2010 Fantasy Football Sleepers

Hakeem Nicks is a sleeping giant in the Big Apple. Selected in the 1st round of the 2009 NFL Draft as a replacement for Plaxico Burress, Nicks has the complete package when evaluating talent to be a quality NFL receiver. He is a physical receiver blessed with incredible hands, and he is just that type of receiver that can receive a lot of looks when inside the red zone looking to score. While Nicks had a very respectable rookie season, one can appreciate his numbers a little more when considering he played hurt for pretty much the entire season. Specifically, he played through most of the season with a broken toe. Imagine trying to play wide receiver, where quick cuts and acceleration rules supreme, with a broken toe. Even with a broken toe Nicks was able to haul in almost 50 receptions and nearly 800 receiving yards. Imagine what he could do if fully healthy. Well, we may just get that chance in 2010. In the off-season, Nicks had surgery to install a screw in his toe. He also had ankle and wrist surgeries. All surgeries went very well, and he is on pace to be 100% for 2010. While Steve Smith did have an impressive 2009 season and was able to take advantage of the absence of Plaxico Burress, it is hard to envision Smith as the long term solution in New York. He is a very strong complementary receiver that should still be in line for a load of receptions (not unlike Wes Welker in New England), but he is not the type of receiver that can be declared a true #1. However, Nicks is such a receiver. As a senior in high school, Nicks pulled in 93 catches for 1,819 yards and 20 TDs. It also should be noted he never lost a single game in high school. Nicks played his college ball at the University of North Carolina, where he set freshman records in receptions and receiving yards. His sophomore year resulted in setting a school single-season record in catches and receiving yards. In his junior year Nicks not only broke records he previously established at Carolina, but he broke several others as well. In all, Nicks owns 14 different receiving records. He is a proven winner, very tough, and a player not far from a breakout year.

Welcome to lightning in a bottle. Wallace has speed, speed, and more speed, and the Steelers couldn't have been happier to land him in the 3rd round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Despite joining a team that already had a 4-time Pro-Bowl WR (Hines Ward) and a former Super Bowl MVP and 1,200+ yard in a season receiver (Santonio Holmes), both Wallace and the Steelers wasted no time establishing him as the deep threat. Wallace finished the 2009 season with a remarkable 19.4 yards per reception, and this statistic wasn't established on just a handful of catches, but rather a statistically significant grand total of 39 receptions. Wallace led the entire NFL in this category last season thanks to his 4.33 second 40 yard dash. To help put this in perspective, Wallace finished the 2009 season with a greater yards per reception than Randy Moss has ever finished in his 12 year NFL career. Now entering 2010, the door of opportunity has opened a little wider for Wallace. In the off-season, Santonio Holmes left the Steelers to join the New York Jets. So out the door went Holmes and his 1,248 yards and 5 TDs from 2009. It should be noted Wallace is 2" taller and 15 lbs heavier than Holmes, and there is little doubt Wallace factored heavily into the decision to let Holmes go. The stage could not be set much better for Wallace. On the plus he is now a starter and the perfect complement to Hines Ward. Ward is more of a possession receiver that can get the tough yards on key plays, while Wallace is the unquestioned deep threat. Bruce Arians likes to air it out to stretch a defense deep, and when he does, he will be calling Wallace's number. This is no minor detail, as so often in many fantasy leagues bonus points are rewarded for big plays. On the minus, Wallace will have to make the transition as a relative unknown to a marked man this year. This is a natural progression in a WR's development, and the best of the best can not only still get it done under these circumstances, but also improve, regardless of what defensive scheme has been cooked up to neutralize them. Only time will tell with Wallace.