Winning your fantasy football league often has nothing to do with making the correct first or even second-round pick.

Let’s face it, when you’re deciding to take either Clinton Portis or Tiki Barber, you’re not going to lose out on much with either pick. As long as your top pick stays healthy, more often than not, he’s going to produce for you – a Jamal Lewis-type meltdown aside.

Fantasy football leagues are usually decided by what you do after those first few rounds. In fact, by drafting well in the later rounds – identifying sleepers and undervalued players – you can even recover from having your first-round pick flop.

Even if you had Jamal Lewis as your top pick last year, if you grabbed, say, Willie Parker in the latter rounds of your draft – and people who are members of this site knew Parker would be in the running for the Steelers’ starting job in the spring – it wasn’t the end of the world when Lewis tanked for much of the 2006 season.

But how do you identify who’s a keeper sleeper and who’s a sleeper who’s not going to wake up?

One way would be to read pretty much every newspaper in every NFL city. Of course you’d better have a lot of free time on your hands. Another way is to join 4for4.com and let the fine group of correspondents here do the legwork for you.

That said, here’s my early list of players I feel are going to break out in a big way in 2006.

Ronnie Brown, RB, Miami. ADP = 10
Brown won’t be sharing carries with Ricky Williams this season and the addition of Daunte Culpepper will keep opposing defenses from stacking too many players in the box. A former first-round pick, Brown isn’t a deep sleeper. But in this offense, he’ll outperform many of the running backs taken ahead of him in fantasy drafts. Look for Brown to be a top-five fantasy back this season.

Joseph Addai, RB, Indianapolis. ADP = 55
Addai likely won’t open the season as the starter unless Dominic Rhodes is injured in training camp. But as the season wears on, look for Addai to take over more of the running duties in the Colts offense. He’s a great receiver out of the backfield and solid between the tackles. Addai could be this year’s Carnell Williams.

Steven Jackson, RB, St. Louis. ADP = 6
Last year was supposed to be the season he broke out big. Jackson did gain 1,000 yards, but with all of the other distractions in St. Louis, he didn’t have the kind of season everyone expected. He will this season with Scott Linehan running things.

Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants. ADP = 54
Manning has been overshadowed by Ben Roethlisberger, a quarterback selected behind him in the 2004 draft. But Manning has slowly been getting better and this should be the season he breaks out and becomes a top-notch fantasy performer. He’s got great weapons around him and the Giants could contend for the Super Bowl in the NFC. He won’t be as valuable as big brother Peyton, but the gap will close this year.

Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh. ADP = 95
Don’t let the motorcycle accident scare you away. Prior to his accident, Roethlisberger was throwing the ball better than he ever has in his two-plus seasons with the Steelers. He’s been a big winner in the NFL, but his stats haven’t followed, as the Steelers have taken the air out of the ball in the second half when they’ve gotten leads. But the defending Super Bowl champs will have a big target on them this season and it will be more difficult for them to grab those leads. Plus, without Jerome Bettis to play keepaway, the Steelers will throw the ball a little more this season than in the past. Remember, Roethlisberger led the NFL in yards per attempt and tied for the league in touchdown percentage last season. He’ll be undervalued in this year’s draft, but is a top-15 fantasy quarterback.

Ernest Wilford, WR, Jacksonville. ADP = 116
With Jimmy Smith’s retirement, the Jaguars are in desperate need for one of their young wideouts to step into a No. 1 role. Wilford has nice size and a good rapport with quarterback Byron Leftwich. Many will jump on the overhyped Matt Smith as the Jags’ top receiver. But Wilford will outproduce both Smith and Reggie Williams, both first-round picks, and be the Jags’ top receiver this season. Reggie Brown, WR, Philadelphia. Now that the Terrell Owens soap opera is over, the Eagles will be searching for a No. 1 receiver. Brown is the top candidate to fill that role. He’s got good size and speed and is poised for a breakout season.

Reche Caldwell, WR, New England. ADP = 150+
Tom Brady spreads the ball around better than any quarterback in the NFL. And he can only throw so many passer per game to No. 1 receiver Deion Branch. Caldwell was a flop in San Diego, but will catch 50-plus passes for the Patriots this season.

Heath Miller, TE, Pittsburgh. ADP = 98
Remember how I mentioned earlier that Roethlisberger looked good throwing the ball this offseason? His primary target on many of those throws, was Miller, the Steelers’ top pick last season. Many made a big deal about the loss of Antwaan Randle El, saying the Steelers had lost their No. 2 receiver. But Miller was second on the team with 39 receptions and six touchdowns, far outproducing Randle El. This season, he’ll catch 60 passes and at the very least match his touchdown total from a year ago.

Kellen Winslow II, TE, Cleveland. ADP = 111
This will finally be the season we get to see what Winslow can do on the football field. Provided he hasn’t lost any of his athleticism, Winslow should easily be a top-10 tight end pick, providing second-year QB Charlie Fry with a safety valve.