Everyone that is prepared to the fullest when they go into their fantasy football drafts always has one thing on the back of their minds. And that for good reason is what the Bruno Boys Nation consider their sleeper picks of the year. We at the Bruno Boys are no different! In fact, we eat, sleep and s... What??? I was going to say "Snooze" sleepers all day long!!! This is fantasy football baby! Not a re-run of an old Eddie Murphy comedy. In a world where you have to pay for this info at other sites, we proudly present them to you with no strings attached! Ok there is one! You actually have to read this article and our other "Snooze Alarm" articles as well to get anything from it! So I will quit wasting your time and let you absorb everything that we at Bruno Boys Fantasy Football have to throw at you when it comes to sleepers and undervalued running backs heading into 2008.
Ranking System: The higher the “Snooze Alarm” Ranking, the more sleeper value the player has.
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Selvin Young - Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos has always been a great place to find a solid fantasy RB and 2008 will be no exception. Selvin Young happened to be in the right place at the right time last year, in other words he was able to enjoy his rookie season as Travis Henry tended to destroying his year and possibly his career. Having carried the pigskin a solid 140 times he was able to put up very solid numbers.
With those 140 carries he was able to average 5.2 yards, giving him a total of 729 rushing yards, 50 being his longest from scrimmage, while chiming in with 1 TD. Rushing was not his only strong point to his game play last year though, as he also had plenty of catches. In fact, Young caught 35 passes for an additional 231 yards, giving him a total of 960 total yards; solid numbers for a rookie who was a part-time player, and making us believe he can do more in an increased role this year.
We at the Bruno Boys do not see him taking a step back during his sophomore year, although he may be splitting a good number of his carries. He should be able to continue his very solid yards per carry pace while adding additional carries to his repertoire. It also would shock us if he did not continue his desent to becoming a more solid all around running back by adding some receptions and at least a handful more TD’s for his 2008 campaign.
Selvin Young is ranked 26th in the 2008 Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets. Young makes a very solid choice for your RB3 and could very well take his game to a much higher level this season, possibly garnering RB2 worthiness at some point! And that is why he has earned FIVE SNOOZE ALARMS!
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Thomas Jones – New York Jets
Thomas Jones went through a very unforgettable season last year, his first with the New York Jets. Last year, he totaled only 2 touchdowns, one on the ground, the other through the air. But it was not entirely his fault. In fact, none of the blame should be labeled on Jones! The offense was very inconsistent last year, of which the biggest problem being his offensive line. Although his TD’s took a significant drop from his three previous seasons, his yardage remained on course. He put up a solid 1,336 total yards and remained as professional as ever in the locker room.
This off-season in some ways seems like the Jets are giving him a big thank you for being a trooper last year. The Jets picked up right tackle Damien Woody and left guard Alan Faneca, both of which should help immensely in the Jets running game this year.
With a rebuilt line, as well as a strong passion to get back to the level that he was at previously, it would not surprise any of us Bruno Boys to see him starting to be talked about as highly as a solid RB2 sometime during this year, making him an excellent RB3 heading into your draft.
Expect Jones to bounce back to his previous numbers, possibly even adding some average to that total. That is reason enough to understand why the Bruno Boys have him listed 25th in the 2008 Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets , which is why he has earned FOUR SNOOZE ALARMS!
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Matt Forte – Chicago Bears
Matt Forte, who played his College Ball at Tulane, is entering his rookie season with the Chicago Bears, already having been given the starters job before he has even taken one snap from the backfield. That means he is a future STUD in the making, right? Ok, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In our opinion, it means that the Bears are lacking when it comes to the talent that they have at the RB position on their roster.
Forte finds himself as the starter just one year after the Bears had traded Thomas Jones to the New York Jets so they could give former Chicago Bear Cedric Benson the starting gig. Oops! Benson had one to many adult beverages and he is now seeking a job in the NFL. With Forte, you got solid talent who ran all over lesser opponents while at Tulane, and with any given luck he should be able to produce solid numbers during his rookie season.
