Sure, everyone knows to pick the stars in fantasy leagues.  But league winners are the guys who mine the second tier of players for breakout candidates and I’m going to profile six of those players to target.  Here we go:

J.J. Hickson, PF/C, Cleveland Cavaliers - The Cavaliers brought 22-year old J.J. Hickson along slowly in his first two years in the NBA.  With LeBron James off to Miami the Cavs will need some players to step up and I believe the best one of those guys will be Hickson.  Byron Scott (Cavs’ new head coach) favors a more up tempo offense and Hickson can run like the wind.  Hickson played in 81 games (73 starts) for the Cavs last year and he averaged 20.9 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game as he shot 55.4% from the floor.  He has now played in 143 games (73 starts) in his two years in the NBA and he has averaged 16.8 minutes, 6.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

Darren Collison, PG, Indiana Pacers - 23-year old point guard Darren Collison was traded to the Pacers over the summer and he might have a monster year.  He played in 76 games (37 starts) for the Hornets as a rookie last season and he averaged 27.8 minutes, 12.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Collison also shot well from everywhere on the court as a rookie hitting 47.7% from the floor, 40.0% on threes and he made 85.1% of his free throws.  Collison was outstanding when replacing Chris Paul in the starting lineup when he was injured.  No such roadblocks are in his way in Indiana so look for him to have a big year.

Martell Webster, SG/SF, Minnesota Timberwolves:  The T-Wolves traded for 23-year old Martell Webster on draft day with the idea of starting him at SG to boost the offense.  Webster played in 82 games (49 starts) for the Blazers last year and he averaged 24.5 minutes, 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  He has now played in 301 games (164 starts) in his five years in the NBA and he has averaged 23.2 minutes, 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  Webster is a good outside shooter who could easily average 15.0 points per game as long as he gets starters’ minutes.

Kevin Love, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves:  22-year old power forward Kevin Love apparently couldn’t co-exist with Al Jefferson in Minnesota because they had very similar games.  With Jefferson off to Utah, look out for Kevin Love who could lead the NBA in rebounding while averaging 18-20 points per night.  Love played in 60 games (22 starts) for the T-Wolves last year and he averaged 28.6 minutes, 14.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.  He has now played in 141 games (59 starts) in his two years in the NBA and he has averaged 26.7 minutes, 12.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.  The sky is literally the limit for Kevin Love.

Anthony Morrow, SG, New Jersey Nets - Look out for this guy.  He is one of the best long range shooters in the league and now he has a starting job.  Morrow played in 69 games (37 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 29.2 minutes, 13.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  The 24-year old Morrow has played in 136 games (54 starts) in his two years in the NBA and he has averaged 26.0 minutes, 11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  Morrow has shot 47.2% from the floor, 46% from three point range and 87.9% from the free throw line in his NBA career.

Paul Millsap, PF, Utah Jazz - With Carlos Boozer off to the Chicago Bulls, power forward now belongs to Paul Millsap.  Millsap played in 82 games (8 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 27.8 minutes, 11.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  He has now played in 322 games (49 starts) in his four years in the NBA and he has averaged 24.0 minutes, 9.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  Millsap has also hit 52.7% of his shots from the floor so he will be a weapon for the Jazz this year.

You can thank me later as long as you get a couple of these guys to anchor your fantasy team.

I have uncovered some deep sleepers that I really like for this season.  Hopefully if you get one of these guys they will help you win a title in 2010.  Here we go:

QUARTERBACKS:  Matt Cassel has some new weapons to play with in 2010 with Dexter McCluster and Thomas Jones on hand.  With Charlie Weis calling the plays I see the Chiefs’ offense improving by leaps and bounds in 2010.  Alex Smith has a lot of good offensive talent around him.  Hopefully he keeps his eyes on the prize and improves in 2010.

RUNNING BACKS:  Tim Hightower might be below Beanie Wells on the depth chart when the season begins, but Wells was brittle in college.  Hightower would be a good pick regardless because he gets a lot of action around the goal line and he catches a lot of passes.  Darren McFadden might finally be ready to show the world that he has something to offer on a NFL field.  Michael Bush broke his thumb last week so McFadden might get a lot of touches early in the year.  Chester Taylor is a pass catching back in a offense that is going to throw the ball 40+ times every single week.

WIDE RECEIVERS:  Here is where the real bargains are.  Legedu Naanee will likely be starting at WR for the Chargers this year due to Vincent Jackson acting like a little kid.  He will get some numbers for you if you pick him.  Laurent Robinson is suddenly the Rams’ #1 WR due to Donnie Avery’s injury last week.  He’s brittle though so be careful not to take him too high.  Louis Murphy is the best receiver the Raiders have.  Don’t laugh because Murphy is very fast and Jason Campbell will be throwing to him this year.  Harry Douglas of the Falcons will be starting early in the year due to a Michael Jenkins injury.  He has a nice upside.

TIGHT ENDS:  The Bengals have not had a quality pass catching TE in ages so it will be interesting to see how many times Carson Palmer looks Jermaine Gresham’s way.  But the Bengals have big plans for Gresham who they picked in the first round last April.  Alge Crumpler hasn’t been a difference maker  since his time in Atlanta with Michael Vick.  Still, Crumpler gets a boost here now that he will be catching passes from Tom Brady.

KICKERS:  Ryan Succop might have been the last pick of the NFL Draft in 2009 but he started every game for the Chiefs.  He could be scoring a lot of points this year due to a improved Chiefs’ offense in 2010.

It’s time to look at sleepers in Fantasy Football as almost every league champion needs a couple of them on his/her roster in order to win it all.  Here we go:

QUARTERBACK:  Kevin Kolb got the keys to the car for the Eagles’ offense after they dealt Donovan McNabb to the Redskins.  Kolb inherits a offense with a lot of playmakers so I think he’s going to put up outstanding numbers in 2010.  Matthew Stafford of the Lions has moments when he reminds me of John Elway.  With new weapons like Jahvid Best, Tony Scheffler and Nate Burleson around I look for him to improve by leaps and bounds in 2010.

RUNNING BACKS:  Arian Foster could put up huge numbers for the Texans as he is now the #1 guy.  He looked good at the end of last year and teams will be ganging up to stop Matt Schaub and the air attack.  Think 1,400 yards + quite a few TDs in 2010 as long as he can stay healthy.  Lesean McCoy will be taking over as the main man in the Eagles running game.  That means he will not only rush for a lot of yards but he will catch quite a few passes.

WIDE RECEIVERS:  With Vincent Jackson acting like a little kid in San Diego someone has to replace him as Philip Rivers’ favorite target.  I’m betting on Malcolm Floyd being that guy as he has the same exact skill set as Jackson has.  Mike Wallace of the Steelers will inherit Santonio Holmes spot in the starting lineup.  He has even more speed than Holmes as long as the QBs can get him the football.  Devin Aromoshodu really clicked late last season with Jay Cutler.  With the mad scientist (Mike Martz) calling the plays I look for Aromoshodu to have a really big year.

TIGHT ENDS:  The Cleveland Browns don’t have much at WR so look for Ben Watson to get a ton of looks in the passing game in 2010.  He has the skills to easily catch 50+ passes with 6 or more TD grabs in 2010.  Tony Scheffler will be working the middle of the field for the Lions and a TE is a young QB’s best friend.

KICKER:  David Buehler doesn’t have much experience but he will be kicking for the high octane offense of the Dallas Cowboys.  Expect him to score points in droves this year.