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Sleeper RBs to look out for down the stretch (1 Viewer)

Every year some waiver wire RBs make an impact for redraft owners late in the season and into the playoffs. Here's a few I have a very close eye on:

1) Cadillac Williams -- Tampa Bay has a decent front line, and with their FB woes Earnest Graham might be moved to that role and Dunn will see the RB load. However, Gruden loves Cadillac and if he is reactivated to the active roster week 8 or 9 I would seriously consider making roster room for him. We'll get a better idea of what his role will be depending on whether or not Bennett is demoted.

2) Kenny Watson -- Yes, the Bengals are a mess. Yes, they just signed Cedric Benson. But Watson is the only RB on their roster to be able to have any success on that team. He's resigned, and reports are that he looks healthy in practice. He's got good hands and should get a chance for carries sometime soon thanks to Perry's fumbleitis and Benson's unimpressiveness.

3) Jesse Chatman -- A team like the Jets wouldn't have held onto this guy despite his 4-game steroid suspension if they didn't think he could contribute. Thomas Jones had a good outing recently, but Chatman has looked solid whenever he's had the chance to tote the rock the past couple seasons. If he gets a shot to take over (if Jones has a few more poor showings or gets injured), I wouldn't doubt he can put up startable numbers. His situation is more difficult though as he has a clear starter in front of him. I think of him like I do Chester Taylor -- will put up numbers if he gets the start, look to have him rostered if Jones struggles.

Who you got your eye on?

 
Dominic Rhodes.

I don't have much faith in Addai coming back from a torn hamstring for atleast a month. Rhodes looked just as good as he did last week.

 
Jerome Harrison - JL will have a tough time staying healthy with his bull running style & all the mileage on him. Even with Lewis active, Harrison is getting more & more opportunities. He seems to make the most of those opportunities.

Ryan Grant (obviously not a sleeper but a great "buy low") - Finally healthy and ready to pick up where he left off last year.

Kenny Watson - I agree with the sentiments listed by others already.

Ryan Torain - The other backs in Denver don't fit the Skeletor mold as well as this guy. If healthy, look out.

Maurice Morris - JJ can't handle the full load & Duckett blows, so Mo may be a nice bye week filler a few weeks.

 
Kevin Jones, if Lovie doesn't lighten Forte's workload I think he'll breakdown before the end of the season.

 
I'd throw Pierre Thomas' name on the list. He was probably dropped in a lot of leagues after Deuce came back but neither McAllister nor Bush are locks to stay healthy the entire season - especially Deuce. I could see Thomas re-emerging in the Saints' backfield and the guy has done nothing but produce good to great fantasy numbers whenever he's gotten a chance to play.

 
I like Buckhalter's chances of giving good fantasy production if he stays healthy, which is a big if. He seems underrated even with Westbrook playing.

 
I like Buckhalter's chances of giving good fantasy production if he stays healthy, which is a big if. He seems underrated even with Westbrook playing.
It's probably because he's on my roster... but I envisioned Buckhalter being a Ryan Grant/E. Graham type guy this year. He's definitely had issues staying on the field... and if Westbrook is well enough to take the field... he probably won't see many looks... but I could see Reid changing that in order to preserve Westy.. and I can also see Westy never really getting healthy... or re-aggravating a preexisting condition.
 
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Buckhalter and Rhodes were the first two names I thought of too.

Mewelde Moore may be good, I always thought he was underused in Minnesota, and with Parker possibly having a lingering knee problem Moore could get a few starts.

Its kind of a cheap one, but Chester Taylor. If anything happens to Peterson...

I agree with Grant being a buy-low type sleeper at this point, though the window to get him is probably between now and Sunday.

Finally, this guy isn't a true sleeper since everyone knows about him, but I don't think people are expecting much from Darren McFadden for the rest of this season. I can see several big games in his future and he has a great schedule from week 9 on.

 
I'd go with the odds and pick a backup on a good team who's starter is injury prone. I don't like to own starters on bad offensive teams, so a backup on a bad team is pretty much a waste of a roster spot...So, here's a few that I would add

Aaron Stecker is getting no love in the NO backfield, but he was just as impressive as Pierre when Bush went down last year.

