WR Sleepers (July 29th)

Every few weeks of draft season in fantasy football we see ADP (average draft position) of players fluctuate depending on the current news fed to us like cattle.  I think it's important to have a reference point to what some of these ADP's actually mean.  What I like to do, and will share with you now, is to look back to last year (2015) and see where some of the sleeper value's were and compare that to a few players being drafted this year that hold similar potential.  For example, Larry Fitzgerald was drafted in the 7th round last year as the WR34 and finished the season as the WR7.  Amazing value right?  This would qualify as a sleeper.  So for me I look at the wide receivers being drafted in the mid-30's this year and see who could potentially do what Fitz did last year.  It's a simple process and it helps keep my focus through the draft.  Reminding myself that there is incredible talent to be gotten in every round.


The chart is easy to look at and the purpose of the exercise is for you to identify players in a situation on their team that, with a little luck, can find themselves with momentum throughout the fantasy season.  Also, sleepers don't have to only happen in later rounds.  They really are just players that are outperforming their value by a significant amount.  Here's the chart that breaks down a few sleepers of mine this year:

2015 Player	2015 ADP	2015 Finish		2016 Comparison	2016 ADP
Larry Fitzgerald	7th rd / WR34	WR7		John Brown	6th rd / WR33
-	-	-		DeVante Parker	6th rd / WR32
Eric Decker	9th rd / WR43	WR14		Markus Wheaton	8th rd / WR41
-	-	-		Willie Snead	9th rd / WR44
Michael Crabtree	12th rd / WR55	WR16		Kamar Aiken	10th rd / WR50
Doug Baldwin	13th rd / WR61	WR9		Sammie Coates	12th rd / WR55
Allen Hurns	13th rd / WR63	WR18		Rishard Matthews	13th rd / WR64

Of the players on this list my two favorite to target are John Brown and Kamar Aiken.  I fully expect Willie Snead to build on the chemistry he found with Drew Brees from last year as well.  These are good players being drafted in the middle rounds and odds are some will play a big role and delivering some fantasy championships downs the stretch.