Fantasy Football 2019: Sleeper RBs, Flex Rankings and Dynasty Cheat Sheet

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Deep Sleepers: Running Backs

Darwin Thompson of the Kansas City Chiefs has made a name for himself this summer. There's a lot of buzz around him, so he may be losing his sleeper status quickly, though the presence of Damien Williams and LeSean McCoy means Thompson still faces an uphill battle to be fantasy-relevant this year.

The team's offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, isn't rushing Thompson along, however, per Nate Taylor of The Athletic:

"We want to see continual, gradual improvement. He'll tell you there's a lot of little things that he needs to clean up. It's always the little things that can keep you from feeling as good as you want to. He's a competitive kid, and he comes out here and grinds every day. He grinds in the classroom. We want him to make the most of the opportunity or any opportunity that's been presented, whether it's in the backfield or being out there on special teams."

Catching the offensive coordinator's eye in a good way is always a positive sign for a player, especially one with a history of evading would-be tacklers like Thompson:

Seriously, if Williams isn't on your radar, you have no one to blame but yourself:

Granted, the addition of McCoy will eat into some of Thompson's potential touches. But he was good enough to render Carlos Hyde irrelevant, and he might do the same to Shady. Snag this guy in the later rounds. At the very least, he's a valuable handcuff on a dangerous offense. At most, he could win the starting gig eventually and have a major fantasy impact.

And in dynasty formats, he's absolutely a player worth targeting. Just keep your expectations realistic for this year.

Alexander Mattison was mentioned above, but slow your roll there—Dalvin Cook is really, really good. While Thompson could earn a major role even if Williams stays healthy, it's harder to imagine Mattison having a huge role in Minnesota if Cook stays healthy. He's an elite handcuff to have on your roster, but beyond that, temper your expectations.

Another player who could end up creating a role for himself as a rookie is the Detroit Lions' Ty Johnson. He may be the third option heading into the season behind Kerryon Johnson and C.J. Anderson, but he brings something to the table those two don't offer—speed.

That facet of his game has impressed head coach Matt Patricia, as he told Michael Rothstein of ESPN:

"Certainly his speed is something that is very interesting, and I would say there are definitely some trends in the league right now where you have guys who have different types of speed out there that gives defenses problems, and those are hard players to defend. Right now, for him, it's really about learning the position and making sure that's all consistent.

"And then, once all that kind of gets settled down, if it goes in the direction that we want it to, we can try to explore other areas to use his athleticism and things like that to help us."

Remember, the Lions released Theo Riddick. There's room for a player like Ty Johnson to make an impact in the pass game. And given his explosiveness, it's very possible he'll earn an even bigger role than simply being a scatback this season. He's worth a late-round flier in your league.

Flex Rankings

Here are my top-10 rankings for running backs, wideouts and tight ends:

Running Backs

• 1. Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
• 2. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
• 3. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
• 4. *Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
• 5. Le'Veon Bell, New York Jets
• 6. Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
• 7. David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals
• 8. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
• 9. James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers
• 10. *Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers

*These rankings obviously change if neither player ends his holdout.

Wide Receivers

• 1. DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
• 2. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
• 3. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
• 4. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
• 5. Odell Beckham Jr., Cleveland Browns
• 6. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
• 7. Antonio Brown, Oakland Raiders
• 8. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers
• 9. Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
• 10. Amari Cooper, Dallas Cowboys

Tight Ends

• 1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
• 2. Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles
• 3. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
• 4. Evan Engram, New York Giants
• 5. O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• 6. Jared Cook, New Orleans Saints
• 7. Eric Ebron, Indianapolis Colts
• 8. Hunter Henry, Los Angeles Chargers
• 9. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
• 10. Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans

Dynasty Cheat Sheet

Here are my top-15 rankings for incoming rookies in your dynasty leagues:

• 1. Josh Jacobs, RB, Oakland Raiders
• 2. David Montgomery, RB, Chicago Bears
• 3. Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
• 4. N'Keal Harry, WR, New England Patriots
• 5. Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
• 6. Mecole Hardman, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
• 7. Darwin Thompson, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
• 8. DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks
• 9. T.J. Hockenson, TE, Detroit Lions
• 10. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, WR Eagles
• 11. Ty Johnson, RB, Detroit Lions
• 12. Parris Campbell, WR, Indianapolis Colts
• 13. Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants
• 14. Noah Fant, TE, Denver Broncos
• 15. Hunter Renfrow, WR, Oakland Raiders

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