Half-Season Review of My 2015 Fantasy Football Sleepers

Time to look back on my sleepers. Always fun to take a look at them at the half-way point. Pretty much all total hits or complete misses. Roughly about half and half if the group of RBs are considered.

QB

Sam Bradford – Philadelphia Eagles – ADP: 16 – Current Season Scoring at Position: 27th – Grade: F—

Bigger problems on that O line than most people realized. I thought they wouldn’t be great but they’ve been ridiculously bad to this point. Things are starting to turn around a bit for the offense but pretty much no way Bradford cracks the top 10 at this point. Very disappointing.

Andy Dalton – Cincinnati Bengals – ADP: 24 – Current Season Scoring at Position: 6th – Grade: A+++

Only two points out of 3rd place on the season so easy to say I got this one correct, so far. As I stated in the preseason, he’ll be a stud if his targets stay healthy. And to this point, Green, Eifert and Jones have stayed on the field. Should continue to be great as long as that continues.

 

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RB

All NFC South Starters – Mark Ingram (ADP: 12), Jonathan Stewart (19), Doug Martin (32), Devonta Freeman (40) – Current Season Scoring at Position: Ingram 3rd, Stewart 24th, Martin 8th, Freeman 1st – Grade: A+++

Stewart is the only disappointment so far in this group. And I want to pat myself on the back for pushing Freeman over Coleman from day 1. Very doubtful they finish this well but certainly nailed this group.

Joseph Randle – Dallas Cowboys – ADP: 21 – Current Season Scoring at Position: 32nd – Grade: F

Looked great at times but the off-the-field stuff obviously killed him. Really a shame that he’s wasting his talent by not getting his head right. No way we see him on an NFL field again this season. Too bad.

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WR

Brandin Cooks – New Orleans Saints – ADP: 13 – Current Season Scoring at Position: 20th – Grade: D

Starting to turn things around after the Saints had the slow start. Still think he’s going to finish very strong and potentially top 10. Don’t count him out yet.

Breshad Perriman – Baltimore Ravens – ADP: 46 – Current Season Scoring at Position: Has not played

With the injury to Smith, the opportunity was amazing for him to put up huge numbers. Unfortunately, the preseason injury was worse than everyone knew. Looks like we’ll barely get to see him this season. Really hope we get a look at him to see what he might do next season. The opportunity to be a stud will be there again considering the Ravens’ situation.

Marvin Jones – Cincinnati Bengals – ADP: 68 – Current Season Scoring at Position: 34th – Grade: A

I thought he might get into the top 30 and still has a chance. Basically, when the Bengals are playing a team with an elite corner that’s going to be on Green, play Jones. Otherwise, expect paltry numbers. Worth owning for sure.

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TE

Jordan Cameron – Miami Dolphins – ADP: 8 – Current Season Scoring at Position: 25th – Grade: F—

Probably the player on this list I’m most disappointed in. The Miami O has been atrocious most of the season and Cameron has suffered terribly. Only twice in 8 games have they managed to score over 20 points. Just awful. Had high hopes for most of the offense and they have crushed those hopes with their mediocrity…

Austin Seferian-Jenkins – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – ADP: 24 – Current Season Scoring at Position: 29th – No Grade for Injury

Still top 30 despite basically playing one game. Everyone knows about the week 1 explosion and safe to say he would probably be top 10 right now if he was healthy the whole way. Has massive potential. Just needs to stop being bitten by the injury bug.

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Defense

Denver Broncos – ADP: 11 – Current Season Scoring at Position: 1st – Grade: A++++

Was baffled by the ADP at the time and still can’t understand it. This one was painfully obvious to me so no surprise they are at the top and, considering their huge lead over 2nd right now, might stay there all season. Wade Phillips knows how to coach D, people. Hate him all you want as a head coach but he’s a Hall-of-Fame level coordinator.

Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 7

Week 7 – @ Tennessee – W 10-7

QB: Did not play well on top of receivers doing him no favors.  Bad game against emerging D that wasn’t all his fault.  Wouldn’t be overly worries but this team is still erratic on the road.  Should always be a little cautious.

RB: Freeman awesome again and looks great.  Is patient and exploding through holes.  No reason to stop riding him.  Team should keep feeding him like they are.

