Last year some later round rookies stepped up and became viable starting fantasy players, Here is a list of a few: Austin Collie, Johnny Knox, Louis Murphy, Shonn Greene, Mike Wallace, and Arian Foster. This year everyone already has their eyes on rookies like Ryan Mathews, Jahvid Best, CJ Spiller, Dez Bryant, Montario Hardesty, and Ben Tate, but we at Draftseason dare to go deeper. In fact these rookies sleepers are so deep they’ll put your butt to sleep.
*NOTE – None of these players should be considered on draft day, except for dynasty leagues or really deep leagues, but should only be considered as mid season pickups.
Jonathan Dwyer RB, Pittsburgh Steelers – Dwyer fell to the 6th round due to medical concerns and playing in a goofy offense in college. He is a big powerful back with surprisingly good speed. The Steelers will be pounding the ball early and often this season so there is a good chance Dwyer could see a handful of touches per game.
Eric Decker WR, Denver Broncos – Decker was one of the most talented WRs in the 2010 Draft but fell to the third round due to lingering effects of a foot injury. He landed in the perfect situation in Denver as their depth chart at WR is very thin. It may take him about half the season to be ready but he could become a hot second half of the season waiver wire pickup, as he’ll challenge for a starting spot.
Brandon LaFell/Armanti Edwards WR, Carolina Panthers – Quick, name the no. 2 receiver for the Carolina Panthers………exactly. LaFell is a big target who the Panthers took in round 3 and hope will be the compliment to Steve Smith that they’ve been searching years for. If he doesn’t pan out, they will look to converted QB Armanti Edwards to fill that role and he has been looking good in mini-camps or so they say.
Emmanuel Sanders WR, Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers took this speedy wide receiver in the third round and will hope he can help fill the void left by Santonio Holmes. Roethlisberger being out the first 4-6 games doesn’t help Sanders, but when he comes back, the Steelers could line up Wallace and Sanders and find themselves with a very nice deep threat combination.
Ed Dickson/Dennis Pitta TE, Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens offense could turn out to be an explosive unit this year. Joe Flacco is entering his third year and now has a true no. 1 receiver in Anquan Boldin to throw the ball to, combined with star RB Ray Rice and sure handed chain mover Derrick Mason. These two young tight ends will benefit by having all this talent around them. Both are sure handed receivers who could find themselves open a lot this year with defenses trying to shut down the starts listed above. The only question is which of these boys will emerge as the starter?
James Starks RB, Green Bay Packers – Grant is entrenched as the Packers starter and Brandon Jackson as the backup but Starks is someone to keep an eye on through the preseason. He has all the talent in the world but missed his Senior year due to injury and his stock tumbled because of it. If Starks proves he is 100 percent recovered, he could climb the Packers depth chart with his size, speed, and receiving capabilities.
Jimmy Graham TE, New Orleans Saints – Graham is a converted basketball player who just started playing tight end his last few seasons in college. That sounds a lot like Antonio Gates’ story and he has gone on to become arguably the best fantasy TE of all time. Now I’m not saying Graham is going to have Gates like numbers this year but Jeremy Shockey is a health risk and if he has another medical setback Graham could find himself in the starting lineup and become a viable redzone target for one of the best offenses in the game.
Taylor Price WR, New England Patriots – Price is a smooth, fluid receiver out of Ohio, who the Pats grabbed in the third round. Randy Moss is clearly the no. 1 passing option and Welker/Edelman will fill the slot role but that leaves Price in competition with second year man Brandon Tate and ancient Torry Holt as his competition for the no. 2 spot. Price definitely has a fair chance to win that job or at least earn some playing time.
Marcus Easley WR, Buffalo Bills – This big receiver out of Connecticut was a 4th round pick of the Bills last April. He doesn’t exaclty have the toughest ladder to climb in Buffalo to earn some playing time. James Hardy, Roscoe Parrish, Steve Johnson, Josh Reed, are a few of the names he’ll be competing with and none of them are guaranteed to make the team. Easley supposedly shined during mini-camps and OTA’s so a quick ascension to a starting spot could be in the works.
Joe McKnight RB, New York Jets - McKnight is the third option on the ground for the Jets as he is buried behind Shonn Greene and LaDanian Tomlinson. But the Jets are going to pound the hell out of the ball this year so McKnight may be getting a small number of carries per game. He can catch the ball well and is explosive and if one of the two guys ahead of him gets injured, McKnight will be a much coveted fantasy free agent.
Anthony Dixon RB, San Francisco 49ers – Dixon will likely enter the season as third on the 49ers depth chart. He is a bruising runner but does have a lot of wear on his body from having been worked to the dickens in college. He plays behind the fragile Frank Gore and Glen Coffee who hasn’t shown much yet. There is a decent chance Dixon could produce some numbers this year.
