Sleepers and Nightmares

NFL Football - Sleepers and Nightmares

Fantasy Drafts should be well underway. We are t-minus 13 days from the start of the football season on September 8^th live from Titletown U.S.A. For those of you wondering about WR’s this year in your draft. My honest opinion the depth of solid WR who will give you solid production this year has never been deeper. I got three guys you want to target in your draft and three to stay away from.

SLEEPERS

Mike Sims-Walker (St. Louis Rams) – MSW struggled in 2010 due to the fact the defenses started rolling the double coverage to him which allowed Mike Thomas and Mercedes Lewis to post career numbers.

NFL Football - Sleepers and Nightmares

As we approach our 2011 drafts, numerous strategies are discussed.  Most involve drafting an elite QB early.  I think it's important, but there's always value available late, which allows for other important skill position picks.  Maybe you'll skip Aaron Rodgers, but pick up Andre Johnson.  That's not a bad trade-off, especially considering the quarterbacks available in the 9th or later rounds.

These guys are considered “sleepers”.  They'll fall far, but give you good production.  They're reliable and durable, and can lead your team to a championship.  In this article, we'll go over three quarterbacks you should have on your radar, and three quarterbacks you should avoid like the plague.

Sleepers:

Matt Ryan

Matt Ryan, affectionately known as “Matty Ice” may not be the coolest of picks (see what I did there?), but he’s sure to go in the later rounds, far past the elite’s, and his production may not be far off.  Last year he put up excellent numbers as a third-year quarterback, when he threw for 3700 yards with 28 TDs and just 9 INTs.  I’m a big believer in quarterbacks who can stay out of trouble, and Ryan fits that mold.

NFL Football - Sleepers and Nightmares

Sleepers and Nightmares - TE Edition

Welcome back for the 2011-12 NFL season, in a year that TE's are deep while other positions are thin. We are here to make sure you do not flop on a position that appears to be 12 deep.  Lets get it started

Sleepers

Jimmy Graham - Remember the name you will probably see him on a bust list next year, only because expectations will be outrageous at years end. Graham averaged 3 catches and a TD over his last 4 games. Brees threw 10 of his 33 TDs last year to TE's. This trend will carry over to his 2011 campaign. Since Nola parted with Blondie (Shockey), all is left is Graham to vulture red zone TD's all year. Graham is a 6' 6" beast, he’s young and Sean Peyton loves him, and when Peyton loves you he rides you till you die. (Right Reggie??!?)

Projection - 61 Rec, 720 Yds. 9 TD's - 7^th Round

NFL Football - Sleepers and Nightmares

We aren’t NFL scouts. Some of us can’t even tell what a ripe banana looks like.

We can, however, look at the psychology of football and the grinders that play each week.

Psychology isn’t that different from looking at a situation from the player’s view. For example, a stable organization lets a first-ballot HOFer go in favor of a former first-round pick who rode the bench for 3 years.  Of course, this was Aaron Rodgers.

Here are the players I’ll be looking for in the later rounds and why.

Jason Campbell

Yes, the same one that is a bye-week fill in, if you’re desperate. Since his first year in Auburn, he has had only one continuous year of the same offensive system. Now that he is a veteran with many young weapons at his side, I believe he will be a top-15 quarterback this year. It took half the year to grasp Hue Jackson’s system, and was serviceable the latter half of the year. In fact, his number for the last 5 games of the year (taking over starting QB again) makes him equal to Josh Freeman, 7^th among QBs.