2018 Summer Sleeper: Washington Redskins
In our annual 32-part Summer Sleeper series, DLF scribes identify a lightly-touted player on each NFL roster who may be worthy of your consideration. Our subjects all have varying levels of “sleeperness,” but each merits a bit of in-depth discussion here in the Premium Content section.
To help everybody along, we are going to be categorizing our sleepers under one of three headings:
Super Deep Sleepers – Players who aren’t roster-worthy in 12-team leagues, but are still worth keeping an eye on.
Deep Sleepers – An end of the roster player who is more often than not on the waiver wire in 12-team leagues.
Sleeper – A likely rostered player who makes for a good trade target. Their startup ADP puts them out of the top-175 or so.
Because we aren’t going to give you the likes of mainstream sleepers, most of these players will undoubtedly fizzle. All we are asking is for you to keep an open mind and perhaps be willing to make room for one of these players on your bench. You never know when the next Adam Thielen is going to spring up. Feel free to add your own thoughts about our choice for the designated sleeper, or nominate one of your own in the comments below.
The Washington Redskins finished last season with a 7-9 record and placed third in the NFC East. The team was led by Kirk Cousins who passed for 4,093 yards and 27 touchdowns, completing 64.3 percent of his passes. He’s now with the Minnesota Vikings, and this offense is currently transitioning from the Cousins era.
Alex Smith will take over as the team’s starting quarterback. In the last two seasons, he completed 67.30 percent of his passes while earning the reputation as one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league. In Kansas City, he leaned on Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in the passing game while Kareem Hunt did damage on the ground.
Things are going to be a little different in Washington. Rookie running back Derrius Guice is expected to be the team’s starting running back. If all things go to plan, he will be running behind a healthy offensive line which is something Samaje Perine and company didn’t get the chance to do last season. If the team can get something going on the ground this year after rushing for 3.6 yards per carry a year ago, then the offense could be heading in the right direction.
In order for the Redskins’ offense to succeed, Smith will need to get adjusted to the new offensive system and get acclimated to his new passing targets. Jamison Crowder led the team with 66 catches for 789 yards last year. Terrelle Pryor and Ryan Grant are no longer with the team which will give third-year wide receiver, Josh Doctson, a chance to prove himself. Also, the Redskins signed Paul Richardson in the off-season with the hopes that he could add some extra speed to help stretch the field.
When healthy, Jordan Reed is a very dependable option in the passing game. Vernon Davis is another solid receiving tight end and he’s an older veteran who still has some athleticism that allows him to sneak past defensive backs. His 69 catches for 648 yards were second most on the team last year. Another tight end on the roster who could turn some heads this year is Jeremy Sprinkle. The Redskins drafted him in the fifth-round of last year’s draft. If the injury bug decides to strike this year, Sprinkle could step in and take over as the team’s starting tight end.
The offense has a lot of good pieces and Smith should be able to distribute the ball fairly well in his new offense. Washington has plenty of receiving threats and potentially one of the best young backs in the league to lean on. Redskins fans should have plenty of optimism going into the 2018 season. They won’t win the Super Bowl, but fans should notice improvements from a year ago.
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Trey Quinn, WR
Category: Super Deep Sleeper
The Redskins drafted Quinn in the seventh round of this year’s draft. At SMU, he played second fiddle to Courtland Sutton who was one of the top wide receiver prospects in the nation. With the spotlight shining on Sutton, it was almost impossible for Quinn to garner any national attention. Even though he led the team in receiving with 114 catches for 1,236 yards and 13 touchdowns, a lot of people failed to realize how productive he was last year.
Think about this: He managed to own a 32.33 percent market share of SMU’s passing offense while sharing the field with one of the best wide receivers in the country. That’s a hard feat to accomplish because usually stud wide receivers like Sutton soak up all the targets, limiting the opportunities for the rest of the receivers on the team. This proves that Quinn’s overall talent allows him to still standout against stiff competition.
Coming out of high school, Quinn was a four-star recruit who signed his original letter of intent with LSU. There, he played two seasons before he decided to transfer to SMU. He transferred schools because he didn’t feel like he was an optimal fit in LSU’s offensive scheme. At the time, LSU ran a low volume passing offense, making it hard for Quinn and other wide receivers on the team to be productive. He needed to go to a school that would give him an opportunity to showcase his skillset. SMU took him in with open arms and the rest is history.
After sitting out a year, Quinn immediately took off, catching seven passes for 116 yards and one touchdown against TCU in week three. Since then, he had five 100-yard games. His best game of the season came against Cincinnati where he caught 17 passes for 186 yards. Good receivers take over games and Quinn had multiple performances where he torched opposing defenses for big plays.
One of the biggest knocks against Quinn is that he only had one productive season during his entire collegiate career. He has a good reason why he didn’t break out during his freshman and sophomore seasons: LSU had one of the worst passing offenses in the nation and it would be almost impossible for him to stand out and be the best he could be if he was seeing a limited amount of targets in the passing game. It’s hard to hold the first two years of his career against him. If anything, he remedied those issues by transferring to SMU and immediately succeeding in their offensive system.
He’s a dynamic slot receiver who runs crisp routes. The best thing about his game is his tenacity at the catch point. Even though he’s a smaller player, he doesn’t allow opposing defenders to disrupt his ability to convert tough contested catches in traffic.
At 5-foot-11 and 206 pounds, Quinn is destined to play the slot. Mainly, because he doesn’t have the speed to win on the outside. Even from the slot, Quinn could eventually develop into a functional fantasy asset. All he needs to do is see the field and draw enough passing targets to fuel some production.
Trey Quinn getting open on the post route and getting the score. pic.twitter.com/mFlJaZD3kv
— Bruce Matson (@MetricScout) July 18, 2018
What sets him apart from your average slot receiver is that he is capable of making plays downfield. The short video above shows that Quinn is a textbook route runner who can break off routes on the drop of a dime. His short-area quickness and swift feet allow him to get open on post and corner routes. By being able to track the ball over his shoulder and make plays in tight coverage, he can routinely beat defenders downfield for long gains.
Saying that he’s a value is an understatement. Right now, he’s a late fourth-round pick in rookie drafts. He holds a 233.17 dynasty ADP, making him virtually free in startup drafts. Without a doubt, he’s a player you should be targeting in the later rounds because he’s uber cheap and he’s oozing with upside. These are the type of players you should be stashing at the backend of your roster.
His lack of draft pedigree shouldn’t scare you away, because slot receivers don’t have to be selected in the early rounds of the draft to become productive fantasy assets. Keep in mind there have been plenty of slot receivers drafted in the later rounds who still figure out a way to carve a role with their NFL teams. He just needs to play well in camp and stay consistent throughout the year and he might get the chance to see the field on a regular basis in the next year or two.
I called him a super deep sleeper because the chances of him developing into a top fantasy receiver are slim to none. His extremely cheap price tag combined with his potential could deliver a good return on your investment in the near future. Quinn is technically free right now, and all he has to do is see the field and his stock will rise. You won’t be out much if he doesn’t pan out which makes him a good candidate to stash at the end of your bench.
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