2016 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Running Back Edition

The term “sleeper” in this day and age really doesn’t mean what it used to. When I first started playing fantasy football a “sleeper” was a player that not many people knew about. Nowadays with fantasy football being a huge multi-billion dollar industry, a true “sleeper” does not exist anymore. With every major and non-major sports site covering fantasy football, with ESPN having entire programming centered around it, and social media giving us unprecedented coverage of mini-camps, OTAs, and training camps, there are few players that will go completely unnoticed. Sleepers in today’s world of fantasy football have taken on a new meaning…

Undervalued.

The following list of running backs won’t exactly be true sleepers, but are guys I feel are very undervalued and could be an impact fantasy player in 2016.

(because I think PPR has become the new “standard”, this list is based on PPR scoring)

Theo Riddick, Lions

Riddick officially started one game in 2015 but was still heavily involved in the Lions passing offense, catching 80 passes for 697 yards and 3 TDs. Those are pretty impressive numbers for a “non-starter”. The 80 catches were tied for the 19th with  Eric Decker  and he was one of only two RBs to crack the top 20 in receptions overall — Woodhead had 80 as well.

Calvin Johnson is gone and that is a ton of targets to spread around. I don’t expect new WR addition Marvin Jones to get near as many targets as Megatron did in this offense, and that means more potential targets for Riddick. All signs point to offensive coordinator, Jim Bob Cooter, instituting an entirely new offensive scheme that will be centered around a short passing game. Right in Riddick’s wheelhouse.

Wendell Smallwood, Eagles

There are a lot of unknown variables that you’ll have to consider if you decide to draft Smallwood. 1) Being a rookie, what will be his role in the offense? 2) With a new coach in Philly, what is the offense? And 3) Where will he be on the depth chart to start the season?

The best argument for drafting Smallwood has nothing to do with him at all, but is more about the guys he is competing against for touches.  Ryan Matthews, the expected bell-cow, is injury prone — having played only one full season in his career. Darren Sproles is like 98 years old and can’t continue playing at a high level much longer. A spot in the starting lineup is as close as an injury or a few bad games by one of those guys.

Chris Thompson, Redskins

The Redskins let free agent Alfred Morris walk, leaving Matt Jones as the unquestioned starter. Jones’ fumbling issues are well documented but even if he fixes that problem this off-season, there is another metric that is troubling if you’re a Matt Jones owner. His yards per carry in 2015 was a paltry 3.7.

If Jones struggles early on with fumbles or is unable to show the explosiveness he did early in 2015, expect Thompson to have much bigger role than last year. Living in the D.C. area as I do, I would argue that Thompson was the most efficient RB last year for the Redskins. He might not be big enough to be an every-down back in this league, but as the Redskins passing down back, he will be fantasy relevant in just about every league format.

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