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Each fantasy season, there is a new crop of fantasy “sleepers” chosen who could burst out onto the scene as fantasy studs. Granted it’s hit or miss, it’s hard to predict exactly if a sleeper pick will be successful.
Nevertheless, you can always try and make logical assumptions, which is what I’m here to do with the New Orleans Saints’ Adam Trautman. New Orleans has a paper-thin receiving corps for either Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill heading into 2021 as standout WR Michael Thomas will be out for the beginning of the campaign after undergoing ankle surgery this summer.
This means relatively unknown guys must pick up the receiving slack and who better than the tight end Trautman? Let’s break down Trautman’s fantasy value for this season and why he’s a sleeper.
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2020 Recap
The Saints scooped up Trautman in the third round of the 2020 draft out of Dayton. The 24-year-old had a very modest rookie season last year, as he amassed only 15 receptions for 171 yards and a score on 16 targets in 15 games. A lot of that can be attributed to him playing behind veteran TE Jared Cook on the depth chart.
Those numbers shouldn’t define Trautman’s value though as he upped his game in each of four college seasons at Dayton before it culminated in a tremendous senior season in 2019 where the TE accumulated 70 receptions for 916 yards and 14 touchdowns in 11 games. The potential is there.
Why Trautman is a Sleeper
So, why is this TE suddenly a sleeper in fantasy for 2021 after a modest rookie campaign? Well, it’s as simple as a war of attrition for the Saints in terms of receiving help. For one, two of the top three receivers from last year are now gone.
Emmanuel Sanders has headed north to Buffalo while Jared Cook is now playing with the Chargers. Those two combined had 98 receptions for 1,230 yards and 12 touchdowns on 142 targets in 2020.
On top of that, usual WR1 Michael Thomas could miss a quarter of the season or more due to ankle surgery that was performed on him in June. That leaves guys like Tre’Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway, and Deonte Harris to be the top WRs for this team.
None of these guys is elite or proven so they have no reason to be considered ahead of Trautman on the overall receiving depth chart.
To give it more perspective, Smith hasn’t eclipsed more than 448 yards in three NFL seasons, Callaway only mustered 213 yards in his 2020 rookie year, while Harris also hasn’t eclipsed more than 186 yards in any of his two NFL seasons and is undersized (5’6”, 170).
To sum it up, the Saints have a lot of targets up for grabs (naturally Alvin Kamara may take some but can’t take all) which means some guys have to step up. Trautman should be considered the TE1 and the WRs shouldn’t pose too much of a threat for targets to Trautman given they are not on Thomas’ level.
The Dayton product has a real chance to soak this opportunity in and emerge as a top receiving option in this otherwise talent-less receiving corps. In a position devoid of top-end talent, Trautman has the potential to be a real TE fantasy sleeper and maybe a low-end starter if things go the right way.
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