Sleepers players-Who will be the 2009 Fantasy Football Sleepers?

Time to look at who could be significant Sleeper candidates in 2009. Remember by definition sleeper is someone who is not expected to do well and far exceeds their expectations. So sometimes it will depend on what the "expected stats" are to begin with that determines how much they exceed them. In other words it is easy to exceed low expectations.

If anyone tells you that they know who the Sleepers will be for sure, ignore them completely because nobody knows with certainty who will shine. But I can offer a few possibilites and why:

QB
Trent Edwards, BUF-Any QB throwing to two Top 30 WRs deserves consideration for Top 10 performance. On most rankings he is 17th.

Kyle Orton, DEN-If (this is a big IF) Marshall plays nice, then Orton has two Top 30 WRs and a decent TE option in Scheffler. He is projected at QB18 now. That is a lot of room for improvement.

RB
Cedric Benson, CIN-Had a good finish to 2008 and could keep it going if he can fend off Bernard Scott who looks to be pushing him. Either are good candidates for Sleeper.

Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG-The #2 at the Giants will be more of a RBBC then most. Current ranking is around 40ish. But an injury to Jacobs pushes Bradshaw into the Top 15 and if not he could be top 30 even in a time-share.
WR
Nate Burleson, SEA-A healthy Hassleback and TJH to watch by the better corners means Burleson may have some good looks this year.

Chris Henry would get the other nod but he is screaming up the rankings so people are aware of him based on his preseason performance. Instead I will pick James Jones GB. He and GB look to have a great season ahead as A. Rodgers starts his first week 1 without a huge cloud called Favre overhead.

TE
Brent Celek, PHI-McNabb (and or Vick) will take advantage of having a healthy TE permanently on the field.

Brandon Pettigrew, DET-Rookies usually do not see the field much their first year, but DET is desperate. Expect bigger things from Pettigrew especially if he gets Stafford to start with them as Stafford-Pettigrew may become a household phrase in the Big D.

K
Vinateri, IND-IND will not be as good this year in terms of offensive production, Peyton has been sacked way too many times this preseason. So look for more FGs and less TDs. Adam is ranked conservatively at K15. He makes a nice choice for Top 5.

Shayne Graham, CIN- Ranked K17 in many polls if the Bengals have a healthy Palmer look for more scoring. Their Def was not as bad last year as everyone thinks.

Defense/ST
Green Bay-Switched to the 3-4 and the offense looks to be clicking on all cylinders too.

Arizona-They have an easy Fantasy Playoff stretch, as they face @SF, @DET and STL in weeks 14-16.




Sam Hendricks, Author:

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95, www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669)

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Fantasy Football Almanac 2009: The Essential Fantasy Football Reference Guide ($12.95, http://www.amazon.com/1602643989)

Fantasy Index "Ask the Expert": Who will be this years breakout fantasy star?

Fantasy Index "Ask the Expert" Question: Who will be 2009's breakout fantasy star?
Breakout player of 2009 will be Chris Henry WR CIN. Carson Palmers return should help all the Bengal WRs and Henry seems to have straightened out his off-the-field issues. His past two years have been failures, but 2009 could be the year he breaks out and surpasses his 2006 performance. Through 3 games this preseason, he has all (3) of the CIN TD receptions. Look for 60 catches/750 yards and 6 TDs and a Top 25 WR finish.



As seen in ASK THE EXPERTS, Fantasy Football Index's Expert column found at http://www.fantasyindex.com/.

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question posted Thursday morning.

Sam Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Almanac 2009, all available at his website, http://www.ffguidebook.com/ , at all major bookstores, and at http://www.amazon.com/. He is a 19-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th overall in the 2008 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95, www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669)

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Fantasy Football Almanac 2009: The Essential Fantasy Football Reference Guide ($12.95, http://www.amazon.com/1602643989)

2009 Fantasy Football Defenses Rankings

2009 Fantasy Football Defense Rankings

1 Baltimore
2 Philadelphia
3 Pittsburgh
4 Tampa Bay
5 Tennessee
6 Chicago
7 NewYork Jets
8 Green Bay
9 NY Giants
10 Minnesota
11 Miami
12 Arizona
13 Dallas
14 Indianapolis
15 Carolina
16 Oakland
17 Cleveland
18 Atlanta
19 Buffalo
20 San Diego *
21 San Francisco
22 New England *
23 Seattle
24 New Orleans
25 Cincinnati
26 Jacksonville*
27 Houston
28 Denver*
29 Washington
30 St Louis
31 Kansas City
32 Detroit

Visit www.FFGuidebook.com/ for more player rankings and projections

TE Rankings and Projections for 2008 Fantasy Football Season

Player Team REC Yards TDs FP
1 J Witten DAL 90 900 10 240
2 A Gates SD 75 920 9 221
3 T Gonzalez KC 85 900 6 220
4 D Clark IND 80 900 6 215
5 C Cooley WAS 85 850 5 200
6 K Winslow CLE 75 800 6 191
7 O Daniels HOU 70 850 5 185
8 T Scheffler DEN 60 800 6 176
9 V Shianacoe MIN 50 600 7 152
10 K Boss NYG 50 600 6 146
11 J Shockey NO 65 600 3 143
12 G Olsen CHI 55 560 5 141
13 J Carlson SEA 55 580 4 137
14 H Miller PIT 50 500 4 124
15 Z Miller OAK 50 650 1 121
16 D Keller NYJ 45 450 4 114
17 B Scaife TEN 50 500 2 112
18 A Fassano MIA 30 400 6 106
19 M Lewis JAX 40 400 4 104
20 T Heap BAL 40 450 3 103

Visit www.FFGuidebook for more player rankings and projections and pick up your copy of the Fantasy Football Almanac 2009 ($12.95 at amazon.com and BN.com, out on 1 May) for complete rankings and projections at every position (including IDP).

WR Fantasy Football Rankings and Projections for 2009

1 Andre Johnson HOU 105 1500 8 303
2 Larry Fitzgerald AZ 95 1400 10 295
3 Anquan Boldin AZ 100 1200 12 292
4 Brandon Marshal DEN 100 1400 8 288
5 Greg Jennings GB 80 1300 10 270
6 Roddy White ATL 85 1400 7 267
7 Steve Smith CAR 80 1400 7 262
8 Calvin Johnson DET 75 1300 9 259
9 Marques Colston NO 75 1300 9 259
10 Reggie Wayne IND 80 1200 9 254
11 Randy Moss NE 80 1100 10 250
12 Wes Welker NE 110 1200 3 248
13 Dwayne Bowe KC 90 1100 8 248
14 Terrell Owens DAL 70 1000 10 230
15 Antonio Bryant TB 70 1100 8 228
16 TJ Houshmandz+ CIN? 95 1000 5 225
17 Braylon Edwards CLE 70 1000 9 224
18 Lance Moore NO 75 1000 8 223
19 Chad Johnson CIN? 70 1100 7 222
20 Eddie Royal DEN 90 1000 5 220

Visit www.FFGuidebook.com/ for more 2009 Player Rankings and Projections