Fantasy Football: One sleeper to target from each team

NFC West Fantasy Football sleepers

San Francisco 49ers: Brandon Aiyuk, WR

The truth is one of the young receivers on the 49ers will breakout. It’s just a matter of who. This was true before the injuries to rising star Deebo Samuel and veterans Richie James, both of whom could miss time this season. Picking one young receiver to break out is a dart throw, so I’ll stick with the recent first-round pick. The reason it’s Aiyuk here — aside from a great fit in the offense — mostly comes from the draft capital San Fransisco used to get him.

First-round wide receivers have struggled in recent years, but Aiyuk’s hands should keep him at least somewhat relevant. He had a 5.5 percent drop rate at Arizona State, third-best out of the six first-round receivers. Aiyuk was reportedly Jimmy Garoppolo’s favorite receiver prior to his hamstring injury in training camp. I was also high on Dante Pettis his rookie year, so maybe 2020 will be kinder to him. Confidence Meter: Medium

Arizona Cardinals: Chase Edmonds, RB

Even though I am sky-high on Kyler Murray this year, he can’t be a sleeper because he’s the fifth quarterback in ESPN’s rankings. He may be the top fantasy quarterback this season, but is anyone really sleeping on him? Instead, I’ll stick with Edmonds. Christian Kirk — a popular sleeper pick — doesn’t have the ceiling that Edmonds does.

We’ve seen Edmonds shoulder the load in Arizona before, including his 27-carry, 126-yard, three-score performance last October. He’s an injury to Kenyan Drake away from being thrust into a fantastic fantasy situation. As RB53, I’d take that upside any day. Like with Pollard/Elliott, only own one Cardinals’ running back. Confidence Meter: Medium

Los Angeles Rams: Cam Akers, RB

The Rams’ backfield is as muddled as their new bone-colored uniform. Todd Gurley is gone, leaving Darrell Henderson, Malcolm Brown and Akers left to fend for the scraps. Despite being the team’s recent second-round pick, Akers has a lot working against him.

For starters, being a rookie in the NFL will be tighter than ever before because of COVID-19. Second, Los Angeles traded up to take Henderson in the third round a year ago. Lastly, Sean McVay said the team already plans to use a committee approach, which is a fantasy owner’s worst nightmare.

So why am I high on Akers? Because he’s good. His ADP of RB28 isn’t doing his sleeper status any favors, yet it’s undeniable how high Akers’ ceiling is. With a horrendous offensive line at Florida State, he still racked up 2,875 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns in three years. That translates favorably to a Los Angeles line that was among the NFL’s worst last season, per Football Outsiders. If any Rams’ running back is to fill in Gurley’s shoes, it’s Akers. Confidence Meter: Medium

Seattle Seahawks: Will Dissly, TE

In two seasons, Dissly has scored six touchdowns on 41 targets. It’s not that impressive unless you consider he’s only played 10 games. Both seasons ended prematurely for the former fourth-rounder, leaving fantasy owners to dream about what could’ve been. The stats are in Dissly’s favor, too. He’s averaged 2 points per target and 13.5 yards per reception.

Injuries are a concern here, but the same can be said for newcomer Greg Olsen. Do we really expect a 35-year-old who last played a full season four years ago to make a big enough dent in Dissly’s production? Besides, Dissly is going undrafted in most leagues. The potential he’s shown far outdoes his criminally low ADP. Confidence Meter: Low