My Actual Fantasy Football Sleepers: Running Backs

Now that my three drafts in six days fantasy football season is over, and my league mates in all of those endeavors have already seen my act, it's time to share my sleepers with the world. Draft these guys, and you'll be guaranteed to have a fantasy football team. Whether it's any good or not is another matter. I'm going to split these out into separate posts just to make it easier to identify my mistakes later.

Earnest Graham, Tampa Bay Bucs. You'll get him in the fourth or fifth tier of running backs, and for the life of me, I don't know why. Cadillac Williams can't stay healthy, Warrick Dunn is ancient and was horrible last year, and Jon Gruden has shown that he's fine with riding one back hard. Graham showed a good nose for the goal line last year, and while the Bucs aren't a good offense or a great schedules, it's still hard to see how he doesn't give you a lot for the money this year.

Leon Washington, New York Jets. I've seen him go undrafted this year in some leagues, and that's just wrong. Thomas Jones is 30 and never has been great at the goal line. Washington won't vulture him for carries down low, but he will be on the field for third down and goal to go after Jones doesn't get in... and anyone who has watched Brett Favre in recent years has seen his willingness to prolong plays with shovel plays to the release back. Combine that with his usual good work on third down, the possibility of a return touchdown, and the very real chance that he'd get 15 touches if and when Jones goes down, and you've got a very good late round pick.

Steve Slaton, Houston Texans. In most of the drafts that I've been in, he's gone after Ray Rice of Baltimore, which makes a little sense -- Rice has also looked good in preseason, and the starter (Willis McGahee) is showing every sign of pissing away the full job with surgery and erratic performances. But while Rice will labor behind quarterbacks that wouldn't be a plus in the CFL, Slaton will have actual weapons in Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. The Texans have other options, and might be dumb enough to continue to get something out of their Ahman Green money, but Slaton has a real chance at stardom.

Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints. The Saints have a good looking schedule, an outstanding receiver corps, a top tier quarterback... and their running backs are Mr. Finesse (Reggie Bush) and Mr. Old and Hurt (Decue McAllister). If the chips fall where I think they will, some significant points will be available for Thomas, who has a burst, looks good inside, and could wind up as the whole show in N'Awlins if the Saints decide to stop trying to recreate Thunder and Lightning and just go for, you know, Good.

Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders. Oakland ran wild last year with the likes of Lamont Jordan, Michael Bush and Justin Fargas. Now, they might choose to mix McFadden into that mix, and keep him fresh for the long haul while teaching him the finer points of blocking and being an NFL player. Or they could be the Raiders, become intoxicated by his talent, and feed him the ball like there's no tomorrow. Bet on short-sightedness, especially in a division where the Broncos and Chiefs could be had, and the Chargers just got a lot less scarier with Shawne Merriman playing hurt.

Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans. But they've got LemDale White, someone will say, and a million other guys that they keep signing and trading for. And yes, yes, a million times yes, because they know that White sucks as much as you do. If and when they give Johnson a chance, he'll earn the job and do well with it, because he's a special talent.