Yawn. Just woke up. Great nap, I’m a sound sleeper. I was dreaming of rubbing lotion on Kerryon’s Johnson and drafting D.K. Metcalf and Marquise Brown in the 10th round of my home league fantasy draft. 15-20 years ago that type of bargain might have been possible on stud second year wide receivers like Hollywood and D.K., but in the modern world of social unrest and social media it’s rare to find a player who isn’t being touted by a least a two dozen fantasy analysts. The fantasy football market has become more efficient than Wall Street. So why are we still using the term “sleeper” when the crowd is already woke to these players in the year 2020? The same reason I’m including the terms hot chicks, sexy teens, large boobs and bukkake in this post. Search engine optimization of course!Â
As long as people still use the term bukkake sleeper, we’ll still write about them. But in 2020 a sleeper is no longer a completely unknown player. It’s become more of a broad term used to describe a mid-to-late round draft target believed to be significantly undervalued. Or at least that’s what the term means to me, don’t ask me how Captain Obvious over at ESPN is using it. Anyway, here’s a list of my top sleepers for 2020 fantasy football:
*ADP data is courtesy of The NFC filtered by drafts ending on August 1st, 2020 and after
1. Preston Williams | WR | ADP: 130 – Saucy Boiiiiii! According to reports out of Dolphins camp the ACL is somewhere between 200% and 700% healed. DeVante Parker is already banged up too. Get Saucy Boi on your team, and don’t be afraid to reach for extra sauce.
2. Kerryon Johnson | RB | ADP: 105 – When D’Andre Swift was healthy and practicing I understood why Kerryon was being drafted after pick 100. I didn’t agree with it, but I understood. But the rookie Swift missed over a week of training camp to a leg injury and he’s still limited. With the watered down 2020 training camp and no preseason, these have been incredibly valuable practice reps Swift has missed out on. Carry on with grabbing Johnson.
3. Joshua Kelley | RB | ADP: 168 – The Chargers 4th round rookie has been the “star of training camp.” Justin Jackson is dealing with an injury and while I love shirtless Austin Ekeler, it’s unlikely he receives 200+ carries this season. There’s whispers of Kelley sliding into Melvin Gordon’s former role in the offense, toss him on your bench and wait for his value to head to da moon!
4. Rob Gronkowski | TE | ADP: 114 – So Gronk took a season off, allowed his body to recover and his heart to regain the passion for the game. By all accounts he looks like “old Gronk.” Meaning young Gronk. I know, it’s confusing; just draft him and pray he can stay healthy.
5. Emmanuel Sanders | WR | ADP: 108 – Ever since the ghost of Peyton Manning’s final season, Sanders has had a slew of nobody’s throwing it his way. Now at age 33 he’ll line up with arguably the best WR in the game and a hall of fame QB. Take the age discount and run.
6. Zack Moss | RBÂ | ADP: 95 – The main stream is finally coming around to the idea of Moss > Singletary which I’ve been peddling since the draft back in April. I expect it to be obvious by midseason.
7. Golden Tate | WR | ADP: 140 – People seem to have forgotten just how golden Mr. Tate was in PPR leagues for four seasons in Detroit. A midseason 2018 trade followed by a weak 2019 suspension have suppressed his price.
8. N’Keal Harry | WR | ADP: 165 – A sleeper of the post-hype variety! Last spring many regarded N’Keal as a better prospect than D.K. Metcalf, A.J. Brown, Terry McLaurin and Marquise Brown. There’s a chance Cam Newton grabs hold of The Big Harry and turns him into a fantasy phallus.Â
9. Bryan Edwards | WR | ADP: 207 – Tyrell Williams is done for the year, freeing up a bunch of targets in Vegas. Edwards is looking fantastic at Raiders camp and hasn’t even complained about his helmet once. While the masses key in on Raiders 1st rounder speedster Henry Ruggs, the 3rd rounder Edwards has equal upside and can be landed in the last round of many fantasy drafts.
10. Hayden Hurst | TE | ADP: 90 – There’s a bunch of intriguing upside tight ends this year but, other than Gronk, none are more exciting than Hurst. The Falcons TE position is fantasy gold and Matt Ryan has been raving about Hurst for weeks. Also, Hurst’s NFC ADP is a bit inflated compared to other platforms; he can be landed after pick 100 on ESPN and Yahoo.Â
11. Allen Lazard | WR | ADP: 153 – According to reports, Marquez Valdes-Scantling is has risen from the dead this summer. But Rodgers likes to look at Lazard, in the shower and on the football field. I’ll be pretty surprised if the Lizard King isn’t the second best wide receiver in Green Bay this year.Â
12. T.J. Hockenson | TE | ADP: 139 – Jake Ciely of The Athletic joined me on Donkey’s Advocate to discuss why he loves T.J. Hockeytown. I endorse this message:
13. A.J. Dillon | RBÂ | ADP: 147 – Have you seen Dillon’s thighs? I’d reserve two roster spots just for them in all my leagues. He’s not exactly a shallow league target at the moment, and could take some patience, but don’t be surprised if Dillon see’s a bunch of goal line work up in Lambeau.
Everyday must be leg day for @ajdillon7 pic.twitter.com/PlGxap3tpa
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) August 15, 2020
14. Baker Mayfield | QB | ADP: 132 – Anyone who’s followed Mayfield’s career knows he excels at chugging beer and proving doubters wrong. There’s a big bounce back season coming for Baker with a healthy OBJ at his disposal. Fill it up again!
