Summer Sleeper: Washington Redskins
With fantasy season right around the corner, we’re continuing our annual series focusing on a few sleepers from all 32 teams in the NFL. You can find all of the Summer Sleeper articles here.
These sleepers all have varying levels of “sleeperness,” but all merit a little more talking about here in the Premium Content section. Some of these players are deep dynasty sleepers who could merit a spot on your bench in a deep league, while others are players who may contribute a little faster than the deep prospects, but deserve more attention than they may be getting. By definition, a sleeper could mean something a little different to everyone, but we’re simply doing the best job we can to unearth one player from each team who fits the category in some way, shape or form.
We’ll never insult you with a comprehensive list of “sleepers” which include such such dynasty mainstay names as Toby Gerhart, Christine Michael or Cordarrelle Patterson. You’re all too good for that.
While many of these players will undoubtedly fizzle, there’s more value in looking more closely at these deeper prospects and players. We invite you to keep an open mind and either or re-assess your value on those who may be rostered in your league or consider adding a few of these deeper prospects we focus on this Summer who are free agents in your league – after all, some are destined to pan out, too.
Feel free to add your own comments about our choice for the designated sleeper, or nominate one of your own!
[am4show have=’p2;p3;p4;p5;p6;’ guest_error=’sub_message’ user_error=’sub_message’ ]
With fantasy season right around the corner, we’re continuing our annual series focusing on a few sleepers from all 32 teams in the NFL. You can find all of the Summer Sleeper articles here.
These sleepers all have varying levels of “sleeperness,” but all merit a little more talking about here in the Premium Content section. Some of these players are deep dynasty sleepers who could merit a spot on your bench in a deep league, while others are players who may contribute a little faster than the deep prospects, but deserve more attention than they may be getting. By definition, a sleeper could mean something a little different to everyone, but we’re simply doing the best job we can to unearth one player from each team who fits the category in some way, shape or form.
We’ll never insult you with a comprehensive list of “sleepers” which include such such dynasty mainstay names as Toby Gerhart, Christine Michael or Cordarrelle Patterson. You’re all too good for that.
While many of these players will undoubtedly fizzle, there’s more value in looking more closely at these deeper prospects and players. We invite you to keep an open mind and either or re-assess your value on those who may be rostered in your league or consider adding a few of these deeper prospects we focus on this Summer who are free agents in your league – after all, some are destined to pan out, too.
Feel free to add your own comments about our choice for the designated sleeper, or nominate one of your own!
Roy Helu Jr., RB WSH
Rewind to this point in 2012 and you’d have called me a fool for suggesting Redskins running back Roy Helu Jr. could possibly be considered a sleeper. After all, he was coming off an impressive rookie campaign that saw the former Nebraska Cornhusker easily lead his team in nearly every significant running back qualifier. To that point, let’s consider Helu’s freshman numbers.
As can be gleaned from the table above, what Helu lacked in volume he more than made up for in efficiency. While his 4.2 yards-per-carry represented only a mild upgrade over the team’s average of 4.0, Helu truly made his hay through the air. For the year Helu caught 83% of his targets, which was no small feat considering he was corralling passes from the two-headed monster of Rex Grossman and John Beck. Digging deeper, on the year Helu averaged a robust 0.84 PPR points-per-touch, along with a True Points average (subtracting out the points from touchdowns and the point per reception) of 0.510, an above average figure when compared to the 2013 running backs who received between 10-15 touches per game.
Helu also functioned as a true feature back late in the season, recording a whopping 112 touches over a four-game stretch. Three of these games resulted in 100-yard rushing performances and at least 4.3 yards-per-carry, with an average of 22.9 PPR points per game. Even including a lackluster effort against the division rival Giants, Helu’s splits over that time frame were exemplary:
To put that weekly total into context, Helu’s 19.6 PPR points-per-game would’ve ranked as the fifth highest average in 2011, sliding in right behind the ageless Fred Jackson. It’s that potential which sent dynasty owners into a tizzy, as the relatively unproven Helu was vaulted into the fifth round of startup drafts (according to Pro Football Focus) as the 20th running back off the board. As it turns out, that moment would serve as the high water mark for the young ball carrier.
