writing The Essential Guide to Identifying PPR Fantasy Football Sleepers. Outside of the top three, there just aren’t really any realistic rookie options for this season. While Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, and Anthony Richardson are all likely to be the starters for their teams this year, everyone else is clearly in a backup situation. I decided to include Levis because of the outside chance he starts a few games if Ryan Tannehill gets injured or traded. Last season, Tannehill missed five games, with Malik Willis filling in for him, and although Willis is still listed as the second option on the depth chart, expect that to change as training camp opens. Levis doesn’t offer a ton of upside, but if you somehow forgot to draft a backup quarterback, he’s the only rookie quarterback that could realistically produce fantasy points for your best ball teams.
Running Backs
Devon Achane, Miami Dolphins, Underdog ADP 151.6
The Dolphins re-signed both Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson in free agency, but that didn’t stop them from drafting another young speedster in Devon Achane in the third round. For now, this is set up to be a pure committee backfield, but that doesn’t mean Achane doesn’t have the opportunity for touches. Both Mostert and Wilson have a fairly extensive injury history, and if this trend continues, Achane could see a near 50/50 carry split in their absence. Even if one of them doesn’t get injured, Achane could work his way up in the depth chart on his own merit. He ran an explosive 4.32 40-time at the NFL Combine, and in his final season at Texas A&M, he earned first-team All-SEC honors with over 1,100 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in ten starts. He’s exactly what head coach Mike McDaniel wants in a running back and is bound to have some spike weeks on your best ball rosters.
Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints, Underdog ADP 187.6
Kendre Miller is one of my favorite rookie running backs outside of Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs this season. Yes, the Saints brought in Jamaal Williams in free agency, but the potential suspension of Alvin Kamara could open the door wide open for Miller to immediately produce. During his final season at TCU, Miller’s 1,399 rushing yards were the most for a Horned Frog since LaDainian Tomlinson’s record setting performance in 2000, and he also tacked on 17 touchdowns in 14 games. He’s got all the traits of a bell-cow back in the NFL, so if Kamara is suspended, he could leap-frog Williams and provide immediate value.
University Park, PA, USA; Buffalo Bulls running back Jaret Patterson (26) runs with the ball during the second quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Identifying fantasy football sleepers and under-the-radar players is one of the most fun parts of our fake game, but the process has changed over the last few years with so much information now at our disposal.
With a fresh new crop of rookies comes the opportunity to find draft-day bargains. When it comes to dynasty drafts and rookie sleepers for redraft leagues, we have to dig pretty deep. That’s why I’ve embarked on a search for what I like to call “true sleepers” — small school and Day 3 draft picks who could surprise early in the NFL.
After researching and writing up my 2021 rookie dynasty rankings, I’ve identified a handful of players who could be this year’s Darnell Mooney, Gabriel Davis or — here’s hoping — James Robinson.
RB JARET PATTERSON, BUFFALO
In my quest to find the next James Robinson among the 2021 rookie running back class, I first wanted to take a trip down memory lane and call out some of Robinson’s numbers that could have been key indicators of his success at the next level.
First, Robinson’s dominator rating at Illinois State was absurd — 45% for his career. It ticked up as high as 48% during his 2019 season. These are just astronomically high market share numbers compared to anyone else in the 2020-21 draft classes.
Robinson’s career dominator rating and single-season dominator rating were both better than the other top two RBs in his class, Jonathan Taylor (36%, 41%) and Cam Akers (28%, 37%).
Which brings us Buffalo’s Jaret Patterson, who was by far the highest-ranked running back in this class in terms of dominator rating.
Identifying fantasy football sleepers and under-the-radar players is one of the most fun parts of our fake game, but the process has changed over the last few years with so much information now at our disposal.
With a fresh new crop of rookies comes the opportunity to find draft-day bargains. When it comes to dynasty drafts and rookie sleepers for redraft leagues, we have to dig pretty deep. That’s why I’ve embarked on a search for what I like to call “true sleepers” — small school and Day 3 draft picks who could surprise early in the NFL.
After researching and writing up my 2021 rookie dynasty rankings, I’ve identified a handful of players who could be this year’s Darnell Mooney, Gabriel Davis or — here’s hoping — James Robinson.
RB JARET PATTERSON, BUFFALO
In my quest to find the next James Robinson among the 2021 rookie running back class, I first wanted to take a trip down memory lane and call out some of Robinson’s numbers that could have been key indicators of his success at the next level.
First, Robinson’s dominator rating at Illinois State was absurd — 45% for his career. It ticked up as high as 48% during his 2019 season. These are just astronomically high market share numbers compared to anyone else in the 2020-21 draft classes.
Robinson’s career dominator rating and single-season dominator rating were both better than the other top two RBs in his class, Jonathan Taylor (36%, 41%) and Cam Akers (28%, 37%).
Which brings us Buffalo’s Jaret Patterson, who was by far the highest-ranked running back in this class in terms of dominator rating.