Fantasy Football Roundtable: Deep Sleepers Tahj Brooks, Dontayvion Wicks, And More
John Laghezza digs for deep sleepers in fantasy football 2025, including Tahj Brooks, Kyle Monangai, Dontayvion Wicks, and more.
Let me take one second to say how great it feels to be back for another season of fantasy football goodness here at Fantasy Life. One of the best parts of an already-awesome gig is being granted direct access to the industry's sharpest analysts.
When I heard the idea for a one-man roundtable, my thoughts immediately turned selfish (evil laugh). With so much great content out there, how could I extract maximum value from our brain trust of gurus without being a total nuisance? Blame the ubiquitous flow of information or constant social media bombardment, but either way the fact remains—sleepers just don’t convey the same aura they used to. Then, like a ton of digital fantasy bricks … it hit me! Today, we’re going even further into the fantasy coffers for our favorite “easy cuts.” Deeper than sleepers—which nowadays we realistically expect to produce for us—easy cuts reside in the 200+ ADP end of the player pool. Odds for success run close to slim or none, knowing we may be cutting them before Week 1—but hitting on the fantasy Hail Mary is glorious.I polled your favorite FL content creators for the name of their top easy cut—where I’ll take over on why it’s a sharp pick to circle come endgame.
Fantasy Life Expert Roundtable
Dwain McFarland: Tahj Brooks, RB, CIN (RB63, ADP ~202)
Everyone knows teams and coaches lie like rugs. Yet at the same time, roster moves can’t be opaqued, creating the best (and only) time to expect full transparency. The Bengals’ front office straight-up cut RB Zack Moss, making the message loud and clear—they believe in sixth-round rookie out of Texas A&M, Tahj Brooks.Who knows how long this ADP will stick as markets digest the possibility of high-value touches in one of the league’s most prolific offenses. Camp reports continue to beat the drum for Tahj Brooks as well. Draft him aggressively while you can—there’s a solid case he could and should be going several rounds earlier next to the premier handcuffs.Kendall Valenzuela: Kyle Monangai, RB, CHI (RB 69, ADP ~206)Not to bury the lede, but I love seventh-round rookie stabs! As usual, Kendall and I are immediately simpatico on Bears’ RB Kyle Monangai out of Rutgers after he scored 14 TDs in 11 games during his final CFB campaign.
Now, incorporate glowing reports from Ben Johnson with a very vulnerable CHI backfield, and you don’t need to squint too hard to see how this works out swimmingly for us.
Incumbent D’Andre Swift’s experienced three-year statistical declines to career-lows across the board—including Fantasy Points Per Snap, EPA/Rush, Yards Per Rush, Yards After Contact Per Carry, and Explosive Rush Rate. How long will the Bears stick with Swift if the downtrend continues?Ian Hartitz: Dontayvion Wicks, WR, GB (WR 81, ADP ~234)If you know, you know. Dontayvion Wicks took year-round drafters on a fantastic voyage last year—from early camp darling to Week 3’s overall WR3, to zero top-40 weekly finishes after Green Bay’s Week 11 bye. Sigh.I can’t speak for Ian, but this feels like a classic pendulum situation—too high in 2024, too low in 2025. Last year’s irrational exuberance aside, WR 81 is entirely too cheap for Wicks this time around. He’s still only 24 years old, produced at the highest level, and remains attached to a top-10 scoring offense.Matthew Freedman: Calvin Austin, WR, PIT (WR 94, ADP ~205)
Let me tell you, I’ve always loved working with Fantasy Life’s resident Oracle, as he's never afraid to be brutally honest with a clinical approach. Some call him a wet blanket; I say he delivers overdue wakeup calls.
When approached for his top easy cut this year, Matt came back immediately with the perfect sentence on Pittsburgh WR Calvin Austin— "He's fast (4.32-second 40-yard dash), explosive (9.4 yards per target last year), and probably going to be the No. 2 WR on the Steelers.”
Sold, Austin’s going way too late. Couldn’t have said it better myself…
Cooterdoodle: Tory Horton, WR, SEA (WR 113, ADP ~245)
Cooterdoodle’s answer easily rates among my favorites—she said WR Tory Horton and heard a “who?” Seattle’s fifth-round selection out of Colorado State ran a 4.41-second 40-yard dash and continues to earn first-team snaps in camp. My antennae just popped up.
Remember, the Seahawks jettisoned nearly 250 combined targets with the departures of DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Noah Fant. Someone’s going to have to step up and earn targets from Sam Darnold in that offense besides Jaxon Smith-Njigba. At a last-round draft cost, it’s certainly worth it to find out if it’s Horton.
Joe Metz: Elijah Arroyo, TE, SEA (TE 25, ADP ~203)
Speaking of vacated Pacific Northwestern targets, Joe Metz must be thinking along similar lines to cooterdoodle. First thought that comes to my mind—could Seattle be the dark horse fantasy stack none of us knew we needed?
No tight ends generated near the buzz of Seahawks’ rookie Elijah Arroyo. Just like the operational transparency mentioned in Cincinnati, Seattle’s release of starting TE Noah Fant puts a measurable faith in this year’s 50th overall pick.
With camp reports pouring in regarding Arroyo’s diverse usage both in the slot and out wide, we could be talking about a smash pick at ADP in home leagues. At the TE position, it’s all about utilization. Arroyo could dominate snap share in Klint Kubiak’s offense for a fantasy windfall.
John Laghezza: As for myself, I feel compelled to add a quarterback just to cover all the starting positions. Well, we’re all in luck—Fantasy Life just released my deep QB sleepers for 2025.
However, things constantly change in the NFL landscape, so, of course, there’s already something to add.
After a recent hamstring injury, I’d expand my Dillon Gabriel longshot pick to include CLE QB Shedeur Sanders. At a time when nothing’s more critical to success under center than repetitions, Sanders could parlay this opportunity to start into fantasy relevance.
My last-round running backs keep moving up a half-round every week, and frankly, it’s getting annoying. Losing my favorite RB handcuff Isaac Guerendo to a shoulder injury opened the door for San Fran’s presumed next man up RB Jordan James.
Every fantasy player worth their digital salt knows the value of the featured RB role in a Shanahan scheme. If Guerendo suffers any setbacks, we’re instantly talking about a prime fantasy asset going undrafted. James should be rostered everywhere.
Not to cop out on pass catchers, I can’t really top our crews’ WR/TE suggestions. For transparency’s sake, Chargers rookie WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith piqued my interest through camp hype—but that train’s currently idling in the station since Keenan Allen signed.
Forced to choose one wideout qualifying as an easy cut, draft Giants’ WR Darius Slayton. He’s an every-down player who not only got paid, but also managed to produce with the worst QB play Big Blue’s seen in decades. With Malik Nabers soaking up most of the secondary’s attention plus competent QB play from Russell Wilson, Slayton could be one of the more undervalued WRs in the game.
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