Fantasy Football: 6 Under-the-Radar Fantasy Producers

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Finding the diamonds in the rough can often lead to a successful fantasy football season. In this article, I will identify a player at each position that is putting up good fantasy numbers, but is not being noticed.

I have used the Yahoo! fantasy football platform to analyze which players are not owned in most leagues, and thus not getting the respect they deserve.

If your team has struggled over the first three weeks, maybe you want to shake up the roster and try a few new players. If so, I think you would find some of the players here to be helpful to you.

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Andre Brown: RB

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Andre Brown has put up some impressive numbers in just two games this season.

He rushed for over 200 yards total, scored three touchdowns and averaged over five yards per attempt. They are star-quality numbers, yet he is available in 35% of Yahoo! leagues. If your league is one of them, you need to snag him right away. Even when Ahmad Bradshaw returns, Brown can still be a reliable source of steady production.

Lance Moore: WR

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The New Orleans Saints are taking a while to get on track, to say the least.

But despite this, Lance Moore has 12 catches, 220 receiving yards and two touchdowns. When the Saints get their act together, these numbers should go up considerably. Moore should end up with 750 yards or more for the season, pretty good for a player available in 20% of Yahoo! leagues.

Christian Ponder: QB

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OK, so which quarterback has the most fantasy points so far this season: Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo, Cam Newton or Christian Ponder? The surprising answer is Christian Ponder and he is available in 86% of Yahoo! leagues.

Ponder has four touchdown passes versus no interceptions. He has a strong trio of receivers in Percy Harvin, Michael Jenkins and Kyle Rudolph. Adrian Peterson's return to lead the running game has opened up the field for the passing game.

While I wouldn't want to start Ponder this week against the Lions, there are weeks in the schedule ahead where he might be a better choice than another quarterback on your roster.

Kyle Rudolph: TE

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How can a tight end with three touchdowns after three games still be available in 58% of Yahoo! leagues? That is a good question. All I can conclude is that managers in 58% of the leagues are not paying attention.

Kyle Rudolph was one of my preseason sleeper picks and so far he has shown me to be correct.

Lawrence Tynes: K

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Lawrence Tynes has the second most fantasy points so far among placekickers. He is a perfect 10 for 10 in field goal attempts in the first three games. But yet he is available in 89% of Yahoo! leagues. Hello! Earth to managers! 

Yes, I know that Tynes typically is not very productive in fantasy leagues because the Giants tend to be very effective in scoring touchdowns in the red zone. But this year, Tynes' numbers speak for themselves.

Akeem Ayers: IDP

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Akeem Ayers has 24 solo tackles and 12 assists in the first three games. He trails only Navarro Bowman in the total of solos and assists. Since the Titans have no running game, they fall behind in the time of possession area. With the opponents running more plays, Ayers gets the chance to rack up more tackles.

The Titans drafted him in the second round last year and he is starting to show his value. While he almost lost the game against the Lions this week by batting the Hail Mary pass into Titus Young's hands, these things don't appear in fantasy stats.

He is available in a surprising 91% of Yahoo! leagues that use Individual Defensive Players.