I could’ve mailed it in for Week 1 and easily selected Zach Pascal or KJ Hamler as a dynasty “sleeper” but I’m digging a bit deeper into my sleeper bag for a player who actually fits that bill and should be on waivers in virtually every league. Behold, the great Pharaoh Brown!
SLEEPER HISTORY
Pharaoh Brown may be on waivers in every one of your leagues, even after your league’s waiver run this week, and that doesn’t quite compute for me. Brown entered the league as an undrafted free agent signed to the then Oakland Raiders in 2017, later being waived, only to be signed by the Cleveland Browns shortly after his release. He didn’t get the chance to show off his striking size and prove his ability to find zones and post up defenders after being placed on the physically unable to perform list and subsequently being released by the Browns.
The young tight end eventually found a home with the Houston Texans in 2020 where he finally caught his first professional touchdown. His opportunities were limited last season and he finished with just 14 receptions on 16 targets for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Brown has demonstrated the capability to stretch the field, he’s maintained 12.9 yards per reception over his career. He currently posts an 83.3% career catch rate, albeit on just 24 NFL targets, but even going back to his college days he maintained a very high catch rate.
SLEEPER HERE AND NOW
Fast-forward to Week 1 of 2021 and Pharaoh Brown is tied for second on the team in target share (15.6%) along with Danny Amendola and right behind the veteran Brandin Cooks. More importantly, Brown finished second in yards per team pass attempt (2.03), which highlights just how involved he is in this offense. Any total above two yards per team pass attempt is considered exceptional. Every time I flipped over to this game the ball seemed to be going in Brown’s direction. He’s like a thief in the night the way he stole the starting tight end role. He’s 6’6” 255 pounds and a nightmare for defenders to line up across from. His catch radius makes for a very secure target from quarterback Tyrod Taylors’ perspective.
Brown finished with four receptions on five targets for 67 yards in the win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Brown finished with 10.7 fantasy points, good for the TE12 with that stat line, both indicating how much of a barren wasteland the tight end position is in fantasy outside the top-five and that Brown could easily be fantasy-relevant week over week as a fill-in.
DYNASTY ANALYSIS
Unfortunately, Brown is already 27 years old and doesn’t hit any of the historical thresholds for college dominator rating, breakout age, or even college yards per attempt. That said, the opportunity is on his side and the Texans have absolutely nothing at the tight end position behind him. In the past, Brown has exhibited struggles as a blocker but truthfully I don’t think that’s what the Texans are concerned with at the position right now. They need production.
The Texans drafted Brevin Jordan this year who can’t even seem to sniff the field, so if Brown can put together a solid season he may play his way into a short-term contract in Houston and provide dynasty managers with a bit more long-term stability. He’s free and could prove useful as a bye-week fill-in or streaming option at the tight end position for dynasty contenders all year long.
Thank you for reading. If you have any thoughts or questions and would like to discuss them, you can reach out to me on Twitter @WillieBeamanDFF.
