Every year in fantasy football leagues around the country, someone inevitably lands one of those picks: the players whose pre-draft rankings belied the true potential that their lucky manager (obviously) saw in them. These are the sleepers of fantasy football: The players who exceed expectations, post a breakout season, and win leagues.
Of course, landing a true sleeper for your roster isn’t entirely guesswork and luck (though sometimes it is!). A little pre-knowledge of each player’s team situation, matchups, history and projections can help you identify all of this year’s top sleeper candidates.
Fortunately, we’ve done some of the heavy lifting for you! Here’s our list of the players most likely to become fantasy football sleepers at each position.
Don’t forget: You can watch all of these players pass, rush and scramble their way to the top of the fantasy football scoreboards this season during NFL games on DIRECTV.
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Jump to a Position:
2025 Quarterback Sleepers
J.J. McCarthy – Minnesota Vikings
J.J. McCarthy missed the entirety of his first season due to injury and underwent multiple surgeries to repair the damage, but he’ll make his debut as the Vikings’ starting QB this season. Commanding one of the best offenses in the NFL with Kevin O’Connell as his head coach, and with some of the most talented offensive weapons in the league at his disposal, McCarthy has everything is stacked in his favor.
There’s still the fact that he’s a rookie, which always carries the risk that he’ll encounter some growing pains, but all indications point to breakout potential for McCarthy this season.
Jordan Love – Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love played through injury throughout most of last season, which led to a significant regression over his 2023 fantasy performance. This year, he’s in a position far better, with plenty of weapons at his disposal and a stated desire to run the ball himself more often — an ideal scenario for fantasy managers looking for a QB. Love will probably fall to the later rounds due to his injury concerns and last year’s showing. Picking him up then could be a solid value.
Drake Maye – New England Patriots
Drake Maye stepped in halfway through the Patriots’ disastrous 2024 season and, despite having one of the worst offenses in the league to work with, showed flashes of greatness. He was at times compared to the Bills’ Josh Allen, who has been one of the top options at the position season after season. Additionally, Josh McDaniels is back as offensive coordinator for his third stint in New England.
The Pats picked up some major upgrades on the offensive side of the ball with the likes of Stefon Diggs and Tre’Veyon Henderson and on the offensive line, which could lead to less rushing or scrambling from Maye, but it will also give him more time to work with, and his supporting cast is far stronger this season. Maye is a great stash option in later rounds at QB.
Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys
When healthy, Dak Prescott has been a force on the field for fantasy managers, and he’s got a solid shot at rebounding to top-tier status this season. He’s operating behind a strong offensive line, has two solid weapons at his disposal in CeeDee Lamb (a tier-1 receiver) and George Pickens, and the Boys are expected to run a pass-heavy offense this season — all of which bode well for his fantasy prospects. He’s currently coming off the board around the 10th round in draft, making him a steal if that rebound materializes.
2025 Wide Receiver Sleepers
Rome Odunze – Chicago Bears
Rome Odunze was one of the Bears’ most consistent players in 2024, and his outlook has only improved this season: Ben Johnson, the offensive mind behind the Detroit Lions’ meteoric success in recent seasons, is in as head coach and Caleb Williams is poised to have a better season than his rookie campaign. Odunze projects to feature heavily in the Bears’ offensive designs with an increased target volume, and he should be available pretty late in most drafts.
Ricky Pearsall – San Francisco 49ers
Ricky Pearsall has a real shot at emerging as the #1 in San Francisco’s receiver corps. Deebo Samuel departed for Washington over the offseason, and Brandon Aiyuk is still sidelined with injury. Jauan Jennings is poised for a strong showing, too, but Pearsall put up nearly 50 points in the last two weeks of the season and his matchups are among the easiest in the league this season. Look to grab him in the mid rounds, but definitely snag him if he’s still on the board in the later rounds in your draft.
Emeka Egbuka – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay’s offense is pretty crowded with talent, with Egbuka joining Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and Bucky Irving. But Godwin is expected to be sidelined to start the season as he recovers from injury, opening up an opportunity for Egbuka to shine. QB Baker Mayfield also likes to throw the ball — he posted the third-most passing yards and second most touchdowns, behind only Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, in 2024. Egbuka is currently pretty far down most rankings, in the neighborhood of WR48. That’s just a few spots down from Pearsall, making him a solid option with breakout potential if you miss out on the former.
Kyle Williams – New England Patriots
New England’s third round wide receiver is going towards the very end of most drafts, but he has solid upside on a new and likely improved Patriots offense. Drake Maye looked good last year and projects to be the best under center the Pats have had since Tom Brady left in 2020, and Williams is well positioned to emerge as one of his top targets, even with talent like Stefon Diggs, Demario Douglas and Hunter Henry in the mix. The Patriots have notoriously drafted poorly at WR, but Williams may just buck that trend.
You could spend a late round pick on Williams, but he may also be someone to pass over and instead monitor on the waiver wire if he ends up going undrafted in your league.
Marvin Mims – Denver Broncos
Mims looked solid for Denver at the end of last year, putting up about 17 points per game in the back half of the season. After that performance, it’s reasonable to anticipate that he might be in for an expanded role this year. He’s currently ranked as the consensus WR54, which means he could be a good stash in later rounds.
