5 Deep Sleepers You Need to Draft in 2013 Fantasy Football
5 Deep Sleepers You Need to Draft in Fantasy Football
When I was growing up, my pap gave me gave me a ton of advice. Most of his advice was about work, school, and life. The one piece of advice that has always stuck with me was, “The word ‘if’ is the biggest word in the dictionary.” This advice holds true for a whole lot of things but definitely not for what I am going to tell you here.
Every year in fantasy football, people always want to predict the “sleepers” even before the preseason starts. Unless you have a crystal ball, you have about as good of a guess at predicting this correctly then the weather man does when I want to know if it is going to rain on my birthday two months from now (or even two days from now!). After viewing highlights and reading countless articles from various camps, you tend to get a better sense of who is really ready to be this year’s Alfred Morris and who will probably be on the practice squad and not on your fantasy team by the end of this year. Go ahead and ask the people who took Morris, Larry Johnson, or Miles Austin right when they hit it big. Ask them how far they got riding the wave that these players were on. I bet that these fantasy mangers had very successful years.
With that said, here is a list of five deep sleepers that you may have never heard of but I can tell you that these guys WILL have a significant impact on their teams this year. Scoop them up while all of your buddies are still wondering “if” they are worth the draft pick.
Dom DeCarlo is a Fantasy blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him @DomDecarlo1, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
5. Jordan Todman, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
For years the Jacksonville Jaguars had depended on Maurice Jones-Drew to be their go-to guy on the offense. No matter how good or how bad the rest of the Jaguars have been, the most consistent player has been Jones-Drew. Last year, the Jaguars realized how important he was when he went down with an injury. The organization brought in Justin Forsett to fill the role in case MJD goes down again. However, due to injuries, Jordan Todman has stepped up and has had a very good camp. Todman went for 60 yards and a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons and the week before had 105 yards and a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles. Todman is running with his chance, and if anything happens to Jones-Drew he will be the guy to own in Jacksonville.
4. Christine Michael, RB, Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks had a resurgence last year due to new quarterback Russell Wilson and impact running back Marshawn Lynch. If you look at the stats over the past two seasons, they will tell you that Lynch only missed one game in this time frame. What it won’t tell you is how many games that Lynch was questionable to play. That is where Christine Michael comes into play. Michael is a 2nd round draft pick and is scratching to get the chance to play for Seattle. Michael has shown some flair this preseason by running for 89 yards against the San Diego Chargers and then upping that by running for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers. Michael looks to have no problems if he has to carry the load in Seattle, and with a running team like this, if given the chance, I feel that Christine Michael can be the next dynamic running back to come from the Seahawks.
3. Kenny Stills, WR, New Orleans Saints
Everyone knows that the New Orleans Saints like to throw the football. I mean, why not when you have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Drew Brees? Kenny Stills has been a rising star in Saints camp, especially since Joe Morgan is out for the year with a foot injury, and Marques Colston has a history of injuries during the past few seasons himself. Stills has great speed and will be a touchdown machine in New Orleans, and that trend will start this season! I predict by Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals you will start to see what I mean, and it would be very wise to have him stored on your bench so that no one else will be able to grab him up and beat you with him!
2. Markus Wheaton, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Over the past two seasons, the Pittsburgh Steelers have lost some big time pass catchers. Hines Ward and Mike Wallace have left the team, while Plaxico Burress is out for the season and Heath Miller for part of this season due to injuries. The Steelers are going to have to find people for Ben Roethlisberger to throw the ball to or this offense is going to have issues. Of course, they still have Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, but they also have one receiver who I believe will take the place of Wallace in Markus Wheaton. Wheaton is a third round draft pick from Oregon State and has shown some great speed and earned some looks during this preseason. In the last three games he has gotten 20 targets and one of them was for a touchdown. He will more than likely start the season as the fourth receiver on the team. However, the lack of a deep threat will promote him by the end of the season to be the Steelers' down field target, giving him at least five touchdowns this year and that would be on the low side.
1. Quinton Patton, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Out of all of the men on this list, I feel that Quinton Patton is the surest bet in fantasy football. After sitting out some of the preseason due to an injury, he has jumped out of the gates as if his pants were on fire. He also seems to be building a solid relationship on the field with San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick. In the last two preseason games, Patton has caught six of the eight passes that were thrown his way and has scored a touchdown in both games. He is going to greatly benefit from learning from veteran receiver Anquan Boldin and the injuries to Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham. Patton has good hands and the speed to burn defensive backs. Look for Patton to start the season as either the number two or number three receiver for the 49ers, but Week 6 I think you will see Patton’s numbers on the rise and eventually become a player that everyone will be looking for in free agency. You, however, will not have to worry because you will already have him on your team and reaping the benefits long before most know his name!
