The season is finally upon us and more and more fantasy drafts are being completed as the NFL is set to get underway.
What happens at the top of the pecking order is very important, but finding contributors and deep sleepers later on in your draft is becoming more and more important each year as injuries become more of a factor and teams become more cognizant of this fact.
The best ones are found often in young players and often on teams that may be looking for a youth movement at different positions.
Here are some of the players you can find as deep sleepers late in your fantasy draft heading into the 2011 NFL season:
Antonio Brown- The Pittsburgh wide receiver has a tough depth chart to ascend but the Steelers have a potent passing offense in general and he’s made some huge plays in the preseason. It’s time for Hines Ward to step aside and let some of the youth take over and Brown could be the key beneficiary.
Colt McCoy- The Browns are a sleeper team according to many and McCoy is a big reason why. With his ability to both run and throw and especially to put up big stats in shootout-type games, he is worth a surprise pick and could even cut it as a starter if you’ve got another more proven late round QB to pair with him to be sure.
Greg Little- The Browns wide receiver out of North Carolina is going to be a top target of McCoy on an inconsistent WR corps. He is definitely worth a late-round flier.
Jared Cook- The Titans tight end has been shooting up the fantasy football positional rankings and now looks poised to be an interesting pick that many had not foreseen. The Titans figure to involve the talented Cook more and more in the offense as he becomes comfortable.
Kendall Hunter- The 49ers have been in a stagnant position for a long time and while Frank Gore is the starter, they’ll want to keep him fresh because of his injury history in 2011. Hunter has tore it up in the preseason and provides the type of burst and change-of-pace that might make him too good to keep off the field this year.
These are some of the top picks for deep sleepers in fantasy football action this year. There are many more to pick so keep an eye on the later rounds and make sure you put the research into your draft that is necessary to give your team depth this season. Good luck.