Fantasy Football 2018: Top 5 Sleepers, Non Quarterback Edition

Winning your Fantasy Football 2018 league requires nailing those sleeper picks. What late round players will win you the title? These are your Top 5 fantasy sleepers, quarterbacks not included.

Finding late value in fantasy football 2018 drafts is important. Late-round or waiver wire pickups who become weekly starters push teams to the postseason. However, even more important is finding that solid player who becomes a star.

The jump from mid-round pick to first-round production is the most valuable in fantasy football. With that, here is the task at hand. Find a player projected to be selected after the first six rounds who you think could finish as a top 12 overall player. These are your Top 5 Sleepers for Fantasy Football 2018!

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Fantasy Football 2018 in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

Picking the top sleepers obviously doesn’t apply to quarterbacks. We have already spoken at length about the scoring prowess of the position and how that deflates the overall value of QBs. Drew Brees, Kirk Cousins, and Andrew Luck are all being selected outside the top six rounds. There is no question they could finish as a top 12 player in terms of points scored. QBs don’t count.

Finding a breakout player is risky business. It’s about locating extreme upside, often while sacrificing reliability, consistency, or likely availability. Drafting for the chance of a breakout isn’t necessarily the ideal draft strategy, but it could win you your league.

My first target is wide receiver Sammy Watkins, 73rd overall. We know how bad he can be. He was not worth owning in 2016 and was just average in 2017. But he has a 1,000-yard, nine-touchdown season in his back pocket, with the potential for more. If he builds a rapport with new quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the position of number-one receiver is sort of open in Kansas City. Tyreek Hill is a game-changer, but he isn’t the prototypical top threat. Watkins would be.

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Another wide receiver being taken even later has produced even better than Watkins in the past. Jordy Nelson, 96th overall, is a former multi-year All-Pro. His ceiling simply comes down to whether he is back to being healthy.

Most folks think of Nelson as being years away from his former glory, but in actuality, he was superb as recently as 2016. In fact, he led the league in receiving touchdowns and receiver fantasy points that season. 2017 was a lost year, but why can’t ’18 be a rebound?

It is much, much harder to pinpoint a mid-round RB primed to breakout. It’s why we have consistently advocated taking running backs early and often. The one guy that jumps out at me is Houston’s Lamar Miller.

First of all, he is going far too late in general in drafts, being taken 74th overall. Even if you don’t believe in a breakout, he is the number-one option on what should be a good offense.

With D’Onta Foreman recovering from an injury that cost him much of last season, Miller doesn’t even have anyone battling with him for carries at the moment. Yes, Miller was pretty bad last season, but that doesn’t have to be a downward trend to his career.

He is only 27 years old and has been given more than 225 carries in a season only twice. Young legs and no competition are two delightful fantasy hooks. With multiple 1,000-yard seasons in his past, Miller’s ceiling comes down to finding the end zone more often.

Dan Salem:

Those are three great Fantasy Football 2018 sleepers. I have two more to round out our top 5 since you are likely to snag only one with a ten team league and need multiple players to target. Players like Watkins and Nelson who have changed teams often fly under the radar. The same is true of my first sleeper pick.

Running back Dion Lewis, now of the Tennessee Titans, is being drafted 75th overall on average. On only 180 rushing attempts last season for the Patriots, Lewis racked up nearly 900 yards and six touchdowns. He was also a solid receiver for New England.

Now Lewis is being tasked with leading the Titans’ backfield, a task he was more than capable of doing for the Patriots last season. The risk of taking Lewis is low since his production has consistently increased as he’s been given more responsibility in his team’s offense. He is a likely number one running back for a 2017 playoff team, yet he’s going very late in drafts for running backs at the moment. Don’t think twice about snatching him up.

My final sleeper is wide receiver DeVante Parker of the Miami Dolphins. He is being drafted 93rd overall on average. Parker’s production has been consistent the last two years, but unspectacular. He has averaged over 50 receptions and nearly 700 yards with only a few touchdowns, yet the Dolphins need someone to step up at receiver this season.

Ryan Tannehill is returning from injury and Miami has lofty expectations for its offense. Jarvis Landry departed to the Browns and the Dolphins lack a proven number one wide receiver. Parker is poised to seize his opportunity with Tannehill. Its another low-risk pick with high upside.

Those are five amazing sleepers for fantasy football 2018. Leave your favorite non-quarterback sleeper picks in the comments below. Then we can debate the most popular players before the new season gets underway!