Sleeper Watch

Who’s the best fantasy wide receiver around? Marvin Harrison, with his 1722 yards receiving? Terrell Owens and his thirteen touchdowns? Randy Moss? Hines Ward? Peerless Price? Michael Lewis?

Wait a minute… Michael Lewis? Lewis only caught a grand total of eight passes all season, and it doesn’t seem as if he’ll be replacing Joe Horn in the Saints’ depth charts anytime soon.

There are leagues, however, where Lewis’ value is comparable to that of the aforementioned studs: those that attach a high value to return yards. Quite a few leagues award a decent amount of points for kickoff and punt return yards, and while most returners rank well below the average wide receiver even in such formats, Lewis is far from ordinary.

Not only does Lewis have terrific speed, great hands and all the other attributes you look for in a return specialist, he also has the luxury of handling both kick and punt returns, giving him lots of opportunities to rack up yards. Last season, Lewis finished with 2432 total return yards, more than 700 more than the next best returner (Dante Hall). Nobody else finished within 1300 yards.

When you enter a new league this season, make sure to check your scoring system. In most formats, Michael Lewis will remain an afterthought best left on the waiver wire, but if your scoring is right, he can be the biggest bargain in the league.