DLF’s 2016 Predictions: Fantasy Sleeper

Ryan Finley Posted On September 6, 2016

Most rookie drafts are in the rearview mirror, and the NFL Preseason is winding down. We’re all busy combing the news sites trying to keep abreast of all the important developments as we prepare for the best time of the year, the NFL season. That can only mean one thing – it’s time for us to put a bow on those reams of off-season content with DLF’s 2016 Fantasy Predictions. As we did last year, we have eight different prediction articles for you in the following categories:

Fantasy MVP
Fantasy Rookie of the Year
Most Overvalued Dynasty Player
Most Undervalued Dynasty Player
Fantasy Sleeper
Best Dynasty Buy
Best Dynasty Sell
Fantasy Comeback Player of the Year

Today we have our staff picks for this year’s Fantasy Sleeper, and we’ll drop a new article each day leading up to the first day of the season. Let’s get to it.

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Roger Lewis, WR NYG

Lewis’ checkered past led to him going undrafted, but he has the talent to play in the NFL. He put up crazy numbers — 85 grabs for 1,544 yards and 16 scores — last year at Bowling Green, out-producing devy darling and fellow MAC receiver Corey Davis. The Giants are in need of a third wideout, and with time, Lewis may be able to fill that role. – Austan Kas

Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR PIT

Here’s a deep sleeper for you. I think Sammie Coates fails to live up to expectations and Markus Wheaton isn’t as involved as everyone assumes. DHB has the athleticism to capitalize and could turn in a relevant year out of nowhere. – Trevor Bucher

Sammie Coates, WR PIT

There are a lot of rookies who could fit this category, including Tyler Higbee, Tajae Sharpe and Jakeem Grant. However, I’m going to go with a second year player in Coates. With the unexpected suspension of Martavis Bryant, Coates gets a golden opportunity playing in an offense that does nothing but maximize the potential of its receivers. Antonio Brown will get his, but he’ll also get the best defenders on the other side, leaving Coates to go to work. – Ken Kelly

Stephen Anderson, TE HOU

Maybe I’m just a sucker for TE projects (I am), but Anderson, a UDFA signed out of Cal, has received a lot of positive buzz and has a chance to emerge as the main pass-catching TE in Houston. After DeAndre Hopkins and Lamar Miller, the Texans’ remaining targets are completely up for grabs, so Anderson has a good chance to be relevant if he can earn that role. – Jarrett Behar

Donte Moncrief, WR IND

I think this one won’t surprise many, but in the fifth round of 12 team ADP, this is an easy pick for a slight sleeper. Much beloved in the dyno community, we are all looking for that third year breakout from Moncrief. If the offense is firing on all cylinders in Indy, this should be the easiest pick here. – Adam Tzikas

Chris Hogan, WR NEP

We’ve seen Belicheck do it before with Wes Welker and Julian Edelman. I think he’s going to do it again with former Buffalo Bills receiver Chris Hogan. Honorable mention: Mike Wallace – Eric Olinger

Latavius Murray, RB OAK

I’m not a fan of Murray long term, but for this year I think he is being underrated. He should easily push for 250+ touches with little competition at running back. Add in a great offensive line and a juicy first half schedule, and Murray could come flying out of the gates this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he finished as a low-end RB1 in 2016. – Andrew Lightner

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE TB

His dynasty stock is currently on the cheap due to some negative reports that surfaced a few months ago. Seferian-Jenkins is still a talented athlete that creates mismatches for linebackers and defensive backs. With Mike Evans typically facing double coverage, I wouldn’t be surprised if Seferian-Jenkins receives a lot of targets over the middle which would make him fantasy relevant. His athleticism and size makes him a tremendous target in the red-zone. – Bruce Matson

Marvin Jones, WR DET

People are still looking at Golden Tate as the WR1 in Detroit, but in my opinion that mantle has been passed to Marvin Jones. The signing of Anquan Boldin has taken a bite out of both Tate and Eric Ebron as he does a lot of the same things both of those players do. At this point in his career, Boldin cannot do what Marvin Jones can do in terms of stretching the field or as a red zone threat. Jones has formed a nice rapport with Matthew Stafford which was on display against the Bengals in week 2 of the preseason. Jones is typically going three to four rounds after Tate. – Matt Price

