Fantasy Football 2016 Cheat Sheet: Draft Rankings and Sleepers to Target

Get ready for a wild weekend of fantasy football drafting.

The 2016 NFL season begins Thursday, leaving football fanatics with little time to select fantasy squads. Those who don't spend this year's final football-free Sunday drafting should instead be studying for the big day.

By this point, everyone has examined his or her fair share of rankings. It's never a good idea to follow just one source, so another batch won't hurt. This latest installment also features some important updates driven by injuries and new findings.

A studious drafter is probably tired of seeing sleeper lists. Rather than starting another philosophical argument over what justifies the label, understand that the guys highlighted below aren't hidden gems someone can steal for pennies in a hardcore league.

Since they're probably still bench picks in a casual 12-team league, they're at least value picks, if not true sleepers, in the eyes of sophisticated managers.  

Rankings

Rank	QB	RB	WR	TE
1	Cam Newton, CAR	Todd Gurley, LA	Antonio Brown, PIT	Rob Gronkowski, NE
2	Aaron Rodgers, GB	David Johnson, ARI	Julio Jones, ATL	Jordan Reed, WAS
3	Russell Wilson, SEA	Adrian Peterson, MIN	Odell Beckham Jr., NYG	Greg Olsen, CAR
4	Drew Brees, NO	Lamar Miller, HOU	A.J. Green, CIN	Travis Kelce, KC
5	Andrew Luck, IND	Ezekiel Elliott, DAL	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU	Delanie Walker, TEN
6	Carson Palmer, ARI	Le'Veon Bell, PIT	Allen Robinson, JAC	Coby Fleener, NO
7	Ben Roethlisberger, PIT	Mark Ingram, NO	Jordy Nelson, GB	Gary Barnidge, CLE
8	Tom Brady, NE	Devonta Freeman, ATL	Brandon Marshall, NYJ	Zach Ertz, PHI
9	Eli Manning, NYG	LeSean McCoy, BUF	Keenan Allen, SD	Antonio Gates, SD
10	Philip Rivers, SD	Doug Martin, TB	Dez Bryant, DAL	Julius Thomas, JAC
11	Blake Bortles, JAC	Eddie Lacy, GB	Brandin Cooks, NO	Zach Miller, CHI
12	Kirk Cousins, WAS	C.J. Anderson, DEN	Mike Evans, TB	Tyler Eifert, CIN
13	Tyrod Taylor, BUF	Jamaal Charles, KC	Alshon Jeffery, CHI	Dwayne Allen, IND
14	Matthew Stafford, DET	Carlos Hyde, SF	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	Martellus Bennett, NE
15	Derek Carr, OAK	Matt Forte, NYJ	Sammy Watkins, BUF	Jimmy Graham, SEA
16	Andy Dalton, CIN	Thomas Rawls, SEA	Amari Cooper, OAK	Eric Ebron, DET
17	Jameis Winston, TB	Jonathan Stewart, CAR	Randall Cobb, GB	Jason Witten, DAL
18	Matt Ryan, ATL	Latavius Murray, OAK	Eric Decker, NYJ	Vance McDonald, SF
19	Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ	Jeremy Hill, CIN	T.Y. Hilton, IND	Clive Walford, OAK
20	Marcus Mariota, TEN	DeMarco Murray, TEN	Jeremy Maclin, KC	Jordan Cameron, MIA

