Vinny Curry (DE, PHI) - Fantasy Football Sleepers

SLEEPER STATUS: Undrafted In IDP Leagues

ANALYSIS: Vinny Curry has been on the Eagles for three years, and in those three years he has a modest 4 sacks and 31 tackles. When comparing to other superstar defensive ends like JJ Watt, Robert Quinn, or even next tier players like Muhammed Wilkerson it's nothing special. But here is where the basic NFL stats fail to really capture the full value of defensive players. Vinny Curry entered the league as a projected 4-3 Pass Rushing Defensive End but was drafted to a Philadelphia Eagles team that now runs a 3-4. In this scheme, Curry is used primarily as a pass rusher although from a different position. Even so, on 217 snaps against the pass he always rushed the passer. On those snaps, he had 5 sacks, 5 QB hits, and 22 QB hurries. According to PFF, that made him the second most effective 3-4 pass rusher last season, beat only by JJ Watt and one spot above New Orleans Pass Rushing breakout Cameron Jordan.

Curry is due for a breakout season, and with last year being so very good for him, this will be the year. Another note in the Curry story and why he is due, would be the math rushers formula developed a few years ago in a Green Bay Packers forum. The formula used combine results in order to determine the athletic rating of a player, and use that to find future success. In the years of it's use, it actually had a very good success rate of figuring out players potential. Curry's combine results put him right alongside many other Pro Bowl level pass rushers, so pick him up with confidence at the end of IDP drafts or off the waiver wire.