Tevin Coleman, RB ATL

With relatively high value as recently as last year, Tevin Coleman is far from a true sleeper. But the term sleeper needs refining anyway, and I am a fan of where I can get Coleman these days. I am far from a Devonta Freeman hater, but I could see Coleman becoming the best pure runner in Atlanta and returning a ton of value. –Rob Leath

Jerick McKinnon, RB MIN

McKinnon flashed towards the end of last year, as well as in the playoffs, as we all hoped he would. The Vikings offense seems to be moving away from the AP ground and pound days, and into a more pass happy offense under Norv Turner. Look for McKinnon to take most of the third down snaps, and all of the passing situation work. –Dan Sainio

Markus Wheaton, WR PIT

Travis Benjamin would be my pick, but I wrote about him as my undervalued player in the DLF column last year. I’ll give you another one of my sleepers. Wheaton comes in with a mass of targets available. I don’t trust Sammie Coates and Wheaton proved capable last season. Interestingly enough, Wheaton was non-existent when Martavis Bryant was out in 2015, but showed up when he was in the lineup. Wheaton finished the season with eight straight games of five or more targets. Big Ben seems to have developed some trust down the stretch and I expect that to carry over to 2016. – Izzy Elkaffas

Mohamed Sanu, WR ATL

When Mohamed Sanu became a Falcon in the off-season it was clear to me that the team was dedicated to finding another option to catch the ball opposite Julio Jones. Sanu will not face double teams and he has already earned the WR2 spot over Justin Hardy. – Carla Gruse

Zach Zenner, RB DET

With the recent release of Stevan Ridley, Zenner will likely be the big running back in Detroit. Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick are the top two on the depth chart, but neither has proven to be a great interior runner. The opportunity is there for Zenner to becoming the short yardage guy and potentially more if Abdullah struggles like he did in 2015. – Nick Whalen

Shaun Draughn, RB SF

In July, Kevin O’Brien wrote about Draughn as an end-of-the-roster guy, and the case for him is even stronger now. Draughn appears locked into the pass-catching RB role, and the 49ers coaches love him. He’s a high-end RB2 at best, but I’m all about getting free production at RB, so he’ll be on plenty of my rosters. – Brian Malone

Duke Johnson, RB CLE

We have seen what running backs do under Hue Jackson. I have no doubt that we will see solid results from Duke Johnson for the same reasons we saw Giovani Bernard do well in Cincinnati. Johnson is a PPR asset only, but he can light up the scoreboard in receptions because Cleveland doesn’t have an AJ Green or Tyler Eifert, heck they don’t even have a Mohammad Sanu. He should be able to have the opportunity to improve on his rookie season stats that saw him catch 61 passes for 534 yards with two touchdowns. – Mike Valverde

Deandre Washington, RB OAK

I’ve been high on this kid since watching film on him prior to the NFL Draft. I love the landing spot in Oakland, as he could unseat Latavius Murray as the starter by the time they come home from Baltimore after week four. Great chance at putting up RB2 numbers in his inaugural season. – Adam Bendzick

Stephen Anderson, TE HOU

Head Coach Bill O’Brien was once the Quarterbacks Coach, and eventually, Offensive Coordinator in New England, responsible for calling the plays from 2009 through the “Rob Gronkowski/Aaron Hernandez Era.” Under his direction, the two tight ends achieved consecutive dual TE1 finishes, including a TE2/TE3 standing in 2011. With Anderson, O’Brien has a tremendous athlete for the position, who can line up anywhere, making him the proverbial “Match-up Nightmare”. The rookie has seen extensive work with the first team offense this preseason, yet his name is rarely whispered as a possible bust-out candidate…so keep it quiet ‘til after your draft. – Mo Brewington

Here’s how the votes shook out for our 2016 Fantasy Sleeper:

Well, this one sure turned out differently. 19 authors led to 18 different picks, which is easily the widest spread of any of these pieces thus far. And the only repeat is a tight end not a ton of people know much about. Some really brave picks here with guys like DHB and Draughn getting some love. Picking a sleeper is like throwing darts, and I like it.

If I had my own pick, I’d be going with Duke Johnson. All 45 of my non-bot twitter followers probably know I’m a big fan, and Nick Whalen chides me often on my unnatural fascination with the guy. I figure if I can’t get myself a Todd Gurley type, I’ll go with a more all-around back – those guys sure are cheaper. And I just have a feeling about Duke, just like I had a feeling about Devonta Freeman in last year’s sleeper predictions.

Who is your pick for this year’s sleeper?

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