Entering the 2019 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a strong core of potential fantasy football contributors, however one has potential to pay off big.
With football season vastly approaching, fantasy football is right there with it; it is with excitement that I typed those words. As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look to have a high powered offense, they will have a ton significant fantasy contributors in 2019 as well.
As wide receiver Mike Evans and tight end O.J. Howard lead the forefront of Bucs fantasy football contributors, others such as wide out Chris Godwin and even Jameis Winston could score big time fantasy points in 2019. There is one player, however, who continues to be overlooked even though he was the starting running back and leading rusher a year ago.
Peyton Barber is the biggest fantasy sleeper that Tampa Bay has to offer, even with Ronald Jones getting a ton of hype. In fact, it is precisely because of that hype that Barber remains a sleeper, and Jones is even ranked higher on most fantasy positional boards.
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The Buccaneers enter training camp, and Barber is still sitting on top of the depth chart, while Jones is coming off of a season with one touchdown and less than 50 yards rushing. Needless to say, Jones has a long way to go before he starts syphoning carries from Barber, no matter what the public perception is.
When speaking to the media earlier this week, Barber stated that he still views himself as the underdog despite being penciled in as the starter. Barber is not going to easily surrender carries that he earned with his performance a year ago, and even more, he could prove that he deserves even more touches with his gritty attitude and a strong camp.
In that same press conference, Barber revealed that new head coach is expecting his running backs to do more than they were expected to do one year ago under Dirk Koetter. Part of these increased responsibilities include catching the ball out of the backfield, which is music to the ears of fantasy players who play in points per reception leagues.
Barber continues to be slept on in Tampa Bay, but also on mainstream fantasy outlets. It would be a wise investment to pass on Jones, and instead go all in on Barber as he has a good chance to improve upon his numbers from last year. It is time to wake up and select Barber in fantasy football leagues.