First let’s clear up and define some terms—for myself and possibly you? A breakout is a player who is expected to have a career-best season. While a sleeper is a player who is expected to significantly outperform their ADP. This is about those guys, the sleepers. 

These are players who, according to their ADP, will outperform their projections. This usually means an uptick in their playing time for various reasons, or for some reason their ADP didn’t correspondingly get the upward push. All the better for those of us paying attention. 

So, here are a few sleeper candidates from each of your IDP positions. 

IDP Sleepers For Fantasy Football 2025

LINEBACKER

Jack Campbell, Detroit Lions, LB23, ADP 48.08

I currently have Campbell ranked in the top 13 for linebackers in 2025. As of this writing, the consensus has him much lower. It’s OK, they are exactly where we want them to be, so we can slide in and steal him. 

Last season, Jack Campbell was on the field for 88,87% of defensive snaps, playing behind Alex Anzalone. Campbell finished with a 13.4% tackle rate, and had PFF’s 18th-best average grade for linebackers (72.2). Now Campbell is sporting the green dot during training camp and receiving accolades from head coach Dan Campbell (one of the few head coaches who bypasses coachspeak nonsense}. More playing time, equals more opportunity, equals Campbell outshining his linebacker 23 status. 

Demetrius Knight, Cincinnati Bengals, LB49

Germaine Pratt is gone, making Knight the next man up. Not only was Knight the 49th pick of the NFL 2025 Draft, but he is currently going as linebacker 49 in current IDP Drafts. 

In their first preseason game this year, Knight was on the field for 100% of the defensive snaps with the starters. 

In his last season at South Carolina, the 24-year old rookie earned an 85.4 Pro Football Focus run-defense grade. Trevor Sikkema named Demetrius Knight as the best fit in the draft out of all the team selections at linebacker. 

Day 1 starter playing alongside Logan Wilson, which will take attention away from Knight, yields a high tackle ceiling. That will allow him to outplay his current draft status. 

SirVocea Dennis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, LB66

First, kudos to Mom, great name.

In his third year, coming off shoulder surgery, SirVocea Dennis is going through OTAs and training camp taking reps in the MIKE linebacker role. (For opposing offenses the MIKE linebacker is the player who is the priority to block in pass protection). 

A healthy Dennis playing in a Todd Bowles zone-heavy defensive scheme (Bowles runs zone schemes 80% of the time), gives Dennis a high floor for tackling and an even higher floor for splash plays. 

DEFENSIVE LINE

T’Vondre Sweat, Tennessee Titans, DT37, DL137

Last season in his rookie year, T'Vondre Sweat finished with 51 tackles, 23 quarterback pressures, and a sack while playing on only 66.13% of the defensive snaps. 

While he was top 15 in PFF's run grade (75) and overall grade (76.1), he was T-63rd in the pass-rush grade. Now in his second year, leaner than he was last year (he is listed at 6-foot-4, 366 pounds), the coaching staff is looking for Sweat to step up his pass rush game. 

As coach Brian Callahan said, “He has the ability to be a full three-down player. He’s not necessarily your explosive interior rushers that are out there, but he’s got great ability to push the pocket, too. So, looking for more of that from him." 

So are we coach, and imagine the leap (Sweat finished as DL92 in fantasy last year) he will make if he increases his tackles and adds a few more quarterback pressures and sacks. 

In his 15 games last year, Sweat had double-digit IDP scoring in three games, but was weighted down (no pun intended) by six games scoring 3.8 points or less. 

Chase Young, New Orleans Saints, DL88

It seems like just yesterday Chase Young was the “IT MAN” coming out of Ohio State. But injuries and perception have dulled his shine. 

Last season, Young finished with 41 total tackles and 5.5 sacks, not nothing but not vintage Young; yet Next Gen Stats had Young ranked sixth in the league with 73 pressures. 

Now new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is in New Orleans, and his schemes are known for pressuring the quarterback, which should aid Young in not only outplaying his DL88 ranking, but leap ahead of his DL66 finish in fantasy last season. 

Nick Herbig, Pittsburgh Steelers

Nick Herbig is currently not being drafted. That's hurtful but OK. Yes, he is currently being held captive from the field by the incredible play of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, understandable. But here it is, per Next Gen Stats, Herbig led the Steelers in pressure rate at 17.6%. 

So, when he gets on the field he is productive, and if that includes more than his 38% defensive snaps of last year, even drafting him in the final round will make you look like a genius. 

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Will Harris, Washington Commanders, S50

Last season, Harris was in New Orleans and played 30% of his defensive snaps in the box. This year he has migrated to Washington and will play under Dan Quinn’s defensive schemes. 

This means Harris will take over Jeremy Chinn's role. That assignment left Chinn in the box for 41% of his defensive snaps and propelled him to DB14 in fantasy scores, averaging 10.4 IDP fantasy points per game. 

Nick Emmanwori, Seattle Seahawks

Here is a thought, Sharp Analysis ranks the Seahawks' secondary as tied for eighth best coming into 2025. In 2024, only seven teams allowed fewer yards per pass attempt. 

Now rookie Nick Emmanwori, is a lock to make the 53-man roster, is listed behind Julian Love on their depth chart, and Emmanwori is currently not being drafted.

So say you take a flier on him in the last round of your draft, he surpasses Love, or at the very least makes a dent in Love’s 95.40% defensive snaps share of last year, and, BAM, sleeper awakes. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Know your league scoring method, there is a difference between leagues that put an emphasis on tackling compared to those that are looking to reward big for the splash plays!

Also, remember the lesson of Zach Thomas, the undersized linebacker (5-foot-11, 228 pounds) who started Day 1 for Jimmy Johnson's Miami Dolphins after being drafted in the fifth round, 154th overall, in the 1996 NFL Draft. All he did was make like difficult for all the teams who passed on him in those first 153 picks, earning five All-Pro honors and eventually a gold jacket that took him to Canton, Ohio. No matter how teams scout and plan, there are always players who fall through the cracks and outperform where they were selected. Think Thomas was a sleeper?

The lesson here, plan carefully for the outcome you want. Until next time, my friends. 

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