If there’s one thing fantasy managers love, it’s a good sleeper. But in today’s fantasy football landscape, finding one is more complicated than ever. Leaving no stone unturned, we’re going through every AFC North team to pinpoint the best sleeper running back candidate on each roster.
1 Sleeper Running Back From Every AFC North Team
Baltimore Ravens: Keaton Mitchell
Justice Hill may be listed as the Baltimore Ravens’ RB2, but he’s not much of a sleeper. Even if Derrick Henry got hurt, Hill’s role wouldn’t expand much. He’d get more work, but he’s not built to be a featured back.
Keaton Mitchell, though, is. Mitchell was starting to break out as a rookie before a torn ACL halted his progress. That injury lingered into 2024, and he never found his rhythm.
Before the injury, Mitchell showed elite burst. In fact, in just his second NFL game, he had 134 total yards.
Keaton Mitchell is feeling like himself again and even hit a top speed of 22.4 a couple weeks ago. Spoke to Mitchell about what he’d consider a successful season:
“Playing preseason game one and finish it to the last game. Just staying healthy and available for the team.”… pic.twitter.com/z5QDsDB6Be
— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) June 6, 2025
Henry is known for his durability. Even at age 31, he hasn’t shown much wear, missing only eight games in his career, all from a broken foot in 2021. His bruising style helps him stay on the field.
Mitchell won’t be drafted in most redraft leagues. He’s technically RB3 on Baltimore’s depth chart and unlikely to be fantasy relevant — unless Henry goes down. If that happens, Mitchell, not Hill, is the true sleeper in this backfield.
Cincinnati Bengals: Tahj Brooks
Last year, the Cincinnati Bengals had a plan in place. Zack Moss as the power back and Chase Brown as the change-of-pace guy. Brown eventually earned a larger role and outplayed Moss, but the latter was never meant to disappear entirely.
Then, Moss suffered a season-ending neck injury, and Cincinnati needed another running back but didn’t have one. Brown ended up playing 100% of the snaps in some games. Great for fantasy — not ideal for real life.
Moss is back and should be the RB2, although he’s always been replacement-level. The Bengals also re-signed Samaje Perine, who likely handles passing downs, but he won’t take over as the starter if Brown gets hurt.
That brings us to sixth-round rookie Tahj Brooks, who was highly productive in his final two seasons at Texas Tech, with an 8.1% target share in one of them. We’ll need to track his camp progress, but he’s a safe bet to make the roster.
Brooks’ RB73 ADP is high for someone fourth on the depth chart, but if Brown goes down, he could emerge quickly.
Cleveland Browns: Dylan Sampson
There are multiple RB sleeper options for the Cleveland Browns, but one of them — Dylan Sampson — is a clear-cut winner.
Jerome Ford can be eliminated from initial discussions. He was solid last year, averaging 5.4 yards per carry on a bad offense, but the Browns drafted Quinshon Judkins in Round 2 and Dylan Sampson in Round 4. That tells us they weren’t content with Ford’s role. He even had to take a pay cut to stay.
Sampson is coming off a nearly 1,500-yard, 22-touchdown season at Tennessee. At 200 pounds, he’s a bit undersized, but he’s explosive and can be a solid complement to Judkins. If Judkins goes down, Ford likely steps in, but don’t count Sampson out.
Unfortunately, Sampson’s RB49 ADP is a bit steep for a potential RB3 on what could be one of the NFL’s worst offenses. He’s still the top sleeper here, but the price takes away some appeal.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Kenneth Gainwell
The Pittsburgh Steelers have too many viable running backs. Jaylen Warren and Kaleb Johnson are locked into fantasy roles, so they aren’t sleepers, which leaves the recently signed Kenneth Gainwell. Cordarrelle Patterson is also in Pittsburgh, but at age 34, he’s not a real threat.
If either Warren or Johnson goes down, one of Gainwell or Patterson could become fantasy-relevant. We’re betting on Gainwell, but it could go either way. Neither should be drafted right now.