them, and was picked up on waivers over the course of the year.
Michael Crabree was highly regarded coming out of Texas Tech, and was picked early on in the 1st round by the struggling San Francisco 49ers. He was a disappointment on the football field and on fantasy football draft day for many. In 2012, he finally started to pick up his play, as he was targeted a lot more than he had in previous years, and he was also catching more passes that went his way. Last year, he was picked in the 9th and 10th round in several fantasy football drafts.
These three players have a lot in common. They were all picked late, if at all, in fantasy football drafts for the 2012 season. They were all overlooked and were bench filler. However, these three proved almost everyone wrong. Alfred Morris finished in the top 10 for running backs in standard scoring leagues. He was a viable number 1 RB all year, and was picked in the 12th round, usually where a 5th RB or WR is picked to fill the bench. Randall Cobb and Michael Crabtree both finished in the top 25 for WRs last year. They were both viable number 2 WRs, but Crabtree was picked to be a good bench option and Cobb was barely drafted at all.
While the 2013 Fantasy Football season is almost upon us, it is not there quite yet, so to help you get ready for the upcoming year, here are some sleepers that can make all the difference to your team over the course of the year:
1. Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins
~ Tannehill was drafted 8th overall to the Miami Dolphins last year in hopes of him being their franchise QB. He was definitely not the "franchise", but he showed a lot of promise, and did a good job of producing with Brian Hartline, Devone Bess, and an aging Anthony Fasano. In the offseason, Miami has overhauled its offense, giving Tannehill the firepower to flourish. His cast went from Hartline, Bess, and Fasano in 2012 to Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson, and Dustin Keller in 2013. That is a huge improvement for Tannehill, and he will have a lot of options to choose from when passing the ball this year. Because of these improved weapons, Tannehill will put up good stats this year, and can very well be a top 15 fantasy football Quarterback this year, which is a low-tier starting QB. Wallace is a great deep threat that will easily stretch the field for Tannehill to distribute the ball to Hartline and Keller on short throws. Gibson is a great medium threat who can move the chains on any occasion. Keller is a great option to have, and was all Jets QB Mark Sanchez had last year. Tannehill has the tools to succeed, and he very well could. Tannehill can be a good matchup guy this year, and in keeper leagues, he can be a stud to have on your roster.
ADP (Average Draft Position): Undrafted
2. Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
~ Bernard can be a stud if he gets his chance to shine. He was selected in the 2nd round of the 2013 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2012, the Bengals had newly-acquired RB Benjarvis Green-Ellis as their starter. Though signed to be their starting RB, he was a huge disappointment throughout the course of the season, as he couldn’t break for big gains, and was simply not a threat to the opposing team. It was known all offseason that the Bengals would need to take a RB in the 2013 draft if they wanted to get to the next level, and they followed suit by taking Bernard out of Carolina, a bruising yet quick RB who has the ability to be a 3-down player in the league. As of now, the Bengals are saying that Green-Ellis will have the starting job, but if he disappoints again early on in the season, we can very easily see a switch with Bernard taking his turn to be the franchise guy. He is being severely overlooked in draft, and for a guy who has a great chance to be a starter, he is being picked late in fantasy drafts. Getting a RB in the 6th round or later? Take it and never look back.
ADP: 6th – 8th round
3. Rueben Randle, WR, New York Giants
~ Another 2nd year player as a sleeper for this year. Rueben Randle was viewed as a borderline 1st round pick coming out of LSU, and was even invited to New York to attend the draft, in which only players with 1st round hopes attend. However, Randle took a draft day tumble and was the last guy in the room until selected by the New York Giants with the last pick of the 2nd round. Randle was a good receiver, and was lucky to have a top 10 QB in Eli Manning throwing to him. However, he was buried on the depth chart, being behind Hakeem Nick and Victor Cruz, and even Domenik Hixon at times when he was healthy. Towards the end of the season, Eli Manning targeted Randle a lot more than he did in the beginning of the year, a great sign for the rookie WR. Randle has turned a lot of heads this offseason, as he has developed great chemistry with Eli Manning. The interesting story with Randle was that both Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, the receivers ahead of him on the depth chart, were absent from the voluntary minicamp held earlier in the offseason. This allowed Randle to get all of the first team reps and work with Eli Manning. Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride has been raving about the young WR, saying he has “looked like a guy that’s been here for five or six years. He really benefited [from the absence of Cruz and Nicks].” Gilbride has also promised to the fans that they will see a lot of Randle this year. By getting more playing time and by getting acquainted with Eli Manning, Randle is poised to break out this year and be a solid guy for the Giants. And in keeper and dynasty leagues, Randle is perhaps one of the best guys to have, as he is going late in drafts, and with the Giants being tied up in money and having to give hefty contract extensions to Nicks and Cruz, Randle will get his chance to be the man in the Giants offense.
ADP: Undrafted
Just as every other year in football, there are always players who are overlooked who wind up proving everyone wrong. Players such as Ryan Tannehill, Giovani Bernard, and Rueben Randle can be a pleasant surprise for fantasy owners this year, and can easily produce much higher than their ADP will indicate. Taking a chance on a player is never a bad thing to do in fantasy football, especially when those “chances” occur late in the draft. Who knows, maybe one of your gambles will turn into a jackpot. Just go and ask Alfred Morris owners.
Alfred Morris came onto the scene with a plethora of Redskins RBs to compete with, such as Roy Helu Jr, Evan Royster, and many others. Morris wound up winning the job, but did not win our hearts as a viable option. Thus, he was selected very late in drafts. In fact, on September 4th and September 5th, where many fantasy drafts tend to happen due to it being right before the start of the season, Alfred Morris was picked, on average, in the 12th round in a 12-team draft at fantasyfootballcalculator.com.
