Fantasy Football Sleeper Spotlight: Bradshaw, Davis, Russell & More

Eric StashinJul 18, 2009

Today, let’s take a look at five players with the potential to break out and make a fantasy impact in 2009:

RB Ahmad Bradshaw - New York Giants
He was the third wheel for a team that produced a pair of 1,000-yard backs in 2008, but Derrick Ward is now the main man in Tampa Bay. That leaves the No. 2 hole available, with Brandon Jacobs in the lead, though he will likely be conserved, as they try to keep him healthy and on the field. Bradshaw offers a great compliment, being the speed to Jacobs’ pounding style. He averaged 5.3 yards per carry last season, so if he can maintain that while getting significantly more carries than the 67 he was given in ‘08, he could be a viable fill-in back. Granted, Jacobs is going to see the majority of the TD opportunities, but Bradshaw could prove viable for deeper formats.
WR Chansi Stuckey - New York Jets
He was fourth on the Jets in receiving yards last season (359 yards) and now enters 2009 battling David Clowney (one reception in ‘08) for the No. 2 receiver, replacing the departed Laverneous Coles. Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was quoted on cbssports.com as saying, “Chansi Stuckey is a guy we feel very good about. He played quite a bit of snaps for us last year and had over 30 catches and is having a very good offseason.” I wouldn’t call him a guarantee by any stretch, but someone needs to help replace the 70 catches for 850 yards that Coles produced last season. It certainly wouldn’t surprise me to see him pick up 60+ catches for 750+ yards, with upside beyond that for the third-year receiver.
QB JaMarcus Russell - Oakland Raiders
No, it’s not the addition of Darrius Heyward-Bey that makes me think he’s likely to take the next step in his development. His numbers were not completely awful last season, tossing 2,423 yards with 13 TD and eight INT over 15 games. In December, he completed 63.7 percent of his passes, including two touchdown passes in each of his last three games. Jeff Garcia is now backing him up, a QB with a lot of experience who hopefully can impart some of that to Russell and help him mature and settle in to the position. I wouldn’t suggest him necessarily developing into a No. 1 QB option for owners, but certainly is likely to be a No. 2 for those in deeper two-quarterback formats.
TE Vernon Davis - San Francisco 49ers
Since being drafted sixth overall in 2006, everyone has been waiting for Davis to perform like an elite receiving tight end, putting up numbers that any wide receiver would be envious of. The 103 catches for 1,132 yards and nine TDs is exactly what people were hoping for, but those are his career marks, giving him a mediocre start to his NFL career. This year could see things change, however. Michael Crabtree is in, helping to take some pressure off of him. Expectations are low, considering his production thus far, additionally lowering the pressure. Mike Martz, never a proponent of utilizing the tight end, is gone. Of course, he’s going to need either Shaun Hill or Alex Smith to step up if he really wants to take the next step. The truth of the matter is, outside of the top three or four tight ends, you can throw a blanket over them and hope that your pick is the one to emerge. Davis has that potential this season and is certainly worth considering in the late rounds of your draft.
WR Miles Austin - Dallas Cowboys
The New York Jets met with the restricted free agent, but ultimately he returned to the Cowboys where he currently is No. 3 on the depth chart behind Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton (who he’ll be battling against for time on the field). He had just 13 catches last season, but 11 of them went for first downs and three for TDs. He had five catches of 20+ yards, helping to an average of 21.4 yards per catch. That’s despite suffering a pair of knee injuries that limited him to just 12 games. He’s hurting again, this time with a hamstring, but if he can recover from that, he has the potential to be a big part of the Cowboys offense. He’s not going to be the first option (Jason Witten) and he’s not going to be the second (Roy Williams). Still, with Tony Romo no longer forced to consistently try to get the ball to Terrell Owens, there should be plenty of opportunity for Austin to make an impact. Considering what he did last season, he’s not going to need more than 50 catches to be an impact player for both the Cowboys and fantasy owners.