Studs | Super Solid | Safe | Gambles | Busts
Sleepers | Super Sleepers | Over the Hill
Contract Year | Third Year Receivers
Any good fantasy football enthusiast will tell you the key to winning on the fantasy level is a successful draft. And to pull off a successful draft, you must be a bit of a prognosticator when it comes to evaluating talent. In other words, you must have a certain "feel" for which players are on the rise and which are on the decline.
Certainly age is a key factor in making these determinations, but there are many other signs to look for that may indicate an upswing or downswing as compared to prior year's performances. Something as simple as being put into a new system, whether it be by switching teams or a change in coaching staff, can do wonders for a player's career.
Another scenario to keep an eye out for is the young player that has "emerging superstar" written all over him. And there's always the case of players simply coming into their own after gaining experience. Picking those guys, however, can sometimes be more of an art than a science.
These are About Football's top sleepers for 2009:
Quarterback
Carson Palmer, CIN
Matt Schaub, HOU
Running Back
Donald Brown, IND
Felix Jones, DAL
Rashard Mendenhall, PIT
Fred Taylor, NE
Wide Receiver
Donnie Avery, STL
Anthony Gonzalez, IND
Chris Henry, CIN
Johnnie Lee Higgins, OAK
Lance Moore, NO
Tight End
Brent Celek, PHI
Desmond Clark, CHI
Defense
Arizona Cardinals
Cheat Sheets: Overall | QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DEF | DL | LB | DB
