Whether it is guys like Alfred Morris, Doug Martin and T.Y. Hilton in 2012. Or guys like Cam Newton, Laurent Robinson and Victor Cruz in 2011. Or guys like Arian Foster, Mike Wallace and Brandon Lloyd in 2010, there are always fantasy gems to be found in the later rounds of your fantasy football drafts.
Finding these sleepers in your fantasy football draft is, in most cases, the reason why the teams atop your league standing find themselves there. It's early in the 2013 NFL off-season, and of course we don't have the ability to see in to the future and know how this April's draft is going to play out (as well as free agency). Nevertheless, here are five under-the-radar guys who I am keeping an eye on heading in to the 2013 NFL fantasy season:
Jacquizz Rodgers, Atlanta Falcons: 79 fantasy points in 2012
Rodgers isn't exactly a "sleeper" anymore, but he isn't a guy who is going to go in the early rounds of any standard-scoring leagues. Coming in to 2012, Michael Turner's stock could have been bought pretty low. However, the season came and Turner continued getting a pretty standard work load for him, and continued getting the goal-line touches he has been accustomed to.
Some people have speculated that Turner was given those carries simply to keep him happy and involved in the games. Personally, I don't buy in to that theory, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect to see his carries decrease significantly this coming season. Rodgers finished with 392 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 94 carries and hauled in 53 catches (on 59 targets) for 402 yards and a score. I don't see how Atlanta can justify keeping Turner playing the role of their feature back and not getting Rodgers on the field for at least half of the snaps. Then again, with Mike Smith running the ship, you never know what could happen.
LaMichael James, San Francisco 49ers: 13 fantasy points in 2012
I know that James is coming off a Super Bowl in which he committed a key fumble, and I know that he is coming off a rookie campaign in which he only rushed the ball 27 times for 125 yards. Even so, current 49ers running back Frank Gore isn't going to play forever, and late in the season last year, it became clear that Jim Harbaugh made it a point to start working James in to the offense after his stand-out ability on special teams. James played a much bigger role in the 2012 NFL Playoffs, even finding his way in to the end zone for the first time in his career. If LaMichael continues to get regular touches, I have no doubt that he is going to experience a lot of success in 2013.
Julian Edelman, New England Patriots: 47 fantasy points in 2012
While Edelman's name has been heard from before out of New England, he has never really been an integral part of the offense. For most of his career, he has been a very good special teams guy who would have a big game here and there, and never really be heard from in-between. 2013 is the year that is going to change for him. Edelman pulled down 69 catches for 714 yards and four touchdowns in 2012, but with Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd's future in New England unknown, Julian may become Tom Brady's go-to guy.
Bernard Pierce, Baltimore Ravens: 57 fantasy points in 2012
When it comes to must-have handcuff running backs, Pierce (as well as Rodgers) should be atop most everyone's list. Everyone knows what Ray Rice is capable of, but with the production Bernard gave his Ravens in a limited role in 2012, it's hard to see him not cutting in to Rice's carries this coming season. Pierce ran for 532 yards on 108 carries and one score in his rookie year, and I don't see anyway his numbers don't see a significant increase in 2013.
Michael Floyd, Arizona Cardinals: 61 fantasy points in 2012
I'm not going to lie, expecting anything out of a Cardinals receiver not named Larry Fitzgerald is a huge risk because of the gaping hole of seemingly endless quarterbacks they have trotted out there who look like they belong anywhere but the NFL. Even so, there's no denying the physical tools that Floyd possesses. Floyd grabbed 45 balls (narrowly catching more than half of his 86 targets) for 562 yards and two touchdowns. If Arizona can get anything even resembling consistent play out of whoever is going to be their quarterback going in to next season (the leader in the club house appears to be Kevin Kolb), I expect Floyd to be a very, very good third fantasy receiver and a very capable second receiver fill-in.