The term “sleeper” is tough to live up to nowadays, considering there is no offseason anymore. We have information readily available to us, depth charts constantly updated, and plenty of sharp writers pumping out content. But there are some players who seem to fall through the cracks. How many writers did you hear talking about Tyreek Hill or Rob Kelley last year in the preseason? Well, they wound up on a majority of championship rosters, so sleepers do in fact still exist.
Finding them is the tough part, but that’s why I’m here. I’ve combed through all 32 teams, looking for a potential breakout candidate further down the list. All of them are being drafted outside the top 120 players, but most of them are outside the top-150 or undrafted.
10. Erik Swoope (IND – TE) – Current ADP: Undrafted
If you’re looking for a late-round tight end that could wind up a league-winner, Swoope should be on your radar. For the same reason I love Jack Doyle, Swoope is playing in an offense with Andrew Luck, who loves to target his tight ends, regardless of their skill level. Swoope himself has been with the Colts for two years, but saw his first game action in 2016 when he caught 15 of 22 targets for 297 yards and a touchdown. He’s 6’5″ and 220 pounds, so built more like a wide receiver, while Doyle is built more like a traditional in-line tight end at 6’6″ and 253 pounds. If Doyle is kept in to block, Swoope might just be the guy taking the tight end targets. The No. 2 tight end on the Colts over the last five years has totaled at least 48 targets three different times. With Luck targeting tight ends an average of 135 times per year, Swoope can make an impression in 2017.
The term “sleeper” is tough to live up to nowadays, considering there is no offseason anymore. We have information readily available to us, depth charts constantly updated, and plenty of sharp writers pumping out content. But there are some players who seem to fall through the cracks. How many writers did you hear talking about Tyreek Hill or Rob Kelley last year in the preseason? Well, they wound up on a majority of championship rosters, so sleepers do in fact still exist.
Finding them is the tough part, but that’s why I’m here. I’ve combed through all 32 teams, looking for a potential breakout candidate further down the list. All of them are being drafted outside the top 120 players, but most of them are outside the top-150 or undrafted.
10. Erik Swoope (IND – TE) – Current ADP: Undrafted
If you’re looking for a late-round tight end that could wind up a league-winner, Swoope should be on your radar. For the same reason I love Jack Doyle, Swoope is playing in an offense with Andrew Luck, who loves to target his tight ends, regardless of their skill level. Swoope himself has been with the Colts for two years, but saw his first game action in 2016 when he caught 15 of 22 targets for 297 yards and a touchdown. He’s 6’5″ and 220 pounds, so built more like a wide receiver, while Doyle is built more like a traditional in-line tight end at 6’6″ and 253 pounds. If Doyle is kept in to block, Swoope might just be the guy taking the tight end targets. The No. 2 tight end on the Colts over the last five years has totaled at least 48 targets three different times. With Luck targeting tight ends an average of 135 times per year, Swoope can make an impression in 2017.
9. Jonathan Williams (BUF – RB) – Current ADP: 197
Whoever touched the ball for the Bills last year at running back seemed to turn into fantasy gold. LeSean McCoy looked like the guy we saw back in 2013 and Mike Gillislee broke all efficiency numbers with nine touchdowns on just 110 touches. The reason for the success starts with the offensive line, as they cleared paths for the running backs to the tune of 2.56 yards before contact. There wasn’t another offensive line that cleared more than 2.27 yards before contact for their running backs. Williams will be the primary backup to McCoy who is 28 years old and was seemingly nicked up for much of the 2016 season and has had soft tissue injuries arise the last few years. The only area of concern is that Williams fumbled twice (and lost them both) on just 28 touches in his rookie season. He’s one of the guys you’d want on your roster if McCoy had any more injury concerns.
8. Terrance Williams (DAL – WR) – Current ADP: Undrafted
There were a lot of people, myself included, expecting the Cowboys to sign a high-profile wide receiver in free agency or the NFL Draft, but neither happened. Instead, they re-signed Williams and Brice Butler. Williams isn’t going to single-handedly win you a fantasy championship, but he can be a solid late-round pick in 2017. I’ve expressed serious concern about Dez Bryant’s schedule this year, as he’ll be shadowed by Janoris Jenkins twice, Josh Norman twice, Aqib Talib/Chris Harris Jr., Patrick Peterson, Marcus Peters, Desmond Trufant, Jason Verrett/Casey Hayward, and Richard Sherman. While they are covering Bryant, look for Williams to step up in those games. He has totaled 10 or more PPR points in 20 games over the last three years, and was a top-40 wide receiver in 2014-2015, so it’s not like he’s been useless until now. He can be a solid bye-week replacement for your fantasy team.
7. James Conner (PIT – RB) – Current ADP: Undrafted
I’ve made it clear that Le’Veon Bell would be my No. 1 overall pick because he’s not only the best running back in the league, but he plays on one of the lone teams that believes in a one-back system, regardless as to who that running back is. Over the last two years, there have been three running backs who have started games for the Steelers: Bell, DeAngelo Williams, and Fitzgerald Toussaint. Bell averaged 26.3 touches per game, Williams averaged 22.8 touches per game, and Toussaint averaged 18.0 touches per game. As you can see, they want to give the lion share of touches to one running back. It also helps that they have a top-five run blocking offensive line. Conner was brought in to back up Bell and would be next in line if Bell were to miss time for any reason. While you don’t need to handcuff all your running backs, I’m not against doing it with a guy like Conner. He was drafted in the third-round, which is plenty of equity for a team that appears to have a win-now situation. Don’t forget that Bell has whispered he may hold out if the Steelers don’t extend him.
