Fantasy football sleepers are always fun to project, as it lets people call their shot on their favorite late-round picks.
Being a sleeper doesn’t mean a player is completely unheard of. It just means they are a bit under the radar, and they have a chance to outperform their average draft position. They are players who are typically drafted as nothing more than bench players with the upside to become starters. Every year there are a handful of players who go from bench piece and late round flyer, all the way to a consistent contributor, and sometimes fantasy stardom.
The receivers who fit this mold last season were Ladd McConkey, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jerry Jeudy, and Courtland Sutton. The former two were young players who everyone expected to rise in value, but they became locked and loaded wide receiver ones. The latter two were veterans who had been nothing more than streaky fantasy players up until last season, but they both finished within the top 16 at the position. It goes to show that sleepers can be a nice mix of rookies, as well as veterans.
The players below all have a chance to make meaningful impacts for fantasy football this year, and given their current ADP, they are all worth the gamble.
The ADP used will come from FantasyPros average draft price tool.
For anyone asking where Emeka Egbuka is, he is no longer a sleeper given the off-season hype and ADP rise.
ADP: WR 50
My Ranking: WR 48
2024-2025 Stats(13 Games)- 57 Targets, 29 Receptions, 556 Yards, 4 Touchdowns
Some people may say Keon Coleman had a disappointing rookie season. While that may be true to some extent, it doesn’t entirely break down his first year.
Over the first six weeks of the season, Coleman displayed what made him the Bills’ top draft choice, but it was nothing more than flashes. He wasn’t consistent enough to trust in fantasy lineups. Buffalo would then trade for Amari Cooper, and that put fear into the hearts of people who had Coleman on their roster, but it helped him more than it hurt him.
He would see a combined 14 targets across the next two games, and it resulted in 9 receptions for 195 yards(70 and 125), and 1 touchdown. Things began to click for Coleman with Cooper taking pressure off of him, but an injury the following week ruined a promising breakout. He missed over a month, and returned to be nothing more than an ancillary piece in the Bills’ offense.
Entering his second season, there is a lot of hope that Coleman can produce the way he did in that small two-game sample. Josh Allen needs a go-to perimeter weapon, and there is no better suited on the roster to do so than last year’s 33rd overall pick. Coleman is not an elite separator, but he is a freakish athlete with the makeup to overcome his lack of refinement on the outside. He can win downfield due to his size, as well as make plays after the catch, hence his 19.2 yards per catch.
With his big play potential, Coleman’s upside for fantasy is undeniable, but he needs to see more volume. He should see more than the four targets per game he saw last year, and that will only raise his floor, as well as his ceiling.
Coleman has all the opportunity to become the true number one target in Buffalo, and not just a piece of the puzzle. If he does so, he will be a must-start fantasy option. Who wouldn’t want Josh Allen’s number one receiver?
ADP: WR 53
My Ranking: WR 49
The Texans went from having one of the league’s best wide receiver trios in the league year with Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and Stefon Diggs, to a team searching for answers due to injuries. One of their answers was Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins, whom they selected with the 34th pick, and their first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
At 6’4, Higgins is a bigger receiver who can win at all three levels of the field, and work both inside and out. With the Texans, he will likely line up on the outside a majority of the time as Christian Kirk and fellow Iowa State Cyclone, Jaylin Noel, will operate in the slot. With Nico Collins being the premier receiving threat on the Texans, teams will put all of their attention on his side of the field, leaving Higgins in a lot of 1-on-1 situations.
The two biggest reasons to be optimistic about Higgins this season are the number of vacated targets and the offensive coordinator. The Texans have 101 vacated targets entering the year, and the second-rounder should be a prime candidate to see a solid share of those. But the change in offensive coordinator is the biggest reason for hope.
The Texans will spend a lot more time in 11 personnel this season, and they will have to rely on the pass. With an anticipated increase in passing volume with Nick Caley, a Sean McVay disciple, calling the plays, there will be more opportunities to go around for Higgins. Add in the injury news surrounding Joe Mixon, and the Texans will have to lean on C.J. Stroud and company to put points on the board. This all bodes well for Higgins having a strong rookie season.
