How long do you hold onto your sleepers? (1 Viewer)

[ponchsox]

You drafted a couple of sleepers who could be fantasy gold later in the season. After week one, the flavors of the week start to emerge on the ww. How long do you hold onto your sleeper picks before you dump them for another player? What is your rule of thumb before letting someone go who could be valuable at some point?

 

[Al Toon's Mole]

Bye weeks. If they havent started to put up #'s by the time I need to slot them into my roster I'll drop em and go for the guys who at least will not give me a donut in my lineup.

-Side note: Taxi/Practice squads help negate the need to drop a rookie sleeper you may be high on, though not all leagues use them. So I answered for the smaller roster leagues I play in.

 

[Topes]

Usually, too long.

 

[solorca]

It all depends on my situation and the player available. Last year, I was ready to drop my sleepers after week one to pick up Brandon Jackson, because of the potential situation he was stepping into. His potential upgrade over waiting and seeing on a guy was worth more to me.

In a normal year, when you just have guys who have big games, I'll take a shot if I am not super confident on my bottom of bench guys, whether they are sleepers or not.

This year, I have already dropped one of my sleepers, Andre Roberts, when Daniel Thomas was dropped. I felt like he could offer me more over the long term for the season, given the receivers that I have. One of my other sleepers, Jermaine Gresham, I'm likely to hang on to a bit longer, because I only have Greg Olsen above him on my roster and neither guy is a proven commodity yet. Then again, I don't have any super deep sleepers this season, because my draft had a ton of late round value that I wouldn't really consider risky plays (Burleson, Bernard Scott, etc.)

 

[glong989]

Keep a close eye on your rostered sleepers during the first few weeks. If they aren't making any noise then you can probably drop them and pick up a flavor of the week guy. Several of those hit each season and can make a team a good bit better by providing a guy in your starting lineup each week that you didn't draft.

If your guys are making a bit of noise or getting more snaps then it may just be a matter of time. Opportunity is the key for me so see if their playing time is increasing then use that to foresee them carving out a role in the offense. If you are solid with your starters and can afford to let a guy marinate for a bit them by all means see what happens.

I always see the owners who make 500 moves but never start anyone they pick up. They get the flavor of the week who just had 2 TDs and stash him on the the bench. Then the next week that player only has 40 yards and no TDs and they drop them for the next guy. To me you have to be willing to let a guy get through some games where they don't put up stats because if you drop them too soon then they will be gone after their next game. It's not uncommon for a guy to show a flash and then cool down only to become consistent again.

 

[OPS]

They usually last about one week for me. Actually, I get new sleepers before the season even begins so I dump the old sleepers. So on average, they last about -1 weeks.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

I've been guilty of dropping some legit sleepers for the "flavor of the week" or even a matchup defense. It's embarrasing to find yourself blowing your waiver wire budget on the guy you just dropped a couple weeks prior. There's always a guy that sits on your bench that you could easily cut. In one league, I am sitting on Stevan Ridley. If a decent week #1 waiver wire option comes along, I'll probably cut Ridley, only to regret it in week 4 when Green-Ellis goes down to injury, and Woodhead's role remains unchanged.

 

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

Usually, too long.

I generally hold until they are about two weeks from blowing up.

 

[timschochet]

I usually only draft 1 QB, 1 TE, 1 Def, and 1 kicker, with the purpose of grabbing as many extra sleepers as I can. I have until the bye weeks for these positions to decide which ones to keep.

 

[solorca]

The worst thing is having a Bernard Berrian type of player at the bottom of your bench, and being scared to drop him for a risky waiver wire pickup..only to have that person turn into the next Peyton Hillis. Over the past few years, I've been much more willing to drop the end of bench guys who are decent, but rarely put up the big games.

 

[LittlePhatty]

I still have Taco Wallace in my main Dynasty league.

Wake up Taco! Wake up!

 

[cubbie5150]

Usually, too long.

 

[Gr00vus]

It depends on the situation you perceived them to be in when you drafted them. If it's a rookie you think could blow up big at some point I think you have to give them at least half a season. Similarly with guys you knew were high potential backups, you knew at the outset they probably weren't going to be much if/until the guy in front of them got hurt. Other guys, guys who were message board darlings, guys who were just one of many similar guys in a pool of players fighting for a prominent role in a decent situation (e.g. Rams receivers), etc. get a much shorter leash - if they don't pan out quick dump them for the next supposed big thing.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

Until they wake up.

 

[ponchsox]

The tricky part is my league only allows 8 waiver transactions per team each season. Therefore I must be judicial about the moves I make. Everyone picks up the flavor of the first week while I tend to wait and see what they do over a 2-3 game span. This strategy landed me Hillis last year but I had a chance to pick up Brandon Lloyd before he blew up and didn't.

 

[LittlePhatty]

Until they wake up.

You hold on to them until the wake up? Then you drop them? Interesting.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

Until they wake up.

You hold on to them until the wake up? Then you drop them? Interesting.

Once they've awoken I continue to hold them, they just aren't classified as "sleepers" no more. So saying I hold sleepers until they wake up is akin to saying I never drop them.