Fantasy Football Sleepers: 3 Players That Will Surprise You

Playing the waiver wire is essential in fantasy football and finding the next Brandon Lloyd should be your main goal.

Lloyd was a receiver that was ignored in most fantasy drafts yet preceded to have a top-10 sort of year with 1,448 yards and 11 TDs. He was the waiver wire pickup of the year.

Here are three players that have the potential to become the next Lloyd:

1. Jerome Simpson, Cincinnati Bengals

Don’t be afraid of the Bengals offense.

The unit is widely regarded as the worst in the entire league entering the season because they have a rookie QB under center in Andy Dalton.

But the progress is coming at a faster rate than expected and will be a fairly competent QB off the bat. As the season progresses, he will only get better.

This is great news for Jerome Simpson. He exploded onto the scene in his third year once he finally was given the opportunity to start. In two games, he collected 247 yards and three TDs.

That is top-flight production and something that can’t be ignored. After being stuck behind Chad Ochocinco—he is finally the man alongside A.J. Green.

Make sure to monitor his progress early on to ensure you nab him off the wire before your opponent.

2. Michael Bush, Oakland Raiders

He had 158 carries in 2010 and scored eight TDs?

That’s all you need to know for the Raiders backup running back. Starter Darren McFadden is always hurt and the run-first Raiders offense will be feeding the ball to their backs this season.

Even if McFadden stays healthy, Bush is the main target in the red zone and a main target for you to pick up on the wire.

3. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buffalo Bills

Don’t draft him as your starter.

Fitzpatrick is the guy you monitor during the season as he racks up the big numbers throwing the ball to Stevie Johnson and Brad Smith. He’s got explosive playmakers all around him and should be putting up big numbers, especially when his team is attempting long plays in the second half of games they are down big.

If you have Michael Vick or another injury-prone QB that goes down early, having Fitzpatrick will make the loss a lot easier to swallow.