Fantasy Football 2016: Top 5 Can’t Miss Fantasy Sleepers

Don’t be a sheep and follow the herd. Grab these top five can’t miss sleepers come draft time, because no one else is smart enough to. It’s Fantasy Football 2016.

Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.

TODD:

The term ‘fantasy football sleeper’ gets overused and misused often in context. There is no longer such thing as an actual sleeper in which the implication is that most drafters have not heard of the player before. Instead, fantasy sleeper is properly used in reference to a great value had later in drafts. Instead of being a player no one knows about, a sleeper is now a player everyone knows about and incorrectly doesn’t want.

Here are my top three sleepers from players ranked outside the consensus top 100 players this season (quarterback rankings reflect one-QB leagues):

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1) WR Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings

Seriously, outside the top 100 and 42nd at his position for Minnesota’s number one receiving option? Diggs was crazy good as a rookie but with areas he can improve upon. Yet he’s being drafted after other wide receivers who are suspended (Josh Gordon), have never played in the NFL (Kevin White) or generally aren’t that good at football (Torrey Smith). I don’t get it.

I realize Teddy Bridgewater is not an ideal fantasy quarterback or real-life quarterback for a fantasy skill player, but Diggs is good enough and will have the targets (84 in just nine starts last year) to overcome that.

2) WR Travis Benjamin, San Diego Chargers

All the arguments for Diggs also pertain to Benjamin except the latter is even further down draft boards. Benjamin is not his team’s number-one option, but going to the pass-happy San Diego Chargers, that should hardly matter. He is going to put up numbers. With what he did with Cleveland Browns players throwing to him, one can only imagine how good he will be with Philip Rivers as his QB.

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3) RB Theo Riddick, Detroit Lions

Running back is weak this year. There are hardly any guys worth trusting outside the top 10, let alone the top 40 at the position. Riddick comes in as the 44th-best running back according to the average draft. That is insanity.

Riddick is a prolific pass-catcher out of the backfield. He is guaranteed touches in that regard and on third downs. He is also on a team where the only player ahead of him is a second-year back with fumbling issues stemming from college. Riddick doesn’t run much, or at least he hasn’t in the past. That could change this year if Ameer Abdullah encounters any troubles at all. Riddick could find himself as a lead back, and he isn’t being drafted until the 14th round.

DAN:

Using the top 100 to denote a fantasy football sleeper sounds like a solid barometer, but unfortunately it then consists of players like Derek Carr and Tony Romo, neither of whom are anything close to a sleeper pick. Actually, let me rephrase that. Romo is now a sleeper pick, as in he will be sleeping on the couch for almost two months. Snap!

I love your three fantasy sleepers. Very little argument for the value of all three guys, considering fantasy owners are pretty much ignoring them. I’ll add two more players to the mix, rounding out our top five fantasy football 2016 sleepers.

My picks are more household names, yet they are not particularly popular in fantasy football drafts.

4) WR Tavon Austin, Los Angeles Rams

Austin’s stats last season were meager, yet his team has gotten considerably better. The Rams running game should really open things up for Austin, as will the addition of a bonafide number one quarterback in Jared Goff. Because Los Angeles is still rebuilding as a team, expect them to be playing from behind quite often. This means even more looks for Austin in the passing game.

Tavon is the number one receiving threat on a young team in a tough division. Simply put, outside of throwing to Todd Gurley in the flat, Goff will be looking to Austin early and often. He’s getting drafted 43rd on average among receivers, but I see him being overlooked more often than not. He’s a real sleeper with much higher value.

5) QB Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals

I don’t believe fantasy football owners have yet to accept the fact that Dalton and the Bengals are a good football team. They have been good for multiple years in a row and Dalton is the reason. His 25 touchdowns and over 3200 yards last season were no fluke. But his average draft position among quarterbacks is silly. He’s going 17th on average at his position.

NFL Ranks: Top 10 Quarterbacks in 2016

I’m not sure why this guy’s being written off, but Cincinnati’s division is not what it once was. Sure, the Steelers will be pretty darn good, but Cleveland and Baltimore also play in the North. None of those teams are none for defense any longer. Dalton is a steal and a real sleeper pick when going for a quarterback. There are not sixteen better fantasy quarterbacks in the league, yet there Dalton sits way back on most people’s draft boards.