2012 Fantasy Football: Week One Offensive Sleepers

Josh Freeman, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Each week FP911 brings you a list of sleepers at every offensive position.  Hit by injuries? Spent an early pick on Maurice Jones-Drew or Adrian Peterson?  Try one of these guys out.  For the first four weeks sleepers are based on live draft results.  Players must be outside the top 15 QB, top 25 RB, top 40 WR, and top 15 TE.

Quarterbacks

Joe Flacco:  His numbers regressed last year and it took a toll on his ADP.  Rather than just hoping for a bounce back Baltimore sped up the offense, adding a no-huddle package.  Running more plays will help Flacco’s totals and if he truly takes to the new offense a career year could be in store.

Josh Freeman:  Meet rebound candidate #2.  He has some new weapons in Vincent Jackson, Doug Martin, and Dallas Clark.  Also, while it is dangerous to judge matchups based on the previous year, some numbers still stand out.  Carolina was #30 in defensive passer rating and allowed the most yards per attempt in the league in 2011.

Carson Palmer:  He is getting some sleeper buzz based on a strong finish.  He averaged over 9.0 ypa in his last three starts of 2011.  The Raiders host the Chargers, a team that was #27 in defensive passer rating and that allowed Palmer to exceed 100 both times he played them last year.

Running Backs

Ronnie Brown:  Counting on Ryan Mathews to play?  The latest news indicates otherwise.  Oakland allowed opposing rushers 5.1 ypc last year, the most generous rank in the league.

DeAngelo Williams:  The healthier half of Carolina’s running back tandem figures to take advantage of Tampa Bay’s defense.  The Bucs allowed 5.0 ypc, almost 2.500 total yards, and 26 touchdowns on the ground.

Kevin Smith:  Since Jahvid Best is on the PUP list and Mikel LeShoure is suspended Smith is the Lions’ man.  He gets a gift early, the Rams were one of two teams to surrender more than 150 yards per game on the ground

Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Oakland Raiders

Wide Receivers

Titus Young:  He just made the cutoff based on ADP and is one of the more popular sleepers already.  Putting his individual talents aside, Detroit plays St. Louis at home and any featured player on their offense is a solid starter in fantasy.

Darrius Heyward-Bey:  He had six games surpassing 80 yards receiving, four straight in October and two of the team’s last three.  Oakland’s aerial success against San Diego has already been mentioned.  If one believes in carryover momentum he enters 2012 on a hot streak.

Davone Bess:  Well, somebody on the Dolphins is getting the ball thrown their way!  Bess will score better in PPR leagues as he does not work downfield much.  Houston turned into a fearsome pass defense last year, but the plexiglass principle dictates some regression ahead for them.

Tight Ends

Kyle Rudolph:  The young Viking is one of the breakthrough candidates at the position.  Visanthe Shiancoe is elsewhere and aside from Percy Harvin the wide receivers are underwhelming.  He starts by facing Jacksonville and the Jags allowed more catches to tight ends than any other squad last year.

Tony Moeaki:  One of three Chiefs returning with a repaired ACL, he looks to build on a 550 yard rookie season.  He played in an exhibition game without complications and is a good late speculative grab in larger leagues.

Dustin Keller:  The hamstring injury that knocked him out of a preseason game should not cost him any time once the real action starts.  He was the most targeted Jet for the second year running.  Tight ends caught thirteen touchdowns against the Bills, four more than against any other team.

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