Fantasy Football: Five Sleepers to Target

QB: Eli Manning, New York Giants

Dec 14, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) greets New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) after Beckham

Names like Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning steal the fantasy football headlines at the quarterback position, but I am a firm believer in waiting until later in the draft to select a QB. Obviously, it there is good value on someone like Rodgers or Luck, I will jump at the opportunity, but that rarely happens.

Quarterback is a very high scoring fantasy position. The elite guys put up huge numbers, but even the ones who aren’t as good put up big fantasy totals. Also, considering a huge majority of leagues only start one quarterback, there are plenty to choose from. Simply put, having an elite running back or wide receiver is more beneficial than having an elite quarterback. So most of the time, I am waiting on the position.

This year, Eli Manning is the quarterback who I am targeting. With the emergence of Beckham last season, Manning finished the year as the 10th best fantasy quarterback, according to standard ESPN.com scoring. That may be unimpressive to you as 10th is barely even starting caliber, but the gap is very minimal around that spot. Between Manning at 10 and Matt Ryan at seven, there is only a gap of five points. Basically, Manning was five points away from being the seventh best fantasy quarterback. He was a legit fantasy starter.

A lot of my confidence in Manning this season is connected to Beckham. He is clearly one of the premier players in the league, and Manning’s production improved once he got healthy last season. With having Beckham for a full season, Manning has a fairly safe floor, because if nothing else, the young dynamic talent is going to put up numbers for the veteran quarterback.

Manning himself is no slouch though, and he brings a lot of upside to the table as a player as well. Victor Cruz returning, and the addition of receiving back Shane Vereen does not hurt either.

Based on current ESPN.com ADP data, Manning is on average going with the 121st overall pick, and the 15th quarterback off-the-board. He is an absolute steal in that range, and I will be owning a ton of shares in Manning unless his ADP sky-rockets. Wait on quarterback and heavily target Manning.

Next: Undervalued Rookie Running Back