NFL Fantasy Football Draft: 10 Sleepers You Must Consider
2. TE Sleeper - Tie: Julius Thomas, Jacksonville Jaguars (Yahoo Rank 109, ESPN Rank 82)
To tell the story of Julius Thomass 2015 value, we need to look at Julius Thomass past two seasons with the Denver Broncos when he was catching passes from future Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning. Thomas was a touchdown machine, catching 12 TDs in each of the last two seasons despite not playing a full 16-game slate either year. Now, did the majority of that production have to do with Thomass talent as a tight end, or Peytons as a quarterback? The rankings seem to think its Peyton more so than Thomas, as Julius has gone from a third round pick in 2014 to an eighth or ninth round pick in 2015. Thomas took a big-money contract to go to Jacksonville, where his quarterback is Blake Bortles, a significant downgrade from Peyton. People who are bullish on Thomas will think that he will make the awful Jacksonville offense better, rather than their offense making him worse. He will be the red zone target that Jacksonville never had. Last year, kicker Josh Scobee had 10 field goals of 39 yards or closer, meaning that the Jags got close, but couldnt punch it in 10 times. If Thomas can help with even half of those stalled drives, it would make a huge difference.
