DON’T SLEEP ON VALUE
Late-round steals can deliver cheap boosts
In the last of a six-part fantasy football draft preview series, The Post identifies undervalued draft-day bargains. Next week: Fantasy Insanity moves to Saturday for the regular season. T here are some questions you get asked over and over to the point of annoyance: Are we there yet? Did you do the dishes? Why is there a charge from the adult toy store on your credit card? You hear them so often, they echo in your mind like the chorus to a Rick Astley song, slowly driving you mad. Come fantasy draft season, there is a question that serves as the constant background noise throughout the weeks leading up to the season’s kickoff: Who are your sleepers? Sleepers used to be those players available deep in drafts who others weren’t familiar with or had forgotten. Now, fantasy advice and information available in abundance from online to radio and TV to your uncle’s weekly Facebook status update. Every player is someone’s sleeper, making no player a true sleeper. It is an outdated moniker the Madman no longer embraces. Instead, we prefer “undervalued.” These are the high-upside guys who could make a splash and cost virtually nothing in draft capital. Same principle, but without insinuation of exclusivity.
Let’s start with running backs. … Now that we’re done there … Wait, we didn’t mention anyone, you say? Well, that’s because RBs are in such limited supply, the undervalued guys get eaten up quickly. All you’re left with are backups dependent primarily on an injury to the starter, and forecasting injuries makes predicting the weather look like a sunny proposition. Nope, we skip right to wide receivers.
Curtis Samuel is a receiver by name, but owns a skillset similar to running back and fellow Panthers rookie Christian McCaffrey, though Samuel gets none of the love. Samuel has an immediate role to fill after the
offseason departure of Ted Ginn. A late-round flyer in leagues of 12 or more teams is not a bad idea. Similarly, many people such as the middle-round value of Cardinals WR John Brown, who hauled in two long touchdowns in a preseason game last week. But he has been dealing with a quadriceps issue. Those types of ailments are concerning for players who rely on speed and burst. But you said predicting injury is too difficult, you ask? Well, this one isn’t predicted, it already exists. A flare up would open up potential targets for Jaron Brown or J.J. Nelson. Speaking of predictable injuries (predictable because they already have happened), after Julian Edelman’s season-ending ACL tear, someone, or someones , is/are going to inherit some significant target opportunities. Danny Amendola is the obvious first in line. But his health history is quite checkered as well. So don’t be shy about a late pick on Chris Hogan or newly acquired Phillip Dorsett.
Lost in the attention to the Ezekiel Elliott drama has been the possible suspension of Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry. If he receives a ban, Kenny Stills becomes a solid second-half pick. It also helps tight end
Julius Thomas, who often goes undrafted. Speaking of Julius Thomas, that’s our list of “sleeper” tight ends. As in: Julius Thomas. The end. The late-round guys, by and large, are what they are: decent floor but limited ceiling. Thomas raises that ceiling without dramatically lowering the floor.
We would talk about undervalued QBs, but all QBs are overvalued in basic scoring formats. But if you insist, Brian Hoyer. We’re not saying draft him, we’re just saying, if there were such a thing as a “sleeper” QB, Hoyer would be on that list.
Kickers, defense/special teams? Are you kidding? We’re not spending time on sleepers for positions that already put us to sleep. Instead, go get some rest. Your draft is almost here. You should call your commissioner and ask, Are we there yet?