Fantasy Football 2017 Cheatsheet: Draft Rankings and Sleepers to Target

One of my favorite (and admittedly nerdy) pastimes as a fantasy football player is looking back at my league's draft results months afterward and finding any picks that stand out.

For example, someone drafted New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas at the end of the 11th round. All he did was catch 92 passes for 1,137 yards and nine scores.

The lesson here? Great players can be found in any round. A player taken at the end of the draft (or on the waiver wire) could be considered one of the best in the league by the playoffs.

Here's a look at some fresh rankings for quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end alongside a sleeper to target for each position in your drafts.

Quarterback

1. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay)

2. Tom Brady (New England)

3. Cam Newton (Carolina)

4. Drew Brees (New Orleans)

5. Matt Ryan (Atlanta)

6. Russell Wilson (Seattle)

7. Derek Carr (Oakland)

8. Kirk Cousins (Washington)

9. Marcus Mariota (Tennessee)

10. Carson Wentz (Philadelphia)

11. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh)

12. Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay)

13. Dak Prescott (Dallas)

Sleeper: Carson Wentz

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz posted some excellent training camp numbers, per Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com:

To paraphrase Allen Iverson, we're talking about practice, man. But on the surface, Wentz looks like he's about to make a big leap in his second season.

In particular, Wentz did well in the third week of the preseason, typically every NFL team's biggest dress rehearsal before the regular campaign. He showed incredible poise under pressure, per Pro Football Focus:

Overall, Wentz posted this preseason stat line, according to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer:

With a few new weapons in wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, look for Wentz to have a breakout year en route to being one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the league.

Running Back

1A. David Johnson (Arizona)

1B. Le'Veon Bell (Pittsburgh)

3. LeSean McCoy (Buffalo)

4. Jordan Howard (Chicago)

5. Devonta Freeman (Atlanta)

6. Christian McCaffrey (Carolina)

7. Leonard Fournette (Jacksonville)

8. DeMarco Murray (Tennessee)

9. Lamar Miller (Houston)

10. Melvin Gordon (Los Angeles Chargers)

11. Todd Gurley (Los Angeles Rams)

12. Jay Ajayi (Miami)

13. Dalvin Cook (Minnesota)

14. Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas)

15. Bilal Powell (New York Jets)

16. Frank Gore (Indianapolis)

17. Joe Mixon (Cincinnati)

18. Isaiah Crowell (Cleveland)

19. Mike Gillislee (New England)

20. Ty Montgomery (Green Bay)

21. Thomas Rawls (Seattle)

22. Marshawn Lynch (Oakland)

23. Carlos Hyde (San Francisco)

24. Kareem Hunt (Kansas City)

25. Ameer Abdullah (Detroit)

Sleeper: Christian McCaffrey

This is a bit of an exaggerated use of the word sleeper considering Bleacher Report's preseason big board ranked him a respectable 16th among all backs, but the prediction here is that Carolina Panthers rookie Christian McCaffrey dominates in his first season en route to a Rookie of the Year award. By the end of the year, he'll be considered one of the elite offensive players in football.

McCaffrey can simply do it all. Yes, running back Jonathan Stewart is ahead of him on the depth chart, but the former Stanford Cardinal should see a few snaps at wide receiver as well, catching passes out of the slot. He'll also get his fair share of time out of the backfield.

He's the type of player the Panthers offense needs, a dynamic, shifty, versatile player who creates constant matchup problems. We saw that this preseason, as he seemed to find small lanes to sliver through for positive yardage every single time.

Carolina was a dominant offense just two years ago, led by MVP quarterback Cam Newton. Expect the Panthers to get close to that pinnacle again this year.

Wide Receiver

1. Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh)

2. Odell Beckham Jr. (New York Giants)

3. Julio Jones (Atlanta)

4. Mike Evans (Tampa Bay)

5. Michael Thomas (New Orleans)

6. Jordy Nelson (Green Bay)

7. A.J. Green (Cincinnati)

8. Terrelle Pryor (Washington)

9. Amari Cooper (Oakland)

10. Alshon Jeffery (Philadelphia)

11. DeAndre Hopkins (Houston)

12. T.Y. Hilton (Indianapolis)

13. Allen Robinson (Jacksonville)

14. Doug Baldwin (Seattle)

15. Demaryius Thomas (Denver)

16. Davante Adams (Green Bay)

17. Emmanuel Sanders (Denver)

18. Dez Bryant (Dallas)

19. Stefon Diggs (Minnesota)

20. Keenan Allen (Los Angeles Chargers)

21. Donte Moncrief (Indianapolis)

22. Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona)

23. Kenny Britt (Cleveland)

24. Randall Cobb (Green Bay)

25. Tyrell Williams (Los Angeles Chargers)

26. Corey Davis (Tennessee)

27. Brandin Cooks (New England)

28. Jamison Crowder (Washington)

29. DeVante Parker (Miami)

30. Michael Crabtree (Oakland)

31. Rishard Matthews (Tennessee)

32. Jeremy Maclin (Baltimore)

33. Sammy Watkins (Los Angeles Rams)

34. Sterling Shepard (New York Giants)

35. Zay Jones (Buffalo)

36. Tyreek Hill (Kansas City)

37. Jarvis Landry (Miami)

Sleeper: Alshon Jeffery

Naturally, if Wentz is considered a sleeper, then new teammate Alshon Jeffery should be as well.

Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com believes the Wentz-Jeffery connection will be prominent this year:

Jeffery only scored two touchdowns in a tough final season in Chicago, which included a four-game suspension, before leaving for Philadelphia in free agency.

It was an odd year for Jeffery, who has shown flashes of brilliance in his career. In 2013 and 2014, Jeffery had a combined 174 catches for 2,554 yards and 17 touchdowns, per Pro Football Reference.

If Jeffery can stay healthy, then he has a big opportunity to shine with a quarterback who should improve in his second year.

Tight End

1. Rob Gronkowski (New England)

2. Travis Kelce (Kansas City)

3. Greg Olsen (Carolina)

4. Jordan Reed (Washington)

5. Jimmy Graham (Seattle)

6. Hunter Henry (Los Angeles Chargers)

7. Zach Ertz (Philadelphia)

8. Kyle Rudolph (Minnesota)

9. Martellus Bennett (Green Bay)

10. Tyler Eifert (Cincinnati)

11. Delanie Walker (Tennessee)

12. Jared Cook (Oakland)

13. Jack Doyle (Indianapolis)

Sleeper: Hunter Henry

Yes, Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry has to compete with teammate Antonio Gates for reps at their position, but the second-year player was one of the NFL's most efficient tight ends last year.

Check out this eye-popping stat from Pro Football Focus:

The 6'5", 250-pound Henry caught 36 passes for 478 yards and eight touchdowns in his first season. Those are phenomenal stats for a rookie tight end seeing the field on a full-time basis, yet Henry was on the field only 53.8 percent of the time, per Football Outsiders.

Impressively, he was also tied for third among all tight ends in yards per reception (13.3), per Pro Football Reference, and he did this while managing a 67.9 percent catch rate.

Henry could be in line for a monster year. Don't be surprised if he is considered the best tight end in football by the end of the decade. As for this season, finishing top five in fantasy production at his position isn't out of the question.