Derrick Ward is putting up good #'s as a part timer, Jacobs fits the bill of injury prone

Brandon Jackson - did I miss something on this guy? He was dropped in my league even though Ryan Grant just doesn't look right

 
oh, and for a real shot in the dark how about greg jones? teams dont take concussions lightly anymore. JAX seems committed to a 2 back system.

 
Derrick Ward is putting up good #'s as a part timer, Jacobs fits the bill of injury prone
:coffee: Although Ward is far more "injury prone" than Jacobs. Gotta mention Bradshaw here too... he could really go off if either guy ahead of him misses any time.
 
Cedric Benson

Kenny Watson

Brandon Jackson

Kevin Jones

Lamont Jordan - my fav deep sleeper right now

Jamaal Charles

Ladell Betts

Jerome Harrison

 
Derrick Ward is putting up good #'s as a part timer, Jacobs fits the bill of injury prone
:) Although Ward is far more "injury prone" than Jacobs. Gotta mention Bradshaw here too... he could really go off if either guy ahead of him misses any time.
I grabbed Ward as well. Buckie is another one that filled in well for Westbrook and looks to be a mini- Westbrook- receives and gets the rushing numbers.
 
Tashard Choice - now has some opportunity while spelling MB3. Might be good for 4 weeks or so.

Derrick Ward - Even if Jacobs stays healthy, Ward is a decent start in large leagues

Pierre Thomas - I think Bush will be fine, but Deuce OTOH.......

FWIW - I think Pittman is the play in Denver. He always produces when given a chance.

 
DeShaun Foster has remained under the radar despite Gore not exactly being the ironman type. You'd have to think Gore misses at least a game at some point.

 
Since the OP was asking for sleeper RBs that are available on the WW, I think Morris, Bucky, Rhodes and Pittman are out.

Regarding Torain, he's already getting snapped up looking at who has picked him up in some of my leagues, he's clearly a guy that is on the radar of casual fantasy football players. If you like him, you better pick him up now if he's available in your leagues.

If you're looking for this year's Earnest Graham, below are some guys I think have the potentiall to fit the bill. You have to look at opportunity + the team around a guy. Unless you have deeeep rosters, they're more guys where you have to be ready to make a move b/c there's no way you could roster all of them and maybe, maybe one will hit:

Gary Russel

Jerome Harrison

Kevin Jones

Torain

Ward/Bradshaw

 
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Fred Jackson.

Would require an injury to Lynch to become a true option, but the mention here is due to the Bills remaining schedule more than anything.

 
I am the only one who thinks that the Rat has found his new every down back for the rest of the year with Pittman. He produces everywhere he goes. He catches passes out of the backfield. He run blockes well. I don't think Torain is going to get much action this year at all. I don't have Pittman on my team I just think he can and will be the new featured back in Den for the rest of the season.

 
Name not mentioned:

Leon Washington, esp. in PPR leagues. Jets have a damn easy schedule down the stretch, and I expect TJones is going to start wearing down around week 12 if they keep getting him 19+ touches per game.

 
I am the only one who thinks that the Rat has found his new every down back for the rest of the year with Pittman. He produces everywhere he goes. He catches passes out of the backfield. He run blockes well. I don't think Torain is going to get much action this year at all. I don't have Pittman on my team I just think he can and will be the new featured back in Den for the rest of the season.
I don't - I think Shannie has too many toys to play with and he'll use them. Young, Hall, and Torrain will eat into Pittman's touches enough that any of them could end up taking over by having a real nice game or two.
 
I am the only one who thinks that the Rat has found his new every down back for the rest of the year with Pittman. He produces everywhere he goes. He catches passes out of the backfield. He run blockes well. I don't think Torain is going to get much action this year at all. I don't have Pittman on my team I just think he can and will be the new featured back in Den for the rest of the season.
Young looked really good this year when he got the rock, 5.65 YPC. Why did Denver run so much last game? Was it the matchup, Pittman, or Denver moving more to the ground game as the year goes on? I would understand more if Young was not running so good before last week. On second thought, does it matter it's the Rat and Denver, why try to figure it out.
 
