8 Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 1

Christine Michael, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Christine Michael may seem like an obvious play if you stay glued fantasy football Twitter, but as of writing, he is on the waiver wire in a shade over 50% of ESPN's fantasy leagues. Before you read any further, you should go make sure yours isn't one of them.

Thomas Rawls was terrific for the Seattle Seahawks last year, but his season was cut short with a broken ankle, and the rough recovery road for an injury like that has opened up some opportunity in the Seattle backfield. Reports on Rawls' recovery have been murky and inconsistent all through the offseason, but one concrete piece of information we have now is that Michael is the top running back on the depth chart for Week 1.

If Rawls plays, he is expected to see a limited workload, and Michael will still be a very strong fantasy option. There will be no shortage of opportunity for Seahawks running backs, as they are currently 10-point favorites over the Miami Dolphins, and the game script will likely be working in their favor.

Adding Michael to your roster also offers some potential long-term value. There is the uncertainty about Rawls' health (both in terms of returning to a full workload and whether it takes him some time to shake off the injury rust), and Michael has shown some promise in his limited playing time.

His 0.03 Rushing NEP per carry ranked 13th among the 72 running backs to see at least 50 carries in 2015. Combine that with the fact that Seattle has been among the five most run-heavy teams in each of the past three seasons, and it's not a stretch to think that Michael may end up sticking as a useful fantasy asset throughout the season.