Sleepers! Everybody loves sleepers! So for the next four days I'm going to go over my sleepers for the year -- one for each team.
I know that each SBNation blogger has been giving their sleepers too and some of them match my selections and some of them don't. When it comes to sleepers, you can never have enough information. (Pssst...if they don't match I'm right)
NFC South
Atlanta – Laurent Robinson, WR – He’s fairly tall (6’ 2”) and damn fast. It doesn’t matter if Ryan is starting for the Falcons, they’re going to throw the ball to the WR2 quite a bit with Roddy White no longer being a surprise.
Carolina – Jeff King, TE – It’s hard to call a guy who caught 46 passes last season a sleeper, but he could be a legitimate fantasy TE this season. That’s especially the case considering the state of Delhomme’s shoulder and the odds that Matt Moore Josh McCown Brett Basanez might be the starting QB for a portion of the season.
New Orleans – Robert Meachem, WR – He has far more raw talent than either Devery Henderson or David Patten. If he can harness it and muscle his way into the starting lineup, he has big upside.
Tampa Bay – Maurice Stovall, WR – You can expect Galloway and Hilliard to miss games at some point in the season and that means Stovall becomes the next best WR in a solid passing offense. He’s also a 3rd year WR if you’re into that.
NFC North
Chicago – Kyle Orton, QB – This isn’t meant as an endorsement of the Bears’ running game (which stinks) or their receiving corps (which really stinks). It’s the fact that if the Bears commit to him starting all 16 games, he has fantasy value. There’s no telling if the Bears will commit though.
Minnesota – Chester Taylor, RB – How can a guy with 844 rush yds and 7 TDs be so overlooked? In non-PPR leagues he put up numbers comparable to Roy Williams last year. He’s not just an essential handcuff for AP, he’s practically a regular flex starter on his own.
Green Bay – Brandon Jackson, RB – He was the “unknown rookie” who was handed the starting job last season despite the fact there were established veterans on the team. Then he got injured a little and stunk a little and lost his job to Ryan Grant. Now the tables might be turning, as Grant hasn’t played a down in the preseason.
Detroit – Rudi Johnson, RB – Ha-ha-ha! You're kidding, right? RB Kevin Smith is the “unknown rookie” who has been handed the starting job despite the fact there are established…wait, haven’t I written this before? Don’t say you weren’t warned -- it wouldn’t take much for Smith to “lose” the starting job and for Rudi to get the nod. Oh what, you're SO confident in the Bengals' ability to make personnel decisions?!
