The fantasy football season begins for real on Thursday night with the Broncos and the Ravens in Denver and as all that is going on, smart owners are going to be looking for value in drafts around the nation and some names that could breakout big include Ronnie Hillman, Le'Veon Bell, Lamar Miller, Daryl Richardson, DeAngelo Williams and Isaac Redman.
Most of these players will be available later in drafts and after the top names like Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice and Marshawn Lynch and Trent Richardson are gone, these are the names that could help bring big production and fantasy wins each week. Daryl Richardson is a player that many have looked at as a sleeper and so is Le'Veon Bell with the Pittsburgh Steelers, as he is expected to be the starter once he returns from a foot sprain.
Bell has been considered as a high pick heading into the season since he is likely to be the starter once healthy and the Steelers are prepared to run the ball plenty after moving away from that last season. Redman and Felix Jones will be playing in Bell's absence and those two are prime handcuff options for any Bell owners and he still should be considered a solid pick in drafts despite the injury. Richardson is the popular pick among owners for a sleeper starter, as he was productive at the tail end of the last season and now he is taking over as the starter for the Rams after Steven Jackson signed with the Atlanta Falcons and he should be able to produce in that offense.
Richardson can catch the ball out of the backfield and he rushed for 475 yards on less than 100 carries as a rookie and he has much less wear and tear on him that Jackson did. The team will use him ahead of Zac Stacy and Isaiah Pead and after adding Tavon Austin to the offense on the outside, things in the middle could open up for the running game and that could be huge for Sam Bradford this season.
The Panthers have some injury issues at running back and that makes DeAngelo Williams a prime option in drafts past the elite players, as he has potential to put up elite numbers, even at his age. Johnathan Stewart will be out until at least Week 7 and with Kenjon Barner behind him, Williams is not in question of losing any playing time, especially if he remains healthy. Last season Williams had just 737 yards and five touchdowns while playing in 2012 and behind him without Stewart will be Mike Tolbert. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards twice, but that was over three years ago, but after playing in 16 games each of the past two seasons, it's clear who the healthy back is in Carolina.
Ronnie Hillman is looking like a big fantasy sleeper this season as the Broncos try and work on their running game and despite adding Montee Ball, Hillman looks like he will be the starter. Ball will get his chances, but with Knowshon Moreno still in the dog house, Hillman could be a very savvy pick for owners. Last season he had 330 yards rushing and one touchdown and he finished the tear with 83 yards in the playoff loss to the Ravens and he could be ready for a very solid season. He has shown a knack for getting loose, catching three passes for 20 yards against Baltimore and that could come in handy again.
Lamar Miller is a name to remember, as he is taking over for Reggie Bush and the Dolphins have not liked what they have seen from Daniel Thomas in the past. Miller will get the starting touches and with the team adding Mike Wallace, the running game will be even more important and he could end up making 20 catches out of the backfield as well. Other options include Joique Bell, Roy Helu and Mark Ingram.