Sleeper Watch

This season, more fantasy leagues than ever before are including return yards in their scoring. In some leagues, return yards are even given as much value as receiving yards, making kick returners very valuable indeed.

If you’re competing in one of those leagues and elite return men such as Michael Lewis have already been snapped up by savvy owners, you may want to take a look at Detroit Lion Eddie Drummond.

The key to finding good return men is to not only look for players who are fast and talented (not to mention those with good blocking), but above all, those who handle both kickoff and punt return duties for their teams. Drummond will field both for Detroit, and while the Lions should be much improved, there will still be many return opportunities for the second-year pro.

In week 1, Drummond was nothing short of spectacular, returning five kickoffs and three punts for a total of 196 yards and a score. In leagues that value return yards and receiving yards equally, only Anquan Boldin provided better numbers at wide receiver. And Drummond, who racked up 1177 return yards in just nine games last season, will be far more consistent than the Cardinals rookie this season.

If return yards are merely an afterthought in your league, Drummond won’t be a fantasy factor. But if your scoring system, like so many this year, awards returns yards 2/3 the value of receiving yards or greater, grab Eddie Drummond now.