What Does Sleeper Mean In Fantasy Football

Injured Reserve are extra slots on your roster that can be used for players that are unable to play for your team due to injury.

What does the term “sleeper” mean anymore? Anyone can go on the internet, type in fantasy football sleepers, and have dozens of articles suggesting the same players. Sleeper is a term used mostly during the draft to refer to NFL players that a fantasy manager believes is set to have a breakout season. The word 'sleeper' comes from the idea that most fantasy football guys will 'sleep' on this player or overlook their potential.

Play in fantasy leagues with your friends, completely free! - A next-level matchup interface, featuring mascots! - Mock draft, research, and chat! - Get your friends together for a full season of. A player could be eligible for IR if they are labeled as Out, Suspended, NA, DNR, Doubtful, or if they are placed on the actual Injured Reserved list by their team. These statuses, or tags, can change throughout any given week during a regular season.

You can set the number of injured reserve slots in League Settings:

IR Eligibility

A player could be eligible for IR if they are labeled as Out, Suspended, NA, DNR, Doubtful,or if they are placed on the actual Injured Reserved list by their team.

These statuses, or tags, can change throughout any given week during a regular season.

Read: Player Status and Gameday Designations

Sleeper Fantasy Leagues

The commissioner would have to activate these options in the settings:

Roster Lock

If you have a player on IR who is no longer IR eligible, you must create room by dropping someone from your team before you can make any additional roster edits or free agent adds.

Your other option is to make a trade if your roster is locked due to this scenario.

Players will not be able to get the IR tag back until the official NFL team places him on IR to start the 2021 season. The teams usually do that around late August, but it could be sooner.

Recognizing a Sleeper

What Does Sleeper Mean In Fantasy Football

To recognize a potential sleeper pick in a fantasy football draft, it is important to be aware of the average draft position of players. A sleeper might have a lower average draft position for a variety of reasons such as an injury from the prior season, playing for a new team, or competition with other teammates for playing time and opportunities.

What Does A Sleeper Mean In Fantasy Football

A few other aspects to consider when attempting to identify a sleeper pick are open spots and touches, an opportunity to start, and the upside of a player. If a team loses a starting player, it will have a position to fill on its roster. Therefore, it is helpful to try to predict what player might be up next to step in for that star player and have a successful season. In addition, when teams lose star players, there are more opportunities for other players to handle the ball more and earn more fantasy points.

Nfl Fantasy Football Sleeper Picks

Identifying a starting opportunity is also important when predicting a sleeper. If a player does not have a chance for a starting role, they are much less likely to earn fantasy points. Therefore, fantasy players should make an effort to select players that either start or have a favorable chance of starting.

What Does The Term Sleeper Mean In Fantasy Football

As players slip lower in a fantasy draft, their upside may increase. If a player has potential to effectively perform throughout the season, their upside increases the longer they remain undrafted. To gauge the upside of a player, it is helpful to consider why the player is being undervalued and the value of the player compared to other players in similar positions in the draft. Additionally, the player's potential to perform and score points should be compared to the other remaining players in the draft.