Every season, fantasy football sleepers make or break your league. There isn’t one championship squad every year that doesn’t have a sleeper or two, a player they drafted in the later rounds who ended up finishing among the top players at their position in fantasy. Identifying sleepers can win you a championship in August or early September.
Looking for sleepers for fantasy football isn’t about finding players nobody has heard about, because that isn’t happening. When we talk about sleepers, we’re highlighting players who should outplay their average draft position. Instead of the term “sleeper,” we can replace it with “value” and still be on the right track.
Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Pollard isn’t your traditional “sleeper” and doesn’t really fit the formula we laid out above. Still, it feels like for a RB who is being selected in the top-20, Pollard should be going higher. Or at least ahead of a few RBs being taken ahead of him. That includes Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor, Nick Chubb and Saquon Barkley.
Pollard is playing on the franchise tag and for a new contract. That gives him and the Cowboys every incentive to get him as many touches as humanly possible. Pollard was able to finish as the RB8 last season despite Ezekiel Elliott having just under 250 touches and scoring 12 rushing TDs. If half of that production from Elliott goes to Pollard, he could finish with around 1,800 total yards and double-digit TDs. We know Mike McCarthy likes to sit on leads and run the ball. Pollard’s ceiling feels like a top-3 fantasy back and a League-winner.
Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders
If you look over the past four seasons, there may not be a more consistent WR that does more with less than McLaurin. His QB room since he was a rookie has been one of the worst in the NFL. Second-year QB Sam Howell takes over with OC Eric Bieniemy being brought in after coaching Patrick Mahomes and helping the Chiefs win multiple Super Bowls. If Bieniemy can do anything for this offense and Howell, it could be a big season for McLaurin, who is being taken just outside the top-20 WRs in fantasy drafts.
McLaurin’s averages in the NFL per season are at 1,070 receiving yards and 5.25 TDs. A slight improvement to, say, 1,300-1,400 yards and 8-10 TDs and McLaurin would be a shoe-in to finish among the top-10 WRs in fantasy, perhaps even get into the top-5. Even if he doesn’t have a huge improvement, the consistency should warrant being taken a bit higher than where he’s going so far in drafts.
Darren Waller, TE, New York Giants
Waller is the going to be the most trendy and obvious sleeper at tight end this season. It really only comes down to whether or not he can stay healthy. The Giants invested a lot in bringing in Waller and he should be the top receiving option for Daniel Jones on an improving offense. Jones got his contract. RB Saquon Barkley has a deal for this season, so he’s on board. The last season Waller was fully healthy back in 2020, he put up 1,196 receiving yards and 9 TDs, finishing as the TE2 behind Travis Kelce. You’ve got that type of upside this season for a player being drafted as the TE7 in most formats. It’s risky, but as long as Waller plays the majority of the games, he should outperform his ADP.
Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants
Speaking of the Giants, Jones feels like a great QB value in season-long where he’s being selected. Jones is going outside the top-12 at QB, which would mean he’s being taken as a backup in non-Superflex formats. Given the presence of Waller and another season under Mike Kafka’s offense, you’d think Jones takes a step forward in terms of passing stats. The issue remains the offensive line, but might that be somewhat of a smokescreen?
Last season, Jones took 44 sacks, which was the fifth-most in the NFL among QBs. Even while playing behind a bad line and taking sacks, Jones had the lowest INT percentage at 1.1. Granted, that was on 472 attempts, and Jones finished with just 15 passing TDs and 3,205 yards. But if you look at that, there’s an easy path to improvement. It shouldn’t be hard for Jones to get closer to 4,000 passing yards and 20-25 passing TDs with Waller on board. Plus, the line is still bad and Jones should still use his legs plenty like he did in 2022, when he had over 700 rushing yards and 7 TDs.
That 2022 helped Jones finish in the top-10 among QBs in fantasy. Any type of improvement in the passing game while maintaining his rushing upside should mean Jones does it again. This could be the true breakout season for Jones.
Skyy Moore, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
There are a lot of good WR sleepers deep in drafts. Detroit Lions WR Jameson Williams comes to mind here. But we’ll go with Moore, who got playing time as a rookie for the Super Bowl champions last season and even scored in that win over the Eagles. TE Travis Kelce is undoubtedly the top receiving option for the Chiefs. Behind Kelce, it’s really up in the air. Moore has the clearest path to being the No. 2 option. Marquez Valdes-Scantling isn’t magically going to break out after five mediocre seasons. Kadarius Toney is dealing with injuries already. For someone being taken outside the top-50 WRs and just inside the top-150 overall, Moore has a ton of upside in what should be the top passing offense in the NFL.
