Fantasy Football 2014 Sleepers, Rankings, & Draft: Top 5 Sleepers to Consider This Season
Fantasy football has become one of the most popular games for sports fans. Of course, we all know about the Peyton Mannings and the Aaron Rodgers of the world that put up amazing statistics. But every year there's always a few players who get drafted in the later rounds who are steals.
Here are five fantasy football sleepers for the upcoming NFL season.
Emmanuel Sanders
This could and should be the biggest steal for fantasy football players. Sanders won't go extremely high in most leagues because he's not an elite wide receiver, but a mid third rounder is about right. Sanders is one of the fastest receivers in the NFL, and now he's going to be playing with Peyton Manning, who threw 60 touchdown passes last season including the playoffs. This could be really big. The Broncos also lost Eric Decker and are a high passing-oriented team.
Eddie Lacy
Lacy had a terrific rookie season for the Green Bay packers last year. It was good enough to be rewarded with Rookie of the Year honors. With Aaron Rodgers returning and opposing defenses focusing so much on him, the door should be wide open for Lacy. Don't worry about defenses stacking the box against Lacy.
Hakeem Nicks
Nicks didn't have a single touchdown catch last season, but he did have almost 900 receiving yards. The New York Giants were awful last season, so not much blame could be put on Nicks. The former Super Bowl Champion will be catching passes from Andrew Luck in Indianapolis in the weakest division in the National Football League, the AFC South. With the Colts being a mediocre rushing team, this could be a steal for fantasy football players.
Brandon LaFell
Just like Nicks and Sanders, LaFell is another skilled wide receiver who will be playing on a new team this season. LaFell was already an underrated player with the Carolina Panthers. Ever since entering the league in 2010, Lafell's receiving yards have increased ever year. This year he will be playing with the New England Patriots. With other wide receivers such as Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, Dez Bryant and so many others going high, Lafell could be a steal as late as the fourth round. Let's also not forget that the Buffalo Bills will be playing without their best safety, Jairus Byrd.
Eli Manning
If you chose Eli Manning last season, it was a rough year. Not just because Manning threw 18 touchdowns, 27 interceptions and had a 69.4 passer rating, but because his older brother had the greatest statistical season in NFL history. Every time Manning has a bad year, he always bounces back. Don't count on him having a negative nine touchdown interception ratio this season. This is also the same Manning that once put up nearly 5,000 yards in a season before.