The Schottey Six: Top Fantasy Football Sleepers

Let me hit you with some knowledge.

Only two tight ends had more touchdowns last year than Mr. Shiancoe—Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez. Surprised?

Just wait.

Of those three, Visanthe had the least amount of touches and the lowest average. Take it from a guy (begrudgingly) living in Vikings' Country...that isn't going to happen again.

In the redzone, Shiancoe is a monster and only last year started seeing significant touches.

In the open field, he takes a lot of pressure off the middle of the field for AP.

When a safety slides down in the box, it leaves an open seam for Shiancoe—a route the Vikings are hoping to take more advantage of this year.

I personally expect the TD numbers to stand pat at around seven or eight, but the receiving numbers to skyrocket—60 catches/750 yards is a reasonable estimate.

Grab him in the sixth round after guys like Gates, Gonzalez, Witten et al. are already off the board.

This slide is less about the player himself and more about a tactic you need to keep your eye on.

When others are drafting handcuff RB's, second QB's, or defensive teams, take a look at your bench and ask yourself this question:

Do I want to stack my bench with NFL teams' second and third WRs or do I want starters?

If your answer was the latter, I salute you. It's a low-risk/high-reward scenario.

Taking a starter like Nate Washington who may not have the history of great numbers offers you the chance for an over-the-top season.

On pre-made lists like Yahoo or ESPN rankings, starters like Washington (along with Issac Bruce, Bernard Berrian etc.) won't be ranked high enough or thought of highly enough to be gone along with the rest of the starters.

As for Washington specifically, with his size and speed along with the strength of the arms down in Tennessee, he'll do just fine in his first season as a starter.

Wait...just wait.

When defenses start flying off the board—just wait.

You might land on a gem.

Depending on your scoring settings, I'm guessing that your league probably weighs turnovers much more highly than scoring or yardage.

So while Cleveland was only 26th in overall defense last year, it was second in the league in interceptions.

Add in the fact that Cleveland's offense (and Ken Dorsey) was the biggest problem on the field last year—all of a sudden you have potential for a defense with the same turnoverability (it's a word, trust me) with better overall stability.

What kind of Quarterback do you want?

If you've given up the RB/RB system that has dominated fantasy play in recent years, you probably selected someone like Rivers in the second round.

If you started drafting by grabbing RB/RB/WR, you probably want a different kind of QB. You could grab a QB like Roethlisberger or Schaub (who may already be gone) OR you could grab a QB everyone overlooks.

Pennington not only was 12th in the league in TDs last year (19), he also threw single digit INTs (7).

Pennington might not light up your fantasy scoreboard week to week, but he'll just keep plugging along—getting you consistent points.

If everyone else overlooks him (as they normally do), you should be able to grab Pennington in the seventh or eighth round. (*psst* He's also about the best back up quarterback a fantasy team can ask for.)

Earl Bennett is getting a lot of publicity these days.

However, I would counter that it probably isn't enough.

Sure, critics point out that Bennett didn't have a single reception last year.

They'll also point out that team's media departments are well versed in the task of overhyping their athletes.

I still contend that if you want to take a flier on a guy in the 10th round, Bennett is a great prospect—Hester and Rashied Davis are both more suited for slot duties.

Bennett is the best prospect for an outside starting position and he'll have a role no matter what.

As of right now, Bennett is practicing at the team's starting flanker and moving inside on three-receiver downs.

If you have a PPR league, don't hesitate to grab Bennett a tad early.

Julius Jones is not a great NFL running back.

He is however a very good NFL running back—as is TJ Duckett.

Last year, in Seattle, a lot of undue pressure was put on the two of them with subpar line play and an injury to Matt Hasselbeck.

Enter Jim Mora Jr.

With Mora at the helm, the Seahawks will run zone blocking up front which will eliminate the need for high priced offensive linemen (although the 'hawks drafted Max Unger—who should be a stud).

Under Mora, Duckett had the best years in his career. Yet, Jones is slated to receive the bulk of the work.

As for as handcuffs go, I don't think that there is any two better. Factor in the possibility of grabbing the two of them in the 10th and 11th round, and you have another low-risk/high-reward scenario.

Take a shot late. You won't regret it.

Greg Olson: Not sure if he's a "sleeper," but you may be able to wait a round after TEs start dropping and still grab the guy with the most upside. (note: don't wait if you're in a dynasty league, just pull the trigger)

Bernard Berrian: Sure Favre's not around, it doesn't matter. Berrian is a solid WR who drops in a lot of leagues. As a WR3 or FLEX player, you could do a lot worse.

Kurt Warner: Not exactly a dynasty league pick up, but could give you great production if you wait a few rounds to grab a QB.

New York Jets Defense: A good defense last year could go great with Rex Ryan's defensive scoring mentality.