NFC North: Top Five fantasy sleepers

So what exactly is a fantasy football sleeper in 2016?

The term “sleeper” no longer carries the weight it once did in the early 2000s since there are more experts and online services tracking the progress of every NFL player every day of the calendar year.

Whereas I was able to get away with plucking a then-unknown Chad Johnson off free-agent waivers in the middle of the regular season back in 2002, a player of his caliber would stand virtually no chance of remaining anonymous in today’s world with a 16-game schedule halfway in the books.

Scoring a sleeper nowadays means simply earning a measure of value from your pick by drafting a player that will outperform his projections based on where he was selected.

Generally, it often pays to look for players that have either shown flashes of being standout offensive weapons without producing great season-long numbers or to look for late-round veteran gems that currently have one or two teammates ahead of them in the depth chart.

Yes, most times these types of value plays are unproven commodities that may end up getting dropped after three weeks. By the same token, these same bargain-basement investments have the kind of upside to be every-week starters.

The NFC North has its fair share of raw, unestablished sleepers that have yet to make a name for themselves, as well as veteran newcomers that many fantasy enthusiasts harbor some reservations about as to the types of roles they will earn once the lights go on in early September.

So, turn the page for the list of  the top-five fantasy sleepers in the Black-and-Blue division that should be highlighted on your cheat sheets going into your summer drafts.

Next: Who sits at number 5?