Randall Cobb had a good impact his rookie year coming out of Kentucky, playing behind the likes of Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, and James Jones, not to mention often-used TE Jermichael Finley. With Donald Driver retired and troubles with Jermichael Finley's hands due to a poor postseason, Cobb was poised to break out. So while he had the opportunity there and would take advantage of it, the fantasy football community was not buying it. On draft day (for fantasy football), Cobb went undrafted in many of them, and was picked up on waivers over the course of the year.
Michael Crabree was highly regarded coming out of Texas Tech, and was picked early on in the 1st round by the struggling San Francisco 49ers. He was a disappointment on the football field and on fantasy football draft day for many. In 2012, he finally started to pick up his play, as he was targeted a lot more than he had in previous years, and he was also catching more passes that went his way. Last year, he was picked in the 9th and 10th round in several fantasy football drafts.
These three players have a lot in common. They were all picked late, if at all, in fantasy football drafts for the 2012 season. They were all overlooked and were bench filler. However, these three proved almost everyone wrong. Alfred Morris finished in the top 10 for running backs in standard scoring leagues. He was a viable number 1 RB all year, and was picked in the 12th round, usually where a 5th RB or WR is picked to fill the bench. Randall Cobb and Michael Crabtree both finished in the top 25 for WRs last year. They were both viable number 2 WRs, but Crabtree was picked to be a good bench option and Cobb was barely drafted at all.
While the 2013 Fantasy Football season is almost upon us, it is not there quite yet, so to help you get ready for the upcoming year, here are some sleepers that can make all the difference to your team over the course of the year:
1. Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins
~ Tannehill was drafted 8th overall to the Miami Dolphins last year in hopes of him being their franchise QB. He was definitely not the "franchise", but he showed a lot of promise, and did a good job of producing with Brian Hartline, Devone Bess, and an aging Anthony Fasano. In the offseason, Miami has overhauled its offense, giving Tannehill the firepower to flourish. His cast went from Hartline, Bess, and Fasano in 2012 to Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson, and Dustin Keller in 2013. That is a huge improvement for Tannehill, and he will have a lot of options to choose from when passing the ball this year. Because of these improved weapons, Tannehill will put up good stats this year, and can very well be a top 15 fantasy football Quarterback this year, which is a low-tier starting QB. Wallace is a great deep threat that will easily stretch the field for Tannehill to distribute the ball to Hartline and Keller on short throws. Gibson is a great medium threat who can move the chains on any occasion. Keller is a great option to have, and was all Jets QB Mark Sanchez had last year. Tannehill has the tools to succeed, and he very well could. Tannehill can be a good matchup guy this year, and in keeper leagues, he can be a stud to have on your roster.
ADP (Average Draft Position): Undrafted
2. Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
~ Bernard can be a stud if he gets his chance to shine. He was selected in the 2nd round of the 2013 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2012, the Bengals had newly-acquired RB Benjarvis Green-Ellis as their starter. Though signed to be their starting RB, he was a huge disappointment throughout the course of the season, as he couldn’t break for big gains, and was simply not a threat to the opposing team. It was known all offseason that the Bengals would need to take a RB in the 2013 draft if they wanted to get to the next level, and they followed suit by taking Bernard out of Carolina, a bruising yet quick RB who has the ability to be a 3-down player in the league. As of now, the Bengals are saying that Green-Ellis will have the starting job, but if he disappoints again early on in the season, we can very easily see a switch with Bernard taking his turn to be the franchise guy. He is being severely overlooked in draft, and for a guy who has a great chance to be a starter, he is being picked late in fantasy drafts. Getting a RB in the 6th round or later? Take it and never look back.
ADP: 6th – 8th round
3. Rueben Randle, WR, New York Giants
~ Another 2nd year player as a sleeper for this year. Rueben Randle was viewed as a borderline 1st round pick coming out of LSU, and was even invited to New York to attend the draft, in which only players with 1st round hopes attend. However, Randle took a draft day tumble and was the last guy in the room until selected by the New York Giants with the last pick of the 2nd round. Randle was a good receiver, and was lucky to have a top 10 QB in Eli Manning throwing to him. However, he was buried on the depth chart, being behind Hakeem Nick and Victor Cruz, and even Domenik Hixon at times when he was healthy. Towards the end of the season, Eli Manning targeted Randle a lot more than he did in the beginning of the year, a great sign for the rookie WR. Randle has turned a lot of heads this offseason, as he has developed great chemistry with Eli Manning. The interesting story with Randle was that both Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, the receivers ahead of him on the depth chart, were absent from the voluntary minicamp held earlier in the offseason. This allowed Randle to get all of the first team reps and work with Eli Manning. Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride has been raving about the young WR, saying he has “looked like a guy that’s been here for five or six years. He really benefited [from the absence of Cruz and Nicks].” Gilbride has also promised to the fans that they will see a lot of Randle this year. By getting more playing time and by getting acquainted with Eli Manning, Randle is poised to break out this year and be a solid guy for the Giants. And in keeper and dynasty leagues, Randle is perhaps one of the best guys to have, as he is going late in drafts, and with the Giants being tied up in money and having to give hefty contract extensions to Nicks and Cruz, Randle will get his chance to be the man in the Giants offense.
ADP: Undrafted
Just as every other year in football, there are always players who are overlooked who wind up proving everyone wrong. Players such as Ryan Tannehill, Giovani Bernard, and Rueben Randle can be a pleasant surprise for fantasy owners this year, and can easily produce much higher than their ADP will indicate. Taking a chance on a player is never a bad thing to do in fantasy football, especially when those “chances” occur late in the draft. Who knows, maybe one of your gambles will turn into a jackpot. Just go and ask Alfred Morris owners.
- Plaxicofan7