2009 Fantasy Football Rankings: Early Sleepers

2009 Fantasy Football – Rankings, Mock Drafts, Preseason & Training Camp Stock Updates

2009 Fantasy Football: Busts | Early Sleepers | Late Sleepers

2009 Fantasy Football Rankings – Early Sleepers:
Last Updated: Aug. 26, 2009

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers. Bye: 5.
Aaron Rodgers is being taken later than Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees, but I find it entirely possible that Rodgers could finish as the top fantasy quarterback this year. If Rodgers is sitting there in the fourth round, don’t hesitate to take him.

MOST RECENT 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE: You may want to own everyone on Green Bay’s offense. Aaron Rodgers was simply amazing, going 8-of-9 for 98 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night. Rodgers’ only incompletion was a drop by Donald Driver, who redeemed himself with a 5-yard score on the next play.
Matt Schaub, QB, Texans. Bye: 10.
According to ESPN’s ADP, Matt Schaub is being taken as the 10th quarterback. I have him eighth. Not a huge difference, but I believe Schaub has a ton of upside you can’t ignore.

MOST RECENT 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE: Matt Schaub played a quarter and a half Saturday night, finishing 11-of-16 for 97 yards and a score. He was 5-of-6 for 56 yards and a touchdown on the Texans’ opening drive. His sole incompletion was a deep pass to Andre Johnson that was overthrown a bit. If Schaub can stay healthy all year, he’ll probably be a top-five fantasy quarterback.
Carson Palmer, QB, Bengals. Bye: 8.
I love Carson Palmer this year. He’s healthy and Chad Ochocinco has rededicated himself. Palmer looked sharp in his only preseason appearance thus far. If you can’t land one of the top four quarterbacks, target Palmer in Round 8.

MOST RECENT 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE: Carson Palmer is back and looks 100 percent. Palmer’s first throw in his preseason opener was about 50 yards downfield to Chad Ochocinco amid good protection. The pass fell incomplete because a Saints defensive back made a nice play, but Palmer showed no ill effects of last season’s elbow injury. Two plays later, Palmer found a wide-open Chris Henry 27 yards downfield. Palmer’s third pass was a laser in a tight spot to Laveranues Coles. He later threw a pick, but it was on a third down with pressure in his face; it had nothing to do with his elbow. Palmer finished 7-of-11 for 133 yards and that interception. I love Palmer as a mid-round sleeper this year.
Kevin Smith, RB, Lions. Bye: 7.
Kevin Smith rushed for 976 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie, which was remarkable when you consider that he didn’t receive more than 16 carries in any game until Week 10. From then on, he averaged 21 attempts and 83.9 yards per contest. Smith was also a factor in the passing game, catching 39 balls for 286 yards.

MOST RECENT 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE: The Lions are going to get the ball a lot to Kevin Smith this year. Smith was featured on the first four plays, which were two runs for 11 yards, one reception for 11 more yards and then a third carry for a short gain. Smith finished with 39 total yards and is one of the best RB2s in fantasy football.
Knowshon Moreno, RB, Broncos. Bye: 7.
Anyone who thinks Knowshon Moreno is going to share the ball with scrubs like Correll Buckhalter and LaMont Jordan is insane. The Broncos aren’t going to have the No. 12 overall pick relinquish touches to no-talents. Excluding Adrian Peterson, Moreno is the most talented running back to come into the NFL since LaDainian Tomlinson. He’ll be involved in the passing game and he has the offensive line to gain more than five yards per carry.

MOST RECENT 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE: Great news from ProFootballTalk – Knowshon Moreno’s MRI revealed that he has a minor sprained MCL, meaning he’s out for two weeks at the very most. Moreno had just three carries in his first game, but looked impressive on every touch. Forum moderator VBSiena said it best, “Two runs already proved he is the best RB on that roster by far.” Moreno impressively showed power-running ability on his third carry, so I’d like to see him get some goal-line opportunities this year.
Ray Rice, RB, Ravens. Bye: 7.
I’ve had Ray Rice higher than almost every other publication out there, and now I’m beginning to think that even I was underestimating him. If Ray Rice gets the goal-line touches, which looks like a realistic possibility now, he could finish as a top-10 fantasy back.

