Fantasy Football: One Deep Sleeper Candidate From Every NFL Team

Justin Hardy, WR, Atlanta Falcons

There are certain NFL rosters that just seem "locked" to potential deep sleepers, and the Atlanta Falcons' offense certainly appears to be one of those. The quarterback position is set with Matt Ryan and veteran Matt Schaub. The team already goes three deep at running back with Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman and Terron Ward. And at receiver, Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu and Taylor Gabriel are locked into their roles. Austin Hooper is a popular breakout candidate, but he is too high profile to be considered a deep sleeper.

So let's take a look at Justin Hardy. The 2015 fourth-round pick stands at just 5'10" and 192 pounds, but that didn't hamper him in college. His competitive attitude is what allowed him to stand out against the more athletic defensive backs he faced while playing at East Carolina.

His closest athletic comparison is Doug Baldwin, per PlayerProfiler.com, but testing alone does not make an NFL wideout. While his leaping ability, hands and agility are all fantastic, you just don't see Hardy playing with the same urgency and acceleration that allow Baldwin to dominate. But certainly the skills are there to become a receiver in the Jarvis Landry mold.

Unfortunately, the Kyle Shanahan offense never really had a need for that type of role, often funneling targets to the lead receiver while taking deep shots off play action to speedsters down the field. But with Shanahan now the head coach in San Francisco, perhaps Hardy can find a greater role in 2017.

It is worth noting that Hardy was a major factor for the Falcons in the red zone, recording four touchdowns on only 21 receptions in that area, and earning him an above-average 0.79 Receiving Net Expected Points (NEP) per target. (You can read more about NEP in our glossary.) That outpaced the steady but not flashy Mohamed Sanu’s 0.68 number. Still, the limited volume makes it difficult to assess if Hardy can truly breakout, or if he's just an effective role player with limited opportunity.

Without an injury to either Jones or Sanu, Hardy should remain on the waiver wire. But it is certainly worth monitoring his usage and development as he heads into his third season.