Is Jerome Simpson a real fantasy football sleeper? 

Being able to predict sleepers is a very important asset to have if you want to win your fantasy football league. And as we know, predicting the future is not an exact science.

One of the more intriguing players this year, in my opinion, is Jerome Simpson. He was drafted in 2008 and has struggled at the pro level ever since. Late in 2010 he got an opportunity to play. With Terrell Owens out with an injury, Simpson played in the last three games and he made the most of it. In week 16 at home against the San Diego Chargers he caught six balls for 124 yards and two touchdowns. A phenomenal day which opened all of our eyes too the talent this young man has. He finished it off in week 17 by catching a phenomenal 12 balls for 123 yards and one touchdown, making him a possible fantasy football sleeper.

Simpson has good size standing 6'2" tall and weighing around 190 pounds. He is strong and quick. The situation is almost perfect for him to put up big fantasy football numbers. Terrell Owens is most likely not returning to the Bengals. Included is the latest rumor that TO has recently had ACL surgery on one of his knees. It is up in the air whether Chad Ochocinco will return to the Bengals. This April the Bengals did add rookie A.J. Green who is an excellent talent.

However, rookie wide receivers usually don't contribute significantly fantasy football wise their first year. Adding to this concern is the lack of OTA's and a shortened training camp could make it even tougher for rookies to come up to speed on the offensive schemes.

So it appears the Bengals will be relying heavily on Jerome Simpson as most likely their number one target in 2011. This is good news for fantasy football managers who are looking for a late round sleeper. Right now Simpson is going post 10th round in most 12 team fantasy football drafts.

And now for the bad news. With Carson Palmer leaving the team, according to Palmer, the Bengals are going to rely on rookie quarterback Andrew Dalton. This throws some cold water on Simpson's fantasy football value. What is the chance Simpson could be a top 20 receiver with a rookie quarterback throwing to him? That's the big question you have to ask yourself.

I personally believe Simpson will be a top-20 fantasy football wide receiver this year despite the fact Dalton will be throwing to him. If training camp is very short this year I may have to lower these expectations. The true definition of a sleeper is that you can take him much later in your draft then you have him forecasted. Right now his ADP is somewhere in the 50s or even lower than that. This makes him very inexpensive to draft in the ninth or tenth rounds or later.

My advice is to keep a close watch on the Bengals as we enter the preseason.

Let’s h ave some fun!

Emil Kadlec has been in the fantasy football business since 1990. Visit his site to get the latest Fantasy Football Sleepers as well as all the latest on Fantasy Football.