ADP: WR 57
My Ranking: WR 54
There is a strong chance that Luther Burden doesn’t make much of an impact for fantasy, as he is likely going to be the third target at best. There is a world where the Bears second-round pick is a meaningful fantasy player. That depends on whether or not he is the starting slot receiver in a Ben Johnson offense.
In his three seasons under Johnson, Amon-Ra St.Brown’s worst seasons consisted of 106 receptions for 1,161 yards and 6 touchdowns. He became the focal point of the Detroit Lions’ passing attack, and a fantasy star. To expect Burden to put up numbers similar to the Lions star would be ridiculous, but he is best suited to play the slot in Johnson’s offense, and that could lead to major fantasy success.
Burden is best with the ball in his hands, and Johnson will be able to scheme him open out of the slot. Defenses will have to make D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze the focal points of the passing game, meaning more potential opportunities for Burden. Given his low draft cost, he is absolutely worth a dart throw given his talent and situation. He could be a nothing for fantasy this year as he works his way into the fold, or he could be a massive steal if he earns the starting slot role.
ADP: WR 105
My Ranking: WR 65
2024-2025 Stats: 81 Targets, 47 Receptions, 539 Yards, 3 Touchdowns(9 Carries, 44 Yards, 1 Touchdown)
A lot of the noise regarding the Raiders receivers behind Jakobi Meyers from a fantasy standpoint has been for D’onte Thornton this offseason. The 2025 4th-round pick is worth a flier late in drafts, but the Raiders receiver that should be getting more attention is Tre Tucker.
Tucker is a smaller receiver whose best attribute is his blazing speed, but he has yet to have a quarterback who can fully utilize it. Now he finally has a quarterback in Geno Smith, with the arm strength to utilize his ability to win downfield, and Smith has wasted no time talking up Tucker. In a recent interview during training camp, the Raiders signal caller compared the receiver to former Washington Commanders receiver Santana Moss. Smith said Tucker is a “spitting image of Santana Moss”, and that is high praise.
Along with praise from Smith and other team members, the team’s first preseason game said a lot. The starting offense played just one drive against the Seahawks, and it was Tucker, not Thornton, who sat the rest of the game. He is seemingly entrenched as the team’s number two receiver entering the season.
Given his current ADP, Tucker can be had in the last round of drafts, or even as an undrafted free agent, but he is certainly worth a flier given his role on the offense, and quarterback upgrade.
ADP: WR 72
My Ranking: WR 56
2024-2025 Stats: 87 Targets, 66 Receptions, 621 Yards, 3 Touchdowns
The Pop Douglas hype train has been moving for a while, as all the noise out of Patriots camp has been about the Douglas and Drake Maye connection. He was apparently “unguardable” during joint practices with the Commanders just last week.
Douglas has been recognized as a solid player since entering the league two seasons ago, but he has yet to be a consistent fantasy contributor for numerous reasons. This year, that could change as he not only has Josh McDaniels as his offensive coordinator, but a full season of Maye under center. Slot receivers such as Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, and Danny Amendola have thrived in the McDaniels offensive system, and that is the role Douglas will be playing. Having Maye as the starting quarterback in week one will be a massive upgrade from last year’s week one starter, Jacoby Brissett.
Douglas is primed for a breakout season. While he won’t be a fantasy star, he should be a weekly contributor, especially in PPR leagues due to his role in the offense.
Without a doubt, there will be multiple league winners at the receiver position taken late in drafts this year. There always are. It’s just about finding the right guys to take the chance on. This year, there are plenty of players who fit the mold of a sleeper, but these five are some of the players truly worth taking a gamble on. They have all either flashed in previous seasons, or in the rookies’ cases, dominated in college and earned high draft capital. These players could all be nothing for fantasy this season, but they could all be steals as well.
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