Let’s be honest about the latter stages of fantasy football drafts: 90% of the players drafted will either be dropped by Week 3 or contribute nothing meaningful throughout the season. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do our best to chase that 10%. For fantasy managers in leagues with 14+ teams or larger rosters, here are some deep sleepers to target at the end of drafts.
Anthony Richardson Sr., QB, Indianapolis Colts
One year ago, Anthony Richardson Sr. was being drafted inside the top 60 picks as roughly the QB5. Now, he’s an afterthought as he competes for a starting job with Daniel Jones.
We have no idea if Richardson improved as a quarterback or if he’s the same guy who got benched for Joe Flacco. But that guy who couldn’t fend off a 39-year-old washed-up veteran is still a QB1 in fantasy.
The reason Richardson goes so low in fantasy drafts is not because of his talent. Well…it is. The guy is probably not an NFL-caliber passer. He certainly hasn’t displayed that ability yet. But in terms of his ability to produce fantasy points, he’s the same guy we were taking in the fifth round last season.
The issue with Richardson is that there’s almost no scenario in which he starts 17 games this season. Jones and Richardson are likely to get benched for the other one multiple times this season. But as of now, Richardson is the favorite to land the starting job. By the time you’re reading this, he may already have it. What we do know is that for as long as Richardson remains the starter, he’s a QB1 in fantasy.
We don’t care about the sub-50% completion percentage or the wildly inaccurate passes. All we care about is the fact that Richardson has completed 12 games during his first two NFL seasons and has exceeded 20 fantasy points in half of them.
You want a fun stat? Richardson had the same number of 20+ fantasy point outings last season as…wait for it…Patrick Mahomes. Richardson is free in fantasy drafts. He won’t make it through the entire season, but if you wait on QB, he’ll be startable in fantasy for as long as the Colts are willing to let him.
Sean Tucker, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
If you’ve been following me at all this year, you know I love Bucky Irving. He is my favorite running back to target at cost, as I believe he is a dark horse to finish overall RB1.
What happens if Irving goes down, though? If you ask just about any fantasy analyst out there, they will tell you Rachaad White takes over as the lead back. Now, to be clear, White would see an increase in usage. However, I do not believe he would lead this team in carries. I think that job would go to Sean Tucker.
Toward the end of last season, Todd Bowles became fed up with White. Some time has passed now, and White has reportedly looked much better in training camp. White may have gotten back in his coach’s good graces. But that doesn’t mean he has or that if he has, he will stay there.
White is one of the least talented runners we’ve seen in the past decade. He averaged below 4.0 yards per carry each of his first two seasons, thriving on raw volume, before the timeshare with Irving last year helped improve his efficiency somewhat.
White has never done what Tucker did in Week 6 last season. Against the Saints, Tucker turned 17 touches into 192 yards and two touchdowns, scoring 34.2 fantasy points. That’s proven upside.
Every Sean Tucker rush + target from Year 2 pic.twitter.com/HG6pPDw66a
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) July 2, 2025
If Irving ever has to miss time, Tucker should be viewed as the favorite to handle around 12-15 carries plus goal line work, while White maintains his status as the primary receiving back. While the rest of the fantasy football world drafts White as a potential standalone RB3 with upside, you can wait until the very end of drafts and take the true Irving handcuff, Tucker.
Jordan James, RB, San Francisco 49ers
If there’s one thing the past couple of seasons have shown us, it’s that whoever starts at running back for the 49ers is worth starting in fantasy. Last season, San Francisco gave us a whopping four different backs who were at least viable RB2s for a week throughout the season.
Christian McCaffrey is the healthiest he’s been in two years. We have not heard a single negative thing about him. Obviously, for as long as CMC stays on the field, no one else in this backfield will be startable. But we know how it goes with McCaffrey. Plus, he’s now 29 years old. He could get hurt at any moment.
If McCaffrey goes down, the next man up would be Isaac Guerendo. However, Guerendo is already on the shelf himself as he deals with a shoulder issue. He is not guaranteed to be ready for Week 1.
Behind Guerendo is rookie fifth-rounder Jordan James. That’s the entirety of the theory behind drafting James. He’s the RB3 on a team that can’t seem to keep its running backs on the field.
If Patrick Taylor can be a viable fantasy asset on the 49ers, James certainly can, too. With Guerendo’s status uncertain, James could very well enter the season as the RB2 behind McCaffrey. That’s a shot worth taking in deep leagues.
