Fantasy football sleepers that will shock your league in 2019

Is there such a thing as a fantasy football sleeper? One must dive deep down the draft board and risk it all for that big reward. Those players are the true sleepers, and our picks will shock you.

Let’s just get this out of the way: There’s no such thing as a fantasy football sleeper anymore. Everyone has too much information. And everyone knows there’s no such thing as a sleeper. There are too many articles about sleepers that describe how there’s no such thing as a sleeper.

We aren’t looking for sleepers. We are looking for value. There are still values to find in fantasy drafts because no one is positive how the season will actually play out.

Here are some of our favorite values going in drafts thus far. Big risk and big reward is the name of the game.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate fantasy football sleepers in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Marvin Jones, WR, Detroit Lions

Todd Salem: Jones was the top option for Detroit before going down with a knee injury. He was on pace to top 100 targets for the fourth straight season before getting hurt. He’s now being drafted nearly 50 spots after teammate Kenny Golladay…?

The Detroit offense is no longer a pass-first scheme with Matt Stafford slinging the ball all over the field. It may not support two starting-caliber wide receivers, but I’d rather take the chance that Jones is that guy in the 11th round rather than risking a fifth- or sixth-round pick on Golladay or taking a flyer on an unproven player in that same range.

Damien Williams, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Dan Salem: In terms of high risk, high reward, there might not be any better player than Williams. He’s currently being drafted 56th overall on average, which places him into the fifth or sixth round depending on league size. We know Kansas City is going to have a high-powered offense and we know they will run the ball a lot.

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Williams dominated in his brief stint as the starter last season, but was it a flash in the pan? The Chiefs offense is designed for him to succeed in a big way, the only question is consistency. The job is his to lose and that’s a risk worth taking.

David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Todd Salem: If I don’t have a top-three pick, Johnson is the guy I want, yet he’s falling out of the first round entirely in some drafts. Round one needs to be a safe pick. How can anyone feel more comfortable taking Ezekiel Elliott, Le’Veon Bell, Melvin Gordon or Todd Gurley ahead of Johnson?

Those guys are all huge questions, whether because of injury or holdout. Johnson will be playing in a new offense, which could be a worry. But it should be an offensive improvement, so where’s the concern? In a terrible year, he still put up nearly 200 fantasy points in 2018.

Jamison Crowder, WR, New York Jets

Dan Salem: Diving deep down the list of wide receivers, we come to a name that should not be overlooked. Crowder is the newest member of New York’s receiving corps but has the most upside of any player being drafted so late in the game. He’s barely being drafted at all, but Jets quarterback Sam Darnold has already shown his love for Crowder in New York’s revamped offense.

He may be listed as WR3 on the depth chart, but I fully expect Crowder to rise to WR1 or WR2 in terms of targets and touchdowns by midseason. There’s little risk picking him, but huge rewards await.

Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants

Dan Salem: Manning may only be the starter for a month but he’s going to start the season for New York. Several backup quarterbacks, including Daniel Jones, are all going ahead of Manning. Even Mark Sanchez, who is retired, is being drafted around the same spot as Manning. This is incredibly foolish, because Manning has real upside for someone who is being completely overlooked.

Sure, New York’s wide receivers are injured and suspended. Sure, the offensive line was bad last year. Sure, the team will likely run first with Barkley. But assume for a moment that the Giants have a good offensive line and their receivers are all back in time for week one. New York’s early schedule is easy, giving Manning a big shot at big fantasy points.

Any quarterback outside the top seven

Todd Salem: Quarterbacks score the most points in fantasy. This is true of the best players at the position. It is also true of the mediocre ones. And we aren’t even sure which guys will be the best to begin with.

Deshaun Watson is currently going as the second quarterback off the board. How likely is it that he actually finishes with the second-most fantasy points? And what even separates second from, say, 13th? Last year, the drop-off between second-best and someone who shouldn’t even be starting except as a bye week replacement was fewer than five points per week.

Right now on draft boards, the second quarterback is being taken in the fifth round. Everyone outside the top seven can be had around pick 100 or later. Besides that draft value and the fact that we don’t know how the order of quarterbacks will shake out, there are just so many good quarterbacks these days.

Philip Rivers is going 17th at the position; Jameis Winston is going 19th; Jimmy Garoppolo is 21st. Can you ever remember there being more than 20 draftable quarterbacks in one season? We are easily past 20 this season. Not all of them will perform how we hope, but the options are plentiful. And you can save your top 10, 11, or 12 draft picks for running backs and wide receivers before even taking one.