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My 2016 Sleeper Targets

For anyone who caught my late-August sleepers last year and scooped up a few of the right ones, you probably thanked me all the way to a championship.

As I did last year, I've ranked 13 names (because I don't believe in words like "unlucky," "superstitious," or "jinx"). Among that crop of guys I reached a round or two for in 2015 were season-makers like Allen Robinson, Devonta Freeman, Doug Martin and Tyler Eifert.

Again this season I've got an underappreciated second-year runner, a Buccaneers tailback and a Bengal named Tyler. I've even got another reclamation target to try and rediscover the good mojo of Michael Crabtree. And as usual, I've got a double-down guy I can't get away from.

So read, react, spin your wheels, but most importantly, have a blast drafting during the final week of the offseason. You may even want to listen to a few of these recommended "reaches."

  1. Melvin Gordon, RB (SD)
    - Sometimes you just have to believe what you cannot see. And I believe the confidence and exuberance that Gordon played with as the nation's leading rusher at Wisconsin in 2014 is back and will provide redemption for a chiseled, oversized Jamaal Charles-esque runner that certainly flopped last year. He spent time training with Adrian Peterson in the offseason and it's shown so far in preseason action.
  2. DeVante Parker, WR (MIA)
    - Parker can overwhelm corners on 50-50 balls, burn them deep or weave by them on catch-and-runs. Just take a gander at his last six box scores during a rookie year that got stalled by injury. Parker is healthy now and physically has a ceiling on par with the elites.
  3. Marvin Jones, WR (DET)
    - Jones always had the playmaking tools which flashed in small doses in Cinci. Now in a pass-first (and second) offense and out of the shadow of A.J. Green, the legend of Jim Bob Cooter could make Jones a fantasy star.
  4. Tyler Boyd, WR (CIN)
    - First off, I put a Bengals receiver named Tyler in this slot last year and he wound up catching 13 touchdowns. Second off, and I suppose more importantly, Boyd is a silky smooth route runner with sticky hands, deceptive strength and the professional maturity to succeed from Week 1.
  5. Tyler Lockett, WR (SEA)
    - Lockett's tenacious, fearless and most importantly, confident. His combo of relentless speed and refined technique will drive corners mad while this pint-sized playmaker becomes Russell Wilson's best friend.
  6. Matthew Stafford, QB (DET)
    - Jim Bob Cooter will save the second half of Stafford's career. Jones and Golden Tate will help as Stafford's lasers allow his efficient receivers, including slot-receiver-masquerading-as-a-tailback, Theo Riddick, to move the sticks and make plays in space. In the final six games last year Stafford completed 72% of his passes while throwing 17 TD's to only one pick, btw, just in case you needed more convincing.
  7. Charles Sims, RB (TB)
    - Sims' 4.9 yards per carry were tied for third among running backs with at least 100 carries and his 11.0 yards per catch were second among the 32 backs with at least 30 catches, behind only David Johnson (Sims caught 51, in case you were wondering). And like Johnson, Sims totaled over 1,000 yards in limited touches. If Doug Martin goes down like he's done in two of his four years in the league, his shifty, slashing backup will be a star.
  8. Davante Adams, WR (GB)
    - This former second round draft pick was Green Bay's "offseason MVP" heading into 2015. In Jordy Nelson's absence he was supposed to emerge as a star but instead a recurring ankle injury busted his season. Watch his highlights from the GB vs. DAL playoff game two years ago and tell me you don't want a player with that ability with Aaron Rodgers under center.
  9. Chris Ivory, RB (JAC)
    - Few tailbacks run with more power or reckless physicality than Ivory, and that's exactly what the Jacksonville offense was missing last season when they rushed for only five touchdowns as a team (two of which belonged to Blake Bortles). Ivory will change that while taking over the primary ground duties from T.J. Yeldon.
  10. Dwayne Allen, TE (IND)
    - He caught 45 balls as a rookie in 2012 and eight TD's two years ago when Andrew Luck went bananas. Coby Fleener is gone, there are very few red zone weapons besides Allen and the bulky tight end is deceptively elusive after the catch.
  11. Spencer Ware, RB (KC)
    - I've always made it a point to buy stock in running backs that remind me of the Tasmanian Devil tearing up a Looney Tunes episode. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Ware averaged 5.6 yards per carry (same as Thomas Rawls) but scored two more times than Seattle's potential workhorse. Oh and that Jamaal Charles guy is coming off his second ACL injury, that too.
  1. Mike Wallace, WR (BAL)
    - If there's one thing Joe Flacco does as well as anyone, its launch a deep ball. For the past three seasons since leaving Pittsburgh the shadow of Mike Wallace has been toiling with dink-and-dunk QB's who couldn't or wouldn't push it down field, averaging no better than 12.9 yards per catch. Meanwhile, offensive guru Marc Trestman was milking over 4,400 yards passing out of a Ravens group at times led by the anti-dynamic Jimmy Clausen to Kamar Aiken connection. Suffice it to say the quarterback and coach combo will love getting Wallace to dust off the old jets.
  2. Malcolm Brown, RB (LAR)
    - Todd Gurley is a thoroughbred. This is very, very true. But it's flying too far under the radar that Brown ran with every bit as much burst, physicality and splash as Christine Michael in August. If this pass-anemic offense loses it's centerpiece Brown will quickly garner workhorse status and get to display the ability that once had him ranked the top tailback in high school football.