I don't think Torain is going to get much action this year at all.
Yeah, Shanny just kept him on the active roster all year instead of the IR for fun. He'll get plenty of action I'm not saying he's going to be coming in taking over any starting role or anything but he'll get his opportunities. He may or may not have any fantasy value but that's a given when talking about ANY Denver RB.
 
Everyone is making the classic mistake of trying to read Skeletor's mind and apply logic to the situation. The bottom line is that there will probably be several more unpredictable twists and turns in the Denver RB sweepstakes.

Pittman looks like a great start this week. I wouldn't be shocked if he gets 120/2 and I wouldn't be shocked if he gets 5 carries. Torain could have two monster games and then never be heard from again. Andre Hall could be the guy to have by fantasy playoff time. Your guess is as good as mine.

The only thing I'm pretty sure of is that that Shanny doesn't think Selvin is a 20+ carry back, so he'll probably get 30 carries next week.

 
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I am not surprised that a "RBs down the stretch" thread quickly devolved into Denver RB talk.

Only thing we can safely say is that Shanahan will do something none of us predicted here.

 
What are your feelings about Cadillac Williams coming back?

Haven't heard much about his return, just that it might happen in the next month.

Will he be worth something if he can get into 'game-shape' before week 12 or so?

Will it be a RBBC with Dunn and Graham in TB's backfield, along with Cadillac?

Thanks.

 
Hue G said:
RICK ROMO said:
I don't think Torain is going to get much action this year at all.
Yeah, Shanny just kept him on the active roster all year instead of the IR for fun. He'll get plenty of action I'm not saying he's going to be coming in taking over any starting role or anything but he'll get his opportunities. He may or may not have any fantasy value but that's a given when talking about ANY Denver RB.
He is also a hedge against future rb injuries this season
 
What are your feelings about Cadillac Williams coming back?Haven't heard much about his return, just that it might happen in the next month.Will he be worth something if he can get into 'game-shape' before week 12 or so?Will it be a RBBC with Dunn and Graham in TB's backfield, along with Cadillac?Thanks.
I am not that close to the situation, but it seems like both Dunn and Graham are doing a great job running the football. I can't see why Gruden would feel the need to give Caddy many carries if he comes back.
 
What are your feelings about Cadillac Williams coming back?Haven't heard much about his return, just that it might happen in the next month.Will he be worth something if he can get into 'game-shape' before week 12 or so?Will it be a RBBC with Dunn and Graham in TB's backfield, along with Cadillac?Thanks.
I am not that close to the situation, but it seems like both Dunn and Graham are doing a great job running the football. I can't see why Gruden would feel the need to give Caddy many carries if he comes back.
I would figure that the reason would be that he felt Caddy could do even better than those two. Which... isn't far fetched. Just because Dunn and Graham are doing good, doesn't mean that they are doing better than Caddy would do. For all we know he could come in, and with that situation become a top running back down the stretch. That would be like if Frank Gore got hurt... I am sure that Foster could do pretty good in his absence... but that wouldn't be a reason to stop Gore from coming back. Caddy is a better running back than those two.
 
What are your feelings about Cadillac Williams coming back?Haven't heard much about his return, just that it might happen in the next month.Will he be worth something if he can get into 'game-shape' before week 12 or so?Will it be a RBBC with Dunn and Graham in TB's backfield, along with Cadillac?Thanks.
I am not that close to the situation, but it seems like both Dunn and Graham are doing a great job running the football. I can't see why Gruden would feel the need to give Caddy many carries if he comes back.
Yeah me neither. If one of them gets hurt, maybe Caddy gets some work but otherwise I would bet he's a non-factor. Quite unfortunate for those of us who have kept him on the roster for so long.
 
oh, and for a real shot in the dark how about greg jones? teams dont take concussions lightly anymore. JAX seems committed to a 2 back system.
Totally agree on Jones. They're paying him a running back's salary and he's shown he can get the job done when called upon (see 2005 game logs)
 
I'd throw Pierre Thomas' name on the list. He was probably dropped in a lot of leagues after Deuce came back but neither McAllister nor Bush are locks to stay healthy the entire season - especially Deuce. I could see Thomas re-emerging in the Saints' backfield and the guy has done nothing but produce good to great fantasy numbers whenever he's gotten a chance to play.
err Stecker...
 
