The Best Sleepers At Every Position In Fantasy Football 2025: Bryce Young Is Ready For A Breakout

In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by FantasyLife+:

There’s no time to waste with the heart of draft season upon us. Every hour seems to swing fantasy ADPs, wildly in some cases. So I’ve got your late-game backup plan—my favorite sleepers at every position. Break glass in case of sniping …

2025 Fantasy Sleepers

Bryce Young, QB, CAR (ADP: 185): Narratives were made to be broken—it’s why pencils still have erasers. If you were like me and tossing digital dirt on Young’s fantasy grave after the former first overall pick faceplanted Year 1, shame on us.

Sure, the rookie macros stunk to high heaven (-0.21 EPA/Dropback, 9.8 Fantasy Points/Game, 5.5 Yards/Attempt)—but Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith, and Sam Darnold might like to have a word about exercising patience with premium draft capital.

Young closed out the 2024 campaign a changed man, flipping those once disastrous macros on their head (+0.13 EPA/Dropback, 20.7 Fantasy Points/Game, 6.9 Yards/Attempt) to rank as the overall QB8 after Carolina’s Week 12 bye. If he picks up where he left off, Young’s a lock to profit.

Where does Bryce Young fall in the 2025 QB rankings?? Head to Rankings HQ to find out!

Javonte Williams, RB, DAL (108): Would you like to hear a story? Once upon a time, there was this running back. After a blowup 22-TD season at the University of Tennessee, he gets drafted 33rd overall in the 2021 draft—until an ACL tear in October 2022 derails that year, and perhaps the next.

Then, fast forward to 2024, when out of nowhere, a projected top-10 offense with zero backfield competition comes knocking with three million bucks, cash in hand. Yet no one seems to care.

Yes, the likelihood of RB Javonte Williams panning out as a fantasy breakout for the Boys sits on the wrong side of optimal. My counter? The downside is fully baked into the price, consistently falling next to undisputed backups. At the very least, we stand an outside chance to roster Dallas’ goal-line back.

If we’re wrong, it’s an easy cut with most of the other ninth-rounders—but, if we’re right …

Rashid Shaheed, WR, NO (125): Few players excite the crowd with every target like New Orleans’ WR Rashid Shaheed. I know, I know. Between injuries and mind-bendingly bad expected incoming QB play, the market’s gone ice old on the Saints. Even cooterdoodle is avoiding drafting Saints, but Shaheed is still special to her.

Welcome to the cornerstone of contrarian investing—"Buy when there's blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own."

By the time Shaheed’s name reaches the top of any draft queue, you’ll be hard-pressed to find another player with +2.0 yards per route potential. Oh, he also happened to lead the NFL in air yards per game (120.0) before getting hurt. Not too shabby.

Remember, most players you draft outside of the top 100 will get dropped anyway, so shoot for the highest ceiling, trying to move the needle.

Chig Okonkwo, TE, TEN (215): Over time, we’re learning the tight end position not only generally takes time to develop, but also its success depends heavily on athleticism. Enter Chig Okonkwo, who ran a 4.6 40-yard dash at 6-foot-2, 243 pounds. Whoa.

Relegated to TE2 irrelevance by most standard drafters, it almost seems unfair to give up at this point, given the horrendous QB play. In his three-year career, Big Chig has earned targets from Ryan Tannehill, Malik Willis, Will Levis, and Mason Rudolph. Case closed.

Okonkwo’s a freakish athlete and every-down player on an ascending offense with a last-round price tag. Yes, please.

ICYMI: DWAIN ALSO HAS SOME SLEEPERS TO TARGET

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Editors’ Picks

It’s Week 2 of preseason football tonight. Get Excited! We’re that much closer to the real deal. Speaking of getting close to the real deal, our Mock Draft Simulator, presented by Gopuff, helps you practice for your “real” drafts. Jump into our projections for a look ahead to the season. And our Snap Counts Tool is now available.

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Dwain McFarland concludes his draft strategy series—QB, RB, and TE are available—by focusing on wide receivers. From early rounds through the Round 10 and beyond fliers, Dwain offers plenty of targets for fantasy drafters, with some of these players ready to explode for big years. Even Robust RB drafters don’t want to miss this article, because there’s plenty for them as well. ⬇️

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Chris Allen is focused on a singular player at the 1.10, Miami Dolphins do-everything running back De’Von Achane. While he won’t have the volume of Bijan Robinson or Saquon Barkley, Achane will have a huge role for Miami and is a player who is the focal point of three different types of builds. See how Chris drafts around Achane.⬇️

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