The fantasy football season is days away from starting when the Broncos and the Ravens kick off in Denver and owners around the country will be looking for some of the best sleeper and breakout options for 2013 and some players include names like Le'Veon Bell, Kenbrell Thompkins, Danny Woodhead and Vincent Brown.
The Steelers selected Bell in the second round of the NFL draft to take over as the starting running back and after getting rid of Rashard Mendenhall and cutting Jonathan Dwyer, Bell appears to be the starting option once he is healthy. Bell was expected to be the starter this season when the team opens Week 1 against the Panthers, but after suffering a foot injury, he could be out for at least two weeks.
Initially the Steelers through that Le'Veon Bell suffered a Lisfranc injury that could have kept him out for at least a month, but reports now say that it is just a sprain and that is welcome news for fantasy owners since it means he will not need surgery. Bell missed the preseason game against the Chiefs and for Week 1 fantasy owners may want to grab Isaac Redman or Felix Jones as well as LaRod Stephens-Howling as an easy handcuff to start. Bell has speed and size and after being injured against the Redskins on Monday night football, the team started taking it easy with him.
The Steelers have not said how long Bell will be out, but it shouldn't be as long as surgery would have knocked him out and after ditching the leading rusher from last season with Dwyer, Redman will be the main option with Bell out. Bell was the second running back selected from the draft and he is being looked at as a number one sleeper by many fantasy owners since the Steelers want to get back to their classic run the ball style. Bell finished his college career with Michigan State with 3346 yards and 33 touchdowns and last season he had 1,793 yards rushing.
The Steelers ranked 26th in rushing yards per game last season with under 100 and drafting Bell should be a good remedy for that. The Steelers went 0-4 in the preseason without using Bell and while that isn't always the best measure for the regular season, it would have been nice to get a win in the game. Surgery would have kept Bell out for at least half the season, so fantasy owners can rest easy that he should have a solid season when he returns for the Steelers.
Kenbrell Thompkins is also being looked at as a prime sleeper in 2013, as the Patriots signed him as an undrafted free agent and he could come in and help with the loss of Wes Welker to the Broncos. The Patriots have also lost Brandon Lloyd, Danny Woodhead and Aaron Hernandez from last season and Thompkins could be a name that makes up for that production. Thompkins has size and speed and he showed some playmaking abilities in the preseason, including in his route running.
Brady loves it when receivers can separate themselves coming out of breaks and Thompkins did a good job against the Lions and Giants in that regard, including on a 37-yard catch against Detroit that was excellent. Thompkins was targeted a nice amount and he ended up with 13 receptions for 142 yards in three preseason games and Brady could continue to use him as a number one option behind Danny Amendola in the passing game.
For the Chargers, two sleeper options are a former Patriots back in Danny Woodhead and wideout Vincent Brown, who should get more looks after the team lost Danario Alexander and cut Robert Meachem. The team cut Meachem despite him getting $5 million guaranteed and Woodhead could be a huge sleeper since Mike McCoy will use him as a receiver out of the backfield and also because Ryan Mathews is always injured.