What Is the Meaning of the Phrase Football Sleeper?
When used in football, the term "sleeper" refers to a player whose performance on the field exceeds what you would expect based on his draft position--or, in the case of free agents, his reputation. Though the term has long been used when discussing the National Football League draft, it's become part of more fans' vocabulary thanks to the popularity of fantasy football.
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Draft Position
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The NFL draft is the league's annual meeting at which teams select college players. It consists of seven rounds, with each team getting a pick in each round--although teams can and do trade those picks away. The earlier a player is selected, the higher the expectations for his performance. Teams, and their fans, expect that guys who go in the first round will become stars--or at least will be solid starting players. Expectations drop with each round, and players taken in the later rounds are often lucky just to make the team.
Sleepers
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The specific definition of a "sleeper" depends on who you ask. Some believe that a player has to become a bona fide star to earn the label. Others see it only as a question of value: If you drafted a guy in the fifth round, and he delivers a performance like you'd expect from a second-round pick, then you're getting tremendous value--all the performance for maybe half the price. The common thread, though, is the idea that the player is performing above his draft position. However, a sleeper's success doesn't necessarily come as a surprise. Teams identify players who they think could be sleepers, and then target those players in lower rounds.
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Example
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The classic, and possibly best-known, sleeper pick may be quarterback Tom Brady, a winner of multiple Super Bowls and a future Hall of Famer whom the New England Patriots drafted in the sixth round in 2000. When Brady took over for the injured Drew Bledsoe in 2001 and led the Patriots to an NFL championship, the story line was that he came out of nowhere. But as chronicled in Michael Holley's book "Patriot Reign," Brady's performance wasn't actually a surprise to the Patriots' coaching staff. They'd targeted him in the draft with the idea that he could be their starter one day, and the injury to Bledsoe merely accelerated the timetable. That expectation, borne out by performance, made Brady a true sleeper.
Free Agency
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Sleepers don't have to come out of the draft; free agents can also qualify as sleepers. Quarterback Kurt Warner was never drafted, washed out of training camp with the Green Bay Packers and ended up playing minor league ball in both the Arena Football League and the NFL's developmental league in Europe before the St. Louis Rams made him their backup in 1999. As Brady would two years later, Warner took over the team after an injury to the starting quarterback and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title.
Fantasy
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The concept of the "sleeper" is part of the everyday lexicon of fantasy football, a pastime in which fans acting as team "owners" assemble mock ball clubs made up of NFL players, then earn points based on those players' performance in real games. Owners build their teams through a draft at the beginning of the season and by adding players as needed or as they become available. The fantasy football definition of sleeper mirrors that used in the "real world": a guy who's not in high demand, as evidenced by low interest from other owners or a low draft position, but whom you expect to perform at a high level.
Teams
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"Sleeper" can also be used to describe an entire team that you foresee outperforming most people's expectations.
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References
- Photo Credit football image by sonya etchison from Fotolia.com
