Back in 1996, I embarked on a fantasy sports career that would include 6 championships and 18 top-3 finishes in just 25 fantasy seasons. While the majority of my fantasy sports experience lies in football, I have also achieved a high level of success in baseball and basketball. In fact, I am currently in 1st place in my fantasy basketball league and am coming off of a championship in baseball in 2010.
However, for our purposes today, I will be discussing fantasy football "sleepers". Prior to the 2010 fantasy football season, none of the soon-to-be-mentioned players were considered prime fantasy picks. The following 3 players have emerged as some of the top performers at their position and in the league based on their fantasy production throughout the 2010 season.
1. RB- Arian Foster/ HOU
Arian Foster earned the starting RB position for the Houston Texans late in the pre-season of the 2010 season. After a modest rookie season of 257 rushing yards in '09, Foster has amassed 1004 rushing yards and 378 receiving yards in just 10 games into the 2010 season. He has been the biggest fantasy surprise and sleeper of 2010 and there is no indication that his incredible production will stop. Foster is currently on pace to compile more than 2200 total yards from scrimmage and 21 total TD's. He is The Phenom's #1 Fantasy Sleeper of 2010. Foster is also the NFL's top producing fantasy player.
2. WR- Brandon Lloyd/ DEN
Nobody would, or could, have predicted the type of season that Broncos' WR Brandon Lloyd has put together in 2010. The Broncos' WR corps, while very deep, lacked a go-to WR as they approached the 2010 season. Lloyd forced himself into that position and has produced the the best numbers by any WR in the NFL. Lloyd has already eclipsed the 1000-yard mark after only 10 games and he has scored 7 TD's. Prior to the 2010 season, Lloyd had never amassed more than 48 receptions (he currently has 54 in '10) or 6 TD's (he had 6 in '05 with the 49ers). As the best deep threat WR in the game, Lloyd should continue his torrid pace, unless the Broncos make a QB change due to the fact that they are out of playoff contention.
3. RB- Peyton Hillis/ CLE
Peyton Hillis never really received a fair shot in Denver under Josh McDaniels after producing a solid rookie season in '08 with more than 500 yards from scrimmage and 6 TD's in just 12 games. After being released from the Broncos and moving to the Cleveland Browns, Hillis competed and won the starting RB spot for the Browns in 2010. After 10 games this season, Hillis has emerged as the 3rd-best producing RB in the NFL with more than 1100 total yds from scrimmage and 10 total TD's. He can run the ball between the tackles like a Michael Turner and can also catch the ball out of the backfield like a Maurice Jones-Drew. He is probably the closest thing to what LaDainian Tomlinson was producing in San Diego for many years. Once again, nobody could have predicted the success of Peyton Hillis prior to the 2010 season. Therefore, he is one of the top fantasy sleepers of the '10 season.
The Phenom
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