Over the course of the next week, millions — and I mean millions — of people will partake in a widely shared, albeit separately scheduled, national holiday.
Of course I’m taking about fantasy football draft day!
There’s enough statistics out there to give anyone a migraine, so it’s important to differentiate what’s legit from the rest of the noise.
I interviewed Yahoo Sports’ Brad Evans last week about who to draft and who to avoid, and now I would like to help you regarding five players I’m considering targeting in my draft. Because, seriously, these ‘sleepers’ are being hyped like crazy — and unlike the aforementioned noise, they appear to be legit.
Let’s break it down.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
Photo Credit: Getty
2015 fantasy football undervalued players
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Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sure, it's Tampa. But he has a rookie QB, meaning the ball might very well get dumped to the tight end position often. Match the offense personnel with ASJ's skills, and you could have a solid sleeper here at a weak position that plateau's after Gronk is off the board.
"He could carve out a critical red zone role thanks to his massive size. He drew raves during OTAs and the early preseason, and is finally healthy after a 2014 rookie campaign during which he was never really playing at full strength. In addition, remember that Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter coaxed a 10-touchdown season out of Marcedes Lewis in Jacksonville, and back-to-back eight-score seasons from Tony Gonzalez at the tail end of his career in Atlanta." -- Tristan H. Cockcroft, ESPN
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Danny Woodhead, RB - San Diego Chargers
Go Chah-jahs!
Sorry, can't help it. Loved the Governator.
AND, you should also love some Woodhead!
The former Patriots star proved a worthy flex option last year in SD, now everyone is ranting about how many carries he'll get this season. First down? Sure. Goal line? Why not.
Evidently rookie Melvin Gordon has a bright future, but can't block a beach ball right now.
"Another oldie, but still goodie, fantasy's Wooderson is a true diamond in the rough at his 124.4 ADP. He's expected to resume his hybrid role within Mike McCoy's offense uptempo offense. Melvin Gordon is a flashy rookie, but his struggles in pass protection and catching the ball are eyesores. Woodhead, who excels in those areas, is sure to pick up the slack. It's unlikely he'll match 2013's production, but somewhere around 850-900 total yards, 50-plus receptions and 4-6 TDs are likely. In other words, he's FLEXY SEXY in PPR leagues." - Brad Evans, Yahoo Sports.
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John Brown, WR - Arizona Cardinals
Larry Fitzgerald's numbers continue to decline and Michael Floyd is banged up. We all know Carson Palmer and the Cardinals like to air it out -- when Palmer is actually healthy. All signs point to John Brown being the big man in Phoenix.
"Unless you've been shutting yourself off from all fantasy talk since early in the offense, you should know few players have been buzzing more than than Brown. That worthy hype just went into overdrive with Michael Floyd's hand injury. The speedy Brown has bulked up to stay on the field better on the outside, meaning he will take a huge jump from the 48-698-5 line he posted as a rookie. He's a terrific WR3 with WR2 potential." - Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News
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Sam Bradford, QB - Philadelphia Eagles
There's more than one reason at least 6 ESPN expert panelists listed Bradford as their QB sleeper this year. He's in a high-powered offense that goes no-huddle and will score a lot of touchdowns.
Obviously you should try to score Aaron Rodgers or Andrew Luck, but if you miss out on the Hall-of-Fame level studs, there is great evidence to wait for Bradford in the later rounds.
ESPN's Matthew Berry has called this excerpt his favorite stat of the pre-season, and for good reason.
"Since Chip Kelly took over the Eagles, only Drew Brees, Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning have more fantasy points than "Eagles QB." Now, some of that is inflated by Michael Vick's rushing, but whatever. A broken-down Vick, Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez have combined for the fourth-most fantasy points among QBs the past two years. Insane. And Bradford's going as QB25! Twenty five! Top-10 upside." - Matthew Berry, ESPN
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Ty Montgomery, WR - Green Bay Packers
When Jordy Nelson went down, teammate WR Davante Adams' stock sky-rocketed.
Nelson was Rodgers' No. 2 guy, who scored like a fantasy WR1. Now that Adams is filling that role, he's expected to get a huge load of looks. Meanwhile people are expecting a rookie named Ty Montgomery to soar, filling in as Green Bay's No. 3 guy. After all, there's way more than a enough wealth in this potent offense.
"The Packers are going to find different ways to get the ball to third-round pick Ty Montgomery. Although he’s a receiver by trade, don’t be surprised if he breaks a long kick return or two, and he could even carry the ball on an end around or a reserve. He’s a multi-dimensional player who might be the Packers’ most impressive rookie." - Rob Demovsky, ESPN
