RADIO
We continue our preseason fantasy football sleeper series with a look at Washington Redskins wide receiver Paul Richardson.
While the first few rounds of every draft are essentially a wash-rinse-repeat of the consensus top-36, we can always count on those middle and late rounds to cement our confidence in this year's sleepers. The definition of the fantasy football sleeper has changed over the years, with the emergence of the industry itself on social media. The common sleeper today isn't a player that is being 'slept on' by the community. They're more like a player in a great spot to outperform his average draft position based on a plethora of factors.
Let's see why Richardson could fit that bill in upcoming fantasy drafts.
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2018 Sleeper - Paul Richardson
The appeal of Paul Richardson largely boils down to what you think of Josh Doctson. He's the guy with the draft capital and the athletic pedigree. After a nothing rookie year, Doctson played every game last season and managed just 502 yards on 35 receptions. He caught a putrid 44.9% of his 78 targets. With Doctson ineffective, Terrelle Pryor gone, and Jordan Reed perennially injured, the Redskins needed to add a WR.
Enter Paul Richardson. He's coming off the most productive season of his career with 44 catches on 80 targets for 703 yards and six touchdowns, but he was never really featured in Seattle's passing attack. Despite his solid year, Richardson never saw more than eight targets in a game and had five targets or fewer in half of his games.
Richardson was effective when he was targeted, though. Russell Wilson had a 104.3 QB Rating when targeting Richardson, 14th in the league and Richardson scored 1.88 fantasy points per target, 21st in the league. Those numbers give us reason for optimism. Combine that with the fact that the Redskins have an opening at flanker and Richardson just has to beat out Doctson for the job. If he can do that - and I think he will - he will be the primary outside target.
The good thing about Richardson's competition for targets is that everyone else plays a very different role. Jamison Crowder is not moving out of the slot. Jordan Reed, on the rare occasions he's actually on the field, is utilized more in intermediate routes and the red zone. Richardson stands alone as the outside field stretcher. He has 93rd percentile speed and 79th percentile burst per playerprofiler.com. He had 13 receptions of 20 yards or more last season. Alex Smith is not a prolific deep ball thrower on his own - his lofty 2017 numbers were a product of Tyreek Hill. But he is not afraid to let the ball go if he has the right WR. Richardson is not Hill, but he is the closest thing the Redskins have.
It is also relevant to note that Richardson received a five year, $40 million contract. That type of money isn't handed out lightly and certainly not to a player the team doesn't plan to feature. He should be given every opportunity to carve out a significant role in this offense.
I wouldn't say it is necessarily likely that Richardson breaks out, but there definitely signs that it is possible, which makes Richardson an excellent late-round dart throw.
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