We break down five late-round sleepers you should target for your roster. Some of these sleepers are under-appreciated rookies.
We are all aware of the big names in the 2018 rookie class this class is quite deep in some important positions. A handful of linebackers and defensive linemen will step in and establish themselves as anchors on their teams. A new crop of safeties and corners that will look to haunt wide receivers on every route. But, who are the players that aren’t jumping out and demanding attention?
Maybe they aren’t getting much buzz during the early days of training camp or they just didn’t get the acknowledgment of others at their position prior to the draft. This list is a group of players to look for that might be underappreciated in your league. They may not show up week one like a 1st round linebacker. However, as history has shown, some of the best defensive gems have been found in the later rounds of rookie drafts. Look for most of these players in the later round of your rookie or startup drafts.
Deadrin Senat
The 3rd round DT from USF played a key role in the bulls rotation and is looking to step in and do the same in Atlanta. It's not unreasonable to see him being used as not only as relief for Grady Jarrett but also lined up next to him. He’s a great undersized run blocker that will certainly soak up some of the 786 snaps up for grabs due to Poe’s departure.
deadrin senat (his first snap of the game) and derrick shelby blew up the front side of this stretch play. center had no chance vs senat and it's #good that he's finding the ball carrier *through* the block instead of looking for the RB off the snap of the ball pic.twitter.com/kWcxxY61kD
— charles (“you look good” - andy reid) mcdonald (@FourVerts) August 13, 2018
Malik Jefferson
The ideal linebacker to help bolster the Bengals LB group and provide an exceptional option during the time without Burfict. But on after it’s possible that his coverage ability could earn him playing time outside of special teams.
Azeem Victor
Oakland opted for a defense heavy draft. They look to have a good mixture of young talent to pair with their older established players on defense. Victor has an amazing ability to avoid blockers and find the ball. He has an opportunity to surpass a few players on the depth chart and provide a linebacker capable of stuffing RB's for losses for years to come.
Tarvarus McFadden, DJ Reed
San Francisco needs major help in the secondary and their three rookie DBS will certainly look to be that help. These two are like my previous entry on the list and will look to cement their roles this year and continue to expand in the coming years. Look for both to slowly gain snaps in the rotation especially if the players ahead continue on to allow 250+ passing yard per game.
Jake Martin
Martin will begin as a situational player specifically sub-packages. As he continues to develop an NFL body, he could focus solely on terrorizing quarterbacks, covering a huge hole for Seattle. Martin has experience playing linebacker, defensive end and even lined up at nose tackle on a few occasions. This versatility is a huge asset for the Seahawks.
If that field wasn't turning to sawdust this might have been a huge play from Jacob Martin. There's that two-hand swipe again. pic.twitter.com/Vm6hltZLHb
— Jared Stanger (@JaredStanger) August 21, 2018
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