Fantasy Football: One Deep Sleeper Candidate From Every NFL Team

Kasen Williams, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Outside of Kenny Golladay, perhaps no first-year receiver has made the preseason highlight reel more than Seattle Seahawks rookie Kasen Williams. Through his first two preseason games, he racked up 6 receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown, including an acrobatic one handed snag over Pro Bowl corner Xavier Rhodes. More importantly for his roster spot, however, he's been a force on special teams, as well.

A devastating broken leg and displaced foot injury in 2013 caused his draft stock to take a massive hit, and while he returned to the field as a senior for Washington, he clearly wasn't the same player. The lack of explosiveness impacted his testing before the 2015 NFL Draft, and the 6'1", 218 pound receiver went undrafted before making his way to the Seahawks' practice squad. This summer, the young receiver has been making his impact both on the field and during practice.

Ahead of him on the depth chart is the oft-injured duo of Paul Richardson and Tyler Lockett, with the latter just now returning to the field following a gruesome leg injury late last season. Richardson also has struggled to stay out of the training room, with a shoulder injury limiting him following his first preseason action. Both receivers are very talented in their own rights and certainly have sleeper appeal, but the lack of health and consistency has relegated them to spot duty throughout their young careers.

Doug Baldwin and Jimmy Graham are definitely locked into big roles, and Russell Wilson has yet to demonstrate that he can support multiple fantasy assets in the passing game, so Williams certainly isn't a player worth rostering at this point. In 2016, the combined targets of Jermaine Kearse, Lockett, and Richardson came to 191, and perhaps the hope is that this could be consolidated to a certain extent into one player.

Kearse was signed to a contract extension before last season, but he was a disaster in 2016 in terms of value, totaling a Target NEP of -5.43 and a Reception NEP per target of just 0.49, both well below the league averages. If Lockett and Richardson struggle to stay on the field, perhaps Williams will be given a long look as the second receiver on the team behind Baldwin.

He is certainly a player to keep tabs on as the final week of the preseason unfolds.