Like drafting true freshman running backs, I love drafting sleeper wide receivers. Receivers come out of nowhere each season, and it is always a bonus when you hit pay dirt on a flier who is not on other college fantasy football draft boards. With that here are a few guys I’ll be eyeing on draft day.
Keeper Wide Receivers
Frankie Hammond Jr. was someone we were impressed with from last year’s Gators' recruiting class. But he never saw the field. By several accounts, Hammond stood out this spring. He’s got playmaking ability written all over him, however he might be someone that needs another year to bulk up/develop. If you're in a keeper league then he’s worth a flier pick this year. At some point he is going to make a splash.
Eric Ward and
A.J. Dugat are two freshmen that are likely destined for redshirts, but both play in systems that make them valuable in keeper leagues, thus they're...good keeper league selections.
Sleeper Wide Receivers
Like with the running back spot, when it comes to sleeper wide receivers we are mainly looking at fringe draft day selections or guys to keep on your early waiver wire list.
It should be no secret by now that I’m high on Texas’
Malcolm Williams. He’s big, he’s fast and he is stepping into an idea situation with the Longhorns. We often get asked for “sure-fire sleepers”, and in my opinion, Williams is about as close to this as you’ll get. Unless one of my league mates beat me to the punch, Williams will be on my roster(s).
Lyle Leong is no stranger to our sleeper list as this will be his third time around. With the graduation of
Michael Crabtree, Leong will get the first crack at the coveted ‘Z’ wide receiver position. Leong could take a hefty jump in our rankings by mid-August if he looks good in camp. Though we are a little concerned that Leong missed all of spring for unreported reasons, thus opening the door a bit for previous unknown
Alex Torres to make a name for himself.
A few deep sleepers (guys that will likely go undrafted) that we have a close eye on include:
Demaryius Thomas,
Jeshua Anderson and
Darius Darks. Thomas seems to be Georgia Tech’s wide receiver du jour when the Yellow Jackets decide to go deep. Which, by the sounds of it, they will be doing more of in 2009.
Anderson managed 33 catches in a really bad Washington State offense in 2008. If they can find some stability at quarterback the track star could find a home in your starting lineup at some point in the year.
Like Anderson, Darks is another that flew largely under the fantasy radar last year due to limited touchdown output. But as a true freshman he snared 49 passes in 2008. We expect him to be the go-to-guy in
Tom Herman’s offense (former Rice offensive coordinator), which means he should see a boost in production.
One name that is not on our list because he is a household name is
Randall Cobb from Kentucky. But I can’t help but think of him as a sleeper wide receiver, especially if he ends up playing quarterback midway through the season. Can you say bonus points?