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 main DraftKings slate on Sunday.
With just six teams, there aren’t nearly as many value options as there were last week in Week 18 with 13 games on the main slate. However, the scarcity of fantasy football sleepers makes them even more critical to find 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.
All season long, I’ve been picking my top fantasy football sleeper picks at wide receiver on Saturday. While normally I have been picking five cheap plays, this week I found three strong options to build around. 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 WR for Wild Card Sunday:
Olamide Zaccheaus, Washington Commanders ($4,400)
The Commanders lost Noah Brown (kidney) for the season in Week 13 against the Titans and have relied on Zaccheaus as the team’s second receiver since then.
Zaccheaus has had a few tough drops, but he also has had some great plays like this one in Week 16 against his former team.
Top Plays from Commanders Players this season, day 4:
Olamide Zaccheaus pic.twitter.com/PDUvKxf84t
— CommandersMuse (@CommandersMusee) January 10, 2025
He finished with a season-high 24 fantasy points in that game against the Eagles and continued his revenge tour with 23.3 fantasy points against the Falcons the following week.
In the last four weeks of the season after Brown’s injury, Zaccheaus averaged 4.5 catches on 6.5 targets for 60.5 yards per game. He scored three touchdowns in those four weeks and averaged 15.25 fantasy points per contest.
If the Bucs focus on shutting down Terry McLaurin ($6,500), Zaccheaus could have a huge game on Sunday Night Football. The Bucs have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to receivers this season, including 18 receiver touchdowns in 17 games and an average of over 150 receiving yards per game to the position.
In the matchup with the highest over/under of the week, there should be plenty of production, which is why I have Zaccheaus as my top fantasy football sleeper at wide receiver this week.
Devaughn Vele, Denver Broncos ($4,100)
Vele has been a regular in my sleepers for much of the season as the rookie worked to carve out a role in the Broncos’ growing offense. While it was another sleeper pick of mine, Marvin Mims Jr. ($5,100) who finished the season with multiple breakout weeks, Vele remains very affordable for his matchup on Sunday against the Bills.
Last week, Vele had one of the wildest touchdown catches of the season:
This TD was wild. 🤯
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/HdqJ03p3w8
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 5, 2025
While he wasn’t really the target on that play, he did catch all four of his targets for 50 yards and 15 fantasy points. That was his third touchdown of the season, and his four catches were his best showing in five weeks.
Vele finished the season with 41 catches for 475 yards and averaged 8.2 fantasy points per game. He had seven games this season with double-digit fantasy points, five of which came in the last eight games of the season as the Broncos made their playoff push.
He hasn’t produced as many big plays as Mims or gotten as many targets as Courtland Sutton ($6,600), but Vele is a great value to consider as the Broncos will likely have to throw the ball a lot to keep up with the Bills in Buffalo.
Malik Heath, Green Bay Packers ($3,600)
The Packers are a good spot to target receiver value since Christian Watson (knee) is sidelined, which opens up opportunities down the depth chart. Dontayvion Wicks ($4,500) will likely step in as the team’s third receiver behind Jayden Reed ($5,500) and Romeo Doubs ($5,400), but there’s also a little bit of sneaky punt play potential in WR Malik Heath.
Heath caught three of his five targets last week for 53 yards, including this impressive grab to convert a critical third down.
This TD was wild. 🤯
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/HdqJ03p3w8
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 5, 2025
Heath also had a great touchdown grab in Week 17 against the Vikings and also snagged a score in Week 12 against San Francisco.
On the season, Heath hauled in 10-of-13 targets for just 97 yards, but he has shown the athleticism to make big plays when given the chance. Wicks has been prone to drops, and if that continues to be a struggle, Heath could earn more work if he keeps making highlight-reel catches.
Heath is a very affordable option, and he’s my favorite fantasy football sleeper at the position under $4,000 at wide receiver this week.
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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.
