A sleeper is defined as a NFL player that an owner believes is going to have a breakout season.

Draft day 3 or 4 years ago, it was easy to have a list of sleepers in hopes that no one would draft so you could pluck him off the board and have people say “Who did you pick?”, only to have that player score big in the season. In the past I've snuck players who where little know late in drafts who help me during the season.

For example, my 1st year of my keeper league, I had an owner trade up the 1st round with me because he had Mike Vick as a keeper. Peerless Price had just been traded to Atlanta that season and he wanted that combo bad. In return I moved down  in the 1st and got an extra second round pick. In the second and third round I selected Chad Johnson 2nd rounder) & Kevin Barlow (3rd rounder). Two players many of the other owners did not know that much about. That year Chad racked up 1355 Yrds & 10 TDs, while Barlow had 1024 Yrds & 6 TDs.

Last year I saw things change in drafting. I saw players who were labeled sleepers shoot up ADP's and were no longer a surprise name on draft day. Players like Wali Lundy & Mike Bell who many thought they would wait and grab late were drafted sooner then expected. They did in my league and everyone groaned when there name was selected because these players were on the back of everyone's mind.

So looking forward to the 2007 draft, players like A. Peterson and B. Jackson, are on many sleeper lists.  It would seem that in order to get these players in hopes of a break out season, you would have to draft them earlier then expected to get the jump on the other owners.

I gage how well players are known by a few people I work with. One person is in my league and the other doesn't play Fantasy Football. When we all talk about the upcoming NFL season, not fantasy related, I can see how much more informed they are about players. The other owner in my league doesn't spend time in the tank or participate in mocks. He is a casual fantasy owner. So when he knows about players that should be sleepers, I know that it will be harder for me to let some players slide in drafts.

On the flip side, I'm now seeing old vets sliding in drafts. We'll call them the forgotten players of the past. These plays such as J. Lewis, F. Taylor and D. Culpepper who used to be fantasy studs are now seen as reserve players and roster fillers. These players might emerge as the new sleepers, helping some make a run in the playoffs.

Just remember that a player you think is a sleeper will be on everyone else's draft board as well. It just depends on how everyone has that player ranked and how much they use the FantasySharks rankings.

Happy Hunting!