Super Sleeper RB Keeper Stashes for 2016 (1 Viewer)

[Red Apples]

Time to think what underachieving RBs might have a good chance to start next year in deep dynast leagues.

Akeem Hunt RB Texans

Akeem Hunt, RB, Purdue

Height: 5-9. Weight: 189.
40 Time: 4.35.
Projected Round (2015): 4-6.
4/27/15: Hunt averaged 5.5 yards per carry in 2014 as he totaled 949 yards and six touchdowns. The senior also caught 48 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns. The speedy Hunt (5-9, 189) has generated a lot of buzz behind the scenes. At his pro day, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds and has a lot of teams showing interest in him. Sources say teams love Hunt's position versatility as he can be used as a wide receiver as well as a running back and returner. Hunt has received interest from Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Houston, Kansas City, Indianapolis and the New York Giants.

Running back Akeem Hunt (5-9 3/4, 189) ran the 40-yard dash in 4.40 and 4.36 seconds. He had a 37-inch vertical jump and 10-foot-2 broad jump. He did the 20-yard short shuttle in 4.11 seconds and the three-cone drill in 6.71 seconds. He performed 14 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. Hunt really was impressive in the positional workout, looking outstanding catching the ball coming out of the backfield. Based on this workout, Hunt will be a draft choice, most likely in the late rounds.

Rookie running back Akeem Hunt is providing speed for the Texans' backfield.

Hunt runs the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds and displayed his explosiveness Sunday during his most extensive action since being promoted from the practice squad.

Hunt rushed for a career-high 27 yards on three carries during a 24-6 win over the New Orleans Saints, averaging 9 yards per rush. He gained 17 yards on a sweep.

"I like my chances in the open field of outrunning people," said Hunt, an undrafted free agent from Purdue previously with the Ravens and Giants. "The offensive line did a great job. They made it easy for me."

This was Hunt's second game since being promoted from the practice squad.

"He's a smart guy, so he came in here and was able to pick up the system pretty quickly," coach Bill O'Brien said. "He's got some speed. Whether that applies to Buffalo or not, we'll have to see. He definitely had a couple nice plays."

Hunt finished his Purdue career with over 4,600 all-purpose yards. He rushed for 949 yards and caught 48 passes last year for the Boilermakers.

"I saw him take off running in practice and thought, 'If he can get that kind of space in the game, he's going to be deadly,' " Texans left tackle Duane Brown said. "He didn't disappoint. He's very, very fast."

 

[Red Apples]

Mike Davis RB San Francisco

The San Francisco 49ers have submitted their second pick for round four of the2015 NFL Draft. The team has three picks in the fourth round, and with No. 126 overall, they drafted South Carolina running back Mike Davis.

Carlos Hyde enters the season as the team's No. 1 back, with Reggie Bush and Kendall Hunter behind him. However, those latter two are signed to one year deals, so it makes sense to consider long-term implications. Here is what our South Carolina blog had to say about Davis:

I think that quote from the NFC South scout really encompasses the general attitude about Mike. He has absurd amounts of natural ability, and flashed that talent often during his time here at Carolina. However, his inability to stay on the field and stay in shape should concern people. Even though he
http://www.stampedeblue.com/2015/4/...-back-mike-davis-to-visit-the-colts-this-weekhas some pre-draft buzz
http://www.stampedeblue.com/2015/4/...-back-mike-davis-to-visit-the-colts-this-week, I would not expect him to get picked especially early. A guy like this can be hard to project. While Davis has absolutely enormous upside, teams may be afraid to pick him up because of the injury issues. Look for Davis to get picked from anywhere in the early 3rd round to the middle 5th round.
Here is what NFL.com says about Davis:

Rhythm runner who is at his best when he's getting plenty of work. Davis has a surprising ability to turn on the jets and get on top of the secondary quickly for long runs, and his north-south mentality is a fit for the pros. With an ability to play on third down as well, the only thing holding Davis back is conditioning. Davis won't make too many defenders miss, so he can't afford to lose the corner speed he showed in 2013. Davis can be a very capable NFL backup with the potential to become a starter.

49ers placed RB Mike Davis (hand) on injured reserve/designated to return.
Davis will miss at least eight games after surgery. He's ineligible to return until Week 17. With Carlos Hyde sidelined, the 49ers will move forward with Kendall Gaskins, Pierre Thomas, and Shaun Draughn.
Nov 7 - 4:47 PM

 

[Red Apples]

Cameron Artis Payne RB Panthers

Everybody seems to love rookies and going young in their fantasy drafts now-a-days. However, there is one rookie running back that is being overlooked far too often this season. Carolina Panthers fifth-round pick Cameron Artis-Payne has massive potential this season, and opportunity will arise for him. He’s a deep sleeper you’ll want to own this season. Artis-Payne is a bruiser that can handle a full workload much like he did at Auburn.