5 Deep Sleepers You Need to Draft in Fantasy Football
When I was growing up, my pap gave me gave me a ton of advice. Most of his advice was about work, school, and life. The one piece of advice that has always stuck with me was, “The word ‘if’ is the biggest word in the dictionary.” This advice holds true for a whole lot of things but definitely not for what I am going to tell you here.
Every year in fantasy football, people always want to predict the “sleepers” even before the preseason starts. Unless you have a crystal ball, you have about as good of a guess at predicting this correctly then the weather man does when I want to know if it is going to rain on my birthday two months from now (or even two days from now!). After viewing highlights and reading countless articles from various camps, you tend to get a better sense of who is really ready to be this year’s Alfred Morris and who will probably be on the practice squad and not on your fantasy team by the end of this year. Go ahead and ask the people who took Morris, Larry Johnson, or Miles Austin right when they hit it big. Ask them how far they got riding the wave that these players were on. I bet that these fantasy mangers had very successful years.
With that said, here is a list of five deep sleepers that you may have never heard of but I can tell you that these guys WILL have a significant impact on their teams this year. Scoop them up while all of your buddies are still wondering “if” they are worth the draft pick.
Dom DeCarlo is a Fantasy blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him @DomDecarlo1, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
5. Jordan Todman, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
For years the Jacksonville Jaguars had depended on Maurice Jones-Drew to be their go-to guy on the offense. No matter how good or how bad the rest of the Jaguars have been, the most consistent player has been Jones-Drew. Last year, the Jaguars realized how important he was when he went down with an injury. The organization brought in Justin Forsett to fill the role in case MJD goes down again. However, due to injuries, Jordan Todman has stepped up and has had a very good camp. Todman went for 60 yards and a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons and the week before had 105 yards and a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles. Todman is running with his chance, and if anything happens to Jones-Drew he will be the guy to own in Jacksonville.
4. Christine Michael, RB, Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks had a resurgence last year due to new quarterback Russell Wilson and impact running back Marshawn Lynch. If you look at the stats over the past two seasons, they will tell you that Lynch only missed one game in this time frame. What it won’t tell you is how many games that Lynch was questionable to play. That is where Christine Michael comes into play. Michael is a 2nd round draft pick and is scratching to get the chance to play for Seattle. Michael has shown some flair this preseason by running for 89 yards against the San Diego Chargers and then upping that by running for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers. Michael looks to have no problems if he has to carry the load in Seattle, and with a running team like this, if given the chance, I feel that Christine Michael can be the next dynamic running back to come from the Seahawks.
3. Kenny Stills, WR, New Orleans Saints
Everyone knows that the New Orleans Saints like to throw the football. I mean, why not when you have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Drew Brees? Kenny Stills has been a rising star in Saints camp, especially since Joe Morgan is out for the year with a foot injury, and Marques Colston has a history of injuries during the past few seasons himself. Stills has great speed and will be a touchdown machine in New Orleans, and that trend will start this season! I predict by Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals you will start to see what I mean, and it would be very wise to have him stored on your bench so that no one else will be able to grab him up and beat you with him!
2. Markus Wheaton, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Over the past two seasons, the Pittsburgh Steelers have lost some big time pass catchers. Hines Ward and Mike Wallace have left the team, while Plaxico Burress is out for the season and Heath Miller for part of this season due to injuries. The Steelers are going to have to find people for Ben Roethlisberger to throw the ball to or this offense is going to have issues. Of course, they still have Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders, but they also have one receiver who I believe will take the place of Wallace in Markus Wheaton. Wheaton is a third round draft pick from Oregon State and has shown some great speed and earned some looks during this preseason. In the last three games he has gotten 20 targets and one of them was for a touchdown. He will more than likely start the season as the fourth receiver on the team. However, the lack of a deep threat will promote him by the end of the season to be the Steelers' down field target, giving him at least five touchdowns this year and that would be on the low side.
1. Quinton Patton, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Out of all of the men on this list, I feel that Quinton Patton is the surest bet in fantasy football. After sitting out some of the preseason due to an injury, he has jumped out of the gates as if his pants were on fire. He also seems to be building a solid relationship on the field with San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick. In the last two preseason games, Patton has caught six of the eight passes that were thrown his way and has scored a touchdown in both games. He is going to greatly benefit from learning from veteran receiver Anquan Boldin and the injuries to Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham. Patton has good hands and the speed to burn defensive backs. Look for Patton to start the season as either the number two or number three receiver for the 49ers, but Week 6 I think you will see Patton’s numbers on the rise and eventually become a player that everyone will be looking for in free agency. You, however, will not have to worry because you will already have him on your team and reaping the benefits long before most know his name!
