Ian Book is a major dynasty sleeper at QB

By: Jeremy Trottier

Dynasty football is going to be relatively interesting this year compared to most as there is a huge amount of depth from this draft class, which has made many rosters already filled to max capacity for most members of dynasty leagues.  In IDP leagues, this is even more relevant as players from both side of the ball are included.  Some of these players tend to fall through the cracks, whether your league is re-drafting fully or just doing a rookie draft.  

In this article, I will be going over some of the players who tend to fall into free agency from the drafts, why they fell, and why you should consider picking them up during the draft when possible.  

Ian Book ”“ QB ”“ New Orleans Saints

Starting off with a rookie, we have the Saints 4^th round pick this year in Ian Book.  Coming in from Notre Dame, and having a smaller mold as a QB, he fell into day three of the draft and has been overlooked by most dynasty users despite being young.  On Sleeper Fantasy Football, Book is currently only rostered by 48% of teams, granted that will likely go up with more drafts happening by the day, however.  

The reason I find Ian to be an interesting option is because of the Saints other options at QB, as well as their offensive scheme.  The other two starting options for New Orleans are Jameis Winston, who is relatively unproven in this offense and is only on a one-year deal, so if he does perform who knows if he will stay with New Orleans rather than seeking more money in a Teddy Bridgewater type move.  Taysom Hill being the second option, who will be 31 years of age by the start of the season, and even while being “extended” this offseason, the whole extension is voidable, so it almost guarantees him being moved off the roster by the 2022 offseason.  

This leaves (aside from some camp arms) Ian Book, who will get a season to learn from the Saints development staff, QB coach, and Sean Payton.  He will also learn some of the scheme and playbook from the previously mentioned QBs, as well as Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, and other offensive players who have been in the system for a few years now.  Overall, he could definitely have potential to start at some point in the future if the other QB options underperform.

Antonio Gandy-Golden ”“ WR ”“ Washington Football Team

The 2020 rookie wideout Antonio Gandy-Golden missed most of his rookie season, only playing in six games, and starting two.  He was placed on IR due to a hamstring injury, and was removed late in the season but got held out by coaches decision.  With that said, he should be WR3 for a time, or split outside in rotation with Terry McLaurin or Curtis Samuel.  His rookie year was relatively slim in terms of playing time, but with more snaps and more starts he should be able to produce at a relatively high level.

The main part of his game that is strong is his physical frame, at 6’4”, 223 pounds, and with 31 ¾” individual arm length, he has a fantastic redzone reception type body, which can compete for contested catches almost constantly.  He also had 22 reps on the combine bench press, an 127” broad jump, and a respectable 4.6 40-yard dash.  Due to all of this, he has an extremely wide catch radius, and has very good ball tracking abilities.  In a dynasty league, at the very least, he should be a taxi stash for another year, and then moved into a bench role after this season for bye weeks or injuries to starters.

Denzel Mims ”“ WR ”“ New York Jets

Another sophomore receiver who missed more than half of his rookie campaign, we have the Jets 59^th overall pick last year in Denzel Mims.  When on the field, Mims was plagued by drops and poor throws due to the inconsistency of Sam Darnold, which likely was because of a relatively poor offensive line outside Mekhi Becton.  Mims ended an up and down rookie campaign with 23 receptions on 44 targets (52.3%) for 357 yards.  

The main part of his game that was impressive was his yards per reception, which was 15.5.  Now with a potentially elite franchise QB, with a much more explosive nature on the field, his stats should only greatly improve throughout the 2021-2022 campaign.

Damien Williams ”“ RB ”“ Chicago Bears

Moving onto the RB position we have a Super Bowl winning running back in Damien Williams, who many people have forgotten about since 2020.  As a reminder, he led the comeback in Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and was pretty effective in the 2019 season before his opt out in 2020.  

A dual threat back who was able to make do with the snaps he got in 2019, and had 711 scrimmage yards on 141 touches and only 1 fumble.  He also had an 81.1% catch percentage, which for 37 targets was not too bad at all (30 receptions on the 37 targets).  He also had the longest run in 2019, being 91 yards, which is attached below.

At the end of the day, his value should be relatively good at least for a few seasons, and he is worth stashing on your bench being RB2 in Chicago now alongside David Montgomery.

Jeff Okudah ”“ CB ”“ Detroit Lions

One more for the IDP fans such as myself, we have last years #3 overall pick, who has been exceptionally overlooked in a lot of cases.  Returning from a lackluster rookie year with injuries, he should be able to perform better with a new coaching staff and scheme, while simultaneously having a season of experience under his belt.

A lot of DBs in the league take a season or two to develop, as they have to learn how to adjust to the new speed and strength of NFL level receivers.  Jeff Okudah, being CB1 on the Lions still, should be primed to have quite a few tackles at the very least, with some interceptions and PBUs to go along with it if your league scores them.