6. Marvin Jones (DET – WR) – Current ADP: 136
This spot was originally designated for Quincy Enunwa, but after he suffered a season-ending neck injury, Jones was the next up on my list. This time last year, Jones was moving up draft boards and was being taken in front of his teammate Golden Tate in some drafts. His average draft slot wound up as the No. 29 wide receiver. Once the season started, fantasy players were wondering why they didn’t reach a little higher to ensure they got him. Through six weeks, Jones was the No. 3 fantasy wide receiver, behind only Antonio Brown and Julio Jones. It should come as no shock that these were also six of the best games that Matthew Stafford put together all season. In Weeks 1-6, Stafford threw three or more touchdowns four times. He didn’t do that a single time the remainder of the season. The loss of Anquan Boldin frees up 22 red zone targets from last year, an area that most expected Jones to be highly involved in when he came to the Lions. Recent news also came down that Jones worked out with wide receiver guru Randy Moss this offseason, which is something that definitely won’t hurt. If we expect Stafford to remain competent, Jones is going to be a big part of that. Instead of buying the hype on rookie Kenny Golladay, take a shot on Jones with one of your late-round picks.
5. Paul Richardson (SEA – WR) – Current ADP: Undrafted
When looking for sleeper wide receivers, you often want to gravitate to those with elite quarterbacks. After a subpar 2016 where he played injured, Russell Wilson isn’t getting the respect he should. As he got healthy towards the end of the year, Richardson became a legitimate threat to opposing defenses, totaling 15 receptions for 213 yards and two touchdowns over their final four games (playoffs included). Jermaine Kearse has been one of the league’s least efficient wide receivers, so it should be an easy road to unseat him in the starting lineup. Richardson was a second-round pick if you recall, but some may have forgotten that by now. If he passes Kearse in preseason, you just got yourself a high-upside WR4 for free.
4. DeAndre Washington (OAK – RB) – Current ADP: 208
At this time last year, there were a lot of smart people expecting big things out of Washington, as the Raiders spent a fifth-round pick on the shifty running back. Latavius Murray excelled near the goal-line, taking away what was a very impressive year for Washington, who averaged 5.4 yards per carry on 87 carries. There were just three running backs with as many carries as him with a higher yards per carry: Mike Gillislee, Bilal Powell, and LeSean McCoy. Yes, they went out and signed Marshawn Lynch, but you must remember that he’s been away from football for a year-and-a-half, not rehabbing, but traveling to different countries. He’s now 31 years old and has taken more abuse on his body than almost every other running back in the game. If he were to miss time, Washington could emerge as a league-winner behind the Raiders top-three offensive line.
3. Devin Funchess (CAR – WR) – Current ADP: Undrafted
This is one that strikes me as odd, but his ADP is a real thing. Inside of our start-up FantasyPros Invitational Dynasty League, I was able to land Funchess in the 16th round as the 80th wide receiver off the board. With all the concerns surrounding Kelvin Benjamin and his conditioning, one would think Funchess would see an increased role. He’s scored nine touchdowns on just 121 career targets, and has totaled a 15.6 yards per reception despite being 6’4″ and 232 pounds. Ted Ginn and Corey Brown have left via free agency, freeing up 148 targets to wide receivers. While rookies Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel will steal some of them, Funchess will be on the field for two wide receiver sets and should see a minimum of 80 targets. You won’t find a wide receiver who has his touchdown upside beyond the 11th round.
Kelvin Benjamin in 2016: 118 targets, 63 receptions, 941 yards, seven touchdowns.
Devin Funchess’ career: 121 targets, 54 receptions, 844 yards, nine touchdowns.
2. Jamaal Williams (GB – RB) – Current ADP: 143
He was a player I wanted to pay close attention to where he landed and you can argue that it was one of the best-case scenarios. The only player in front of him on the depth chart is Ty Montgomery, a converted wide receiver who Mike McCarthy was hesitant to give a large role to last season, despite his performances calling for more work. Williams is more of a traditional running back who can be a bruiser on first and second down, as well as chip in with a few receptions from time-to-time. He can also carry a massive workload, as he showed in his final year at BYU when he totaled 18 or more carries in eight of nine games, including seven games with 24 or more carries. If Montgomery doesn’t pan out the way the Packers hope at running back, Williams can be a league-winner this year, similar to the way Jordan Howard was last year.
1. Kareem Hunt (KC – RB) – Current ADP: 122
Despite the fact that I’m a Spencer Ware fan, you cannot underestimate the value of a running back in Andy Reid’s offense. We all know that Jamaal Charles was a Hall of Fame-type player, but what about the last two seasons when he wasn’t a big part of the offense? Between Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West, they’ve played 26 games together where one of them took the lead role. In those 26 possible games, at least one of them scored 10.2 or more PPR points in 20 of the games, including 10 games with 20 or more points. Hunt may not pass Ware right away, but he’s cheap enough to take the shot that he does.
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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.
