The NFL has three games on Sunday’s schedule for Wild Card Weekend, giving fantasy football players a six-team player pool to pick from on the slate. Even with only six teams in play, there are some key fantasy football sleepers to consider as you assemble your DFS lineups.
While there aren’t as many options as last week when there were 26 teams in play for Week 18, this Sunday’s matchups do provide some strong options to consider as you build your roster for DFS contests like the NFL $2.25M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st] (Sun) that offers a $1 Million top prize for a $25 entry.
Throughout the season, I’ve been listing my top fantasy football sleeper picks at tight end each Saturday. While normally I have been picking five cheap plays, this week I am spotlighting my top three picks. As usual, these fantasy football sleepers are a little off the radar, but I love their upside at their DFS salary.
Here are my top three fantasy football sleepers at TE for Wild Card Sunday:
Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers ($3,700)
Almost anyone could be classified as a sleeper at the position since there are no huge names from these six teams. Zach Ertz ($4,300) is the most expensive play, Cade Otton ($4,100) is just coming back from injury, and Dallas Goedert ($3,900) just returned last week, so there isn’t a really “chalky” favorite. My top option from under $4,000, though, is the Packers’ top tight end Tucker Kraft.
Kraft had a few monster games as a sleeper earlier in the season when the Packers were short-handed at the position due to injury. He had six catches and 18.3 fantasy points in Week 4 against Minnesota and followed that with two touchdowns and 24.5 fantasy points in Week 5 against the Rams. He actually had over 12 fantasy points in four of five weeks during that stretch of the season before other pass-catchers started to return.
Against the Bears in Week 11, Kraft was shut out with only one target, but since then, his role has started to increase once again. He has multiple catches in every game since that contest, highlighted by a six-catch game against the Dolphins and four receptions last week against the Bears.
Malik Willis to Tucker Kraft for 20 yards pic.twitter.com/Ss1tucRHEW
— Matthew (@ThisIsMatthew97) January 6, 2025
The Packers may have to throw more to keep up with the Eagles’ offense this week. Kraft has shown both big-play potential and red-zone effectiveness, which makes him a good value sleeper for this week at just $3,700.
Payne Durham, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($3,100)
If Otton (knee) is out or even limited on Sunday night aginst the Commanders, Durham will be a very interesting sleeper option. We haven’t seen the Bucs use many two-TE sets this year, but Durham’s recent success could also inspire them to try using him alongside Otton.
Durham stepped in for Otton the last three weeks and totaled nine catches on 12 targets for 81 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Tampa TD!!! 🔥
Baker Mayfield finds Payne Durham for the score.
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/iChKSv6rQp
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 5, 2025
Durham only had two catches all year before Otton’s injury, though, so there isn’t much evidence to suggest he will stay involved if Otton is back at 100%. He is a notable flier, though, since he has been involved in the red zone.
Lucas Krull, Denver Broncos ($2,500)
If you’re going through the six teams on the slate and naming tight ends, the toughest one to come up with is definitely the Broncos. In fact, Denver has used a rotation all season of Krull, Nate Adkins ($2,500) and Adam Trautman ($2,600). The three typically split snaps fairly evenly, although last week Adkins got more work toward the end of the game when the starters were out. Trautman gets a slight majority of the snaps most of the time, but Krull has the best receiving numbers of the bunch.
On the season, Krull has 19 catches for 152 yards. He only had one catch on one target over the last two weeks, but had three straight multi-catch weeks before that. The second-year tight end from Pitt didn’t find the end zone in the regular season, but he is a longshot who should get playing time at the minimum salary.
If you’re looking to go with a punt play at tight end or in your UTIL spot in Sunday’s contests to give you more salary to stack stars, Krull is a cheap option who should get some playing time.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
