July 1, 2025 • 16 mins
10 Deep Sleepers With League Winning Potential | Fantasy Football 2025
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Yes guys, we are firmly into fantasy football mock draft
season. Everyone's getting ready for
their drafts and today I am coming at you with 10 deep
sleepers. Last year guys, we saw players
(00:22):
like Jawan Jennings, Jalen McMillan, Tyrone Tracy, Jonnu
Smith, basically random. Some of them are rookies, some
of them are veterans. All in all, deep sleepers.
Last year those players carried fantasy football teams to
championships. So we'll just jump right in with
the first guy on our list. It is rookie Elik Ayomanor, and
(00:45):
he is a classic X wide receiver out of Stanford University.
If you know a single thing aboutAyomanor is that, well, you've
most likely seen the highlight of him absolutely mossing Travis
Hunter, who I believe went 4th overall.
Now Hunter was drafted to play wide receiver, but primarily,
(01:06):
but was still a very, very good cornerback in college.
And Ayomanor has this one highlight.
I mean, sheesh, absolutely all over him.
Like I said, classic X wide receiver.
We're getting the strengths suchas he earns deep targets, he has
great body control, he tracks the ball very well, He's very
efficient. But what I get so excited about
(01:26):
with a Yeomanor is the fact thatwhen I look at the Titan's depth
chart, I look at the quote competition.
And sure, we have Calvin Ridley,who was a nice safe floor player
with a reasonably high ceiling, but he's a veteran, OK.
So I'm always betting on talented rookies behind
veterans, whatever position theyplay.
We look at trailing Burks, who it's simply just not happening
(01:46):
in the NFL. And we look at Tyler Lockett,
who is like in double veteran who is on the verge of
retirement. So I really think that Yamanur
can step right into the wide receiver 2 role on the Titans.
It's an offense that is not getting a lot of respect in
drafts, which honestly kind of makes a good deal of sense.
But if Cam Ward comes in and simply does exactly what's
(02:08):
expected of him, exactly what hewas drafted at number one
overall to do, then the second wide receiver on this team is
going to be fantasy relevant. I do think it's a Yamanor and
Calvin Ridley kind of gets banged up.
He's older. So we'll see.
I think there could be some potential here.
And again, guys, all these players today, the remaining
nine players are deep sleepers. So if you're sitting there
(02:30):
saying no way, not happening, novalue here, that's kind of the
point. OK, so as you're watching,
bookmark these names, OK, Put them on your queue in your draft
board, because you never, never know.
And the second guy is Roshan Johnson, who's on the Bears.
You know who else is on the Bears?
Ben Johnson. Last year in Detroit as the
(02:52):
offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson's running backs averaged
35 backfield chances each week, 35 specifically David Montgomery
per game, 16 opportunities and Jameer Gibbs 19 opportunities.
Now Ben Johnson's now the head coach in Detroit.
I do think 2 running backs at least will be fantasy relevant
(03:13):
in this backfield. I I like Swift a lot.
He's going outside the top 24 running backs and he's never
finished lower than RB25 in his career.
And whoever that second running back is, I personally believe
it'll be Roshan Johnson, but it could be Kyle Manangai out of
Rutgers, who is an absolute freak.
OK, he's a great running back, whether it's Roshan or Manangai,
(03:35):
and he is an honorable mention for this list.
That second backfield in the Chicago, excuse me.
That second running back in the Chicago backfield is going to
be, in my opinion at least at least RB4 flex value from a week
to week, certainly a fill in in deeper leagues.
And I think Roshan with the withthe way he plays, he'll
compliment Swift there. Swift has more of the Gibbs in
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the backfield and that is a stretch.
I'm fully aware. OK, it's Jamir Gibbs is much
better, but Roshan is more of a bruiser, more of a goal line
guy, more of a between the tackles guy, kind of plays that
Monty role. So definitely something to keep
your eye on. All right, the next player on
the list here guys is Brenton Strange.
Now, last year he played seven games with 65% or more of snaps.
(04:23):
In four of those seven games, hewas a top ten tight end.
