2007 Fantasy Awards: Sleepers
by FOXSports.com
| 2007 awards: Sleepers | |||||||
Roger Rotter |
Mike Harmon |
John Juhasz |
Gerrit Ritt |
John Halpin |
Joe Concha | ||
| Top | A. Peterson | Roethlisberger | D. Anderson | B. Edwards | Roethlisberger | W. Welker | |
| QB | D. Anderson | Roethlisberger | D. Anderson | D. Anderson | Roethlisberger | D. Anderson | |
| RB | A. Peterson | R. Grant | A. Peterson | R. Grant | R. Grant | A. Peterson | |
| RB | R. Grant | A. Peterson | M. Lynch | E. Graham | J. Fargas | F. Taylor | |
| WR | B. Edwards | W. Welker | K. Curtis | B. Edwards | W. Welker | W. Welker | |
| WR | W. Welker | B. Marshall | W. Welker | W. Welker | G. Jennings | G. Jennings | |
| R/W | E. Graham | J. Fargas | F. Taylor | J. Fargas | E. Graham | L. Washington | |
| TE | D. Lee | D. Clark | D. Lee | D. Clark | D. Lee | D. Lee | |
| K | R. Bironas | M. Crosby | M. Crosby | M. Crosby | M. Crosby | R. Bironas | |
| D/S | Detroit | Seattle | San Diego | Indianapolis | Detroit | Seattle | |
| Bch | Roethlisberger | B. Favre | K. Warner | B. Favre | B. Favre | J. Kitna | |
| Bch | K. Warner | D. Anderson | J. Cutler | L. White | K. Warner | J. Garcia | |
| Bch | J. Lewis | K. Warner | J. Lewis | K. Watson | F. Taylor | R. Grant | |
| Bch | L. White | M. Lynch | J. Fargas | G. Jennings | J. Lewis | J. Fargas | |
| Bch | J. Fargas | J. Lewis | R. Grant | B. Marshall | B. Jacobs | S. Holmes | |
| Bch | B. Marshall | N. Burleson | B. Marshall | K. Curtis | B. Edwards | R. Williams | |
| Bch | G. Jennings | R. White | R. White | D. Bowe | B. Marshall | N. Folk | |
ROTTER: Owners chose Peterson as a reserve in many drafts, and he finished among fantasy's top-five backs at this critical position, making him the top sleeper. ... Edwards was also chosen as a No. 3 receiver in some leagues, and he finished in the top three. ... Both Grant and Graham assumed full-time duties midway through the season, and rallied to finish in the top 15 among all running backs despite starting the season on the bench. ... Owners who waited on a quarterback and drafted Roethlisberger late had an advantage, allowing them to select a top player at the critical running back or wide receiver position. They may have been able to take a chance on a sleeper like Peterson instead as well. ... Non-draftees like Welker, Fargas and Jennings had breakout seasons.
HARMON: Owners were scared away by Roethlisberger's 23 interceptions last season and inconsistent play overall. I believed that he'd have a bounce-back year in full health and with great receiving weapons at his disposal. However, I also thought that Ken Whisenhunt would be calling the shots. In the end, it appeared to work out well for all. Roethlisberger fired 32 touchdown passes and Whisenhunt scored a .500 record in his first season in Arizona. He cut his interception total in half and routinely offered multi-touchdown efforts to fantasy owners.
JUHASZ: After Anderson had the best year of his career, it's now a tossup whether he'll be back in Cleveland next season. But he was still a valuable player who almost certainly went undrafted in the majority of leagues out there. ... Warner finished the season on an absolute tear, just in time for his playoff-bound owners. ... Lewis looked healthy, and defenses had a hard time slowing him down. ... Taylor may be one of the best flex-spot choices out there, but no one expected much from him after Jones-Drew ran wild as a rookie in 2006.
RITT: In my big money league, Edwards was chosen at the top of the ninth round, and he turned out to be a monster. He's a second or third round pick now, moving ahead of guys like Steve Smith, Torry Holt and Anquan Boldin amongst others. ... Someone had to throw the ball to Edwards, right? And it wasn't anyone that was even drafted in most leagues. This was an easy call, as Anderson topped 3,700 yards, and his 29 touchdowns were the fifth-most in the NFL. ... Green Bay's fifth running back coming into the season ended up being by far the most valuable. In the last 10 games, Grant ran for 929 yards and eight touchdowns, including at least one in each of the season's last six games. ... When Cadillac Williams went down, many thought Tampa Bay's season may have been over. But Graham came up big, running for 864 yards in a 10-game span, including 10 trips to the end zone. He turned many fantasy teams around. ... What a find for the Pats this off-season. Welker's 112 receptions led the NFL, his 1,175 yards were ridiculous and eght touchdowns are sweet as well. He had eight games with at least seven catches, which led the NFL.
