Sleeper Watch

Hello and welcome to the 2008 fantasy season! Last year, I posted a (nearly) weekly column on IDP notes and rankings. I’ll start this year off with some players to get on your roster or watch closely. It should be especially helpful if you weren’t able to draft some top-tier IDP’s such as Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Lance Briggs, or Mario Williams, or if you just decided to wait and see what you could get on the wire, here are some names you need to know.

Chad Greenway – Minnesota Vikings, LB

Greenway is one of my favorite “sleepers” to rise to the top of the IDP world this season. He’ll be the weak-side linebacker for a potent defense and should rack up plenty of tackles in his second full season. I’ll even dare to predict that at the end of the season, he’ll be more valuable than EJ Henderson.

Keith Rivers – Cincinnati Bengals, LB

Rivers, the Bengals first round draft pick, should have every opportunity to excel this year. Expect 90+ tackles and plenty of defended passes. After all, it’s Cincinnati – who else is going to stop the run?

Jonathan Vilma – New Orleans Saints, LB

Remember Vilma? Seems like not a lot of people do, as I noticed he wasn’t even being drafted in IDP leagues. Vilma is now the middle linebacker for the Saints, and with his injury (hopefully) behind him, I expect a solid season. Not all are sold on his “comeback”, so know that picking him up comes with some risk. I’m gambling on over 100 tackles and a few picks. Too lofty? Possibly, but picking him up off the wire, I’ll take the chance.

Courtland Finnegan – Tennessee Titans, DB

If you’re looking for a solid source of tackles and defended passes, Finnegan is quite a find. The DB was all over the field last year and has the speed to keep pace in 2008.

Justin Tuck – New York Giants, DL

After 10 sacks in 2007, I project a slight decrease in sacks, but a substantial increase in tackles for Tuck. If you’re in a league that has has balanced scoring (counts sacks and tackles), Tuck is a great DL pick, especially from the wire. While everyone else loads up on the name game (Williams, Allen, Peppers, Kerney), you may get similar production without using a draft pick.

Other names to keep an eye on:

Matt Wilhelm – San Diego Chargers, LB
Paul Posluszny – Buffalo Bills, LB (Keep an eye on playing time. He may come off the field on passing downs.)
Chris Long – Saint Louis Rams, DL

Alison, a cafe regular and writer, was raised in the Northeast and now resides in the Southwest. While playing fantasy football and baseball over the past 5 years, she found herself hooked - especially to football. You can find Alison posting on the Cafe forums under the name Low and Away

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