So more times than not, when he's given the opportunity in a
starting role, seeing snaps, he's producing at a top ten
tight end level, which is great.As of last year, Evan Ingram,
who was a monster in Jacksonville last season at the
tight end position, has been traded to Denver.
(04:43):
He accounted for seven targets agame, a little over 7 targets
game actually. The new Jaguars GM absolutely
loves Brenton Strange, continuesto talk him up, and it's pretty
simple here. I mean, Strange is the clear
tight end one on the Jaguars. That's an improving offense.
The QB is good. Honestly, I think Lawrence is
better than good. So if you're punting tight end,
(05:05):
looking for a tight end dart throw, Brenton Strange is the
guy. There is one other guy here on
this list later on that's also aname to monitor at the tight end
position. All right, Next up is running
back Dylan Sampson. If you ask me, Joe, who is your
#1 sleeper in all the fantasy football this year, I would tell
you it's Dylan Sampson. And that is simply because as
you guys have heard me mentioned, multiple episodes,
(05:27):
sometimes even in a row. But Dylan Sampson is 20 years
old, Arby's who are drafted at the age of 20.
And this is a fact. There is data to support this
which we can go into anytime. I've posted an article at no
expert FF showing you the stats of of breakout rate and
efficiency and opportunity. OK, comparing running back draft
(05:48):
age. But moral of the story is what
you need to know is that runningbacks who are age 20 drafted at
age 20, they break out more often, they're given more
opportunities, and they do greatthings with them.
Now, the percentage of running backs at age 20 who do those
things is higher because, well, there are less running backs who
are age 20. That's absolutely correct.
But the reason there are left running less running backs who
(06:10):
are age 20 in the draft are because it's hard to be draft
ready, NFL ready at the age of 20.
So there's a bit of nuance to the stat, but moral of the story
is more times than not, when we see a running back get drafted
that young, they're pretty, pretty good.
Off the top of my head, another running back who is age 20, even
a deeper sleeper guy who's definitely not going to be
drafted is the brother of TravisEtienne, Trevor Etienne.
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So that is a name to monitor too.
Anyway, Samson was one of the best running backs guys in
University of Tennessee history.Now he's entering the league
alongside Quinshawn Judkins on the Browns.
So I do think that Judkins and Samson could be like a new Nick
Chubb and Kareem Hunt or a new David Montgomery and Jamir Gibbs
type of duo. I really do believe that could
(06:53):
that could be a possibility here.
All right. Now, interestingly enough, the
man who Dylan Sampson ran behind, OK, who started over
Samson for his first two years at Tennessee was Jalen Wright.
And Jalen Wright is the next name on this list.
Raheem Monster on the Dolphins? No, no, no, he is on the Raiders
(07:14):
now and that vacates. Doesn't sound like a lot, but 8
plus running back opportunities per game and in the Dolphins
offense, you really only need one or two touches to take the
thing to the house with the way that McDaniel opens up the
scheme there all right now, right, He flashed with very
limited touches in 2024. I know he had this like pre
season amazing touchdown, which everyone will say, oh, it's just
(07:36):
pre season. But guys, anytime a a player
does something with other NFL players on the field that is
good, it's worth taking a look at.
So Mike McDaniel typically involves at least 2 running
backs in his Miami scheme. And I think that Jalen Wright's
going to see close to 10 touchesa game, or I should say 10
opportunities a game. Just relieving Devon A Chan on,
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you know, 2030% of snaps. He's going to get that work in
the elite offense. And honestly, he is one of the
best handcuffs in fantasy football, right next to another
guy on the list we're going to talk about in a second.
And Mccaffrey's handcuff, whether it's Gorendo or Jordan
James, whoever you think that is, obviously the Niners
handcuff is a monster. And there is one other guy on
this list who I am viewing as arguably the best handcuff in
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fantasy coming right up. All right, next on the list is
Cedric Tillman, Brown's wide receiver.
So he played four healthy games last year when he was also
playing full time snaps. So if you're a little confused
with someone, I just said he washealthy and in a full time role
only four times last season. So some games he was healthy but
(08:40):
not getting all the snaps, othertimes he was injured.
