Fantasy Football: Sleepers to Claim for Week One—Allen Hurns

Aug 23, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver

(16) runs the bases past St. Louis Rams cornetack

(47) in the first half at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Hawkins, WR, Cleveland Browns

Hawkins notched 8 catches for 87 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. The 5’7″ Hawkins looks like he might be a good “underneath” guy that could pile up a lot of catches in an offense that’s trying to find itself under a new regime. He looks like a good target for point-per-catch leagues, but likely won’t be much of a red-zone target due his small size.

Hawkins is only owned in 11.9% of ESPN leagues so he should be available to you. Most fantasy players looking to mine the Browns roster will target Miles Austin, who is a former ‘name” player for the Cowboys who put up at least 6 TDs per year before imploding in 2013. While Austin has the benefit of an NFL track record, he’s 30 years old and only put up 2 catches for 20 yards against Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Remember what you’re doing. You’re not looking for “normal” production in most cases.

When mining for sleepers , you’re looking for players likely to become big producers because they haven’t yet shown what they can do in the NFL. That realization should steer you away from pedestrian producers like Austin.