When you’re looking at potential late-round fantasy football sleepers, it’s important not to get caught up in the excitement of a recognizable name. Firstly, they might already be gone and, secondly, what you want to do is try to steal somebody in the draft that will add legitimate value to your team, either as a spot starter during a bye week, or a guy you can count on to produce respectable points if you lose one of your main players to injury. If you wait until you “need” a guy like this to pick one up in free agency, you’re likely not going to be the only person looking. And if you’re in a big league, with say 14 players, you should have plenty of room on your bench to stash one or more of these guys.
A starting quarterback is never really going to be a “sleeper,” but at the same time he’s the most important factor in picking up your sleepers. You might think that a weaker quarterback means that you should look at his running back group, but that’s not the case. Defenses are just going to load up the box, keeping his running back’s numbers down and begging him to beat him with his arm. Which he probably can’t.
No, for a “sleeper” to really help you, he needs to play with a real quarterback. Luckily enough, with free agency, trades and salary cap cuts/moves, we have some real sleeper potential. So let’s look at who I like before this month’s NFL draft.
Leonard Hankerson, WR, Atlanta Falcons
2014: 30 catches, 375 yards, three touchdowns
Hankerson hasn’t done a whole lot in his three years in the NFL, but he just won the lottery by signing with the Falcons in free agency. While Atlanta has two entrenched starters in Julio Jones and Roddy White, quarterback Matt Ryan loves to spread the ball around in multi-wideout sets. Unless Hankerson gets beaten out as the No. 3 by a rookie or Devin Hester, he’ll likely be good for around 50 catches, 600 yards and four touchdowns.
Cody Latimer, WR, Denver Broncos
2014: Two catches, 23 yards
Yep. That’s it. Latimer appeared in only eight games too, but the Broncos’ wide receiver corps was a lot deeper then. Denver thought enough of the 6-foot-2, 215 former Indiana star to take him in the second round of last year’s draft. With Wes Welker not coming back and Julius Thomas gone, there are a lot of extra passes to be caught in the Broncos offense and Latimer should be good for around 60 catches for 800 yards and seven touchdowns, I’d guess.
Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers
2014: 38 catches, 446 yards, three touchdowns
Those are already decent sleeper numbers, but when you factor in that Adams, the Packers second-round pick last year, will be their No. 3 receiver this season, they’ll be downright forgettable. There’s a chance that the Packers, without Mike McCarthy calling the plays, could be in for an historic offensive performance and Adams has the skillset to benefit from it. My prediction is he catches 70 passes for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Brian Quick, WR, St. Louis Rams
2014: 25 catches, 375 yards, three touchdowns
Quick is the only starter on this list and that’s just because his season ended after six and a half games last year. Quick, even with the Rams’ horrible quarterback situation, was on his way to a break-out season and was averaging 15 yards per catch. With new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti and Pro Bowl quarterback Nick Foles tossing the rock, Quick will jump off the field this season for the Rams. I’m looking at 90 catches, 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Larry Donnell, TE, New York Giants
2014: 63 catches, 623 yards, six touchdowns
The Giants simply outsmarted everybody when they signed Donnell out of Grambling State as an undrafted free agent in 2013. That season Donnell caught three passes. Last year he caught significantly more. With Eli Manning bouncing back from an off season, the emergence of Odell Beckham Jr. and the return of Victor Cruz from injury, there should be a lot of one-on-one match ups for Donnell in the middle of the field this season. Match-ups he was already winning last year. My prediction is 80 catches, 900 yards, nine touchdowns.
Mychal Rivera, TE, Oakland Raiders
2014: 58 catches, 534 yards, four touchdowns
A good, pass-catching tight end is a young quarterback’s best friend and Derek Carr has one in the 6-foot-3, 245-pound third year tight end. As Carr’s numbers improved so did Rivera’s last season. The Raiders need some wide receiver help, but that shouldn’t hurt Rivera’s potential production. I expect 80 catches, 800 yards and seven touchdowns