Right? Healthy in a full time role.
Four games. In those four games it was weeks
7 through 11 last year per game.18.6 fantasy points per game.
Wide receiver, 81 broken tackle per game.
Doesn't sound like a lot, but it's actually first tied for
first in the NFLA 131 air yards per game.
(09:01):
That's 4th and 22% targets. It's so rare that we see a guy
in fantasy football drafts goingso late, so, so late.
I mean close to 200th overall, who was or has produced for
about a month in a row at a veryhigh level.
Now the competition, or I shouldsay, just the other guys that
are going to be getting targets,it's not even competition
(09:22):
because they do such different things, right?
Jerry Judy and Deonte Johnson, these receivers are not the same
type play style wise as Cedric Tillman of a receiver.
Tillman is a big body big play threat.
The other guys, sure they have some big plays in them,
especially Judy, but they're more over the middle plucking
the ball, running a tight route.Tillman is a throw his hand up,
(09:43):
run down the field, catch ball score touchdown type of player
and that's why he was so awesomewith Jameis Winston.
But not too worried about Winston leaving whoever the
quarterbacks going to be here inCleveland.
Dare I say, guys, what we love Winston for fantasy, but like,
he's not that amazing in real life.
Obviously, I, I, I don't see many scenarios where Winston
(10:05):
makes wide receivers better. It's typically the other way
around. So I'm not too worried about.
I think anyone can get Tillman, those type of balls, those type
of plays that he needs. And if it isn't broke, don't fix
it. I mean, Tillman's going to have
this role, I believe coming up in this season, so we got to be
all over him close to again, 200th overall.
(10:26):
Now for that tight end dart throw that I mentioned, the next
one, the final tight end on thislist is Chig Akanquo.
So last season to finish the season in his most recent five
games, 6 plus targets in four ofthem, and he was playing the
full time role. A lot of times when you look at
the box score, you look at the fantasy points scored by a
player. Sometimes it's not super
(10:47):
impressive, but for some reason they're playing 40% of snaps,
50% of snaps. Chigg in that full time role was
upwards of 60%, which is pretty good for a tight end.
So you have to look at the gamesthat actually matter when you're
evaluating a player, and that's again, if the reasons for them
on lower snaps are justified, which in Chigg's case it was.
(11:08):
He scored as a top ten tight endfinal weeks of the season, weeks
12 through 17. He was top ten overall among all
tight ends again, going pretty close to like 152 hundred
overall, and we've seen flashes of greatness here from Chiga
Conquo for seasons in a row now.Whether it's a monster play
here, he's mossing someone in the end zone, a touchdown,
whatever it is, OK, hurtling, stiff arming.
(11:30):
We've seen these flashes and I just believe he needs a QB to
unlock his ceiling. So going back to Cam Ward, if
Cam Ward can get it done and just be what he's supposed to
be, Chiga Conquo is going to be a nice value.
There's no one competing for tight end versus him on this
team. He's a nice tight end, dart
throw. And now we make our way to the
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RB handcuff, who I think quite honestly, it is potentially the
most valuable handcuff in fantasy.
It's Will Shipley. I'm hearing AJ Dillon talks.
AJ Dillon is now an Eagle, guys.Will Shipley will get the work
over AJ Dillon in my opinion. Always betting on good rookies,
good second year players, good young players over veterans.
(12:13):
OK, AJ Dillon is simply a depth piece, one of the worst running
backs in the NFL on a per touch basis when running the ball.
OK, now with Will Shipley, he isthe priority handcuff.
He is the clear RB2 in Philly for Saquon Barkley.
Now this is a bit of a touchy subject for some people and I
can't say I love it either, but I'm just going to present you
with some facts. You can do with them what you
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want. So Saquon Barkley is 28.
He is now older than the prime fantasy football running back
age window. It's just a fact.
Secondly, another fact is that he led the position last year in
touches Saquon Barkley did. Only two of the last 12 running
back touch leaders have finishedtop 12 at the position the next
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season. So Shipley is an elite handcuff.
