Fantasy Football Sleepers 2012: WRs with Potential to Be Next Victor Cruz

Victor Cruz started the 2011 season as an unknown backup receiver, then exploded to become a fantasy football superstar. In 2012, several players have the ability to take this same leap.

Cruz finished with 82 catches for 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns. This gave him 198 points in ESPN standard-scoring leagues.

The next Cruz will need to be on a dynamic passing offense, as it will be nearly impossible for an unknown player to rack up 1,500 receiving yards with a subpar quarterback throwing him the ball. He will also need to be low on his team’s depth chart and available late in fantasy drafts.

Here are the best players who fit that description.

Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers

When the term dynamic passing offense is used, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers should be thought of as the gold standard. Cobb currently sits near the bottom of the depth chart on a loaded Green Bay receiving corps. 

However, he is an explosive player in the open field and entering his second season in the NFL. He has now had an entire offseason to pick up the intricacies of the Packers offense.

As he gets more acclimated with Rodgers and learns to emulate Greg Jennings, he too will be moved around the field and put into positions where he can destroy opposing defenses. Jennings is equally dangerous in the slot or on the outside, and Cobb has the ability to be similarly versatile. 

If he is able to prove to Rodgers and the Green Bay coaches that he is ready to be a significant part of the offense, he will put up fantastic numbers this season.

Titus Young, Detroit Lions

Young is another player in the NFC North coming off his rookie season who is ready to make the leap to fantasy stardom.

While Calvin Johnson will certainly be the primary target for quarterback Matthew Stafford, the Lions love to throw the ball. Stafford led the NFL with 663 attempts and also eclipsed 5,000 passing yards last season. Young will get his chances. 

He has the potential to supplant Nate Burleson as the Lions’ second receiver early in the year. With the NFL’s most dangerous player opposite him, he will be seeing plenty of single coverage.

Young has vast potential and will likely end up being the darling of many fantasy football leagues this season.

Andre Caldwell, Denver Broncos 

There are plenty of reasons being thrown around why Peyton Manning will not be as productive in Denver as he was with the Indianapolis Colts, but there is still an excellent chance that he performs at a Hall-of-Fame level this season.

When Manning was at his peak, Brandon Stokely was fantastic fantasy player as the Colts’ slot receiver. Now, Stokely is back with Manning in Denver, but he is also 36 years old.

Caldwell is just 27 and at 6’0” and 190 pounds with superb speed and quickness, he is an ideal player to occupy the No. 3 wide receiver spot for the Broncos. If he strikes up a good rapport with Manning early, he will be in for a fantastic season. 

He will likely stay in the slot-receiver role, but given Mannings’ lack of experience with his receivers, any of the Denver wideouts may end up being his favorite target.