Written by: Austin Thomas
Another week closer to the NFL season and another divisional sleeper article to browse over while we wait. We're still in the South and honestly, this division is intriguing. In my opinion, it's the most wide open of all the divisions and you could make a case for each team to take the crown. However, we're not here to discuss divisional winners, we're here to get our fantasy football fix and find some sleepers to draft for our rosters! Here are some of my favorite sleepers going outside the top-100 average draft position (ADP) over on FTN Fantasy's website. Let's review.
Atlanta Falcons
Tyler Allgeier (ADP 130.4; RB)
The addition of first round running back Bijan Robinson has put some shade onto the teams' leading rusher from a season ago. Tyler Allgeier was able to rack up 1035 rushing yards on 210 attempts, the first 1000-yard rusher since Devonta Freeman in 2016. In perspective, the Falcons ran the ball 454 times with their running backs last season and 559 times overall. Arthur Smith loves to run the football and I don't envision he changes his philosophy in 2023. After three draft classes, Smith finally has "his" guys that'll fit the offensive scheme. Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier will form one of the best rushing duos in the league. Of course, Bijan Robinson will surely get his touches, but the way this offense is ran I wouldn't be surprised if Tyler Allgeier also gets close to 200 touches himself. Allgeier is the best "handcuff" in fantasy football that'll have weekly flex appeal. He's worth more than worthy of his double digit round asking price.
Carolina Panthers
Hayden Hurst (ADP 208.7; TE)
I've mentioned it in previous divisional sleeper articles and it still holds true, tight ends with a path of becoming a top-3 target earner on their teams have a good chance at finishing as a TE1 for the season. The Carolina Panthers have a solid group on paper, but still leaves much to be desired. Adam Thielen will be 33 years old when the season starts and has been regressing over the last couple seasons. DJ Chark is on his third team in as many years. Terrace Marshall has been a disappointment so far in his career and Jonathan Mingo is an unproven rookie. Granted, Hayden Hurst hasn't been overly sought after either, but he's been productive when given the chance. Not to mention, head coach Frank Reich loves to utilize his tight ends. In Frank Reich's head coaching career, excluding 2022 when he was fired mid-season, his group of tight ends as a whole have finished no lower than a 20.5% target share. The Panthers offense isn't going to light the league on fire and will be a work in progress with an unfamiliar core being pieced together, as all the offensive skilled position starters are new to the team. In an uncertain situation, I'll take a shot on the tight end of the group since they give more value at a thin position group overall in fantasy.
New Orleans Saints
For this particular one I had you, the weekly readers, decide which sleeper I should write about in this spot! As you can see above, the majority selected wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. Before I move on though, I just want to say thank you for interacting and being supportive. You ALL rock!
Rashid Shaheed (ADP ; WR)
Rashid Shaheed was one of the most exciting deep threats to watch towards the end of last season. Down the stretch when he played over 40% of the snaps from week 11 on, he tallied 385 yards on 23 receptions in seven games. In those games he averaged 11.47 fantasy points per game and a whopping 13.43 yards per target. Shaheed now has a perfect match throwing him passes, Derek Carr. Carr threw the second-most passes beyond 20+ yards a season ago, which will fit Shaheed's skillset to a tee. In an offense with Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Juwan Johnson, and Rashid Shaheed among others, this passing attack can be lethal. Shaheed's game has a boom or bust type play to it, but he should have more boom weeks than not this season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cade Otton (ADP 244.5; TE)
Yes, Tom Brady is retired and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are staring at the reality of starting either Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask at quarterback. However, that doesn't automatically erase the value of the pass catchers, at least it shouldn't. Understandably, outside of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin there isn't anyone to scare opposing defenses. Insert Cade Otton who showed promise in his rookie season and earned the trust of Tom Brady in the process. Among all rookie tight ends, Otton was first in targets (65), receptions (42) and routes ran (413), third in yards (391) and snap percentage (70%) then fourth in target share (8.98%) along with being tied for fourth in touchdowns (2). It's highly unlikely that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will match last years league high 751 passing attempts, so the overall volume won't be as much as it was a season ago, but a higher target share should be in the works. The Buccaneers don't have a sure fire third option in the passing game and the job is up for grabs. Otton can take over that role and get enough of the pie to become a relevant weekly flier.
Another division down and not many more to go. The season will be here before we know it and we'll need to prepare for our fantasy drafts soon. We all know who the studs are, but not all of us know the sleepers we should be targeting late. Hopefully you're keeping tabs on these sleeper articles and they help you on your way to a championship run. Don't sleep on these players, stash them on your bench today.
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Miss a week? Check out the posted divisions down below!
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