I mean, honestly guys, doesn't matter if those trends are are
meaningful to you or not. Anytime you have an elite,
elite, elite running back who's getting the majority, I mean,
close to 89% of the work in the backfield, their handcuffs
probably going to be valuable because even if that player were
to go down, the entire scheme doesn't change.
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We've seen this for the Rams forso long.
When the Ram starter misses a game here or there, whoever it
is, plug and play. Niners, same thing.
McCaffrey down, backup in top 12, running back for fantasy.
Because the scheme doesn't change.
The player is a little worse, but the scheme doesn't change.
So Will Shipley is a guy who I'mtrying to roster deep, deep in
drafts. Next up is Roman Wilson, guys,
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the second year wide receiver out of Michigan, still on the
Steelers and last year, this time last year he was a hopeful
rookie coming off an injury and then he never could come back to
form. Only played one game and I had
played as a strong word, played minimal snaps, played a snap in
like 1 game I should say. But the Steelers wide receiver,
two job guys is wide open. The competition here, I mean
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this is even worse than the Titans.
The competition is Brandon Johnson, Calvin Austin, Ben
Scaronic, Scotty Miller brother,I mean, I mean come on, anyone
can win this job seriously. And by anyone I mean like you,
me and Roman Wilson. I think Aaron Rodgers can
support 2 fantasy relevant or better wide receivers.
Last year it was the OR better scenario with Wilson and Adams
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both cooking as top 20, top 15, sometimes top ten wide receivers
game to game. So with Rodgers there, it's
going to be DK and whoever wantsthe ball after him.
I know Jono Smith just got traded to the Steelers.
We've seen Jono Smith in an Arthur Smith offense and yeah,
it's it's not awesome. OK, now there are a few other
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guys that I'm targeting in drafts to give you some bonus
picks here. Pat Bryant is right now the wide
receiver 2 on the Broncos, drafted by Sean Payton to kind
of be the next Michael Thomas. Because all Sean Payton does is
try to recreate every single year the offensive that has
worked for him in the past. Like on the Saints, he's trying
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to bring it to the Broncos. It's it's been a couple of years
in the making. Now, the moral of the story is
Pat Bryant was drafted to be Michael Thomas.
I just cringe saying that whoever the wide receiver 2 is
in Denver, if there even is someone, right, maybe it's Troy
Franklin, Marvin Mims, Pat Bryant, whoever that person is,
whoever that player is is going to be pretty good option as a
wide receiver 4 for fantasy. So maybe that's a starter for
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you. Maybe it's First off the bench
type of deal. Next up we have Jalen Noel, the
rookie, also a monster wide receiver going a little deeper
in drafts on the Texans, Trey Benson.
I mean, James Conner has missed a game in just about every year
of his career, at least one game.
So Benson should get some wrong.They didn't bring anyone in in
the draft. Deonte Johnson, I mentioned him,
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mentioned him before. Deonte has issues, OK.
Like, it's off the field, it's on the field, whatever his
problem is. But when he's fully active,
ready to go, he's a very talented wide receiver who earns
targets. So in PPR leagues that late in
drafts, I mean, Deonte could be a pretty good value.
Jermaine Burton. And I mean, if we're talking
about off the field issues, he might be the CEO of these
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things, but he is right now the wide receiver 4 on the Bengals.
Yoshi Vance is the wide receiver3.
And then like, if somebody were to get hurt, obviously Kasiki
plays in. But I really just I'm expecting
a monster season from the Bengals.
So if Burton can figure out the issues off the field, he could
be a pretty good play late, late, late in drafts.
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I mean, I'm talking this guy's going like 250 and I mentioned
Troy Franklin before Broncos wide receiver.
Like I said, whoever is going towin that Broncos job guys is
going to be a value. So those are some deep sleepers.
I think we hit like what, 16 deep sleepers to target?
Write this list down. Follow on Twitter at Joe Orico
FF at No Expert F Hope you guys enjoy it.
