Top 10 NFL Fantasy Football Sleepers
Grab your Ativan and a pillow. Fantasy football editor Aaron Lieberman is snoozing his way through the top ten names to keep your eyes on this season.
Every season comes down to one thing: the waiver wire.
Hardened veterans keep their eyes on player injuries, coaching decisions, and bone-headed drops by inexperienced fantasy owners.
This season, make sure to keep these ten names in mind when trolling the wire.
10. Jeremy Maclin, Baltimore Ravens
Is he a dynamic receiver? No. Will he slid in drafts? Yes. Maclin played most of last year injured and was still able to be a serviceable receiver. With Steve Smith Sr. out, this is a perfect occasion for the wily veteran to do enough to be a good depth option for your team.
9. Martellus Bennett, Green Bay Packers
It hurts to ever have to write about Packers players. However, it feels like just yesterday that Martellus wore the orange and navy, so I don’t mind. Last season, Bennett was the seventh best TE in fantasy football, scoring 113 points in standard leagues. Look for him to improve this season under Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay’s pass-happy offense.
8. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I also hate the muscle hamster, but I do like saying his nickname but Tampa fans hate it. Let’s be real, Tampa’s offense it lit… fam. After adding OJ Howard in the 2017 NFL Draft and adding DeSean Jackson during the offseason, this attack will be potent. Martin will get a lot wide-open looks facilitated by the plethora of aerial options at the hands (or crab claws) or Jameis Winston.
7. Tyrell Williams, Los Angeles Chargers
Another one bites the dust. I hope LA radio stations have refrained from playing this classic Queen jam, because yet another one of Phillip River’s options is down for the count. Mike Williams will start the offseason on the PUP list, making his immediate impact very minute. With Keenan Allen going down more than RIM stock in 2008, Williams is poised for another big season. As a virtually unknown player last seasons he finished 13th in fantasy points at the WR position.
6. Marvin Jones, Detroit Lions
Okay, maybe that last one didn’t get any REM sleep going for you. It wasn’t overly sleepy. So, here is one for you. Marvin Jones finished 38th in fantasy points at the WR position last season, but it poised to move up the charts this year. If Ameer Abdullah can stay healthy this season, and that is a big maybe, look for Stafford to need WR help in the red zone this year. If that is the case, Jones could easily accumulate more than four TD’s and 900 yards (his stats for last season)
5. Danny Woodhead, Baltimore Ravens
Another fresh face in Maryland, Woodhead enters the Ravens offence as a veteran scat back with a lot of upside. With a solid set of hands, Woodhead is a great late-round option for you PPR players out there. I have a feeling that a lot of people are going to be sleeping on players in the Ravens offence. However, with a much-improved defensive unit, the Ravens will be in a better position to cash in shorter drives and rack up fantasy points.
4. Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans
How rattled is Chip Kelly? He pushed for the Eagles to make a move on his old signal-caller from Oregon. The execs were probably like, “Definitely, Chip! Somebody make sure to write that down.” Nobody wrote anything down, and now Chip is starring in the sequel to Kicking and Screaming. With new offensive toys, a top 5 offensive line, and two hard-nosed running backs — look for Mariota to take a big step this season… aided by the help of others.
3. Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons
You’re slowly transitioning into a deeper and deeper sleep. Don’t wake up yet, it’s just getting good.
Austin Hooper is not necessarily a household name like Ziploc or Kleenex, but he could provide the perfect Band-Aid for your team this season. If you swing for the fences on Gronk, Kelce, or Reed and find yourself with a starting TE for only half the season, look no further! Hooper gets lost in the menagerie of notable names on Atlanta’s offense, use that to your advantage. Hooper finished with a rather pedestrian 237 yards and three TD’s last season. However, with the loss of Kyle Shanahan, the Falcons will lose some of their bigger hitting plays and will be forced to convert more in the red zone; enter Austin Hooper.
2. Jamison Crowder, Washington Redskins
I have been banging my fists on the table for Crowder all offseason. Enter, super expensive one-year contract for Captain Kirk. Exit, his top two receivers, Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson. Worry not Captain, Terell Pryor and Jamison Crowder are here to save the day. After the former QB, Pryor, stacked up 1000 yards and four total touchdowns, he earned himself a spot on the top 20 list of fantasy WR’s last season. With defenses queuing on TP, look for Crowder to make the most of his one-on-one match-ups, after he actually put up more TD’s last season than Pryor (7).
1. Matt Stafford, Detroit Lions
This one probably hurts the most. You never want to put a rival QB at the top of any list, but this is where he belongs. Last season I was able to get Matt Ryan off the waiver (LOL), and Stafford could find himself in a similar situation this season. The strong-armed QB is always good for about 4,000 yards, and let me tell you — that is good enough to be your starting QB. Look for some dumb idiot to drop Stafford at some point this season for some scrub that can string a few good games together (see Bryan Hoyer and/or Blake Bortles). Take this as your opportunity to flip your league on it’s head, as I predict Stafford will be a top five QB this season.
Aaron Lieberman is a cofounder of The Ocho, as well as our fantasy editor. You can catch him (almost) every week on The Ocho Podcast on Thursday nights with fellow cofounder Riley Nicklaus Evans. Follow Aaron on Twitter at @aliebs93.
