Defensive Back Sleepers

Photo: USA Today Sports

There was a time when a fantasy player could find unknown players who were ready to explode. These unrecognized players were dubbed "sleepers" because the rest of your leaguemates were not yet awake to them.

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And we also got our fantasy stats out of the next day's newspaper. Yes, fantasy games used to be scored over a period of days.

Things change.

Today, the stats are instant, and everyone knows about everyone. As such, the definition of a sleeper has evolved. To be clear, we define sleepers as players who we think will perform better than most expect and be undervalued at their average draft position.

Our staff recently gathered to offer up their sleepers. Here they are.

Defensive Back Sleepers from Tripp Brebner

Brandon Jones, Denver

Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has a long track record producing fantasy-relevant safeties. He's also been known to blitz from anywhere. Incoming UFA Brandon Jones is one of the most effective pass-rushing safeties in the league.

Darnell Savage, Jacksonville

Ryan Nielsen sought out Jessie Bates III in free agency for the Falcons last year. Bates completed one of the top five fantasy safety seasons in the past five years. Now in Jacksonville, Nielsen has tabbed safety Darnell Savage in free agency. No, Savage isn't the same caliber of player as Bates, but Nielsen's aggressive defense will fuel a top-24 DB season for Savage.

Julian Blackmon, Indianapolis

Julian Blackmon ranked fourth among all safeties in fantasy points by Footballguys scoring through 15 weeks before an injury cut his season short. His only impediments to a top-24 season at the position are injury or a switch to free safety (under consideration at training camp as of this writing).

Defensive Back Sleepers from John Norton

Jeremy Chinn, Washington

The Panthers were unable or unwilling to settle on what role Chinn would have in their scheme. He was a deep safety for a season, a box safety, and even a safety/nickel linebacker for a while. The only thing consistent about his time in Carolina was statistical production. No matter where they put him, if it was in the field of play, he put up good numbers in one form or another. There is no confusion among the Commanders' coaching staff. Chinn will be a strong safety who is likely to line up in the box on running-downs. This role made Kamren Curl a solid second starter for us over the last couple of seasons. I'll be shocked if it doesn't return Chinn to the top twelve in 2024.

Ifeatu Melifonwu, Detroit

We hear the noise about Brian Branch playing more safety this year. He is the high-profile, former second-day draft pick getting all the attention, but don't let that blind you to what Melifonwu brought to the table last year and will bring again in 2024.

Melifonwu is a former corner who played sparingly while battling injuries in 2021 and 2022. An injury to Tracy Walker III opened the door last season in week fourteen, and a star was born. In five regular season starts, Melifonwu racked up 19 tackles, 9 assists, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, a forced fumble, and 7 passes defended. Over that five-game span, he was the fantasy game's second-best safety at 14.7 points per game.

It was a short but impressive audition, but if the stats are not enough, consider that Pro Football Focus gave Melifonwu a very high grade. Even if Branch lines up at safety more often, Melifonwu's versatility means he will still be on the field somewhere. Detroit fielded five defensive backs on 70+ percent of the plays in 2023. With the emergence of Melifonwu, they could join the growing ranks of teams lining up with three safeties as their base defense. 

Tyler Nubin, NY Giants

There are two important factors when determining a player's IDP value. The first, and arguably most important, is his situation. Nubin is replacing Xavier McKinney, who went 78-37-0.5 with six turnovers and ranked fifth among safeties in 2023. Put a check in box one.

The second part is the player himself. Nubin was arguably the best safety in this draft class and has a similar skill set to that of McKinney. He is not the biggest or the fastest, but he has great instincts and anticipation. Nubin can play either safety spot and is not shy when it comes to supporting the run, but his biggest asset is a knack for the big play. As a three-year starter for Minnesota, he totaled 17 turnovers, including 13 interceptions. That checks box two.

There is a new coordinator in town so this will be a slightly different scheme, but history tells us that Giants safeties have been great IDP options for a long time, regardless of the coaching staff. On the other hand, if the coaching change is a red flag for you, Kevin Byard III was the fantasy game's number-one safety in 2021 and was top ten in 2022 while playing under Coach Bowen.

Brandon Jones, Denver

Jones is a player I have been high on for a while now. He gave us glimpses of strong IDP production during his time with Miami but was never able to sustain the production. Part of that was due to nagging injury issues but I put a lot of it on a coaching staff that was all over the place. His playing time will be abundant and consistent in Denver. If Jones can avoid the trainer's room, he could be pleasantly productive on the stat sheet.