Yes guys, we are firmly into fantasy football mock draft
season. Everyone's getting ready for
their drafts and today I am coming at you with 10 deep
sleepers. Last year guys, we saw players
(00:22):
like Jawan Jennings, Jalen McMillan, Tyrone Tracy, Jonnu
Smith, basically random. Some of them are rookies, some
of them are veterans. All in all, deep sleepers.
Last year those players carried fantasy football teams to
championships. So we'll just jump right in with
the first guy on our list. It is rookie Elik Ayomanor, and
(00:45):
he is a classic X wide receiver out of Stanford University.
If you know a single thing aboutAyomanor is that, well, you've
most likely seen the highlight of him absolutely mossing Travis
Hunter, who I believe went 4th overall.
Now Hunter was drafted to play wide receiver, but primarily,
(01:06):
but was still a very, very good cornerback in college.
And Ayomanor has this one highlight.
I mean, sheesh, absolutely all over him.
Like I said, classic X wide receiver.
We're getting the strengths suchas he earns deep targets, he has
great body control, he tracks the ball very well, He's very
efficient. But what I get so excited about
(01:26):
with a Yeomanor is the fact thatwhen I look at the Titan's depth
chart, I look at the quote competition.
And sure, we have Calvin Ridley,who was a nice safe floor player
with a reasonably high ceiling, but he's a veteran, OK.
So I'm always betting on talented rookies behind
veterans, whatever position theyplay.
We look at trailing Burks, who it's simply just not happening
(01:46):
in the NFL. And we look at Tyler Lockett,
who is like in double veteran who is on the verge of
retirement. So I really think that Yamanur
can step right into the wide receiver 2 role on the Titans.
It's an offense that is not getting a lot of respect in
drafts, which honestly kind of makes a good deal of sense.
But if Cam Ward comes in and simply does exactly what's
(02:08):
expected of him, exactly what hewas drafted at number one
overall to do, then the second wide receiver on this team is
going to be fantasy relevant. I do think it's a Yamanor and
Calvin Ridley kind of gets banged up.
He's older. So we'll see.
I think there could be some potential here.
And again, guys, all these players today, the remaining
nine players are deep sleepers. So if you're sitting there
(02:30):
saying no way, not happening, novalue here, that's kind of the
point. OK, so as you're watching,
bookmark these names, OK, Put them on your queue in your draft
board, because you never, never know.
And the second guy is Roshan Johnson, who's on the Bears.
You know who else is on the Bears?
Ben Johnson. Last year in Detroit as the
(02:52):
offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson's running backs averaged
35 backfield chances each week, 35 specifically David Montgomery
per game, 16 opportunities and Jameer Gibbs 19 opportunities.
Now Ben Johnson's now the head coach in Detroit.
I do think 2 running backs at least will be fantasy relevant
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in this backfield. I I like Swift a lot.
He's going outside the top 24 running backs and he's never
finished lower than RB25 in his career.
And whoever that second running back is, I personally believe
it'll be Roshan Johnson, but it could be Kyle Manangai out of
Rutgers, who is an absolute freak.
OK, he's a great running back, whether it's Roshan or Manangai,
(03:35):
and he is an honorable mention for this list.
That second backfield in the Chicago, excuse me.
That second running back in the Chicago backfield is going to
be, in my opinion at least at least RB4 flex value from a week
to week, certainly a fill in in deeper leagues.
And I think Roshan with the withthe way he plays, he'll
compliment Swift there. Swift has more of the Gibbs in
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the backfield and that is a stretch.
I'm fully aware. OK, it's Jamir Gibbs is much
better, but Roshan is more of a bruiser, more of a goal line
guy, more of a between the tackles guy, kind of plays that
Monty role. So definitely something to keep
your eye on. All right, the next player on
the list here guys is Brenton Strange.
Now, last year he played seven games with 65% or more of snaps.
(04:23):
In four of those seven games, hewas a top ten tight end.
So more times than not, when he's given the opportunity in a
starting role, seeing snaps, he's producing at a top ten
tight end level, which is great.As of last year, Evan Ingram,
who was a monster in Jacksonville last season at the
tight end position, has been traded to Denver.
