by Adam Caplan

If you read my blog posts last year, I periodically posted sleepers/breakout/undervalued players throughout the season. Here’s my initial list of breakout/undervalued players for 2009 which I’ll update again as we get closer to the opening of training camps.

Quarterback

Matt Ryan/Atlanta Falcons – After posting a decent 17 TD passes as a rookie, the second-year pro will now have the best tight in the NFL to throw to this season. Lets face it, the missing factor for this offense was at the tight end position. Now with Tony Gonzalez in the fold, it will be very hard for defenses to key on any one facet of Atlanta’s offense. Ryan should be a pretty good value for fantasy owners in the middle rounds and you can get him as your starter there.

Running Back

Pierre Thomas/New Orleans Saints – Thomas was a big surprise for the Saints last season considering his role wasn’t clearly defined coming into the season. However, once veteran RB Deuce McAllister’s role was reduced and Reggie Bush started struggling with knee problems, Thomas saw an increased role. While handling just under 9 carries/game, he posted a very solid 4.8 yards per carry average to go along with a [...]