Once LaDainian Tomlinson's understudy, Michael Turner may be one of the few feature players worth seeing this season in Atlanta. AP Football Preview   Position Rankings Jay Clemons: Top 200 Overall Players Greg Ambrosius: Top 75 Running Backs Greg Ambrosius: Top 30 Tight Ends Greg Ambrosius: Top 60 Quarterbacks Greg Ambrosius: Top 25 Kickers Greg Ambrosius: Top 25 Defenses Greg Ambrosius: Top 75 Wide Receivers Analysis Will Carroll: Quarterback injury report Gary Gramling: Most generous defenses Position battle: The 49ers QB derby Tom Carpenter: Potential breakout stars Will Carroll: Preseason injury prognoses From RotoExperts.com Scott Engel: 75 tips to success Matthew Greber: Top fantasy sleepers Paul Bourdett: Top fantasy busts Play Fantasy Football Sign up for SI's FREE fantasy football

By Matthew Greber, RotoExperts.com, Special to SI.com

The following article is a free preview piece from RotoExperts.com 2008 Fantasy Football Draft Central. The kit includes nearly 70 strategic advice columns, positional analyses, team previews, and draft tools, so register today at http://www.rotoexperts.com/ to see the full range of coverage.

Before we even take one step forward in this column, let's take at least one step back. What is a "sleeper?" In this day of rapid information, it's almost impossible for a moderately interested fantasy sports player to not hear about almost every player, whether it's a guy tearing it up on the practice squad or the latest free agent signing. So do "sleepers" exist anymore? No, not in the old sense of the word -- guys who you grab while your league mates are, at least metaphorically, asleep at the wheel. But in the actual application of that term -- players who are drafted far below their actual value (which you therefore recognize, while others don't) ... they are EVERYWHERE.

I prefer to call them "slippers" instead of "sleepers," because they simply slip in the draft from where they should go, not fly under the radar where folks don't know about them [Actually, my brother came up with that term, so props are due where they are due. But does he have a fantasy football column? Ha!]. Anyhow, since sleeper is the preferred nomenclature, let's run with that.

So, as we used to say back in the neighborhood, "Who ya got?"

Let's break it down by position.

Quarterbacks

Matt Leinart, Cardinals

Forget about his injury last year; the questions are whether he is the starter and whether his offseason shenanigans will affect him. Leinart is extremely talented and has one of the best set of receivers in the league. What's more, the running game is getting worse and worse, meaning this could be an air show in the desert. Use Leinart's somewhat shaky status and grab him late -- he could easily be a top-10 quarterback when all is said and done.

Matt Schaub, Texans

Maybe folks just don't trust quarterbacks named Matt. Schaub had inconsistent starts before getting hurt last season, but the guy has an absolute hose for an arm and throws to one of the best wide receivers in the league, Andre Johnson. You don't have to draft Schaub as your starter, but there's a good chance he'll unseat guys in the lower half of the top 10 QBs drafted before mid-season.

Philip Rivers, Chargers

After tossing 22 touchdowns in 2006 and 21 TDs last season, Rivers shouldn't be on this list -- except that he's recovering from a torn ACL. That should scare some owners away, and if that's the case, Rivers could be a big time value. With a full season of receiver Chris Chambers and the expected development of receivers like Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd, plus the best tight end in the league, Antonio Gates, Rivers has tons of options. And oh, did we mention he's got a pretty good running back sharing the backfield? Keep an eye on his health updates, but downplay them for your league mates if he looks sturdy.

(Here's something worth noting -- RotoExperts writer Paul Bourdett, and undoubtedly others, disagree with me about Rivers. Indeed, he included Rivers in his "Busts" column in this same Draft Kit. That's fine, of course -- and in fact, I'm thrilled to hear it. Why? Because the more doubt there is about Rivers, the cheaper I (and you) can grab him. Paul and I are going to have a running bet on Rivers this season, which we'll update in our various columns throughout the year.)

Who's not on this list:

Aaron Rodgers, Packers. His one game of filling in well for Favre notwithstanding, Rodgers has almost no in-game experience, and the team is more likely to suffer from Favre-free-malaise for awhile. I'm not optimistic. Whether or not the rumors about Favre wanting to play for another season are true or not, Rodgers is simply not a plug-and-play option here. He's going to have some serious growing pains, and I personally don't have Seaver Fever (That's a 1980s sitcom reference, for you young-uns). Other folks might tell you that Alex Smith, 49ers, is another sleeper candidate. As a diehard 49ers fan, I'm here to tell you to pass (Ouch, that's a bad pun). I know Mike Martz still has some street cred here, but Smith has to throw to someone, and Isaac Bruce is his No. 1 wide receiver. Bruce could be Smith's father, I think. Look elsewhere.

Running backs

Michael Turner, Falcons

I'm not one of the guys who thinks Turner will simply take his career 5.5 yards per carry and keep it going in the Georgia Dome. But Turner is being listed as barely a RB2 (that is, maybe going as the 19th or 20th RB overall). If that's the case, he should provide some pretty good value, because Turner is as talented as any other back in the league. Yeah, you heard that right. As bad as the Falcons are -- and they are in contention for being the worst team in the entire NFL -- running the ball hasn't been something with which the Falcons have ever struggled. With Warrick Dunn leaving the team, there is no one else really threatening to take carries away besides Jerious Norwood, who hasn't proven himself yet. Turner could be a very nice surprise this season, so grab him if he's lingering in your draft for too long.

Kevin Smith, Lions

Now this is the kind of 'sleeper' most folks want ... a hotshot rookie, right? The Lions made a huge change this off-season, dumping Kevin Jones for ... Kevin Smith. Don't worry; this isn't the director of Clerks, who undoubtedly has a really slow 40-yard-dash time. But even still, don't put too many eggs in this basket -- Smith is no Adrian Peterson, but he also might provide you with some value. He plays in Detroit, which hasn't been a great fantasy landscape for awhile, but Smith has the tools to bring his owners some good value. At this point, you don't have to draft him as anything but a flex back, and he could easily provide upside value from there. He has been worked a LOT, averaging more than 30 carries a game last season, but he's a big, bruising guy (6-foot-1, 211 lbs) and has no real threat to take away his carries.