(04:43):
He accounted for seven targets agame, a little over 7 targets
game actually. The new Jaguars GM absolutely
loves Brenton Strange, continuesto talk him up, and it's pretty
simple here. I mean, Strange is the clear
tight end one on the Jaguars. That's an improving offense.
The QB is good. Honestly, I think Lawrence is
better than good. So if you're punting tight end,
(05:05):
looking for a tight end dart throw, Brenton Strange is the
guy. There is one other guy here on
this list later on that's also aname to monitor at the tight end
position. All right, Next up is running
back Dylan Sampson. If you ask me, Joe, who is your
#1 sleeper in all the fantasy football this year, I would tell
you it's Dylan Sampson. And that is simply because as
you guys have heard me mentioned, multiple episodes,
(05:27):
sometimes even in a row. But Dylan Sampson is 20 years
old, Arby's who are drafted at the age of 20.
And this is a fact. There is data to support this
which we can go into anytime. I've posted an article at no
expert FF showing you the stats of of breakout rate and
efficiency and opportunity. OK, comparing running back draft
(05:48):
age. But moral of the story is what
you need to know is that runningbacks who are age 20 drafted at
age 20, they break out more often, they're given more
opportunities, and they do greatthings with them.
Now, the percentage of running backs at age 20 who do those
things is higher because, well, there are less running backs who
are age 20. That's absolutely correct.
But the reason there are left running less running backs who
(06:10):
are age 20 in the draft are because it's hard to be draft
ready, NFL ready at the age of 20.
So there's a bit of nuance to the stat, but moral of the story
is more times than not, when we see a running back get drafted
that young, they're pretty, pretty good.
Off the top of my head, another running back who is age 20, even
a deeper sleeper guy who's definitely not going to be
drafted is the brother of TravisEtienne, Trevor Etienne.
(06:32):
So that is a name to monitor too.
Anyway, Samson was one of the best running backs guys in
University of Tennessee history.Now he's entering the league
alongside Quinshawn Judkins on the Browns.
So I do think that Judkins and Samson could be like a new Nick
Chubb and Kareem Hunt or a new David Montgomery and Jamir Gibbs
type of duo. I really do believe that could
(06:53):
that could be a possibility here.
All right. Now, interestingly enough, the
man who Dylan Sampson ran behind, OK, who started over
Samson for his first two years at Tennessee was Jalen Wright.
And Jalen Wright is the next name on this list.
Raheem Monster on the Dolphins? No, no, no, he is on the Raiders
(07:14):
now and that vacates. Doesn't sound like a lot, but 8
plus running back opportunities per game and in the Dolphins
offense, you really only need one or two touches to take the
thing to the house with the way that McDaniel opens up the
scheme there all right now, right, He flashed with very
limited touches in 2024. I know he had this like pre
season amazing touchdown, which everyone will say, oh, it's just
(07:36):
pre season. But guys, anytime a a player
does something with other NFL players on the field that is
good, it's worth taking a look at.
So Mike McDaniel typically involves at least 2 running
backs in his Miami scheme. And I think that Jalen Wright's
going to see close to 10 touchesa game, or I should say 10
opportunities a game. Just relieving Devon A Chan on,
(07:57):
you know, 2030% of snaps. He's going to get that work in
the elite offense. And honestly, he is one of the
best handcuffs in fantasy football, right next to another
guy on the list we're going to talk about in a second.
And Mccaffrey's handcuff, whether it's Gorendo or Jordan
James, whoever you think that is, obviously the Niners
handcuff is a monster. And there is one other guy on
this list who I am viewing as arguably the best handcuff in
(08:19):
fantasy coming right up. All right, next on the list is
Cedric Tillman, Brown's wide receiver.
So he played four healthy games last year when he was also
playing full time snaps. So if you're a little confused
with someone, I just said he washealthy and in a full time role
only four times last season. So some games he was healthy but
(08:40):
not getting all the snaps, othertimes he was injured.
Right? Healthy in a full time role.
