Dane Sanzenbacher: Chicago Bears Slot Receiver Is the PPR Pick-Up of the Week

Dane Sanzenbacher is almost worth owning in fantasy leagues solely on the coolness of his name. Seriously, I can only think of a few guys with the name Dane. And Sanzenbacher? Yeah, he would be the first.

In fact, I'm sure even a few fantasy football team names are in order here: Dane Sanzenbacher's Popcorn, With Great DisDane, and The Dane-ger Zone.

But most fantasy owners probably don't share my sense of reverence for the Sanzenbacher name; at least not enough to add him to their rosters for that reason alone. And rightfully so. But I still think Sanzenbacher could be worth adding in deep PPR leagues this week, and here are four major reasons why:

1) Chicago plays Green Bay on Sunday. The Packers have allowed the most passing yards in the NFL so far this year. That has a lot to do with the fact that Green Bay is the fourth-highest scoring team, forcing each game to be an aerial shootout.

The Packers also lost three-time Pro Bowl Safety Nick Collins for the season due to a neck injury suffered this past week. As a result, expect more struggles from the Packers secondary against the Bears. 

2) So far this year, the Bears have called nearly two passing plays for every one running play—more than any team in the NFL. To add to that, one in every six Jay Cutler passes go to the slot receiver. With Earl Bennett out this week, Sanzenbacher will be the slot man for the whole game, which means quite a few passes the former Buckeye's way.

3) Chicago's offensive line is atrocious. Jay Cutler has been sacked a league-leading 11 times through two games, and I expect a lot of pressure coming his way in Week 3 as well. Look for Cutler to continue dumping the ball off short, rather than letting deep plays develop. This benefits both Sanzenbacher and running back Matt Forte.

4) Sanzenbacher was targeted seven times in last week's game against the Saints, second only to Devin Hester among the Bears' receivers. But Hester only caught one of his targets, while Sanzenbacher caught three.

We all know that Hester is not a true wide receiver and as such, should not be getting that many targets week in and week out. Therefore, I expect Cutler to begin looking toward his slot receiver more often in Week 3 (again, meaning more Sanzenbacher).

Let me remind readers that this is a purely speculative call. But also note that in three games versus Green Bay last year, Jay Cutler threw most to Johnny Knox and his slot receiver (a mix of Earl Bennett and Rashied Davis).

That means that Sanzenbacher should get a lot of looks this weekend. And if he blows up, he might be the hottest PPR pick up of next week. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Follow Andrew McFadden on Twitter @andrewmcfadden

And on facebook at FantasyFootballersAnonymous