Fantasy Football Sleepers: Darren Sproles Will Be Valuable All-Around RB

Darren Sproles just can't seem to get out of loaded backfields in pass-happy offenses. He's gone from the Chargers to New Orleans.

Sproles figures to play a role similar to the one that Reggie Bush played while he was in New Orleans. He certainly won't be an every-down back. Sproles' role will be primarily as a scat back, catching a lot of passes and gaining big yards on unsuspecting defenses.

Reggie Bush was a fantasy siren in New Orleans. We all saw the talent that he had. That's what got him drafted to the Saints as the No. 2 pick. That's what gave us one of the best college careers we've ever seen at USC. His talent even gave us moments of brilliance in New Orleans.

Bush's problem was that he couldn't stay on the field. After his rookie season in 2006, Bush never played 16 games in the regular season. He played 14 in 2009, but other than that never played in more than 12 games.

That hasn't been a problem for Sproles, who's missed only two games in his five-year NFL career.

Now, we immediately know that that's not an entirely fair comparison. Sproles has never received anywhere near the load that Bush had, so the opportunity to get hurt wasn't anywhere near as prevalent.

Still, let's take a look at what Sproles has done when he's been on the field.

When he rushes the ball, he goes for nearly five yards a pop. When Sproles catches the ball (which he does a lot of), he does so at nearly ten yards a reception. Coming out of the backfield, those are very strong numbers.

He's a big play machine and is now going to an offense that will cater to his abilities. Drew Brees gives his weapons plenty of opportunities to shine.

Don’t draft Sproles thinking that he’ll get an Adrian Peterson-like workload or anything. He won’t. But as ESPN’s No. 50 pre-draft running back, Sproles is a virtual lock to play well ahead of that projection.

Sproles would fill in a flex spot, or would even be a nice second running back. Playing 11 games in a dome this season and basically none in cold weather, Sproles will produce some excellent weeks for whatever fantasy teams land him.