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

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Sep 7, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end

Travis Kelce

(87) catches a pass as Tennessee Titans linebacker

Kamerion Wimbley

(95) defends during the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. The Titans won 26-10. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

I know this looks like a Chiefs-homer pick, and he’s probably already on a roster if you’re playing in a Kansas City area, or Chiefs-fan thick league. However, if you’ve come to this site from outside the Chiefs bubble, Travis Kelce might be a guy to pick up.

Kelce missed all of 2013 after microfracture surgery on his knee after Kansas City took him with the 1st pick in the 3rd round. This preseason, Kelce flashed the speed that made him a virtual 2nd round pick with a long 60-yd TD in which he out-ran the Bengals secondary, and multiple other long pass receptions.

You need to constantly look for these unknown guys, especially in the season’s early weeks, if you want to hoist your league’s trophy at the end of the season.

Though his 3 catches for 49 yards on Sunday hardly lit up the fantasy football board, he validated his preseason performance by grabbing a 27-yard reception on Sunday and another deep target when he was open but QB Alex Smith failed to connect. Add the fact that Andy Reid admitted that this guy needs to see more snaps, and you should realize you need to grab Kelce now if he’s still available.

Yeah. Anthony Fasano is the starter and caught a TD pass on Sunday. But, Kelce has both the talent to be a game-breaker and a QB with an established track record of liking TE’s (think Vernon Davis in S.F.).  Kelce is likely to get the lion’s-share of TE yards by season’s end, especially with a Kansas City offense that looks short of weapons in the passing game.

Combine Kansas City’s terrible performance on Sunday with the devastating injury to ILB Derrick Johnson, and the Chiefs look like a team that will be playing a lot of catch up this season. That makes Kelce well worth a flyer on your bench.

There you have my week 1 fantasy claim targets. I know I’ve missed guys, and probably some of the above players are busts. You need to constantly look for these unknown guys, especially in the season’s early weeks, if you want to hoist your league’s trophy at the end of the season.