Everyone knows to draft Ja’Marr Chase and Saquon Barkley in the first round of fantasy football drafts. Leagues are won by finding those under-the-radar guys who significantly outperform their ADP. We still have a long way to go in preparing for 2025 fantasy drafts, but here are some early fantasy sleepers that managers should target.
Justin Fields, QB, New York Jets
In modern fantasy football, having an elite quarterback not only matters, but it’s advisable. It’s okay to spend a Round 2-4 pick on a QB. But only a handful of teams will be able to pay up for that top-end production. Fortunately, if I miss out on a top QB, I know Justin Fields exists.
Given the depth of the position, it’s understandable that Fields is ranked so low. Yet, it’s still surprising.
Fields may not be a high-end NFL quarterback, but that doesn’t matter for fantasy purposes. The only “concern” with Fields is that his performance may result in him getting benched. Well, on the Jets, I don’t see any world where he loses his job unless he’s truly horrendous. For all of Fields’ criticisms over the first four years of his career, the guy is, at worst, a low-end NFL starter. He belongs.
Since 2022, Fields has started 34 games. Over that span, he’s averaged 18.8 fantasy points per game. He is basically a QB1 whenever he starts. Only seven quarterbacks have been better during that timeframe, and they are the ones who you would expect.
Meanwhile, Fields has outproduced the likes of Kyler Murray, Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield, and Justin Herbert, to name a few. Most of these guys will be drafted ahead of Fields this year. If you miss out on the elites, wait and take Fields.
Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots
The Drake Maye proposition is similar to Fields, except that Maye doesn’t have as much of a track record of production.
Maye was understandably overshadowed by Jayden Daniels having the greatest rookie season in NFL history, Caleb Williams being the top pick and featured on Hard Knocks, and Bo Nix leading the Broncos to the playoffs. Of the top three picks, Maye was the only one to not start immediately.
This has created a value proposition for Maye heading into 2025 fantasy drafts, at least for now. There are a lot of quarterbacks with 20 ppg upside. As a result, Maye likely won’t be taken inside the top 12. But he can absolutely give us a QB1 season.
Maye’s 14.4 ppg average is fake. It includes the 2.1 points he scored when he made his NFL debut in Week 3 for only a handful of plays, as well as his 0 points in Week 18 when he played just three snaps. If we remove those two games, Maye posted 16.8 ppg, much more respectable.
This year, the Patriots added reliable veteran WR Stefon Diggs, rookie third-rounder Kyle Williams, and a receiving back in TreVeyon Henderson. Maye is also another year older and has an experienced, competent head coach. Plus, Josh McDaniels is back.
With his rushing ability raising his floor, Maye could be a surprise top-five fantasy quarterback if things break right this season.
Byashul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Byashul Tuten turned heads at the combine when he ran a 4.32 40-time, putting his speed score in the 98th percentile. The kid can fly. But he’s more than just fast. Tuten is also a capable receiver, earning a 12.1% target share in 2023.
At first glance, it may look like this is a crowded depth chart. The Jaguars have two incumbents in Travis Etienne Jr. and Tank Bigsby. The good news for Tuten is neither Etienne nor Bigsby was particularly effective last season. Etienne’s performance, in particular, was bordering on egregious.
The Jaguars have a new coaching staff led by Liam Coen. If he intends to use a back like Bucky Irving last season, Tuten is the best fit.
Coen’s staff drafted Tuten. They did not draft Etienne or Bigsby. In fact, Etienne was drafted two coaching staffs ago.
There is absolutely no allegiance to either of the two returning running backs. If Tuten shows out in training camp, he could very well earn the starting job. Even if that doesn’t end up happening, Tuten could have an Irving-like ascent that occurs gradually throughout the season.
I expect Tuten’s ADP to rise throughout the Summer. We’ll see if he maintains his appeal during peak fantasy draft season. But right now, he sure looks like someone to target everywhere.
Jaydon Blue, RB, Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have made it abundantly clear what they think of the running back position. Before the draft, Jerry Jones claimed the offensive line was the reason the running game struggled — not the personnel.
I understand Jaydon Blue was a fith-rounder for a reason. But Rico Dowdle was an unexpected RB2 in fantasy last season playing in this offense. There is fantasy upside here.
Blue has a chance. He comes with 4.43 speed and a solid receiving profile, earning an 11.3% target share in his final season.
Most importantly, he just needs opportunity. Blue is stepping onto a roster with two replacement-level options ahead of him in Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders. I would argue Sanders is sub-replacement-level.
Blue could immediately carve out a role as the receiving back. If Williams and Sanders perform to their skill levels, we could easily see Dallas push more work Blue’s way. If they were willing to make Dowdle a three-down back due to lack of alternatives, they can do it with Blue. I expect to be overweight on Blue in fantasy drafts unless we get some very negative reports throughout the Summer.
Jordan Mason, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Once you get past the clear and likely starters, it’s time to take chances on backups. Jordan Mason is going to backup Aaron Jones. But there’s a lot of upside here.
Jones has been mostly durable throughout his career. However, he’s now 30 years old. He’s said himself that “age is just a number.” But we look at age 30 a different way for a reason.
The years 2024-2026 may end up going down as a strong stretch for old running backs. Yet, betting on history is still a good move to make.
