If there’s one thing fantasy managers love, it’s a good sleeper. But in today’s modern fantasy football landscape, identifying sleepers is more challenging than ever. Leaving no stone unturned, we’re going through the best WR sleeper candidate on every AFC East team.
1 Sleeper Wide Receiver From Every AFC East Team
Buffalo Bills: Joshua Palmer
All signs point to Joshua Palmer’s WR70 ADP not lasting very long. He shouldn’t be a top-40 receiver or drafted to start, but this is a guy who’s proven himself over and over.
Palmer’s 7.2 fantasy points per game average last season can be dismissed. The Los Angeles Chargers drafted Ladd McConkey, and he’s elite. Couple that with the fact that the Chargers ran a low-volume passing offense, and there weren’t enough footballs to go around, especially with Quentin Johnston taking a small step forward.
The two seasons before last, Palmer filled in admirably when Keenan Allen or Mike Williams were injured, averaging 10.6 and 10.7 ppg in 2022 and 2023, respectively. That’s the sort of production that every fantasy manager would take from someone on the edge of even being drafted.
Now in Buffalo, Palmer gets a QB upgrade with Josh Allen and has little competition for targets. Khalil Shakir mainly plays the slot, so there’s no overlap, and the Buffalo Bills don’t have a clear outside flanker, so Palmer looks like the favorite for that spot. He’s better than Keon Coleman and a rare true WR sleeper you can grab in the final rounds.
Miami Dolphins: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
Finding a sleeper wide receiver on the Miami Dolphins is tough. Oftentimes, when Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle struggle, the offense often shifts toward short passes to Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane. That means even if one of the Dolphins’ star targets gets hurt, it’s unlikely another wide receiver steps up for fantasy.
All that being said, if you’re honing in on a Dolphins WR to pick up the slack in the absence of Hill and/or Waddle, the best long-shot option is Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who always seems to pop up on fantasy rosters, even if just briefly.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine pic.twitter.com/1gmFxUmOvH
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) January 28, 2025
It’s tough to legitimately sleep on Westbrook-Ikhine, who is coming off his best season. While he didn’t hit 500 yards and only caught 32 passes, he still somehow scored nine touchdowns (an absurd 28.1% TD rate), despite having just two games with more than 50 receiving yards.
As the Dolphins’ likely WR3, Westbrook-Ikhine may pop for a week or two and land in waiver wire columns. But he’s not worth drafting.
New England Patriots: Kyle Williams
The New England Patriots drafted Kyle Williams in the third round — so you know they’re high on getting him the ball this season.
Williams enters a wide-open WR room with a young, rising quarterback, in Drake Maye. Entering Week 1, Stefon Diggs is the clear WR1 for the Patriots, but he’s 31 and coming off a torn ACL. Thus, there’s room for someone else to step up — enter Williams, who will likely have as good an opportunity as anyone to fill the void.
Heading into drafts, the fantasy community seems to have decided that Williams would cash in on an opportunity if it indeed presents itself. His ADP is already up to WR63, which is high for a third-round rookie who’s currently fourth on the depth chart.
That draft position is a little disappointing, since Williams is a player fantasy managers should want to take a shot on. His ADP ignores the presence of Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, and Kendrick Bourne. Still, we know what Hollins and Bourne are, and while Douglas has a bit more juice, he looks like a long-term WR3.
New York Jets: Arian Smith
The New York Jets’ wide receiver group behind Garrett Wilson is ugly, making Arian Smith the best sleeper option by default. Allen Lazard and Josh Reynolds are technically WR2 and WR3, respectively, but both are journeymen in their late 20s. We’re not willing to bet that this is the year they suddenly break out.
If you’re taking a flier on anyone not named Wilson, it has to be a young guy, like Smith, and not a player, such as Malachi Corley, who caught just three passes for 16 yards as a rookie.
The Jets drafted Smith in the early fourth round, and although Round 4 rookies rarely make noise, his ceiling is at least higher than the others.
