Dynasty Sleepers: RB

Before I get going, I’d like to remind you to also check out my opinions on the sleeper QBs for the coming year. Now that I’ve finished that completely selfish advertisement, on to the RBs!

Running Back is premier position in fantasy football. Very rarely will you find a successful team without at least 1 great RB, and more than likely, that team will have 2 or more top RBs. Because this is such an important position, RBs tend to get picked first and fast, and if you don’t get to them early, you might miss out all together. Here are 5 guys that should fall to at least the 4th round (which is very late by RB standards, most leagues draft RBs for the entire first round) and should help you be competitive in your league next year.

Find out after the jump

1. Michael Turner. Alright, now that he’s signed with Atlanta and is officially out of LaDainian Tomlinson’s shadow, Michael “The Burner” Turner will have his chance to shine. He’s got all the makings of being the next big thing, similar to what Priest Holmes showed in Baltimore before he skyrocketed in KC (and even Larry Johnson behind Holmes that shot up the charts when finally given the chance). If Turner makes it to the 4-6 round, and he’s on the board for your pick, you would be foolish to let him pass. He might have some trouble this year because Atlanta will still be rebuilding. But in dynasty leagues, you have to have foresight, and Turner will pay off huge.

2. DeAngelo Williams. This is a guy I’ve been waiting on for a couple years. Carolina kept giving DeShaun Foster a chance to be the main starting tailback, and Williams kept taking the back seat. Well, Foster was released and signed in San Francisco, so Williams will have the chance to be the main attraction this year. If you ask me, it’s about time! He’s shown the ability to be a play maker in the few opportunities he’s been given, watching him for a full year could be exciting.

3. Michael Bush. I know you’ve heard about Darren McFadden. And I know you’ve heard about Adrian Peterson. Well, 2 years ago in college, Michael Bush was the one they were talking about winning the Heisman trophy, over Adrian Peterson. It was only because he broke his leg early in the year that Bush didn’t receive massive publicity. The Raiders drafted him last year and gave him the full year to completely rehabilitate, and now he’s ready to go. It looks like Fargas will be given the chance to maintain his starting position ahead of Bush, but I don’t see that lasting for long. Since he’s been off the radar for so long, he’s likely to drop much farther than his talent would indicate, and you don’t want to be the guy that misses out on him when he hits the scene, trust me.

4. Ahmad Bradshaw. If you watched any of the New York Giants playoff games (and since the Super Bowl was the most watched television event in the history of the world) most of you should have heard of Ahmad Bradshaw if you were paying attention. Bradshaw wowed everyone in Giants camp leading up to last year, but once the season came around, he wasn’t given a ton of opportunities. As the season progressed, and the playoffs came around, Bradshaw finally started to get some carries, and made the most of them. I love watching Brandon Jacobs run over people, but Bradshaw will be the “Lightning” to Jacob’s “Thunder” and he will be worth the investment, even more so if you drafted Jacobs this year. Come this time next year, I could see Bradshaw being one of those guys getting drafted in the first 3 rounds.

5. Extreme Sleepers. While I can’t guarantee any of these guys, they are definitely worth taking a flyer on in the late rounds. Garrett Wolfe in Chicago, Kenny Irons in Cincinnatti, Darren Sproles in San Diego, and Chris Henry in Tennessee all are guys that I’m trying to get in as many leagues as I can.

Wolfe is an option in Chicago, which makes him viable simply because Cedric Benson is obviously not the answer there (he’s also incredibly fast). Kenny Irons looked good in limited action last year, before he got hurt in the pre-season and spent his entire rookie campaign on the IR, and Rudi Johnson had a terribl year last year, if he’s on his way out, Irons could take some meaningful carries this year.

Darren Sproles is a guy you should already have if you either own Tomlinson, or play in a league that rewards return yardage. Sproles was one of the top return men in the league before getting hurt 2 years ago (when a certain Devin Hester came into the league and completely re-wrote the record books) and showed why he was so good last year after he came back from injury. Towards the end of the year, it was him that took alot of carries when LT was off the field, rather than Michael Turner.

And finally, Chris Henry. He had a few games in a row that he found his way into the end zone last year, before he was suspended for 4 games for illegal substances. He never was really able to regain his form when he finally got back. But I could see him and LenDale White splitting carries this year, and Henry really being able to show some things, keep an eye on him.

All of these rankings depend, of course, on your league settings. If you are in a ppr league (point per reception) some of these guys are more valuable than others. If your league values return yardage, some other guys come into play (keep an eye on Leon Washington for instance) and you need to know how that affects your team if you want maximum results. The best way to be the most successful manager you can be is to know your league inside and out. Spend time learning the rules, spend time looking over the waiver wire, and definitely (especially at this time of year with free agency just starting and the draft coming up) always know what is going on in the NFL. Injuries, signings and trades can completely change someones value in an instant, and you want to be the guy that benefits from knowing first, rather than finding out later after the other guy grabs the next big hit (like Ryan Grant from GB last year). Good luck, and next time we’ll cover wide receivers.