Fantasy Football Rankings 2011: 5 Players That Will Slide, but Shouldn't

If you've ever played fantasy football before, then surely you've scratched your head when you've seen someone drafted who you had fully assumed to be off the board rounds ago.

Or perhaps you've found yourself a steal in a player who, for a myriad of reasons, doesn't interest your fellow GMs, but you know will have a breakout year.

In the following slides, we will discuss a few fantasy football options who are poised to go in later rounds in 2011, but definitely shouldn't.

New England Patriots WR Chad Ochocinco

Yes, we have all heard about Chad Ochocinco struggling to learn the New England Patriots offense, and it's affected his fantasy football draft stock as a result.

This, combined with lackluster performances as a Cincinnati Bengal, has Ocho nearly untouched in the first half of most fantasy drafts.

While it's been slow going for Ochocinco in New England, look for him to quickly get up to speed as the regular season ramps up.

He spent a decade in a system that is extremely different from the one he is learning from Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. Once he unlearns his bad habits from the past, he will easily assimilate himself into the Patriots offense and become a go-to target for Brady.

As Ochocinco has said himself, it's only been three weeks. Give him three more, and he will be the playmaker we always knew him to be.

Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has seen his fantasy draft stock slide due to his offseason neck injury and slow recovery that has kept him off the field for the entirety of the NFL preseason.

With reports surfacing that he may not be ready for the start of the regular season, many fantasy GMs are leery of taking the otherwise elite quarterback in his typical late-first- to mid-second-round position.

This makes him a tremendous value to anyone looking to get a stud fantasy quarterback in a later round, but it is unnecessary for Manning's draft position to slide so significantly.

If he misses any regular season games, it should not be more than the first two. Once he returns, he will most likely see a practically immediate return to form—and that's not bad news if you have him on your fantasy roster.

Tennessee Titans WR Kenny Britt

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt has been plagued by both off-field legal issues and on-field injuries this offseason and training camp.

Combine that with a new quarterback he has yet to work with, Matt Hasselbeck, and many fantasy GMs are shying away from Britt despite his breakout 2010 season.

Aside from running back Chris Johnson, however, Britt is clearly the only other offensive weapon of any import on the Titans roster.

Hasselbeck, to his credit, has had many seasons of accurate play (aside from his last three with the Seahawks, when he saw the number of talented targets steadily decrease), and will certainly find ways to get Britt the ball in big-play situations.

Britt has more work to do to become one of the most elite wide receivers—both fantasy and reality—but he's definitely not a late-round pickup. Once he is healthy, he is a must-start every week.

Carolina Panthers TE Greg Olsen

Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen has suffered a draft slide simply because he has switched teams.

While a Chicago Bear, he was easily a top-three tight end to go in fantasy football drafts. Now that he is with the offensively sluggish Panthers, fantasy GMs are less likely to take a chance on his services.

This is misleading; while quarterbacks Cam Newton and Jimmy Clausen do not inspire much confidence when it comes to getting the ball to their intended targets, these quarterback issues will serve Olsen well during the season.

He is useful in the short-passing game, which is something the Panthers are going to need to employ in 2011 to get offensive production. He also has great hands and can make poor throws look good simply by catching the uncatchable.

Obviously, tight ends are a later-round pickup, but Olsen going in the final two rounds (as has happened quite often in 10-team leagues this year), is an unjustified slide for a proven talent.

Chicago Bears WR Johnny Knox

After inconsistent performance in training camp, the Chicago Bears demoted wide receiver Johnny Knox to the No. 2 position behind new addition Roy Williams.

This will prove to be a costly decision for the Bears, who will now rely on the league leader in dropped passes to catch the lion's share of quarterback Jay Cutler's throws.

This strategy won't hold for long.

The Bears are already making it clear that if Williams does not improve his performance on the field, he is in great danger of losing his starting spot to the younger Knox.

Among the Bears receiver corps—comprised of Knox, Williams, Earl Bennett and Devin Hester, primarily—Knox certainly has both the most talent and most potential.

Yet, the receiver is getting little love from fantasy GMs, being drafted in later rounds or even not at all.

Believe it when I say that Knox will be starting within weeks and will be an integral part of the Bears' passing offense throughout 2011.