As we all know by now, Helu missed the majority of the 2012 training camp with lower leg and turf toe injuries, and his role was usurped by newcomer Alfred Morris. Helu was eventually placed on injured reserve early in the season, recording only nine total touches. Morris, meanwhile, received 335 carries and made the most of them with over 1,600 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, finishing his rookie season as the PPR RB7.
2013 was more of the same, with Helu functioning strictly as a backup and third-down running back. Though he remained efficient, Helu received only 93 total touches over 16 games, compared to 285 for Morris. With the starter checking in once again with a healthy 4.6 yards-per-carry, Shanahan Inc. had little reason to enlarge Helu’s role, even despite the lost season.
That’s when things got interesting.
The “Shanaclan” was ousted following the season, and former Bengals Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden was brought in to right the ship. As Gruden served three years in that capacity it would be reasonable to identify a trend as to how he utilizes his ball carriers, but strangely we’re left with little more than a mixed bag. To wit, consider the following table.
In 2011 Gruden gave the majority of the work to the aging Cedric Benson, with a smattering of carries and receptions available for backup Bernard Scott. This was intensified in 2012, as starter BenJarvus Green-Ellis received nearly eight carries to every Cedric Peerman’s one. Once again, neither was overly involved in the passing game.
While it’s easy to be scared off by those numbers, it’s important to place them into context. Scott and Peerman were average talents at best, as evidenced by the fact the former is out of the league and the latter primarily plays special teams (only eight touches in 2013). With an exceptional talent like 2013 rookie Gio Bernard, however, the script was completely flipped.
The running back position was essentially turned into a timeshare, with Green-Ellis functioning as the nominal feature back. Bernard still received 43.5% of the carries between the two, but more importantly he shined in the passing game with a whopping 56 receptions. This resulted in a finish as the PPR RB13, but more importantly begged the following question – can Helu accomplish the same?
In short, no. Simply put, Morris is better than Green-Ellis and Helu isn’t as good as Bernard, and it’s highly unlikely there will be 200+ touches worth of scraps. However, if he can shake the nagging injuries that have plagued him during his short career thus far, I do believe Helu will have a role in the offense.
Morris, to put it kindly, can’t catch a cold and serves best as a two-down thumper. With rookie Lache Seastrunk similarly stone-handed and sophomore Chris Thompson once again beset by injury, the third-down job seems to be Helu’s to lose. Once again, I don’t expect him to approach Bernard’s volume, but 120-140 total touches wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.
To that last point, though it’s folly to read too much into preseason performance, Helu’s usage in Washington’s game against New England was interesting. He received two touches on the game’s opening drive (one rush and one reception) with the first-team offense, compared to Morris’ four rushes and one target (an incomplete pass). Morris is clearly still the engine that makes the backfield go, but it’s also apparent Gruden will find uses for the more dynamic Helu.
It wouldn’t shock me if Helu flirted with low-level FLEX viability in 2013, potentially accumulating 7-9 touches per game (or more, depending on game flow). While his usage will likely be unpredictable, I’d love to own him in any medium to deep league setting, given his proven abilities, feature-back size/speed combo (6’0”, 219 pounds; 4.42 second 40-yard dash) and free agent status come 2015. Helu might be classified as a sleeper right now, but if he awakens I expect we’ll once again see shades of the player we thought he’d turn out to be two years ago.
Follow me on Twitter @EDH_27
- Dynasty Fantasy Football Mailbag: Justin Jefferson Or A Bundle Of Draft Picks? - April 23, 2024
- Dynasty Fantasy Football Mailbag: Is Kendre Miller Valued Unfairly? - April 17, 2024
- Forgotten Dynasty Veterans: Bottom Tier - April 9, 2024
