Before we get into our 2018 fantasy football sleeper, breakout, and bust, let’s do a quick primer. Football Absurdity will explore a sleeper, a breakout (or bounce back), and a bust from every NFL team for your 2018 fantasy football leagues. A 2018 fantasy football sleeper is a player who is available at an extremely cheap draft price relative to his anticipated production; in 2017, an example was Alvin Kamara. The breakout/bounce back players are players who are going for more than a sleeper, but who should exceed that production. These are usually players coming off down years or already productive players on the verge of making a breakout. In 2017, this was Marvin Jones or Keenan Allen, for example.
As for busts, those are guys you definitely want to stay away from. They’re set to take a massive dive and while they may not be a wasted pick. You definitely don’t want them on your team (2017’s Isaiah Crowell, Dez Bryant, Jordan Reed, etc.).
The second article in this series turns to the defending NFC West champions, the Los Angeles Rams.
2018 Fantasy Football Sleeper – Gerald Everett (ADP 370, TE49)
First of all, it’s not ballsy to say that a tight end with an ADP in the nineteenth round of a twenty-team league has a chance at beating that ADP. While he will return on that, it speaks more to the low bar of entry to the top-twenty at that position. It seems like the Rams receiving corps has one massive weakness, and it’s their size. Cooper Kupp, at a towering, Gheorghe Muresan-like 6’1” leads the way. Everett has a couple of inches and a whole bunch of pounds on Kupp. The athletic pass-catching tight end will make for a nice massive mismatch for Jared Goff to exploit. You don’t have to draft him, just remember his name when you get fed up with Jimmy Graham.
2018 Fantasy Football Breakout – Cooper Kupp (ADP 91, WR36)
First off, the three passing weapons on the Rams (Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods and Kupp) are going at pick 50, 83 and 91, respectively. While Cooks is undoubtedly the most talented of the three, he comes with his own question marks. He’s been productive, but he’s played with two future first-ballot Hall of Famers in Drew Brees and Tom Brady. Cooks also has the issue of heading to a new offense. Woods has the stink of being a one-hit wonder, as he never produced in Buffalo before moving to L.A. Kupp, the young man of the group, had 869 receiving yards and five scores. Maybe that’s a hop, skip and a jump to 1,000 yards and, let’s say… six scores? Those 8.5 fantasy points per game put him firmly in the WR2 discussion, and he’s coming after pick ninety on average.
2018 Fantasy Football Bust – Greg Zuerlein (ADP 124, K2)
Legatron likely won’t be a bust in the truest sense, as he’s a shoo-in to finish in the top three at the position. This is more a plea against idiocy and drafting a kicker in the eleventh round of a twelve-team league. A kicker! The random number generators of the fantasy football world. Most noteworthy, D’Onta Foreman (ADP 127) might not play this season, and I’d rather have him. Dak Prescott (ADP 129), David Njoku (ADP 130), and Alex Smith (ADP 131) all might be top-end starters for you this season at less replaceable positions, essentially for free. Above all in your fantasy football drafts, just please don’t be dumb.
