Fantasy Football Scouting Report

Fantasy Scouting Report: Sleepers and Dangers for the 2006 Season

It’s August now, which means that fantasy football season officially begins. With live drafts beginning soon, now is the time to look for the sleepers that can make your team, and to avoid the dangerous fantasy football players that can cause you problems all season long. With that in mind, here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the best and worst available at each fantasy football position.

Quarterback

Sleepers:

1. Trent Green, Kansas City. The Chiefs offense should be just as potent as it has been the past few years, and the defense should continue to struggle, despite the addition of Ty Law at cornerback. Green was second in the NFL in passing yards a year ago, though his 17 touchdown passes were a five-year low. With a few more touchdown passes, and a pre-season ranking as low as twelfth among quarterbacks on some pre-season cheat sheets, Green could be a premier fantasy starter available as late as the fifth or sixth round.

2. Brett Favre, Green Bay. Favre isn’t going to go out with a Super Bowl this year, but for fantasy football teams he can be an excellent backup, and maybe even a serviceable starter. Favre was third in the NFL in passing yards a year ago, and with another struggling Packers team, he will be forced to throw often. In leagues that don’t penalize for interceptions (Favre led the league with 29 last year, 12 more than any other QB), his numbers will outperform his mid-round availability.

3. Michael Vick, Atlanta. On the field, Vick’s numbers haven’t matched up to the hype, but in fantasy football terms, Vick is another capable quarterback who could be available late. Ranked 15th among quarterbacks by SI.com, Vick’s rushing numbers dropped a bit in 2005, but even at 600-700 rushing yards and 6-8 touchdowns on the ground, his total numbers can be equivalent to a top-five quarterback in most leagues.

Dangers: