Sleepin on em'

By: Josh Frey-Sam

In June, I wrote a piece that I coined “dumpster diving,” where I looked at some of the best sleepers to draft at the time.

Well, most of those guys are very awake in fantasy discussions now — and training camp has offered up some important information — so my sleepers list was due for an update.

Just to be clear, these are guys that I could draft or just have on my waiver wire watchlist as the season begins. In some cases, I simply believe they are undervalued and are poised for solid campaigns, while others are fliers with no guarantees but who could have a viable path to success.

I also won’t include any My Guys on this list, even though some of them were, in fact, sleepers.

Without further ado:

Quarterback

Drake Maye (New England Patriots)

If I wait too long to grab a quarterback, I wouldn’t mind taking a shot on a second-year breakout from Drake Maye.

He could pair nicely with another late-round QB, and he has one of the easiest strengths of schedules in the league this season.

You can get Drake Maye in the 11th round of drafts right now.

I like the weapons he has available, with Stefon Diggs, Kyle Williams, Pop Douglas and TreVeyon Henderson out of the backfield, and the offensive line is improved.

When Maye took over last year, he showed he wasn’t afraid to push the ball downfield. The other thing I liked was the 421 rushing yards he racked up. He will need to clean up the turnovers to be a trustworthy option, however.

Running back

Braelon Allen (New York Jets)

Allen might be the most borderline sleeper of this group, but we’ll roll with it.

For me, if there’s a running back to own on the Jets, it’s the second-year player out of Wisconsin.

Allen is dirt cheap right now, going in the 13th round of drafts. I’ve been talking about the Jets backfield since spring — this is going to be by committee, not Breece Hall dominating the touches.

With that said, Allen could have standalone flex value every week. And if he outperforms Hall, he could begin to take over this backfield in the second half of the year.

The Jets also have the easiest strength of schedule against RBs this season.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt (Washington Commanders)

It’s about time we bring up JCM in this newsletter.

The seventh-round rookie out of Arizona could be in line for significant touches this season if things fall the right way. He’s impressed all offseason, to the point incumbent Brian Robinson Jr. is now on the trade block.

JCM has tremendous short-area burst and is by far the most explosive running back on the Commanders roster; however, we have yet to really see him shine as a pass catcher and in pass protection.

So, this is a name that I highly recommend you keep tabs on between now and your draft. If Robinson Jr. is dealt, the early down work in this offence could go to JCM, while Austin Ekeler handles the third-down work.

He’s basically going undrafted in most leagues right now, but that will change if he’s expected to start. Volume is king at the running back position, and JCM could be the steal of the drafts if he’s in line for a big workload.

Jaydon Blue (Dallas Cowboys)

Rookie fifth-round pick with an excellent pass-catching skillset. The Cowboys’ backfield is underwhelming with Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders, so if they underperform, expect Blue to get some run — especially if the Cowboys are throwing a bunch.

He’s had a tumultuous training camp — some have questioned his work ethic — but he has a chance to be a contributor on this offence.

Not sure I would draft him, personally, but he would be a waiver wire watchlist guy for sure.

Trey Benson (Arizona Cardinals)

I just don’t think we’re talking about Benson enough. His situation, to me, isn’t that different from the Jets, Chargers and Vikings.

He’s one of the elite handcuffs in fantasy this season, but I also think he could potentially hold some standalone value.

This is James Conner’s backfield, but there are reports that Benson could see his workload increase. And if Conner, who has an injury history, gets hurt, then he becomes a huge value.

Wide receivers

Luke McCaffrey (Washington Commanders)

One of my favourite deep sleepers this season.

Terry McLaurin has yet to return to participate in practice, as he awaits a new contract, and the only other real target competition is hefty Deebo Samuel and 34-year-old Zach Ertz.

Even if/when McLaurin returns to the field, there is a real opportunity for LMC to begin to command some targets in this offence.

He’s going undrafted right now.

Roman Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Wilson, the second-year receiver who missed almost all of his rookie season due to injury, is going to be the WR2 in the Steelers' offence this season.

Pittsburgh refrained from adding more receiver talent in hopes Wilson — or someone else — would emerge, and it appears the former Michigan Wolverine has done that.

He has Aaron Rodgers slinging him the rock, which means he will need to earn his trust. But if he accomplishes that, he could very well earn a decent target share. While DK Metcalf is the alpha in this offence, I would argue Wilson’s skillset is actually a better fit with Rodgers.

He’s going undrafted currently.

Matthew Golden (Green Bay Packers)

There is a chance — albeit slim — that Golden is the WR1 for the Packers come Week 1. Because of that, his ADP is rising out of sleeper territory, but we’ll talk about him anyway.

Romeo Doubs returned to practice on Monday, but Jayden Reed and Christian Watson remain out with injuries. Dontayvion Wicks has also continued to struggle with drops in training camp.

Golden, who the Packers selected in the first round of this year’s draft, is an excellent route runner with strong, reliable hands.

If Reed remains out and Wicks continues to struggle, we could see a lot of targets going to No. 22.

Others include: Tory Horton (Seattle Seahawks), Adonai Mitchell (Indianapolis Colts), Cedric Tillman (Cleveland Browns) and Jaylin Noel (Houston Texans).

Tight ends

Kyle Pitts (Atlanta Falcons)

Must I explain myself?

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Josh