Tre’ Harris – Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers were the proud owners of one of last year’s biggest breakout wide receivers, Ladd McConkey, and they may well have done it again this season. Tre’ Harris, the Chargers’ second rounder in 2025, has proven his prowess as a deep threat, and he’s paired with Justin Herbert at QB, who arguably has one of the league’s strongest arms and is among the more accurate passers.
Harris is coming off the board around the same time as Mims in most drafts and could have even higher upside if he remains healthy.
2025 Running Back Sleepers
Jaydon Blue – Dallas Cowboys
Jaydon Blue was a reliable three-down back in college — a quality every fantasy manager wants to see in a running back — and he is projected to have a major role in a generally weak Cowboys backfield. He could be especially valuable in PPR leagues, considering his strong pass catching game. He could easily wind up as Dallas’ top RB and he’s currently going in the later rounds, making him a good stash candidate who has the upside to be an RB2 or flex play.
Tank Bigsby – Jacksonville Jaguars
Tank Bigsby looked great in his rookie season and ended up creating some serious competition for the Jags former first round RB, Travis Etienne. This season, many expect that he could have a legitimate shot at unseating Etienne as the top back in Jacksonville. He’s more of a goal-line back than a pass-catcher and may face competition from a crowded backfield that includes rookies Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen, but he’s a solid option for your bench in the later rounds.
Cam Skattebo – New York Giants
The Giants essentially acquired a human battering ram when they picked up Cam Skattebo in the 2025 draft. He’s a powerful runner who’s tough to take down once he makes contact, and he’s a proficient pass-catcher, too. That’s the ideal mix for a fantasy RB, and he’s likely to put up some serious competition for the starting job.
Woody Marks – Houston Texans
With Joe Mixon’s future in question due to injury and Nick Chubb not quite the same dominant force that he was prior to his gruesome, season-ending knee injury with the Browns, rookie Woody Marks is in a prime position to be handed a significant workload in Houston.
Braelon Allen – New York Jets
We saw flashes of Braelon Allen’s potential at times last season, and he’s still a solid late rounder this year. He’s a massive, powerful presence and complement to the speedy Breece Hall. Incoming OC Tanner Engstrand was also the passing coordinator for a Detroit offense last season that featured a remarkably similar backfield duo: Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
Allen is a natural handcuff to Hall, and worth a late round pick due to his upside as the potential starter if Hall goes down with injury.
TreVeyon Henderson – New England Patriots
TreVeyon Henderson made a major statement when his first touch as a New England Patriot in their preseason opener ended up being a 100-yard kickoff return. Acquired in the second round by the Pats, he’s already looking like one of the best picks of the 2025 draft at RB and projects to be heavily involved in the New England offense. He should still be available in the late-mid rounds in most drafts.
2025 Tight End Sleepers
Tucker Kraft – Green Bay Packers
If you miss out on a top-tier tight end like George Kittle, look a bit further down your board at Tucker Kraft. Kraft has become one of the most reliable passing targets on Green Bay’s offense, even though he’s surrounded by talented pass catchers and the Packers offense is already more run-heavy than most. The team has also indicated that they want to expand Kraft’s role further, and QB Jordan Love has displayed a tendency to target tight ends — all positive signs for a tight end pick in the later rounds.
Tyler Warren – Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis’ first rounder may be landing on a team with both a wealth of offensive talent and a sub-par QB room, neither of which bodes well for a tight end in fantasy, but Warren nonetheless looks like one of the season’s biggest sleepers at the position. He’s a large presence who is equally proficient at pass catching, staying on his feet afterwards and blocking at the line.
Don’t let Indy’s dire situation jade your thinking: Last year, Brock Bowers was in a similar position: bad offense, crowded receiving corps, no discernible solution at QB. Remember how that turned out? Yeah, he’s currently going at TE1 this year.
Colston Loveland – Chicago Bears
The Bears’ rookie tight end is joining an offense that most expect to make major strides this season. Chicago brought Ben Johnson, who has had plenty of success with tight ends in Detroit, as head coach, and Caleb Williams is widely expected to be much better this season.
Loveland is coming off of a shoulder surgery and could have a slow start to the season, making a strong candidate for a late round stash with high upside down the road.
Brenton Strange – Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jags have a lot of offensive talent (Think: Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, Bigsby, Travis Etienne) but there’s one factor that’s working strongly in Strange’s favor as a fantasy TE: incoming head coach Liam Coen loves tight ends. He’s likely to feature heavily in Jacksonville’s offense this season, and even better: He’s generally going as a very late round pick or even undrafted in many leagues. Snag him as a stash or keep an eye on the TE waivers.
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Looking to win your Fantasy Football league in 2025? Find even more stats, tips and tricks right here:
- 2025 Fantasy Football Rankings & ADP
- 2025 Fantasy Football Rising & Falling Players by Position
- Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings
- Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings
- Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings
Frequently Asked Questions
Which players are expected to be sleepers in fantasy football in 2025?
Sleeper candidates in 2025 include Drake Maye, Tyler Warren, Ricky Pearsall and Tank Bigsby.
What is a sleeper in fantasy football?
A sleeper is a player who is undervalued or overlooked in drafts but ends up greatly outperforming their ADP and pre-draft rankings during the season.
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