Forte would make a solid low-end RB3, high-end RB4 this season and could make Chicago fans forget about the mishaps the Bears made with trading Jones to the Jets to hand the job over to Benson. After all, the Bears couldn’t have gotten another RB draft pick wrong, could they?
Expect Forte to pull his own weight this year, but he should lose some carries once Kevin Jones is deemed healthy. But even then, barring a major disaster in which he can’t adjust to the NFL game speed, Forte should be just fine, earning him the 32nd placing in the 2008 Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets. And that is why he has earned THREE SNOOZE ALARMS!
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Laurence Maroney – New England Patriots
Considered one of the bigger disappointments at the running back position in 2007, Laurence Maroney finds himself on the Bruno Boys 2008 Preseason Snooze Alarms! The reason he receives only two stars is that anyone and everyone associated last year in fantasy football already knows the guy and what his capabilities are, as he will still be drafted no lower than a RB2 in bigger leagues. But that doesn’t mean he has sleeper potential, he does!
Maroney suffered through most of last season with an injured shoulder and missed three games to a groin injury. Think about it people. If you had a severely injured shoulder would you want to be running into monstrous defensive linemen? Exactly! That is why the Bruno Boys are giving him some slack for his 2007 performance, fully expecting a bounce back to where he should have been last year; a solid RB2 with RB1 possibilities. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though as he still has to prove that he can mentally get past his former injury and he is actually the third option in the New England Patriots high powered offense.
He does not add much to the receiving game, but he has averaged a respectful 4.4 yards per carry throughout his first two years, and he also boasts a solid 6.5 TD’s per season. That is pretty good considering that he has only started in 6 games throughout his career. With added carries he should finally surpass the 1,000 rushing mark, pushing him into 1,200 total yards minimum. And if he can add a few TD’s to his total, he could become a real steal!
We have him ranked 18th overall at the running back position in the 2008 Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets. Draft him with confidence and expect nothing lower than mid-RB2 level production from him in larger leagues. With the Patriots most likely emphasizing the running game more this year, Maroney very well could even surpass that production. And that is why he has earned TWO SNOOZE ALARMS!
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Jerious Norwood – Atlanta Falcons
Yes, we Bruno Boys realize that the Atlanta Falcons brought in high-profiled RB Michael Turner to be the starter, but that does not mean that Jerious Norwood will be sitting on the sidelines twiddling his thumbs. That is the farthest thing from the truth actually! The Falcons are planning to take advantage of both of the backs talents, and Norwood should be able to come respectfully within reach of his extremely impressive 6.2 yards per carry average on the ground and 9.5 yards per catch average that he has had throughout his first two years.
The Bruno Boys fully expect to see Norwood get a solid amount of reps as well, both through the ground and through the air. What will be interesting though is how the Falcons plan on using both of these weapons. It very well could bring back some memories of yester-year when Bo Jackson and Marcus Allen highlighted an outstanding backfield for the Oakland Raiders.
That will be a tough task to accomplish, but when you put two young players with that much talent together, it is anyone’s guess on just how good these two can be. But as great as they can be, they can also falter, and that could possibly help Norwood owners. The one thing that could falter is the game play of Turner who is not used to holding a full-time gig. If that happens, Norwood would then get an even bigger amount of plays thrown at him which could boost him up into RB3 status as the season plays out.
Norwood is rated 40th on the 2008 Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets. Drafting him as your fourth or fifth running back, as he could possibly pay nice dividends as the season plays itself out. And when you are getting to RB 4/5 range, that is what you should be looking for anyways; a RB with a chance to produce at a level higher than he is being drafted at. And that is why he has earned ONE SNOOZE ALARM!
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Position by Position BUST Rankings (click to view)
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Quarterbacks
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Running Backs
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Wide Receivers
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Tight Ends
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Kickers
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Team Defenses
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Position by Position Sleeper Rankings (click to view)
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Quarterbacks
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Running Backs
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Wide Receivers
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Tight Ends
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Kickers
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Team Defenses
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