Fantasy Football Sleeper Picks

Hey, the fact is that it doesn't take a genius to draft LaDanian Tomlinson, Steven Jackson or Larry Johnson. Guys like them are the rock-solid foundation that you build your team around.

...But, in order to take your team to the top, you need to be that squad that grabs the all important sleeper turned fantasy stud. Last year we were treated to a plethora of them in Marques Colston, Maurice Jones-Drew, Joseph Addai and many others.

This season it appears that the sleeper options in your draft might be toned down just a little bit when compared to 2006. So, without further adieu, let's look at who might be that breakout player that takes you to the promised land.

Sleeper Quarterbacks:

There really isn't much going on here in terms of sleepers. Vince Young can no longer be considered a sleeper, and in my opinion neither can Matt Leinart nor Jay Cutler. We have been expecting things out of them, thus we are aware of their immediate upsides.

There are two names that stand out to me that most others may just glance over and not given a second thought to. The first; Joey Harrington.

I know, I know. We're talking about Joey "Friggin" Harrington here. He of the completely inept Detroit Lions. Believe it or not, Joey held his own down on South Beach last season despite a pathetic offense around him (which he can thank much in part to Ronnie Brown). Harrington is now the man in the ATL and actually might have some weapons around him.

With the newly acquired Joe Horn becoming a primary target, Harrington will have someone to look for on deep routes assuming Horn can stay healthy (that is a big assumption, I know). Couple that with the tremendously talented young RB, Jerious Norwood and the equally versatile Warrick Dunn (who should be back in action beginning in Week 4) and you all of a sudden have a fairly dynamic offense to work within.

Bobby Petrino's system was not meant for Michael Vick anyway. Petrino prefers your stereotypical pocket passing quarterback, something that Harrington very much fits the mold of (despite showing running abilities at times in Detroit, that was merely him running for his life - he'd much prefer to just sit in the pocket).

Now, don't get me wrong here. Harrington is not going to blow you away by dropping stats of 30 TD's and 4,000 yards passing on you. But, he is going to be far more a productive backup than you might think. He is a perfect guy to use a final round draft pick on in order to have some security if your first-stringer goes down in a heap.


The other quarterback I have my eye on is surprisingly very similar to Harrington; however, far more talented. David Carr of the Carolina Panthers is anything but washed up. Many Texans fans wanted Carr to pay some of his signing bonus back because they felt he was sitting on his ass too much. The fact is though that he was only lying down on the job because he could barely ever stand up straight for more than 40 seconds at a time before getting pummeled by the opposing defensive line.

Let's put it this way...if the U.S. Government put the detainees at Guantanamo Bay through the same inhumane punishment that the Texans offensive line put David Carr through, we'd be asking for Dubya's resignation speech tomorrow!

But now Carr is in a better place...a place where he can enjoy a growing city while sipping Mint Juleps and enjoying "Southern Hospitality". Well, he might not be able to relax too much, as Jake Delhomme might be on the hot seat this season. Delhomme is, in my opinion, the second most overrated quarterback in the NFL (the first was Michael Vick, but we don't have to worry about that anymore, now do we!). Delhomme just doesn't get it done and this year more than ever leaves no excuses for him.

With a solid offensive line, a new zone blocking scheme that will allow DeAngelo Williams and Deshaun Foster to flourish, Steve Smith running down one sideline and the sure-handed Trojan Dwayne Jarrett on the other, Delhomme better have one helluva year if he wants to keep his job. My guess is that by Week 8 Carr is making noise while being at the helm in the Panther backfield. And if Carr is as good as we thought he was, then you better watch out for some monster second half stats!