In the world of fantasy football, draft steals often play a pivotal role on the road to a championship. There's a whole lot of dart-throwing and blind faith involved in the quest to unearth a hidden gem in the back-end of the draft, but if you manage to land a productive player late, you will feel a borderline sad amount of pride and joy. Here are the group of guys that I believe are 2017's top, late-round (potential) studs.
Quarterback: Derek Carr (Raiders) (Average Draft Position: Yahoo!: 102.4, ESPN: 118.8, NFL.Com: 92.7)
The lack of disrespect Derek Carr is receiving in fantasy circles this season is appalling. He is coming off a 28 TD, 6 INT season where he picked up legitimate MVP buzz and led the Raiders to their first playoff berth since 2002 yet he's still falling into the double-digit rounds in most drafts. With the Raiders plethora of lethal options in the passing game and his tendency to improve with each subsequent year in the league, Carr is a terrific pickup for anyone that likes to wait until the final 5-6 rounds of the draft to select a QB.
Honorable Mentions: Kirk Cousins (Redskins), Matthew Stafford (Lions), Carson Wentz (Eagles)
Deep Rookie Sleeper : Mitch Trubisky (Bears)*
(Since no other rookie looks like they're going to get a shot at starting this season, Trubisky is getting this distinction by default.)
Running Back: Bilal Powell (Jets) (ADP: Yahoo!: 100.8, ESPN: 50.6, NFL.com: 64.6)
The Jets dumpster fire at the quarterback and wide receiver position makes dual-threat back Powell, who has been very productive a complementary piece over the past few seasons, a near-lock to be the focal point of their rebuilding offense. As long as he can stay healthy, I think Powell will get enough volume on a weekly basis to finish as a top 10 back in both standard and PPR leagues.
Honorable Mentions: Doug Martin (Buccaneers), Theo Riddick (Lions), Thomas Rawls (Seahawks)
Deep Rookie Sleeper: Kareem Hunt (Chiefs)
Wide Receiver: Cameron Meredith (Bears) (ADP: Yahoo!: 101.3, ESPN: 92.8, NFL.com: 123.5)
I initially had Pierre Garcon in this slot, but the wave of buzz that has surrounded him in the fantasy community (especially in PPR leagues) over the past few weeks has taken him out of the "sleeper" category in my mind. While Cameron Meredith is unlikely to emerge as the NFL's next prolific young WR, he's the type of guy that should be able to net you the type of consistent targets and production (a la what Kenny Britt did with the Rams last year) that you don't usually get out of a receiver that's going in the 9th-11th round range.
Honorable Mentions: Rishard Matthews (Titans), Jeremy Maclin (Ravens), Marvin Jones Jr. (Lions)
Deep Rookie Sleeper: Cooper Kupp (Rams)
Tight End: Cameron Brate (Buccaneers) (ADP: Yahoo!: 131.0, ESPN: 177.2, NFL.com: 144.0)
While the Bucs spent a first round pick this year on tight end O.J. Howard, they're reportedly going to be primarily utilizing him as a blocker this season. As a result of this decision, Cameron Brate is now in position to have another nice season as the starting tight end for this upstart Buccaneers team. Brate emerged as Jameis Winston's favorite redzone target outside of Mike Evans last season and even if his nice TD total (8) from a year ago slightly declines, he'll still provide outstanding value at his current 12th-14th round draft slot.
Honorable Mentions: Jack Doyle (Colts), C.J. Fiedorowicz (Texans), Jesse James (Steelers)
Deep Rookie Sleeper: Evan Engram (Giants)
Defense: New York Giants (ADP: Yahoo!: 127.9, ESPN: 177.6, NFL.com: 102.3)
The Giants D impressed the hell out of me with their play down the stretch last season and with the abundance of playmakers they have scattered throughout their ranks, I believe they're going to blossom into a top-10 fantasy defense this season.
Honorable Mentions: Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers
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