Four games. In those four games it was weeks
7 through 11 last year per game.18.6 fantasy points per game.
Wide receiver, 81 broken tackle per game.
Doesn't sound like a lot, but it's actually first tied for
first in the NFLA 131 air yards per game.
(09:01):
That's 4th and 22% targets. It's so rare that we see a guy
in fantasy football drafts goingso late, so, so late.
I mean close to 200th overall, who was or has produced for
about a month in a row at a veryhigh level.
Now the competition, or I shouldsay, just the other guys that
are going to be getting targets,it's not even competition
(09:22):
because they do such different things, right?
Jerry Judy and Deonte Johnson, these receivers are not the same
type play style wise as Cedric Tillman of a receiver.
Tillman is a big body big play threat.
The other guys, sure they have some big plays in them,
especially Judy, but they're more over the middle plucking
the ball, running a tight route.Tillman is a throw his hand up,
(09:43):
run down the field, catch ball score touchdown type of player
and that's why he was so awesomewith Jameis Winston.
But not too worried about Winston leaving whoever the
quarterbacks going to be here inCleveland.
Dare I say, guys, what we love Winston for fantasy, but like,
he's not that amazing in real life.
Obviously, I, I, I don't see many scenarios where Winston
(10:05):
makes wide receivers better. It's typically the other way
around. So I'm not too worried about.
I think anyone can get Tillman, those type of balls, those type
of plays that he needs. And if it isn't broke, don't fix
it. I mean, Tillman's going to have
this role, I believe coming up in this season, so we got to be
all over him close to again, 200th overall.
(10:26):
Now for that tight end dart throw that I mentioned, the next
one, the final tight end on thislist is Chig Akanquo.
So last season to finish the season in his most recent five
games, 6 plus targets in four ofthem, and he was playing the
full time role. A lot of times when you look at
the box score, you look at the fantasy points scored by a
player. Sometimes it's not super
(10:47):
impressive, but for some reason they're playing 40% of snaps,
50% of snaps. Chigg in that full time role was
upwards of 60%, which is pretty good for a tight end.
So you have to look at the gamesthat actually matter when you're
evaluating a player, and that's again, if the reasons for them
on lower snaps are justified, which in Chigg's case it was.
(11:08):
He scored as a top ten tight endfinal weeks of the season, weeks
12 through 17. He was top ten overall among all
tight ends again, going pretty close to like 152 hundred
overall, and we've seen flashes of greatness here from Chiga
Conquo for seasons in a row now.Whether it's a monster play
here, he's mossing someone in the end zone, a touchdown,
whatever it is, OK, hurtling, stiff arming.
(11:30):
We've seen these flashes and I just believe he needs a QB to
unlock his ceiling. So going back to Cam Ward, if
Cam Ward can get it done and just be what he's supposed to
be, Chiga Conquo is going to be a nice value.
There's no one competing for tight end versus him on this
team. He's a nice tight end, dart
throw. And now we make our way to the
(11:50):
RB handcuff, who I think quite honestly, it is potentially the
most valuable handcuff in fantasy.
It's Will Shipley. I'm hearing AJ Dillon talks.
AJ Dillon is now an Eagle, guys.Will Shipley will get the work
over AJ Dillon in my opinion. Always betting on good rookies,
good second year players, good young players over veterans.
(12:13):
OK, AJ Dillon is simply a depth piece, one of the worst running
backs in the NFL on a per touch basis when running the ball.
OK, now with Will Shipley, he isthe priority handcuff.
He is the clear RB2 in Philly for Saquon Barkley.
Now this is a bit of a touchy subject for some people and I
can't say I love it either, but I'm just going to present you
with some facts. You can do with them what you
(12:35):
want. So Saquon Barkley is 28.
He is now older than the prime fantasy football running back
age window. It's just a fact.
Secondly, another fact is that he led the position last year in
touches Saquon Barkley did. Only two of the last 12 running
back touch leaders have finishedtop 12 at the position the next
(12:55):
season. So Shipley is an elite handcuff.
