Fantasy Football: Early Sleepers
Sleepers
Leveon Bell
Yes; Leveon Bell tops off this list as the number 1 sleeper in fantasy football. Bell will be suspended for the first 3 games of the NFL season, due to violating the league’s drug policy. That right there is enough for some people to think that he is not worth using a high pick on. Let’s not forget that Bell was statistically the 2nd best running back last year, behind only DeMarco Murray and his historical season.
Now don’t get me wrong here, I think there are better players. Bell may start to slip in fantasy football drafts, as I’m predicting he will to the late first round, snag him.
Jeremy Hill
Right now in most 2015 Fantasy Football rankings, Jeremy Hill is most likely projected to go somewhere from pick 24-34 and is probably ranked as the 11-15 best running back. I think that’s a great opportunity to catch a sleeper. Hill is an absolute power back.
Taking over the starting spot last year, after Giovanni Bernard suffered an injury, Hill was great. Racking up for over 900 yards and 6 touchdowns in that 9 game span; he did all of this as just a rookie. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hill ended the year as a top 5-10 back and came close to leading all running backs in touchdowns. In your draft, you’d be surprised if you can steal Hill mid-third round and if you can go for it.
Joseph Randle
Who? There’s a good chance you have never heard of Joseph Randle – and if you have, you are probably a bit surprised to see him here. Randle was last years back-up running back in Dallas. And as of right now barring any trades (Adrian Peterson), and anyone of the other Dallas running backs beating him out in training camp, Randle looks like he could be in for a great fantasy season. 23 year old Randle has flashed some solid potential so far, but the real idea here is the dominance of Dallas’s offensive line.
Dallas will have the best offensive line in the NFL next year and a lot of people are willing to argue that it is among the best ever. Remember that guy that ran behind this offensive line last year? DeMarco Murray and his 1845 yards, 13 touchdowns and AP NFL offensive player of the year. Expect for Randle in the sixth round or so and know that picking him will be a downright steal.
Eli Manning
Despite your suspicions so far this is not an all running back list. There is a chance that in a standard 12 team league, Eli Manning will start off the season on many teams’ benches or waiver wire. That will prove to be a mistake. Manning had an underrated bounce back season last year and ended the year as a top 10 fantasy quarter back. Right when you saw his name on this list you should have known where this was going.
Manning’s comeback was not a fluke; it was a direct result of the fantastic now second-year wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Now Jr. is in the lineup for a full season, and Victor Cruz is also coming back from an injury, expect Manning to improve immensely on his comeback year. He’s projected as a low tier starting QB/high tier bench QB , and I think he should just be a high tier starting QB. You can wait on Manning in your draft and he will repay you for it.
Andre Johnson
Andre Johnson will be 34 at the beginning of next season. Johnson also had a down year last year, considering he used to be one of the best wide receivers in the game. So why is he a sleeper? Well Johnson still has great size for a wide receiver, is still very skilled and a lot of those things used to make him one of the best are.
Another fact is that he is now playing with the best young or maybe even the best quarterback in the game, Andrew Luck. Johnson could slip in the draft and if he does he is not a bad option at WR 2 or 3.
