Fantasy Football: Quarterback sleepers that will surprise.
Sleepers! Everybody’s got one and everyone thinks everyone else’s stinks. I think that is how it goes. What is a sleeper? A sleeper is typically a late round pick or a waiver wire selection who exceeds his statistical expectations. Look at the definition again, a sleeper is someone who exceeds expectations, does not say becomes a tier 1 players, just that they do better than expected. I say that because the guys I am going to mention as my sleeper QB’s I am not expecting QB1 numbers out of these guys, I just think they will be better than most people are giving them credit for. So without further delay here are my QB sleepers.
Ryan Tannehill (21st QB – 131st overall) – Last year Tannehill finished 14th among quarterbacks on a team that was simply put a hot mess. I understand the QB position is very deep this year, and trying to pick the top ten is going to be very difficult. So I am not going to sit here and say Tannehill is a lock for the top 10. I do believe he is in line for a very productive season. The Dolphins easily could have one of the top receiver duos in Jarvis Landry and Devante Parker. They also still have Kenny Stills and drafted Leonte Carroo in the 3rd round. That is a very deep receiving corp. I know Jordan Cameron has been very disappointing while in Miami and he is off to another slow start this preseason, but you cannot ignore that he is a very talented TE, and if he starts producing that’s another weapon for Tannehill. Finally, I would like to add that the Dolphins added Arian Foster, and I know he is old and injury prone in recent years, but he is without a doubt one of the best route runners and receivers out the backfield. With all of these weapons available to Tannehill a weekly line of 280+ yards and 2 TD’s is very attainable, and those kinds of numbers would have easily landed him in the top 10 last season. To put it in perspective those are top 10 numbers for a QB I recently drafted with 15th round.
Teddy Bridgewater (28th QB – 235th overall) – I am actually very high on Bridgewater. I do not see him cracking QB1 status, but solid QB2 status for sure. I know the Vikings are all about AP, but the dude is 31 years old and has some serious mileage on him. I believe the Vikings have to seriously look at scaling back on how much they lean on him, and with Bridgewater entering his 3rd year, I think it is time for him to step up and take on more responsibility. I see a lot of similarities between Bridgewater and Russ Wilson. Both guys started on run first offenses with strong defenses, and as we saw last year with Wilson when the running game was injured his number went up. Also, I think he finally has a decent receiving corp with Stefon Diggs and Laquon Treadwell leading the way. Again I do not see Bridgewater’s number reaching QB1 like Wilson’s did, but for a guy you can get late in the draft, if he is even drafted at all, he will produce numbers considerably better than his current ADP of 235. Finally, if something were to happen to AP I think his value moves up even further.
Mark Sanchez (29th QB – 272 overall) – Last season the super bowl winning Broncos QB’s combined for 4216 passing yards, 19 TD’s and 23 INT’s. I know Sanchez is most remembered for butt fumble, but take a look at his career. The Jets were in a horrific downward spiral his last few years there, he had no supporting cast, and there was no way any QB could have produced in that situation. People quickly forget that in his first 2 years in the league he led the Jets to 6 road playoff wins and back to back AFC championship games. I know, I know he had a good run game and a very good D, but guess what so does Denver, and they have better receivers than the Jets had. In 2014, Sanchez played in 9 games, which is enough to average out and project possible numbers of an entire season. If he played the whole year in 2014 he would have thrown around 4300 yards with 25 TD’s and 19 interceptions. That is more yards and TD’s than the Bronco’s got last year and fewer interceptions. The interceptions are a little high, but still 4 less than last year. I am a firm believer that QB’s success is greatly tied to the cast built around the QB and how well it compliments him. The Broncos’ have the team makeup that fits perfectly with Sanchez and for that reason, I see him capable of producing as a top 20 QB this season. This is, of course, all contingent on him getting the starting job and keeping it all year, which I think he is more than capable of doing.
Michael Kelley is a member of the Going For 2 team. You can check out his website Dynasty League Problems for more writings or follow him on Twitter @mikekelleydlp.
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