Rank	Player	Position
1	Antonio Brown, PIT	WR1
2	Julio Jones, ATL	WR2
3	Odell Beckham Jr., NYG	WR3
4	Todd Gurley, LA	RB1
5	David Johnson, ARI	RB2
6	Adrian Peterson, MIN	RB3
7	Lamar Miller, HOU	RB4
8	A.J. Green, CIN	WR4
9	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU	WR5
10	Ezekiel Elliott, DAL	RB5
11	Rob Gronkowski, NE	TE1
12	Allen Robinson, JAC	WR6
13	Le'Veon Bell, PIT	RB6
14	Jordy Nelson, GB	WR7
15	Mark Ingram, NO	RB7
16	Devonta Freeman, ATL	RB8
17	Brandon Marshall, NYJ	WR8
18	Keenan Allen, SD	WR9
19	Dez Bryant, DAL	WR10
20	LeSean McCoy, BUF	RB9
21	Brandin Cooks, NO	WR11
22	Mike Evans, TB	WR12
23	Doug Martin, TB	RB10
24	Eddie Lacy, GB	RB11
25	Alshon Jeffery, CHI	WR13
26	C.J. Anderson, DEN	RB12
27	Jamaal Charles, KC	RB13
28	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	WR14
29	Cam Newton, CAR	QB1
30	Sammy Watkins, BUF	WR15
31	Amari Cooper, OAK	WR16
32	Aaron Rodgers, GB	QB2
33	Carlos Hyde, SF	RB14
34	Matt Forte, NYJ	RB15
35	Randall Cobb, GB	WR17
36	Thomas Rawls, SEA	RB16
37	Eric Decker, NYJ	WR18
38	Jonathan Stewart, CAR	RB17
39	T.Y. Hilton, IND	WR19
40	Jeremy Maclin, KC	WR20
41	Latavius Murray, OAK	RB18
42	Jordan Reed, WAS	TE2
43	Greg Olsen, CAR	TE3
44	Russell Wilson, SEA	QB3
45	Jeremy Hill, CIN	RB19
46	Julian Edelman, NE	WR21
47	Doug Baldwin, SEA	WR22
48	Drew Brees, NO	QB4
49	Jarvis Landry, MIA	WR23
50	DeMarco Murray, TEN	RB20

Sleepers

Spencer Ware, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

Early drafters took Jamaal Charles' return for granted, but his recovery from the second ACL tear of his career has gone slower than expected.

The 29-year-old running back did not suit up in the preseason, and he's looking uncertain for Week 1 of the regular season. According to the Kansas City Star's Terez A. Paylor, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has continued to preach patience:

Even if Charles is ready to go, he looks poised to share the workload with Spencer Ware, who registered 5.6 yards per run last season. Pro Football Focus' Scott Barrett highlighted his ability to avoid negative plays:

Ware should compete with DeAngelo Williams as one of this year's most important handcuffs, but he doesn't need a major Charles setback to contribute. If he performs like he did last year, the Chiefs should let the two backs share the touches to preserve their star rusher.

Unless his price skyrockets in light of recent reports, he warrants a minimal investment. Whether or not Charles plays, it will pay immediate dividends early in the season.

Kamar Aiken, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Gail Burton/Associated Press

Some readers will say a team's No. 1 receiver can't be a sleeper, especially not one who snagged 75 receptions for 944 yards last season.

Then explain why Kamar Aiken is ESPN.com's No. 54-ranked wide receiver behind brittle teammate Steve Smith Sr.

When Smith went down for the season with a torn Achilles, Aiken shined as the Baltimore Ravens' top target last year. Over the final eight games, six without starting quarterback Joe Flacco, Aiken tallied 50 catches for 611 yards and three touchdowns.

As RotoWire's Vlad Sedler noted, only an elite crop of high-volume wideouts received more looks than Aiken late last season:

If Aiken remains a starter, he'll outperform his draft slot as a No. 3 receiver or flex play with added value in points-per-reception formats. Smith and Breshad Perriman could return and push him aside, but don't bank on either starting the season at 100 percent.

He's not a glamorous bench flier, but Aiken is a solid value pick amid a sea of high-ceiling, low-floor risks.

Zach Miller, TE, Chicago Bears

Ron Schwane/Associated Press

Late last season, Zach Miller showed what he can do in place of Martellus Bennett.

In four games without Bennett—who now plays for the New England Patriots—Miller recorded 20 catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns. The 31-year-old collected all five of his touchdowns over the Chicago Bears' final eight games.

Bennett led all tight ends with 90 catches in 2014, so a healthy Alshon Jeffery shouldn't shove Miller out of the picture. Even if the star wideout and Kevin White—who missed his entire rookie campaign after suffering a shin injury—dazzle, quarterback Jay Cutler tends to keep his tight ends busy.

Miller won't generate much hype with 909 career receiving yards and nine touchdowns scattered over four seasons. After he spent three years injured and inactive, last year's late breakout came from out of nowhere.

Yet Miller also has a higher catch rate (74 percent) and yards-per-catch average (11.5) than his predecessor, so regular reps should make him a sneaky candidate to finish as a top-10 tight end.