MOST RECENT 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE: Ray Rice once again started for the Ravens on Monday night. He touched the ball on four of Baltimore’s first five plays, including a 3rd-and-1 conversion on a running play. Rice finished with 29 rushing yards on eight carries and a 3-yard reception. Most importantly, Rice was in the backfield for Baltimore’s first goal-line trip. Even better, he scored on a 3-yard run on a Statue of Liberty-type play. If Rice can steal the goal-line work away from Willis McGahee and LeRon McClain, he might have an even bigger year than I’ve been anticipating.
Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, Giants. Bye: 10.
Derrick Ward had 1,025 yards and 41 catches last year. That production isn’t going to simply disappear. Ahmad Bradshaw will take over Ward’s role in this offense.

MOST RECENT 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE: Ahmad Bradshaw is awesome. If you missed the preseason opener, Bradshaw rushed for 35 yards on five carries, which included a fierce 19-yard score where he bulldozed over helpless Panther defenders. More importantly, Bradshaw caught two receptions for 17 yards, meaning he’ll function as the third-down back (huge for PPR leagues). In the wake of this performance, I fully expect Bradshaw to match Derrick Ward’s 2008 numbers.
Marques Colston, WR, Saints. Bye: 5.
I’m saying Marques Colston is an early sleeper because he’s being taken a bit later than he should. People tend to be down on Colston because he had a rough start to his 2008 season. However, once he got past his injury, he finished the year with 508 yards and five touchdowns in his final six contests.

MOST RECENT 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE: Marques Colston was all over the place Saturday night, grabbing six balls for 66 yards. He’s going to have a huge year.
Chad Ochocinco, WR, Bengals. Bye: 8.
Like Marques Colston, Chad Ochocinco is a well-known name who is going a bit later than he should. With Carson Palmer back, Ochocinco will have a big year, especially now that he’s healthy and has a chip on his shoulder.

MOST RECENT 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE: Chad Ochocinco reported to Bengals camp on Thursday. The fact that he’s there is good news enough; he hinted that he wouldn’t show up on time as soon as Wednesday night on his live chat.

As long as Carson Palmer stays healthy, Ochocinco should have a bounce-back season; despite the fact that he’s insane, he’s still incredibly talented. He’s also going later than he should in many fantasy drafts.
Eddie Royal, WR, Broncos. Bye: 7.
Eddie Royal is going to have a big year, especially for PPR owners. Brandon Marshall is still going before Royal in many leagues, which is a big mistake as far as I’m concerned.

MOST RECENT 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE: It appears as though Eddie Royal will be playing in the slot this season, essentially occupying Wes Welker’s role in Denver. Kyle Orton has no arm strength, so Royal could be a dangerous threat in PPR leagues this year. Don’t expect many touchdowns though.
Donald Driver, WR, Packers. Bye: 5.
Donald Driver has become the old guy you don’t to draft because it’s not cool to own him. But Driver’s going to have a big year in Green Bay’s high-powered offense. Trust him as your WR3.

MOST RECENT 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE: Donald Driver caught two balls for 26 yards and a touchdown Saturday night, giving him two end-zone trips this preseason. Because of his age, Driver is being drafted later than he should really go.

2009 Fantasy Busts | 2009 Early Sleepers | 2009 Late Sleepers

More 2010 Fantasy Football Articles:
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2010 Fantasy Football Rankings:
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2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 9/7 (Walt)
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2010 Fantasy Football Auction Values - 9/2 (Walt)
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2010 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets:
2010 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 150 Traditional - 9/6 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 150 PPR - 9/6 (Walt)
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2010 Fantasy Football Draft: Real Traditional Draft - 9/1 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Draft: Real PPR Draft - 8/26 (Walt)
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2010 Fantasy Football: Add/Drop - 12/20 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Stock Index - Week 8 - 10/29 (John)
2010 Fantasy Football Buffet: Week 8 - 10/28 (Steve)
2010 Fantasy Football Stock - 9/7 (Walt)
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2010 Fantasy Football: Top 12 Players to Avoid - 8/25 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Undervalued Players - 8/13 (John)
2010 Fantasy Football: Buy Low - 8/6 (Walt)
ESPN's 2010 Fantasy Football Magazine Errors - 8/3 (Walt)
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2010 Fantasy Football Sleepers (Late-Round) - 6/2 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Sleepers (Mid-Round) - 6/1 (Walt)
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2010 Fantasy Football Mailbag - 5/29 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Quarterbacks with New Receivers - 5/1 (Walt)
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Running Backs with Most Carries - 4/10 (Walt)

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NFL Power Rankings - Feb. 22

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NFL Picks - Feb. 12

Injured/injury risk	Potential bust	Potential sleeper
Rank higher in touchdown leagues	Rank lower in touchdown leagues
Rank higher in PPR (points per reception) leagues	Rank lower in PPR leagues