Fantasy Football: Five Sleepers to Target

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Nov 23, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) celebrates scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

As the off season winds down, and training camps are quickly approaching, fantasy football season is coming. Most leagues will not draft for a while, but it is never too early to take a look at players you should be targeting.

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It is very difficult to win your league with your selections in the first couple of rounds. The gap in production simply is not wide enough to make a huge difference. You can surely lose your league with a first-round bust, but you are never going to make a selection in the first round that single-handily wins your league.

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However, the later rounds are much different. Landing a stud player in the later rounds when the rest of your league-mates are taking average (at best) players can be a major advantage that pretty much single-handily allows you to win your league. Championship teams typically have a couple of undervalued gems to go along with their successful early round picks.

Look no further than last season for proof. The most popular player on championship teams for ESPN.com? Odell Beckham, who used his incredible late season surge to lead 31% of the championship teams on ESPN.com. Tied for second on that list was Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson who was on 22% of ESPN.com championship teams.

Both Beckham and Anderson were after-thoughts by many on draft day, with both going completely undrafted in a majority of leagues. They ended up being two of the most important players down the stretch in fantasy football. Nailing your early round picks are important, but finding gems in the later rounds just might be even more essential.

Fantasy football players tend to focus too much on the early portions of their draft. Obviously, they are important, but you need to find players to target at the back-end of the draft as well. When it comes down to it, targeting the right late round gems will be the difference in who takes home your league title. Putting yourself in the best position to succeed late is a must.

Based on talent, opportunity or raw upside, there are plenty of players who could be considered sleepers, but not all of them will turn out to be fantasy superstars. Do the work, and figure out who you think is going to emerge to be a late round steal.

If you would rather just look at a list, here are my top five sleepers for the 2015 fantasy football season.

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