Fantazzle Fantasy Football Games – 2009 Fantasy Football Sleepers

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For the next couple of days, I’m going to write some posts about sleepers, over rated players, changes in rankings, general football previews and other stuff. I know its late and this all may not be useful, but it should be an entertaining read which you can tear up (send a comment and I’ll answer personally) or give a thumbs up.

Note – All average draft position info is brought to you by Fantasy Football Calculator. All the info is free and Fantazzle highly recommends it.

Fantasy Football Quarterback Sleepers

Tony Romo – I consider Tony Romo at Tier 2 Quarterback in my fantasy football quarterback rankings. He is easily the lowest drafted T2 (51st), according to Fantasy Football Calculator and confirmed by me in nearly every draft I have been in. I think losing Terrell Owens is causing to big a reaction. It may reduce this stats, but I think he is a bargain in the 5th round and it helps you save an earlier pick on a running back or wide receiver.

Fantasy Football Running Backs Sleepers

If you read  my fantasy football running back rankings, you’ll know that I am counting on the lower tier running backs to be big contributors. The past few years, round 1 and 2 RBs have included a lot of busts. Stocking up on a lot of round 5′s and up are the way to go. Here are a couple of the more notable guys.

Julius Jones – He’s my biggest RB sleeper in 2009. He currently is being drafted 94th on average. Thats way too low. I think a lot of people are forgetting how many injuries the Seahawks had last year, including Matt Hasselback and something crazy like their first 6 WRs in their depth chart. The offense will be much better and Jones will be improved. The O line is not that good, which will hurt (and it hurts even more that Walter Jones is out for an undisclosed amount of time), but Jones will easily be good enough for a low end T2 or high end T3/flex.

Derrick Ward – I could really eat my words here, given Cadillac Williams just showed up as #1 on the depth chart, but I think Ward as a chance to be a very solid #2 RB. He was incredible in New York and I think his numbers will improve once TB realizes that he is the #1 guy in their backfield.

LeSean McCoy – Probably the biggest potential backup running back in the game. Raise your hand if you think Westbrook will play healthy all year? I’ve watched him play and he looks exactly like Westbrook so he has incredible potential. On top of that Philly has the best offense it has had in year. I’m taking a risk and draft him slightly higher than his average of 86. I can’t think of any backup that has better potential than him due to his skillz and the man in front of him.

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Sleepers

Nate Burleson – Drafted 145th on average. I’m big on the Seahawks this year. With Hasselback back, TJ getting the most attention from the defense and Nate playing great at the end of ’07 and before he got hurt last year, this guy has the skillz to make some noise in the fantasy world. I haven’t heard of any off the field problems lately so I think he’s a safe pick.

Robert Meachem – 156th on average. He probably hasn’t been drafted in a lot of leagues. He’s got potential to be the Lance Moore of this year. Moore could have a set back with his injury and/or not produce at such a high level. I see Meachem stepping in and filling that role. He could be fantasy irrelevant, but the upside he has, has me stashing him on my bench if I have a spot (drop that extra TE or Kicker!).

Austin Collie or Pierre Garcon (in that order) – I’m not sold on Anthony Gonzalez. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have him on my team, but if I did, I would keep my eyes on these other two and pick up Collie (looks like he is #3 for now) if you have a spot. One big game and you know everyone in your league will be all over a WR for Indy so beat them to the punch. They could amount to nothing, but Peyton has a lot of say in Indianapolis and if feels more comfortable with one of these guys, I’m sure he’ll let the coaches know it and look for the guy more often.

Fantasy Football Tight End Sleepers

Greg Olsen –  Well he’s not a sleeper anymore, but I still want to talk about him because I’m taking him over Tony Gonzalez and Dallas Clark. I think all three of them will be in the same ballpark with productions, but you’ll get Olsen 63rd overall instead of 53rd for Clark and 49th for Gonzalez. One more pick you can spend on a RB or WR if you decide to go T1 or T2 route for your TE (which I dont recommend). Cutler loves him some TEs on the field and off. He seems to have a Romo/Witten relationship. He had it with Scheffler in Denver and is reported that Olsen and Cutler are good friends in Chicago. Throw in the fact that Chicago doesn’t have any WRs to throw to and the Olsen is a talented guy, you have the perfect storm. He’s no longer a sleeper because people are seeing this, but I like this to guy to be a top 3 TE this year.

Visanthe Shiancoe – He’s growing on me every day. He’s ranked 11th in my fantasy football tight end rankings right now, but bump him up to #9. I’m liking the Favre potential here. Look what he did for Dustin Keller last year (albeit Keller is talented as well) and the Vikings are going to lean on the run, short ~10yd routes, and homerun balls. I like Shiancoe to be a major recipient of the short throws especially in the red zone.

Fantasy Football Defense/Special Teams Sleepers

San Diego Chargers – (121) Well that was before the whole Shawn Merriman and Tila Tequila thing. No word if that will affect Merriman, but that Goodell guy is pretty damn strict. SD has crept up lately in the rankings so maybe people are realizing that Merriman back and Cromartie injury free is the makings of a major turnaround from last year. Also, they have 6 games against Denver, KC, and Oakland. Wow.

Washington Redskins - Currently the 187th average pick. Hayneworth is a team changer. He has the potential to push Washington’s D, which was already an under the radar D (6th in NFL Total Defense rankings). Plus the Redskins spent most of their top picks in the draft on the defensive side of the ball. The only question is will that translate into a good fantasy defense/special teams. I’m not entirely sure, but I would keep an eye on them and pick them up if they start off hot.

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