Does the Caddy speculation and lack of fb for a week make Graham a "sleeper?" Gruden and teammates have only had great things to say about him.

 
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oh, and for a real shot in the dark how about greg jones? teams dont take concussions lightly anymore. JAX seems committed to a 2 back system.
Totally agree on Jones. They're paying him a running back's salary and he's shown he can get the job done when called upon (see 2005 game logs)
He's so far under the radar it isn't even funny. Fred Taylor has been pathetic this year. He has two more concussions than tds. Here's my favorite stat: taylor has been outscored by jones in half of the jags games this year based on my leagues scoring and get this - jones has a grand total of one carry all year. When you see a guy who's more effective with way less opportunities, its just a matter of time before the coaching staff starts getting that guy more involved. Worth rostering? I'd say so, because there's no real telling when he could step up.
 
I second the vote for Jerome Harrison. At 5'9" and 205lbs he looks solid enough to carry the load if Jamal goes down. He must be a terrible pass blocker, given his limited usage by CLE. He's only 25 and in his 3rd season, so he still has time to improve in that area. The dude has gotten 63 yards on only 7 carries and 73 yards on 5 catches. There are only 3 RB's that have a higher YPC than Jerome this year, and they each have only 1 carry. His 14.6 yards per catch for a RB is quite impressive as well. He has only touched the ball 12 times and has gained 136 yards. He has been battling with Jason Wright for mop-up duty behind Jamal, and I think he finally has surpassed him.

 
I second the vote for Jerome Harrison. At 5'9" and 205lbs he looks solid enough to carry the load if Jamal goes down. He must be a terrible pass blocker, given his limited usage by CLE. He's only 25 and in his 3rd season, so he still has time to improve in that area. The dude has gotten 63 yards on only 7 carries and 73 yards on 5 catches. There are only 3 RB's that have a higher YPC than Jerome this year, and they each have only 1 carry. His 14.6 yards per catch for a RB is quite impressive as well. He has only touched the ball 12 times and has gained 136 yards. He has been battling with Jason Wright for mop-up duty behind Jamal, and I think he finally has surpassed him.
Agreed, I watched play for the first time last week. I immediately ran to the compute to see if he was available and he still is. Now is the time to snatch him up, but I'm still can't decide who to drop. Nearly ever time to touch the ball I thought he was going to take it all the way.He's on my radar.
 
Hue G said:
RICK ROMO said:
I don't think Torain is going to get much action this year at all.
Yeah, Shanny just kept him on the active roster all year instead of the IR for fun. He'll get plenty of action I'm not saying he's going to be coming in taking over any starting role or anything but he'll get his opportunities. He may or may not have any fantasy value but that's a given when talking about ANY Denver RB.
Yeah, Shanny likes Torian so much that he brought in Verand Morency and a bunch of other RBs for tryouts.
 
Great topic.

The problem as I see it is that a lot of these "deep sleeper" guys would just be in RBBC hell if the #1 guy got hurt...

Chatman and Washington would cancel each other.

Russell and Moore would cancel each other.

Benson and Watson would cancel each other.

Cadillac would be cancelled by Dunn/Graham.

Greg Jones would be cancelled by MJD/Taylor.

Denver's got 4 guys.

The Saints have 4 guys.

Guys that don't have an obvious "cancel":

Kevin Jones

Fred Jackson

Brandon Jackson

Ladell Betts

and I'll add Ricky Williams to the discussion.

Guys that on the surface look like they have a "cancel", but maybe don't:

Tashard Choice

Derrick Ward

I could imagine Felix Jones and Ahmad Bradshaw getting only a small piece of the pie if Barber and Jacobs, respectively, were to go down, with the lion's share going to Choice/Ward.

 

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