I mean, honestly guys, doesn't matter if those trends are are
meaningful to you or not. Anytime you have an elite,
elite, elite running back who's getting the majority, I mean,
close to 89% of the work in the backfield, their handcuffs
probably going to be valuable because even if that player were
to go down, the entire scheme doesn't change.
(13:16):
We've seen this for the Rams forso long.
When the Ram starter misses a game here or there, whoever it
is, plug and play. Niners, same thing.
McCaffrey down, backup in top 12, running back for fantasy.
Because the scheme doesn't change.
The player is a little worse, but the scheme doesn't change.
So Will Shipley is a guy who I'mtrying to roster deep, deep in
drafts. Next up is Roman Wilson, guys,
(13:38):
the second year wide receiver out of Michigan, still on the
Steelers and last year, this time last year he was a hopeful
rookie coming off an injury and then he never could come back to
form. Only played one game and I had
played as a strong word, played minimal snaps, played a snap in
like 1 game I should say. But the Steelers wide receiver,
two job guys is wide open. The competition here, I mean
(13:59):
this is even worse than the Titans.
The competition is Brandon Johnson, Calvin Austin, Ben
Scaronic, Scotty Miller brother,I mean, I mean come on, anyone
can win this job seriously. And by anyone I mean like you,
me and Roman Wilson. I think Aaron Rodgers can
support 2 fantasy relevant or better wide receivers.
Last year it was the OR better scenario with Wilson and Adams
(14:21):
both cooking as top 20, top 15, sometimes top ten wide receivers
game to game. So with Rodgers there, it's
going to be DK and whoever wantsthe ball after him.
I know Jono Smith just got traded to the Steelers.
We've seen Jono Smith in an Arthur Smith offense and yeah,
it's it's not awesome. OK, now there are a few other
(14:42):
guys that I'm targeting in drafts to give you some bonus
picks here. Pat Bryant is right now the wide
receiver 2 on the Broncos, drafted by Sean Payton to kind
of be the next Michael Thomas. Because all Sean Payton does is
try to recreate every single year the offensive that has
worked for him in the past. Like on the Saints, he's trying
(15:02):
to bring it to the Broncos. It's it's been a couple of years
in the making. Now, the moral of the story is
Pat Bryant was drafted to be Michael Thomas.
I just cringe saying that whoever the wide receiver 2 is
in Denver, if there even is someone, right, maybe it's Troy
Franklin, Marvin Mims, Pat Bryant, whoever that person is,
whoever that player is is going to be pretty good option as a
wide receiver 4 for fantasy. So maybe that's a starter for
(15:25):
you. Maybe it's First off the bench
type of deal. Next up we have Jalen Noel, the
rookie, also a monster wide receiver going a little deeper
in drafts on the Texans, Trey Benson.
I mean, James Conner has missed a game in just about every year
of his career, at least one game.
So Benson should get some wrong.They didn't bring anyone in in
the draft. Deonte Johnson, I mentioned him,
(15:46):
mentioned him before. Deonte has issues, OK.
Like, it's off the field, it's on the field, whatever his
problem is. But when he's fully active,
ready to go, he's a very talented wide receiver who earns
targets. So in PPR leagues that late in
drafts, I mean, Deonte could be a pretty good value.
Jermaine Burton. And I mean, if we're talking
about off the field issues, he might be the CEO of these
(16:06):
things, but he is right now the wide receiver 4 on the Bengals.
Yoshi Vance is the wide receiver3.
And then like, if somebody were to get hurt, obviously Kasiki
plays in. But I really just I'm expecting
a monster season from the Bengals.
So if Burton can figure out the issues off the field, he could
be a pretty good play late, late, late in drafts.
(16:26):
I mean, I'm talking this guy's going like 250 and I mentioned
Troy Franklin before Broncos wide receiver.
Like I said, whoever is going towin that Broncos job guys is
going to be a value. So those are some deep sleepers.
I think we hit like what, 16 deep sleepers to target?
Write this list down. Follow on Twitter at Joe Orico
FF at No Expert F Hope you guys enjoy it.
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