WR: Jones a big game but took a ton of targets to do it.  Definitely not 100% right now and it’s obvious.  Would be cautious with him until he starts making plays again.

TE: Tamme did little and will continue to be nothing more than a gamble.

OL: Continues to play well but not dominating anyone.  Doing just enough to get by and will probably have ugly games on the road against elite defensive fronts.

Def: Helped by bad O.  Wasn’t great against struggling run game.  Coverage was decent but nothing special.  Pass rush did little as well.  Gave up good PPR games to RB, #1 WR, and TE.

Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 6

Week 6 – @ NO – L 21-31

QB: Ryan a rough game despite good numbers.  Accuracy wasn’t great and got hit and sacked a ton.  Receivers weren’t doing him any favors either.

RB: Freeman another monster game and they keep feeding him a ton.  Looks awesome and no reason it won’t continue.  Showing phenomenal vision right now and allowing his blockers to set him up nicely.

WR: Jones a good game and looks great when healthy but might not be totally there right now.  White got a TD but little else.  Hankerson below-average and looked shaky.  Have to hope consistency is better than this.

TE: Tamme did little and was just overshadowed by the rest.  If White gets more looks, he’ll suffer.

OL: Run blocking continues to be great but pass protection was rough in this one.  Has to learn to handle pressure better.

Def: Run D continues to be strong and might have to go away from playing against them.  Coverage on WRs also solid here.  Still gave up a lot through the air.  Got torched for huge game by aged TE.  Gave up big game to RB due to short TDs.

Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 5

Week 5 – vs Washington – W 25-19

QB: Ryan had uncharacteristically bad game.  Just wasn’t on target at all and missed open receivers with bad throws.  Should be fine but this one was really ugly.

RB: Freeman another monster game and just looks great.  Running so well and showing great vision when he has the ball.  Also doing an amazing job catching the ball.  He’s a must-start until things change but I don’t see that happening.

WR: Jones a good game because of FRTD.  Suffered from bad throws.  He’ll get back on track soon enough.  Hankerson injured but stayed in.  Did little but QB missed him on long TD where he easily beat D.  Was targeted 2 more times in end zone but bad throws on both as well.  Should be fine.

TE: Tamme a big game and is in the conversation now as a play.  Probably benefited from QB inaccuracy to WRs so have to temper it a bit.  Still worth noting.

OL: Excellent run blocking against a tough run D.  A+ game for them in that area.  Wasn’t great against pass rush.  Wasn’t terrible but a little sloppy.

Def: Stout against a decent run game.  Gave up nearly nothing on the ground.  Pass rush was negated.  Coverage was good on #1 WR but not elsewhere.  Gave up good games to #2 WR and backup TE.

Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 4

Week 4 – vs Houston – W 48-21

QB: Game was never close.  Run game dominated.  Ryan was okay.  Only thing that hurt him was how quickly they got a big lead.

RB: Freeman another monster game doing plenty of receiving damage along with the rushing.  No reason this should be a committee when Coleman gets healthy.  Ward a good game in garbage time but not overly impressive.  A few more pounds and he would be Mike Tolbert.

WR: Hankerson a big game and is the no-doubt #2 on this team.  White appears to be done.  Hankerson is making great plays and no reason not to trust him now.  Jones held to little but only because of game flow.  Nothing to worry about.

TE: Nada.  Move on.

OL: Pretty strong game against a tough D line.  Was great for running game and protected reasonably well.  Continues to play better than last season.

Def: Gave up a lot because of prevent and reserves playing early.  Was pretty stout against the run.  Solid against the pass and was covering elite #1 WR well until Trufant wasn’t playing.  Gave up good games to WRs.

Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – @ NYG – W 24-20

QB: Ryan was under pressure at times but still a good game.  O line troubles will be the only thing that stops him from being top 10 and potential top 5 QB.

RB: Coleman the better rushing game but Freeman the better receiving game.  Both had TDs.  They still look like almost identical players.  Wouldn’t gamble too big on either right now.

WR: Jones a huge game and looks phenomenal.  Can’t be stopped at the moment.  White disappeared with no explanation.  Hankerson a good game but I wouldn’t trust it yet.  Also had a terrible drop.