Last season he carried the ball over 300 times for 1,608 yards and 13 TDs. He’s a north and south runner that has great patience and exceptional acceleration. While he will primarily be slammed between the tackles, he has the burst and deceptive speed to hit the corner. He is also reliable and protects the ball very well while running. The reason he will see an opportunity this season is the Panthers subpar RB corps. He’s a lock to jump Fozzy Whittaker and Darrin Reaves who have proven to be less than stellar options. That leaves Jonathan Stewart to contend with.

The bottom line is Stewart just isn’t reliable. Over the past three seasons he’s missed 20 games and has been less than impressive since 2009, which also happens to be his only 1,000 yard season. After rushing for 10 touchdowns in each of his first-two seasons, he has totaled only 10 TDs over the past five seasons. Stewart also doesn’t add much to the passing attack catching only 130 passes in his seven-year career. Now that DeAngelo Williams is gone, it’s time for a fresh face in Carolina and that fresh face is Artis-Payne.

If he doesn’t win the job outright, he’ll have it when Stewart inevitably goes down with an injury. He has only played in 16 games once (2011) in the past five years. Do not overlook this young back in your draft. His ADP is currently 174.73 making his the 53rd running back off the board. His value is tremendous this late.

Rookie running back Cameron Artis-Payne finds himself in the ideal sleeper candidate position behind the injury prone Johnathan Stewart in an otherwise barren Panthers backfield.

The Auburn product is ranked 168th overall and is being taken as the 67th ranked running back while being nowhere to be seen in any recent mock drafts. I'm a strong supporter of projected feature back Johnathan Stewart who has a stronghold on the workload after the exit of DeAngelo Williams. Such opportunity holds promise after coming off an 800 yard season where he split carries, but a history of missed time due to injury has certainly limited his potential. A combination of a knee and ankle injury kept Stewart for 11 games warranting a considerable amount of concern.

Should Stewart miss any time, I'm a big believer in Artis-Payne, 2014's leading rushing in the SEC. He never got involved in the passing game much at Auburn but boasts some impressive tapes displaying outstanding balance and power through tacklers. He finishes his runs strongly and fights for yards giving him definitive value in early downs and on the goal line. Even should Stewart stay healthy, the power back could earn some sneaky weekly plays by vulturing touchdowns.

If you trust Stewart as your RB2, you've got huge upside given his first shot at handling a backfield, but you can't leave out the injury concern. Make sure to handcuff him with Artis-Payne as one of your last picks and I believe you'll have steady production from the Carolina backfield.

 

[beef]

i just dropped davis and his .96 ypc. i really liked him as a sleeper coming in, but he did nothing with his opportunities.

good thread idea though. I've been scouring my waiver wires and feel like it's pretty empty. need some deep sleeper ideas.

 

[Jed]

Crockett?

 

[thriftyrocker]

Glenn Winston - CLE

Trey Williams - NE

Kenjon Barner - PHI

Orleans Darkwa - NYG

Christine Michael - WAS

Zach Zenner - DET

Rod Smith - DAL

Khiry Robinson - NO

Lorenzo Taliaferro - BAL

Brandon Oliver - SD

Malcolm Brown - STL

 

[Red Apples]

I'm also thinking Bishop Sankey & CJ Spiller will be playing for some new teams next year.

 

[DropKick]

I'm also thinking Bishop Sankey & CJ Spiller will be playing for some new teams next year.

Good luck with that...

 

[robb]

I realize he is not a "sleeper" (altho he has slept thru most of the 2015 season), but would Hyde, SF running back be someone you would consider to keep for 2016?

I am thinking he is looking like possibly a round 4 pick in 2016. Thoughts??

 

[Bronco Billy]

I realize he is not a "sleeper" (altho he has slept thru most of the 2015 season), but would Hyde, SF running back be someone you would consider to keep for 2016?

I am thinking he is looking like possibly a round 4 pick in 2016. Thoughts??

I'm pretty sure a RB like Hyde is not the intent of this thread.

That said, do you have scoring rules that severely diminish RB scoring, that you'd think a bonafide bell cow RB like Hyde would be a 4th rounder next year? I'm not quite getting your thinking here.

 

[BearsFan4Life]

Artis Payne was sitting there so grabbed him in 14 team dynasty... I try and grab 2 flyers end of each year... Seth Roberts and Artis Payne are the 2 for now

 

[zamboni]

i just dropped davis and his .96 ypc. i really liked him as a sleeper coming in, but he did nothing with his opportunities.

Davis was just activated and may play tomorrow.

He has indeed been awful in limited carries this year, but any thoughts as to whether he can challenge Hyde next year?