One of the keys to winning your fantasy football league is the ability to recruit Sleepers. “Sleepers” are NFL players who are drafted much lower rounds in their fantasy football drafts than their final stats justify. In terms of shopping, this is like buying a bottle of Sam Adams Utopias at Budweiser prices. In the world of fantasy soccer, this is the path to the league championship. We have seen championships won on the heels of Sleepers every year. They’ve come out of nowhere to record monsters years after being double-digit wire picks or waivers. When you can grab a player late in your draft who becomes your #1 producer at a certain position, you my friends have a true Sleeper. Below are some projected fantasy football sleepers by position for the 2014 season.
2014 fantasy football sleepers
Quarterback: Jay Cutler (Chicago) – Yes, Cutler seems to be made of cupcakes thanks to his injury history, but that’s something that can be overlooked in the right circumstances. It was obvious last year that the hype about coach Marc Trestman’s offensive prowess was justified. Cutler put up big numbers until he got hurt just after the season’s midpoint and Josh McCown didn’t miss a beat (the pair combined for 4,450 yards and 32 TDs). With more time under center and soaking up the playbook, he can expect even better numbers from this offense this season. You can easily get Cutler around the 10th round as most teams in your league will be taking their top 7 quarterbacks soon and will opt to roll the dice with the likes of Nick Foles and RG3 before looking at the veteran without emotions.
Also consider: Josh McCown (Tampa), Ryan Fitzpatrick (HOU)
RB: Terrance West (Cleveland) – Thanks to Johnny Football, no position outside of QB is getting attention in Cleveland even though they added a lot of new faces at skill positions. At RB, they selected Ben Tate to be their starter, but also moved up in the draft to select West. Tate has had a history of injuries, so there’s no way he’s going to become a full-time workhorse, especially when he’s in a Kyle Shanahan offense that will have a quarterback recovering from an ACL injury or a rookie learning to play the position. Due to those factors, West will see a lot of carries, RB1 carries when Tate inevitably goes down. The news from training camp is that West has shown very good hands, much better than Tate, so he’ll give him more reps as well. You could let someone else grab Tate in the fourth round and then pounce on his handcuffs in the eighth round.
Also consider: Dexter McCluster (TENN), Jeremy Hill (CIN)
WR: Brandin Cooks (New Orleans) – It’s an inexact science picking receivers for the Saints since Drew Brees enjoys spreading the ball around, but there are a LOT of points to share. It has become painfully obvious that Marques Colston has dropped significantly and that Lance Moore is now on the Steelers. Coach Sean Payton loves Cooks’ versatility and will bring him into the offense on the outside, in the slot, kick returns and even in the backfield. He’s not big, at 5’10” and 189 pounds, but he’s fast. Rookie WRs are rarely consistent and often disappoint, but the lead is too big to let him past the ninth round.
Also considered: Emmanuel Sanders (DEN), Justin Hunter (TENN)
TH: Green Ladarius (San Diego) – The Tight End is a position that runs deep and produces Sleepers year after year. Green saw his playing time increase significantly last season when Philip Rivers aired the ball heavily and Green took away the appearance of an aging Antonio Gates. Gates is still around, but Green is a beast at 6’6″, 240 pounds, but he showed a 4.5 speed. He showed he was a huge midfield play threat by recording 22.1 yards per catch. It’s a block. for double-digit rounds and has the potential to get similar stats to TEs drafted many rounds earlier.
Also considered: Eric Ebron (DET), Zach Ertz (PHIL)
D: New England Patriots – The Patriots D rarely get support with Tom Terrific on the other side of the ball, but this unit is the key to success this season for New England. They lost some key players last season to injuries who are back, like DT Tommy Kelly, added some key players during the draft, like DT Dominique Easley, and filled the remaining holes through free agency, mostly with Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. . Add these players to Vince Wilfork, Rob Ninkovich, Dont’a Hightower and Devin McCourty and this is a unit that could almost outshine the offense.
Also consider: Denver
K: Robbie Gould (Chicago) – Considering kickers aren’t meant to be taken before the final two rounds, I find it hard to replace a kicker as one of fantasy football’s sleepers. However, Gould is consistently one of the last kickers taken and is as automatic as can be when it comes to kicking, even when he plays half of his games outside in the Windy City. Chicago’s offense will be nearly unstoppable this season and Gould will have more opportunities to ply his trade.
Also consider: Matt Bryant (ATL)