NFL Fantasy Sleeper Picks 2008
Laurence Maroney | RB | NE
Maroney had a down year last in 2007 due mostly to slow start caused by injury. He came on strong during the end of the season with 6 TDs in the last 7 weeks (not to mention 3 TDs in his 3 playoff games). Maroney is healthy in preseason and all signs point to a bigger role in the Patriots offense. It’s certainly reasonable for Maroney to crack the top 10 of RBs this season and jump ahead of the likes of Willis McGahee, Jamal Lewis and Marshawn Lynch. Currently being taken around the middle of the 3rd round that kind of value in that spot is what wins leagues. And even if he has a similar season to last year are all those TDs during fantasy playoffs a bad thing?
Jason Campbell | QB | WAS
Campbell started to find his rhythm in week 10 last season with a 215 yard 3TD performance against Philadelphia. He followed that up with a few more strong efforts but then he suffered a season ending injury. Look for Campbell to build on his brief success from a season ago as Washington has bolstered the options for Campbell with the addition of rookies Devin Thomas, Fred Davis and Malcolm Kelly. Draft Campbell as a top end #2 fantasy QB.
Ted Ginn Jr. | WR | MIA
Ginn Jr. is a guy on a lot of sleeper lists for all the right reasons. He is now the clear cut go to WR in Miami and he actually has someone with experience and some talent throwing to him in Chad Pennington. Also the Dolphins backfield isn’t exactly the most solid situation in the NFL, so you can expect they will getting the ball into the hands of Ginn Jr. however they can. It is a lock that he will have a breakout year in 2008 it’s just a matter of how big that breakout will be. 70 Rec, 1100 Yards and 5 TDs seems conservative.
Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin
for Arizona? At some point he will
be.
Matt Leinart | QB | ARI
It’s not certain whether he’ll be the starter in week 1 but there’s certainly the chance. You got to believe it’s been-there-done-that with Kurt Warner for Arizona and it’s time to see if Leinart was worthy of the 10th pick in the 2006 draft. Leinart will get his shot at some point if not right away and there’s not many better targets out there than Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.
Jerious Norwood | RB | ATL
Somewhat of a forgotten man in Atlanta with the acquisition of Michael Turner, Norwood has run for over 600 yards and over 6 yards per carry the past two seasons. If anything he’s more proven than Turner and could easily emerge as the top guy in Atlanta. Regardless Atlanta will be running the ball plenty behind rookie QB Chris Redman. A 1,000 yard season with 6-8 TDs is absolutely within reach for Norwood. He’s also a good pass-catcher so in a PPR league he has that much more potential.
Zach Miller | TE | OAK
It’s been said all over the place but the fact remains that new Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell threw 16 of his 66 attempts last season to Miller. He won’t put up huge yardage numbers with those receptions as a lot of times he’s a safety valve but he will get plenty of looks this season and probably his share of TDs. Especially if you are in a PPR league Miller is someone you should be jumping on as your #2 TE and asking questions later.
Julius Jones | RB | SEA
After a lost season in Dallas in 2007 Jones is poised to regain his 1,000 yard form from 2006 in Seattle. Jones is being drafted after the likes of Edgerrin James, Thomas Jones and Rudi Johnson. In Seattle with a solid offense and Matt Hasselback as his QB Jones should see plenty of touches and easily outperform some the guys being drafted right before him.
Ahmad Bradshaw | RB | NYG
Bradshaw did nothing until week 16 in 2007 but he did it in a big way with 17 carries for 151 yards and a TD in Buffalo. There’s a lot of question marks around Brandon Jacobs health and to some extent his ability. If you are looking for a late round RB with Ryan Grant potential Bradshaw has as good a shot as anyone.
Jason Wright | RB | CLE
2003 was a long time ago and Jamal Lewis isn’t getting any younger. The Browns offense figures to be high-powered once again so someone has to get those carries if Lewis can’t hold up. Wright is the best bet for that duty. He might not necessarily be someone to draft, and you can certainly get him in the last round or two if you decide to draft him, but he should at the very least be the first person on your watch list and at the first sign of trouble for Jamal grab him off the waiver wire a week before anyone else.
Tim Hightower | RB | ARI
Hightower is currently slotted to play in the short yardage and goal line situations behind Edgerrin James in Arizona. However, it’s no longer 2000 and the shelf life on Edgerrin is about to expire. Sure it might not be this year but we’re not going to bet against it. Hightower seems to have things lined up for a breakout season this year or next.
Also, since we are awesome and want you to have as much information as possible, check out what other experts around the web are predicting for their 2008 fantasy sleeper picks: CBS Sportsline, Fox Sports, NFL.com and FFToolbox.com.
As always, you can keep up to date with the latest injuries, who’s starting, and trade rumors reported by local newspapers and beatwriters on our NFL rumors and news page.
Comments
- Fantasy Football Mailbag - Week 1 - SportsOverdose Fantasy Football 2008
on September 5th, 2008 2:30 am said:
[...] and has fantasy relevance. The other three guys I’d keep an eye on were mentioned in our sleeper picks. Zach Miller (OAK, TE) might have been drafted in your league but if not and you are scraping the [...]
