Fantasy Football 2015: Top 5 Sleepers to Finish the Season

In the final quarter of each season, we witness several strong finishes from surprising and surging players. Last season, we saw Kenny Stills produce a top-20 fantasy finish among wideouts over the final five weeks of the campaign for the New Orleans Saints. Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Colts' Coby Fleener scored the second-most fantasy points among tight ends after Week 12 last season. 

The point is that we can still find some meaningful prospects to consider for the final weeks of the season. While waiver wires are seemingly picked clean, we've selected five players available in 40 percent or more of ESPN leagues with real prospects to produce influential fantasy results over the final five weeks. 

Please feel free to add any names you feel are poised to produce big finishes for fantasy football investors in the comments section below. 

The Dolphins' DeVante Parker Is Poised to Produce Down the Stretch

Brad Penner/Associated Press

After several weeks of limited snaps and healthy scratches, DeVante Parker played on 82 percent of the Miami Dolphins' offensive snaps in Week 12, per Football Outsiders, en route to career bests in targets (10), receptions (four), yards (80) and his first professional score. 

Perusing his scouting report on Bleacher Report reveals a special playmaker could develop in South Beach: 

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Big, strong, polished and a nightmare in the red zone, DeVante Parker is worthy of a top-10 pick in this draft class. Parker would have competed to be a first-round pick in the 2014 draft class, but he decided to return to Louisville to get his degree. He plays much bigger than his listed size, with excellent leaping skills, extension and body positioning to be a threat in the air. His concentration and hand strength are top-tier, and he’ll rarely lose a 50/50 ball to the defense or a drop.

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Even as the team trends more run-heavy under a new offensive regime, we find evidence his big-play ways from college—he averaged a gaudy 17.8 yards per catch—could emerge in the pros. According to an offline ESPN database, Parker enjoyed an average depth of target of 14.2 yards downfield in Week 12, suggesting this vertical threat could finally live up to the lofty hype produced during the draft process. 

Dontrelle Inman Could Thrive in the Chargers' Pass-Happy Scheme

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

The San Diego Chargers are on pace for historic passing totals, with Philip Rivers trending toward over 5,100 yards, a total that would place sixth in NFL history. With Keenan Allen, a receiver who was on pace for an even more historic 141-catch season (143 is the all-time record), out of the picture due to injury, a massive void in usage and production is up for grabs. 

Veteran possession valve Stevie Johnson has proved productive in Allen's place, but it's Dontrelle Inman that profiles as an interesting asset for investors given that he's available in a vast majority of ESPN leagues and is recently enjoying a strong rapport with Rivers. 

Inman has been targeted 14 times over the past two games, second only to Johnson on the Bolts, while averaging a team-best 14.5 yards per reception and a healthy 4.1 yards after contact in the process. The Chargers defense has ceded at least 24 points in all but one game (and that was for 22 points)—further evidence this pass-heavy offense could feed Inman with worthy fantasy production down the stretch. 

San Francisco's Shaun Draughn Enjoying a Quietly Heavy Workload

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Shaun Draughn served on 100 percent of the San Francisco 49ers' offensive snaps in Week 12 and 91 percent of the team's plays in Week 11, per Football Outsiders. Such amazing consumption of exposure suggests that even as a liminal NFL prospect, Draughn is a valuable commodity at a thin position.

Outside of huge hands—signal the PPR alarm—we find Draughn's athletic profile somewhat middling, as he's an athletic peer of Vick Ballard and Mewelde Moore, some of the less inspired fantasy backs of the past century, per MockDraftable. 

This isn't so consequential, as we covet opportunity. Draughn's extrapolated workload from the past three games would translate to a season with nearly 1,400 yards from scrimmage (he's averaged over 80 yards from scrimmage over this recent span) and 90 receptions. 

With 17 catches and 21 targets, Draughn is Blaine Gabbert's top target on the season so far, suggesting a strong reception-driven finish could be in the works for this widely available tailback. 

Anquan Boldin Building Strong Rapport with Blaine Gabbert

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Not every player that finishes strong needs to be on the doorstep of his NFL career, as Anquan Boldin, in his 13th season, is on the other end of the professional spectrum compared to some of the rookies in this article. Boldin has established a strong rapport with signal-caller Blaine Gabbert, one that could offer some certainty down the stretch in the 50 percent of ESPN leagues in which he is available. 

With Colin Kaepernick this season, Boldin hauled in just 60.8 percent of his targets and was on pace for a 70-reception season with around 840 yards. However, he's netted 72.2 percent of his targets from Gabbert in two games, enjoying a pace for 104 catches and 1,400 yards.

Somewhere in between these unstable samples and trends is a potentially brilliant finish for Boldin in an offense that will need to pass in order to keep pace with opponents that are often leading the 49ers. 

Arizona's David Johnson Could Produce a Top-10 Fantasy Finish

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

A big and dynamic athlete with favorable physical comparisons to former bruising NFL back Marion Barber, per MockDraftable, David Johnson is in the 97th percentile in vertical jump and 95th in broad jump among NFL prospects since 1999, suggesting an explosive specimen capable in short yardage and space is about to be unleashed for the Arizona Cardinals. 

With Chris Johnson on injured reserve, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN, and Andre Ellington still made of glass, rookie Johnson is poised to consume leading tailback duties for the NFL's top offense. Did you know Johnson already has eight touchdowns despite limited exposure for much of the season? The rare rookie has compiled four rushing, one return and three receiving scores in a quietly brilliant season.

While most competitive leagues likely scooped Johnson up in this past round of waivers, he should be added and deployed in nearly any format given a heavy role in a high-powered offense.