Jones didn’t miss a game last year, but he did play through a couple of injuries. The lack of talent behind him forced the Vikings to give him a career-high 255 carries at age 29. It was this exact situation that prompted them to trade for Jordan Mason, who thrived filling in for Christian McCaffrey.
From Weeks 1-4, Mason averaged 18.6 ppg. He was a strong RB1. While he never hit double-digit fantasy points again, he battled injuries for the majority of the remainder of the season.
Mason should have deeper-league standalone value right away as an RB3/4. The Vikings have hinted that he may be the primary goal line back.
Then, of course, there’s the contingent upside should something happen to Jones. Mason has the ability to handle a heavy workload. There’s RB1 upside. Mason is the exact type of back fantasy managers should be throwing a dart at in the mid-to-late rounds of drafts.
Jauan Jennings, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Sometimes, weird things happen in football and, consequently, fantasy football. Jauan Jennings never should’ve been anything. He was a 2020 seventh-round pick who didn’t play at all as a rookie, then amassed a total of 78 receptions across three seasons from 2021-2023. That’s an average of about 1.7 per game.
Then, last year, the 49ers suffered some injuries and Jennings was forced into an increased role. Yes, his 14.0 ppg average was heavily bolstered by his 46.5-point explosion in Week 3. But throughout the season, he also posted games of 16.3, 25.1, 28.0, and 13.7.
Now, the 49ers head into 2025 with Deebo Samuel on another team, Brandon Aiyuk set to miss a chunk of the season as he recovers from a torn ACL, and Christian McCaffrey believe to be fully healthy, but always an injury risk. Jennings is poised to open the season as the WR1 and possibly second or third option in the passing game behind George Kittle and McCaffrey.
Given the depth of the wide receiver position, it’s hard to rank a guy like Jennings that high. So, take advantage of his suppressed ADP and scoop him up as a solid WR4 with WR2 upside.
Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints
There are a lot of reasons to fade Rashid Shaheed. He’s coming off a serious season-ending injury. He’s a former UDFA. The Saints are poised to start a 26-year-old rookie quarterback. All of that will be baked into his depressed ADP, though.
Prior to getting hurt last season, Shaheed was averaging 13.6 ppg — 4.0 ppg more than Chris Olave. Once a huge fan of Olave, I’m no longer certain Olave is that much of better of a fantasy asset. I will have Olave ranked ahead of Shaheed, just like everyone else, but the gap is probably not as large as rankings and ADP have it.
Shaheed opened the 2024 season with four games of at least 16.3 fantasy points. He’s volatile. He’s reliant on splash plays. But he’s also inexpensive. Shaheed is the perfect guy to throw in your Flex who has the upside to swing a matchup.
Joshua Palmer, WR, Buffalo Bills
The Bills were widely expected to address the wide receiver position in the NFL Draft. They did no such thing, waiting until the very last round to select Kaden Prather, a person I definitely knew existed before April 26.
This wide receiver corps has no clear alpha. Khalil Shakir will lead the team in targets, but he’s not an outside receiver. I’m sure the Bills want Keon Coleman to be that guy. Unfortunately, he’s just not that good.
Joshua Palmer has made a living on being better than expected. Although he’s never averaged more than 10.7 ppg in a season, Palmer has had stretches of WR3 value. He’s a reliable receiver who earns the trust of his quarterbacks.
I fully expect Palmer to be the main outside receiver and out-target Coleman. Behind him and Coleman are Elijah Moore and Curtis Samuel. I don’t see either as a threat to Palmer.
ADP can and will shift over the coming months. Right now, though, Palmer is a potential WR3 that is quite literally free.
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears
It’s tough to find true tight end sleepers because the position really tails off after the top 6-8 guys. In the absence of obvious breakout candidates, why not the rookies?
Colston Loveland’s offensive situation does not appear conducive to a massive rookie season. He will be competing for targets with DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden III. Those passes will be thrown by Caleb Williams, who needs to take a large step forward as a sophomore if there is to be any hope of all these guys returning value.
So, why am I touting Loveland? I’m not really touting him. This is more of a value proposition.
Historically, only a handful of tight ends really matter very year. You can largely stream 10 ppg. In 2024, a total of five TEs averaged more than 13 ppg. One averaged around 12 ppg. Then, we had 10 or so in the 9-11 ppg range. The difference between those guys is negligible.
Loveland is an elite prospect with early-first-round draft capital. If I’ve punted the TE position, I’d rather take the swing on the talented unknown in the rookie. If it doesn’t work out, whoever I pick up will be no worse than whoever I could’ve drafted. But who I could’ve drafted will have had less upside than Loveland.
Mason Taylor, TE, New York Jets
Once upon a time, the Jets had a logjam at pass-catcher. There were too many guys and not enough offense. This year, it’s the complete opposite.
Garrett Wilson remains entrenched as the WR1. He will dominate targets likely at a career-best level. Beyond him, though, there’s very little. Currently, Josh Reynolds and Allen Lazard project to be the WR2 and WR3. Why can’t Mason Taylor emerge as the second option in this passing game?
The Jets have no real incumbent at tight end. Maybe the guy ends up being Jeremy Ruckert. In that case, you drop Taylor. But what if Taylor impresses right away and earns the TE1 role? Justin Fields is capable of supporting two fantasy-relevant pass-catchers. The only one we know for sure is Wilson. This is a no risk, pure upside play.