Fantasy Football 2015: Top Player Rankings and Key Sleepers to Draft

It's getting down to zero hour for fantasy football players who have yet to hold their draft party yet. The NFL returns in one week, with most teams simply playing out the string in the final week of preseason before getting everyone in shape for Week 1. 

Waiting as long as possible to hold a fantasy draft is often the smart play. For instance, there are a lot of people who had a draft two weeks ago very upset for taking Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson in the third round. 

However, others may have hit the jackpot by holding their draft early and getting Tom Brady in the seventh or eighth round because his status for the season's first four games was up in the air. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman nullified his four-game suspension, per The Associated Press. 

Regardless of things that have already happened this preseason, moving forward is the only way to find success in fantasy when the games count. 

Here's a ranking of the top 50 fantasy players, followed by some of the top sleepers to keep an eye on as your draft moves into the later rounds. 

Fantasy Rankings

Rank	Player	Position
1	Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings	RB
2	Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs	RB
3	Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers	RB
4	Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers	RB
5	Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks	RB
6	Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals	RB
7	Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers	WR
8	DeMarco Murray, Philadelphia Eagles	RB
9	LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills	RB
10	Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys	WR
11	C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos	RB
12	Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos	WR
13	Matt Forte, Chicago Bears	RB
14	Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers	QB
15	Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions	WR
16	Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots	TE
17	Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints	RB
18	Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons	WR
19	A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals	WR
20	Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts	QB
21	Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	WR
22	Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers	WR
23	Alfred Morris, Washington	RB
24	Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears	WR
25	Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos	WR
26	T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts	WR
27	Lamar Miller, Miami Dolphins	RB
28	Jimmy Graham, Seattle Seahawks	TE
29	Justin Forsett, Baltimore Ravens	RB
30	DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans	WR
31	Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints	WR
32	Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers	RB
33	Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers	WR
34	Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles	WR
35	Melvin Gordon, San Diego Chargers	RB
36	Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers	RB
37	Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos	QB
38	Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks	QB
39	DeSean Jackson, Washington	WR
40	Frank Gore, Indianapolis Colts	RB
41	Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints	QB
42	Golden Tate, Detroit Lions	WR
43	Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	WR
44	Julian Edelman, New England Patriots	WR
45	Chris Ivory, New York Jets	RB
46	Latavius Murray, Oakland Raiders	RB
47	Joique Bell, Detroit Lions	RB
48	Joseph Randle, Dallas Cowboys	RB
49	Brandon Marshall, New York Jets	WR
50	Sammy Watkins, Buffalo Bills	WR

Top Sleeper Candidates

Sam Bradford, QB, Philadelphia Eagles (ADP: 104.3)

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

There were a lot of questions asked about what, exactly, Chip Kelly was doing when he traded Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams for the oft-injured, erratic Sam Bradford. 

Andrew Brandt of TheMMQB.com wrote in June that the Rams moved Bradford because he wasn't willing to turn some of the $13 million on his contract for 2015 into playing time and performance-based incentives. 

One reason the Eagles—and by extension, fantasy owners—have to feel good about their chances of getting something from Bradford is offensive line play. 

Philadelphia finished last season ranked 10th in pass protection, according to Pro Football Focus metrics; St. Louis was 30th in that category and 31st overall.

Another reason is Kelly's wide-open scheme that tends to help quarterbacks. Foles threw for 5,054 yards and 40 touchdown passes in 21 games played from 2013-14.  Mark Sanchez had 2,418 yards and 14 touchdowns in nine games (eight starts) last season after Foles got hurt.

Bradford has shown flashes of being a capable starting quarterback in the past, throwing for 3,702 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2012. That also happens to be the last time he made it through a full season, but this is the perfect buy-low opportunity. 

The Eagles have more offensive weapons for Bradford to play with than he ever had in St. Louis. DeMarco Murray, Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor are a solid trio of skill-position players to build around. 

The gap between the second-tier quarterbacks—which starts after Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck are off the board—and fourth-tier options like Bradford isn't as significant as it is for, say, running backs or wide receivers. 

Bradford shouldn't be your No. 1 option because of the health problems, but he can easily turn into more than just a backup if an improved offensive line keeps him upright. 

Todd Gurley, RB, St. Louis Rams (ADP: 49.8)

It seems that most fantasy owners aren't worried about Todd Gurley's recovery from knee surgery last season, as he's still being taken among the first 50 picks in most drafts. 

Gurley was cleared to practice August 24, but the former Georgia Bulldogs star is not going to take a preseason snap. That does put his status for Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks up in the air, though at least he has been able to avoid the physically unable to perform list. 

Even though fantasy players are willing to go all-in on Gurley, NFL.com's Matt Franciscovich does present a case against diving in head first:

"

Optimistic minded fantasy enthusiasts will naturally draw comparisons of Gurley's recovery to Adrian Peterson's triumphant return in 2012 in which he started Week 1 of with 84 rushing yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns following an ACL tear a mere nine months prior. But St. Louis is fortunate enough to have other options (Tre Mason) and will be looking to mitigate the risk on their investment as much as possible. 

"

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted that Tre Mason is expected to get the "lion's share" of the Rams' carries early in the season while Gurley builds up his conditioning to carry the bulk of the load. 

There's also the question of how good or bad St. Louis' aforementioned offensive line will be this season after struggling in 2014. 

Gurley has the kind of frame at 6'1", 222 pounds to be a workhorse back when he's physically capable of handling it. 

This year's crop of running backs is deep with eight of the top 10 players and 22 of the top 50 on my rankings list, so Gurley can be a solid fifth-round addition to stash away for a few weeks as long as fantasy owners understand they will need a capable third back for those early games.

Devin Funchess, WR, Carolina Panthers (ADP: 118.2)

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Devin Funchess is getting thrown into the fire whether he's ready to handle things or not. The Carolina Panthers' hands were forced when Kelvin Benjamin suffered a torn ACL during a practice in August. 

The good news is quarterback Cam Newton has a track record of success with underused or inexperienced wide receivers. Benjamin is a perfect example, as he had 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns in his rookie season. 

In many ways, Benjamin is an apt comparison to Funchess because they are built alike and faced similar questions coming out of college. 

Benjamin	Attribute	Funchess
6'5"	Size	6'4"
240 pounds	Weight	232 pounds
4.61 seconds	40-Yard Dash	4.70 seconds
13 reps	Bench Press	17 reps

Nolan Nawrocki of NFL.com wrote that Benjamin "will make the easy concentration drop" coming out of Florida State. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote that Funchess' pass-catching is "labored."

Those inconsistent hands aren't going to endear Funchess to Carolina fans or fantasy owners, but his size and potential to play right away with Benjamin out make him a valuable asset to grab. While Funchess isn't likely to go over the 1,000-yard mark the way Benjamin did as a rookie, he has the size and strength to approach those nine touchdowns. 

Considering the other notable receivers on Carolina's roster are Ted Ginn, Corey Brown, Jerricho Cotchery and Kevin Norwood, Newton doesn't have one go-to option when the season starts. 

All Funchess has to do is prove his hands won't fail him all the time in Week 1 to become the best receiver for the Panthers in 2015. 

Note: Average draft positions are from ESPN.com