If there’s one thing fantasy managers love, it’s a good sleeper. In modern fantasy football, finding sleepers is harder than ever. Here is the best WR sleeper candidate on every NFC South team.
Darnell Mooney
Atlanta Falcons
This one’s a bit of low-hanging fruit. Darnell Mooney proved his sleeper appeal last season, catching 64 passes for 992 yards and five touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons’ WR2. He averaged 12.1 fantasy points per game, firmly landing him in WR3 territory.
Mooney’s not going to be a league-winner, but he’s absolutely worth a spot on fantasy rosters. Despite his strong 2024 season, his ADP sits at WR50. He’s clearly the Falcons’ third-best offensive weapon behind Bijan Robinson and Drake London, so Mooney is a solid bet to beat his ADP.
Jalen Coker
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers now have a clear WR1 in rookie first-rounder Tetairoa McMillan. He’s a virtual lock to lead the team in targets and be Carolina’s top fantasy receiver.
But outside of McMillan — and of course Chuba Hubbard in the run game — any other fantasy-relevant option is wide open. Given the choice between 35-year-old Adam Thielen, a clear bust in Xavier Legette, or the upstart Jalen Coker, we’ll take the 2024 UDFA.
Last year, Coker didn’t even see the field until Week 4 and only played 8.7% of the snaps. He really got going in Week 5, giving him 10 games to collect 32 catches for 478 yards and two scores. By Week 10, Coker was a full-time player, but an injury cost him three games.
When healthy, Coker looked like a legit NFL receiver. He had fantasy totals of 17.8 and 21.0 points, plus another game with 14.0. In just 10 full games (not counting Week 4), he had as many double-digit fantasy outings as Legette.
Jalen Coker pic.twitter.com/AAiwRkDOJE
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) January 25, 2025
Bryce Young showed real progress late in the year. The Panthers should run a two-WR set with McMillan and Coker, using Thielen in the slot for 11 personnel.
Coker’s WR74 ADP puts him about 10 spots behind Thielen and Legette, but that’s off.
Rashid Shaheed
New Orleans Saints
The question with Rashid Shaheed isn’t whether he’s a sleeper — it’s why he still is.
Before getting hurt last season, Shaheed averaged 13.6 fantasy points per game (4.0 more than Chris Olave).
Are we sure Olave deserves a WR36 ADP while Shaheed sits at WR54? The latter opened 2024 with four games of at least 16.3 fantasy points. He’s boom-or-bust and relies on splash plays, but he’s cheap.
The New Orleans Saints aren’t expected to be good, so they’ll be trailing and throwing. They’ll still score touchdowns, though, and Shaheed is a big-play threat who costs next to nothing.
Emeka Egbuka
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers seem to churn out WR sleepers annually. Last year, it was Jalen McMillan. This year, it’s first-rounder Emeka Egbuka.
Egbuka’s ADP isn’t low because of his talent. Typically, we don’t see first-round wide receivers with top 10 quarterbacks fall to WR47. But he’s in an Odunze or Smith-Njigba situation — blocked by Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
As the WR3, Egbuka likely won’t offer more than WR4 value. However, that might not be his role all year.
September matters… but December matters more. Egbuka might hover as a fringe Flex option, but if Evans or Godwin goes down (or if Evans, at 32, starts to decline), Egbuka could pop. And at his price, he’s worth the risk.
