Fantasy football is all about value, so selecting the right sleepers is one of the more crucial parts of a draft. Here are some of the best options.
There’s a saying in fantasy football that you can’t win your league in the first round, but you can lose it.
That’s not always correct; getting the best overall player in the first round can be a league winner. But more often than not, leagues are won in the later rounds, when drafters hit on the right sleepers.
By comparing our supercomputer’s projections to ADP (average draft position), we can find the players who aren’t being drafted as starters right now but are excellent value picks.
Here’s a list of players who are currently being drafted too late:
RB Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans
Pollard is the perfect example of a veteran who gets pushed down the draft board because he’s not particularly exciting anymore.
After finishing as a top-25 running back in almost all formats last year, Pollard is in an offense that should be better with Cam Ward running the show and could be in line for even more work as fellow running back Tyjae Spears deals with a high ankle sprain, leaving Pollard as the unquestioned man atop the depth chart. He’s also running behind what should be an improved offensive line with Kevin Zeitler signed to play guard.
Yet, Pollard is only being drafted as the RB27 despite a potential uptick in efficiency and workload. This signals a worry that the Titans’ lead back will decline, but he’s less at risk of that than most think.
For starters, Pollard isn’t as close to the dreaded running back age of 30. This will only be his age-28 season and he only has two years of 200 or more carries.
If anything, the former Memphis Tiger might look better next year, another season removed from breaking his leg in the playoffs in January 2023.
Our projections have Pollard as RB17 in standard scoring, RB19 in half-PPR and RB21 in full PPR. In any format, he’s a low-end RB2 being drafted as an RB3 in 12-team leagues.
RB Austin Ekeler, Washington Commanders
Look, another veteran who is no longer exciting being drafted too late! The Commanders were the breakout team of 2024, but still have some players going too late in drafts.
Ekeler missed five games last season but still finished in the top 40 among running backs in total scoring. And yet, here he is being drafted as the RB45.
Brian Robinson Jr. is gone, having been traded to the San Francisco 49ers. While this likely won’t drastically change Ekeler’s role as the back on passing downs, it may give him a modest bump in the share of running back touches since there is one less mouth to feed.
Ekeler’s value lies in his receiving out of the backfield. He finished 12th in receiving yards among running backs in 2024 and was the only running back in the top 20 of that list to play fewer than 14 games. Jayden Daniels got him the ball in advantageous situations often and Ekeler is still shifty enough to do damage with space.
Minimum 20 catchesBecause of his pass-catching prowess in an efficient offense, Ekeler has a solid floor for a running back being taken in the 10th round or later. He has more value in full PPR (where he projects as RB30 in our rankings) but is still a value in standard scoring (RB35) as well.
There are a lot of good late-round flyers at running back this season and pairing one of them with Ekeler gives you the perfect blend of floor and upside.
WR George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys
The NFL career of Pickens has had many ups and downs, but the one thing that’s been consistent is the substandard play of the quarterbacks getting him the ball.
Pickens’ quarterbacks in Pittsburgh were late-career Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph and Mitchell Trubisky. It’s safe to say Dak Prescott represents a sizable upgrade.
There will be plenty of opportunities in Dallas as well. Yes, CeeDee Lamb is there to soak up a massive target share, but Pickens is the clear No. 2 receiver and complements Lamb well. The offense will be very pass-heavy under Brian Schottenheimer and Prescott is just one year removed from throwing 36 touchdowns.
Pickens is currently being drafted as WR29. Our projections have him as a massive value in standard leagues at WR19, but still a value in PPR as well at WR24.
He may still be a bit of a boom or bust player, but there should be more boom this year in the better offensive environment.
WR Joshua Palmer, Buffalo Bills
Every year, some receivers are taken in fantasy with the justification that someone has to grab targets in that offense. Usually, it’s for the worst offenses in the league. But this year, it’s for one of the best.
Yes, the Bills are egalitarian in nature, so it’s unlikely that any of the receivers get a massive target share. But there are reasons to think the receivers might be in for a bit of a boost in production there.
The Bills were one of only two teams that had more rushing touchdowns than passing TDs last season. They’ll continue to lean on the power running game near the goal line, but if those numbers regress even a bit toward the mean, that means some extra receiving scores are up for grabs.
One of the true elite offenses in the league might feature more passing touchdowns this year and has all its receiving options going cheap in fantasy drafts. That makes for some opportunity.
With Khalil Shakir already dealing with the dreaded high ankle sprain, both Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer look like massive bargains, but we’ll focus on Palmer because of the constant drumbeat from camp that Palmer has impressed after signing a three-year deal in free agency.
Palmer isn’t the most exciting player, but he’s a solid route runner with inside-outside versatility. He has a chance for a solid target share on the Bills, which makes his ADP of WR73 way too low. Our projections have Palmer as the WR42 in standard and WR49 in PPR, making him a solid addition to your bench.
QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
In traditional leagues in which teams start just one quarterback, it makes sense to wait on selecting a quarterback if you miss out on the top five guys.
But which late-round QB is the most intriguing? Our model projects it will be the former uberprospect, Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence’s career has been disappointing to this point, but he’s getting a new start with head coach Liam Coen and a new weapon in Travis Hunter, who is going to be playing a lot of offense.
It hasn’t been all bad for Lawrence so far, either. He’s one of 11 quarterbacks who have multiple seasons of 4,000 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns in the last four years. Turnovers have been an issue, but that’s a problem for real football fans of Lawrence. They aren’t that damaging if Coen gets Lawrence to throw for a lot of yards and touchdowns
Lawrence has shown big play ability and, if he can just be more consistent, this could be the breakout season we’ve all been expecting for years from the former first overall pick.
Our model projects Lawrence to be QB6 and he’s currently being drafted at QB20. He’s one of the best late-round QB options available.
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