Top Five Fantasy Football Sleepers - Week Two
These top five fantasy football sleepers are your secret to clobbering the competition.
5- Josh Gordon, Cleveland Browns, $6,650
Okay, so this is a long shot, but one worth noting. The NFLPA was expected to approve a new drug policy on Thursday, but it now appears that will happen today. A new policy could result in Gordon having his suspension reduced, or better yet, completely overturned. If it’s overturned, he shoots to the top of the sleepers list, and he’ll be heavily rostered. Any questions about whether he’d immediately be thrust into the Browns lineup were answered by offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who said “Yeah, if Josh was able to play this week, I’d like to get him out there.” Gordon led the league in receiving yards last year and is an elite talent, so deeper fantasy analysis isn’t necessary. If he’s by a stroke of luck active for Sunday’s game, he needs to be in your lineup.
4- Brian Quick, St. Louis Rams, $6,300
Kenny Britt disappointed as one of my favorite sleeper picks in week one, and it was Quick who emerged as the top pass catcher for the Rams. In an ugly blowout to the Vikings in which Shaun Hill was knocked out of the contest, with Austin Davis relieving him, Quick caught passes from both and finished with seven receptions on nine targets for 99 yards receiving. He was more effective with Hill under center (which isn’t ideal since Hill is doubtful for the game), but Davis did target him four times completing three of the passes thrown Quick’s way. The Appalachian St product is a huge target at 6-foot-4, and he’s even fleet of foot having turned in a 4.55 forty-yard dash at the 2012 NFL Draft Combine. Big rookie wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin gave the Bucs fits in week one, and the swashbucklers made Derek freakin’ Anderson look good. At $6,300, Quick is a flyer that could pay huge dividends.
3- Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles, $7,150
A week after discussing my trepidation for using rookie wide receivers early in the year, here I am touting Matthews. The second round pick in this year’s draft played 57 snaps against the Jaguars, just one fewer than LeSean McCoy, and more than Zach Ertz and Darren Sproles. He was a distant third in snaps at wide receiver behind Jeremy Maclin (80) and Riley Cooper (77) according to Pro Football Focus, but 57 snaps is nothing to sneeze at, and Matthews hauled in two of his four targets in week one for 37 yards receiving. Vegas Insider still has the Eagles/Colts game as the highest projected total at 53.5 points, and with Vontae Davis blanketing Maclin, the secondary options have a golden opportunity to thrive. At just over $7,000, Matthews is fair dice roll that isn’t likely to get huge play, giving you an edge if he does have a big game.
2- Chris Ivory, New York Jets, $5,750
Ivory ranked fourth in my top five running back rankings for week two which was posted earlier in the week, and ignoring the extreme value he possesses in this article would be foolish. He is not a good sleeper, he’s a great one. His talent is overlooked by casual fans due to lack of usage throughout much of his career, but last year, in the most extensive work in his career, he tied for ninth in broken tackles shedding 37. The Packers defense is ripe for the picking, and the hard-charging, arm-tackle breaking, bruising Ivory is the better bet between he and Chris Johnson for a big day. Execution won’t be simple, but the blueprint for upsetting the Packers is simple. Play good defense, and ram the ball down their throat. The Seahawks did just that in week one using battering ram Marshawn Lynch to spank them on the ground. Ivory isn’t Lynch, but he might not be as far behind him in terms of talent as one would think. Furthermore, alleviating concerns about usage, Ivory and Johnson had a near even split in snaps in the season opener according to Pro Football Focus with Johnson on the field for 34 plays and Ivory out there for 30. Don’t bypass the opportunity to roster a secret stud for under $6,000.
1- Jake Locker, Tennessee Titans, $11,700
Locker is another player to get double-article touting, as he ranked third at quarterback in my article earlier in the week. The Cowboys defense is oh so bad, and they made Colin Kaepernick look outstanding in week one. Like Kaepernick, Locker is a dual threat quarterback who can put pressure on defenses with his arm and legs. Locker’s accuracy has been a problem throughout his football playing days going back to his time at the University of Washington, but he completed two-thirds of his passes even with two drops mixed in, and he has an even easier defensive assignment this weekend. Locker is priced like a quarterback two, but he has the upside to crack the top 10 in points at quarterback in DraftDay games for the second time in two chances this season.