Diontae Johnson, WR, Cleveland Browns
I can’t quit Diontae Johnson, even though he has quit on himself and NFL teams multiple times.
Last year was a wild ride for Johnson. He struggled to produce with Bryce Young. Then, he posted elite WR1 numbers in multiple games once Andy Dalton took over. Shortly after that, Johnson forced his way out of Carolina, bounced around between numerous teams, refused to enter games, and wound up being completely irrelevant both in real life and fantasy.
Johnson will be 29 years old this season. The odds are firmly stacked against him being able to rebound. But of course they are. If they weren’t, he wouldn’t be a deep sleeper.
As a reminder, before last season, Johnson was at least a borderline WR3 in fantasy for four consecutive seasons. His best year came in 2021 when he posted 17.2 fantasy points per game. The mere potential for that guy to still exist makes Johnson worth throwing a dart at in deep fantasy leagues. There’s nothing to lose.
By all accounts, Johnson is fitting in well in Cleveland.
Wide Receivers:
– Cedric Tillman continues to emerge as Joe Flacco’s #1 target but had a bad drop in Team 2-Min
– Gage Larvadain again emerging as a key contributor with the depth pieces
– Jamari Thrash seeing as much work w/ the 2s as w/ the 1s
– Diontae Johnson settling in… pic.twitter.com/uW5P9dpUMc— Max Loeb (@loebsleads) July 29, 2025
He will undoubtedly have to earn his way up the depth chart. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he opened the season as the WR4 or lower. But it’s not as if this is a stacked roster. I still believe a fully healthy and focused Johnson is infinitely more talented than Jamari Thrash or Cedric Tillman. He’s also a better player than Jerry Jeudy.
This is far, far from likely, but there is at least a slight chance Johnson ends up as the WR1 of this team by midseason.
Jalen Coker, WR, Carolina Panthers
We know Tetairoa McMillan is the WR1 on the Panthers. Who is the WR2? Adam Thielen? Xavier Legette? Last year, the best wide receiver on the team was Jalen Coker.
The rookie UDFA couldn’t get on the field until Week 4. Yet, by Week 10, he had become a full-fledged starter, playing around 85% of the snaps the rest of the season.
Coker had games of 17.8, 21.0, and 14.0 fantasy points from Week 8 onward. That’s not a guy getting lucky. That’s a young player ascending.
Shoutout Jalen Cokerpic.twitter.com/c5AvzZ7IId
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) June 19, 2025
With the Panthers’ depth chart wide open behind McMillan, my bet is on Coker to emerge as the second option in this passing game. He is a worthwhile target late in deep fantasy drafts.
Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE, Carolina Panthers
The Panthers used a fourth-round pick on Ja’Tavion Sanders in last year’s NFL Draft. He got off to a slow start as a rookie, which is not unexpected from a Day 3 tight end. By the end of the season, though, Sanders was starting to seize control of the TE1 job.
By all accounts, Sanders has been tearing it up at training camp.
Ja’Tavion Sanders Shining During Training Camp
According to Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer, second-year TE Ja’Tavion Sanders has been “one of the brightest stars in camp” for the Carolina Panthers. pic.twitter.com/1FRcFbcD9E
— Draft Sharks (@DraftSharks) August 4, 2025
He is poised to open the season as the primary tight end on what should be a much-improved offense.
The Panthers lack a clear second option in the passing game behind Tetairoa McMillan. Now, to be clear, it probably won’t be Sanders. But what if there is no clear second option, and he can earn a 15% target share? That’s enough for fantasy managers in deeper leagues in need of a passable tight end.
Tyler Higbee, TE, Los Angeles Rams
The Rams used a second-round pick on Terrance Ferguson. We can be supremely confident he is the Rams tight end of the future…but that doesn’t make him the tight end of the present.
Ferguson has been going ahead of Tyler Higbee in fantasy drafts. But why? Higbee is the veteran. He’s the guy running with the first team. He’s going to be the starter.
Last season, Higbee didn’t get on the field until Week 16 as he was working his way back from a torn ACL. It did not take long for him to reclaim his TE1 role.
The snap share was low to start, but in the Rams’ second playoff game, Higbee played 83% of the snaps.
In his final three games of the season, none of which counted for fantasy, Higbee posted 15.6, 10.8, and 18.4 fantasy points. Now, he’s fully recovered from his knee injury and remains the likely third option behind Puka Nacua and Davante Adams in a very consolidated offense. It would not shock me if Higbee wound up being on the fantasy radar even in standard-sized leagues.