After LaMont Jordan was benched by the Oakland coaches in the middle of Week 8, Fargas took over and made the position his own. The fifth-year back topped 1,000 yards despite having six games in which he had less than 20 on the ground or missed altogether. The four touchdowns weren't great, but the yardage sure was. ... Clark is not the biggest sleeper pick on the board, since he was likely picked as one of the top 10 or 12 tight ends in most drafts. But a league-leading 11 touchdowns at his position makes up for that, since he WAS often picked behind guys like Alge Crumpler, Todd Heap and Vernon Davis. ... The NFL's leading scorer this season is a diminutive rookie out of Colorado who won last year's Golden Toe Award in college. With all the points the Packers were scoring, it vaulted him up the board fast. He kicked 31 field goals, which ranked second in the league. ... Indianapolis was the NFL's best at allowing points, giving up a league-low 26 touchdowns, while forcing 37 turnovers, sacking quarterbacks 28 times and scoring three touchdowns. For a team with an offensive reputation, that ain't all bad.
I know Favre's a legend, but I think you still have to put him inthis category this year. His age and his penchant for throwing interceptions has scared owners off in recent years, but he was MVP-caliber in '07, throwing for 28 touchdowns and more than 4,100 yards. ... Not many knew who would be running the ball for the Titans this year, and after Chris Brown went off in the first game, almost everyone gave up on White immediately. However, he paid off for the owners who knew better, eventually running for 1,110 yards and seven scores. ... With Rudi Johnson injured so often this year, Watson made for a nice waiver wire pickup on at least two occasions. He paid off for many owners, scoring seven touchdowns in just six starts, while catching 52 balls out of the backfield as well.
Speaking of Packers, I'll see my Favre and raise myself Jennings, who found the end zone an amazing 12 times in just 13 games with 920 yards and 17.4 yards a catch. ... Without Javon Walker around to take receptions away from him, Marshall flourished this season. He's officially passed Walker as the team's No. 1 option after putting up a terrific 102 catches, 1,325 yards and seven touchdowns. He'll be on the All Pro watch next season for sure. ... Curtis' 1,110 yards couldn't have been seen coming. He and Donovan McNabb had a great rapport from the very beginning, hooking up for seven touchdowns in his first season in Philly. ... KC rookie Bowe exploded in Week 3 and didn't slow down for about 10 games. He led all rookies in every receiving category and was the Chiefs' primary deep threat.
HALPIN: Roethlisberger threw 32 touchdowns after being drafted as a second-tier fantasy quarterback. ... .Most people hadn't heard of Grant, Fargas or Graham when the season started, but they became important players by midseason. ... Welker's Average Draft Position was 155, and he wound up as the No. 11 fantasy wide receiver. He got serious consideration as my sleeper MVP. ... Jennings was Favre's go-to guy with 11 touchdowns. ... Lee emerged from obscurity to become a top-10 fantasy tight end. ... Did you know that the Lions' D/ST ranked fifth in our scoring system? Me neither.
CONCHA: August of 2007 unknown Welker may go down as the greatest sleeper of all-time by tying T.J. Houshmandzadeh for the league-lead in receptions. ... Anderson made those who purchased Brady Quinn jerseys to start looking for the receipt. ... Peterson was a sleeper because most felt he would split carries 50/50 with Taylor. ... The other Taylor, the always oft-injured Fred, was set to fade into the Florida sunset and hand the baton to the running back with the hyphen in his last name. ... Jennings was supposed to be catching a few passes here and there from Aaron Rodgers by now. ... As for Washington, the hope here is that your fantasy league counted kick returns for touchdowns as D/ST points. Back to the Pack, Lee had a nice year for the Packers while making us miss the best left handed touchdown spiker in the history of the NFL (Bubba Franks).
It should be noted that I won my first fantasy football championship this year. Special thanks to Tony Romo, Aaron Stecker and Anthony Gonzalez for helping my 10-year dream finally come true by coming up huge in my playoff rounds!
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