Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
After the Week 1 performance by Julius Thomas (two TDs, five REC, 110 YDS, seven TGTS), it is probably too late to pick him up as the No. 1 tight end option in your fantasy league.
Because while he wasn’t owned in more than two percent of leagues before this week, chances are everyone in your league was hitting the waiver wires to pick up the third-year tight end who could be primed for a breakout year. But that is okay, because as Peyton Manning showed, there are plenty enough balls to go around.
For this reason, Thomas isn’t the only undrafted fantasy player that will be relevant in 2013. Another name to keep an eye on, especially in deep leagues and ones with flex options, would be Andre Caldwell.
Caldwell was targeted just once in the Denver Broncos‘ 49-27 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. It was for 28 yards and a score, giving him eight points in standard leagues and nine in PPR formats.
Obviously, this is low-end third wide receiver at best and since he only had one target, plugging Caldwell into your lineup is a huge risk. That said, Manning spread the ball to seven different receivers and should continue to do this throughout the season. While it won’t be much, Caldwell should have a decent fantasy year and will undoubtedly have the best year of his career.
Defenses are going to have their hands full with Eric Decker (seven targets), Demaryius Thomas (11) and Wes Welker (11), so Caldwell might occasionally find himself with an open field, much like the way he did in the season opener. And while Manning is going to first look to his top three as well as J. Thomas, Caldwell emerged in the preseason as someone who can be trusted with the ball.
Considering the available wide receivers that might be left in free agency, especially in deep leagues, you could do worse than taking a chance on Caldwell as a deep sleeper.
Marilee Gallagher is a baseball writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow her on Twitter @MGallagher17 like her page on Facebook, or join her network on Google.