TE: Tamme a nice game and could be a sneaky play with the right match up.  Still not near a top option in this passing game so he’ll still do nothing probably more often than not.

OL: Had some trouble with blitzes on passing plays but managed okay.  Didn’t do much for running game.

Def: A little better against the run than numbers indicate but still not great.  Torched by Manning to Beckham and Vereen.  Pass rush wasn’t great.  Also gave up good game to TE.  Held rushers in check.

Atlanta Falcons Week 17 Fantasy Analysis

Week 17 – vs Carolina – L 3-34

QB: Ryan got zero blocking and was hit a ton.  Never had time to throw and it led to mistakes.  Should have been pulled for his own safety.

RB: Jackson DNP.  Rodgers looked good and had decent game.  D was tough and line wasn’t blocking so numbers were more impressive than they seemed.  Freeman did nothing.

WR: White a good game numbers-wise but didn’t play as great as it seemed.  Some drops and a fumble made it ugly.  Jones average and just couldn’t get open often enough.

TE: Still little for Toilolo.  Should be ignored next season until he shows something.

OL: Atrocious.  Some run blocking was okay against tough D but pass protection barely existed.  Needs wholesale changes in off-season.

Def: Trampled.  Got run on for a ton.  Pass D would have been torched if not for some drops.  Gave up good game to scrambling QB.  No other good games as production was spread out.

Atlanta Falcons Week 16 Fantasy Analysis

Week 16 – @ NO – W 30-14

QB: Ryan a decent game against a bad D.  Should have been better for fantasy purposes.

RB: Jackson injured.  Freeman broke one long TD but got little else on the ground.  Had good receiving game.  Line still can’t block so doesn’t really matter who is running.

WR: Jones a big game and was beating coverage at will.  White okay but just doesn’t look like the same player as he was anymore.  Will surprise occasionally but consistency is gone.

TE: Toilolo an improved game but still not doing enough for consideration.  Have to hope for a vast off-season improvement, especially in his hands.

OL: Still terrible.  Did nothing for run game but was decent against a bad pass rush.  Needs huge improvement.

Def: Good pass rush against terrible line.  Nice job stopping the run but lead limited carries.  Gave up good games to TE and RB.  Decent games to WRs.

Atlanta Falcons Week 11 Fantasy Analysis

Week 11 – @ Carolina – W 19-17

QB: Ryan had average game as blocking was shaky again.  Just wasn’t able to convert on any big plays.  Looks good when he gets time but isn’t happening often.

RB: Jackson was disappointing in this one.  Freeman actually looked a little better and might steal some more carries in the coming weeks.  Worth keeping an eye on.

WR: White a big game getting the only TD.  Jones was decent.  Both are fine if QB has time to find them down field instead of on short throws only.

TE: Toilolo a couple catches and made one very impressive one.  Still not usable but hopefully is progressing.

OL: Still pretty bad.  Not a great game against a struggling D.  Still look better than earlier in season but will get dominated by elite D-lines.

Def: Some bad QB play and bad blocking helped.  Didn’t really stop the run and got thrown on for plenty.  Gave up good games to scrambling QB, #1 WR, and TE.

Atlanta Falcons Week 5 Fantasy Analysis

Week 5 – @ NYG – L 20-30

QB: Ryan was better on the road this time but still not as good as a home game.  Did have some drops that should almost never happen with this receiving corps.

RB: Jackson looked strong against tough front.  Had good game with receiving added.  Smith busted a long TD catch and run.  Freeman had decent game receiving as well.  Between the 3 RBs – 13 catches, 164 yards, and 1 TD.

WR: Jones had big game while White was quiet.  Hester also didn’t get as many touches.  Didn’t matter who was covering Jones, he was making plays.

TE: Nothing for TEs.  Toilolo continues to be TD dependent and not usable.

OL: Didn’t look good at anything here.  Definitely can’t handle good front on the road right now.

Def: Didn’t look as bad as expected.  Didn’t give up a lot of yards but gave up decent games to RBs and some WRs but held Cruz (3 catches) and Donnell (zero) in check.  Donnell was barely targeted.