Fantasy football managers should always be searching for the next collection of late-round sleepers to target at the end of drafts. Who are some of the most intriguing sleeper options at the wide receiver position to consider adding to your fantasy team entering the 2024 NFL season?
Fantasy Football WR Sleepers
The term sleeper in the fantasy football world can be used quite loosely depending on the individual analyst’s definition of the word. For this exercise, we’re going to qualify these sleeper options as players who are currently outside of the top 120 overall, according to ADP data. This means these players should regularly be available past the 10th round of your fantasy drafts.
Adonai Mitchell, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Michael Pittman Jr. may enter the 2024 season as the unquestioned alpha in Indianapolis’ WR room because of his 109 receptions for 1,152 yards and four scores on 156 targets in 2023, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook the other options in this passing attack in 2024.
The situation behind Pittman should not scare fantasy managers away from investing middle-round draft capital on rookie WR Adonai Mitchell heading into his rookie year.
Sure, Josh Downs had his fair share of moments as a rookie and should have a consistent role as a slot option. But his best games were with Gardner Minshew II under center, and Downs doesn’t exactly have the WR2 role locked down. The fact Downs is entering the year with an injured ankle could actually open up more targets early in the season for Mitchell.
Don’t even get me started on Alec Pierce, whose immense snap share from last season is sure to evaporate with Mitchell now on the roster after posting a brutal 0.87 yards per route run in 2023.
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Mitchell entered this draft process with a somewhat polarizing prospect profile. His ideal size (6’2”, 205 pounds) and vertical speed (4.34-second 40-yard dash) give him an immediate opportunity to operate as an outside vertical playmaker.
In addition, Mitchell flashed exceptional fluidity and creativity as a route runner to consistently create separation at the breakpoint in college. This fit from a schematic standpoint is outstanding for both Richardson and the Colts’ offense.
One could even see a similar role for Mitchell to that of DeVonta Smith in Philadelphia — who thrived in Shane Steichen’s scheme as a vertical playmaking second option alongside A.J. Brown. Smith and Mitchell are different prospects, but they do share plenty of vertical speed and great route-running ability as an outside option in the passing game.
If Mitchell is on the football field over 90% of the time like Pierce was last season, fantasy managers should expect Mitchell to significantly outproduce Pierce’s 2023 output of just 32 receptions for 514 yards.
The volume is a bit tricky to pinpoint for Mitchell entering his rookie year, but the snap share opportunity, perfect schematic fit, great physical tools, and route-running nuance all set him up for a fantasy-relevant role in 2024. Downs suffering a high ankle sprain in early August does potentially open up more snaps and targets to start the year if Downs misses any time or isn’t 100% for the start of the season.
Mitchell’s ADP currently sits at No. 164 overall (WR61 off the board). Mitchell is being drafted behind other receivers like Gabe Davis, Adam Thielen, and Jerry Jeudy.
I will gladly take the chance on Mitchell and his upside in this offense over the receivers going in his range.
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills
Through the first seven games of the 2023 season, Khalil Shakir looked like nothing more than a package-specific role player in the Buffalo Bills offense, with just eight receptions for 75 yards and one score as the WR103 in full-PPR formats.
Yet, Shakir’s expanded role and production against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9, which resulted in six receptions for 92 yards on six targets, led to his role significantly expanding over the back half of his second NFL season.
From Week 8 through the rest of the regular season, Shakir was the WR46 in full-PPR formats. He totaled 31 receptions for 536 yards and one score, with an average of 9.2 fantasy points per game through that span.
These may not be league-winning numbers, but the fact they were generated while Shakir played alongside Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, and Dalton Kincaid is nothing to scoff at either. In fact, Shakir actually outscored Davis during this span by 8.7 fantasy points.
When you look at Shakir’s overall production from 2023, he finished as the WR61 overall with 39 receptions for 611 yards and two scores. He took a nice step in the right direction last year, but he’s still a bit away from being a reliable fantasy starter based on those numbers alone.
One encouraging sign was Shakir’s average of 7.2 yards after the catch, which actually ranked third behind only Deebo Samuel Sr. and Rashee Rice among players with 30+ receptions in 2023. Both are in the conversation of the best RAC threats at the WR position in the NFL. Shakir can be a very dangerous player when he has the ball in his hands.
Entering 2024, the Bills have purged 241 targets, 152 receptions, 1,929 yards, and 15 touchdowns worth of receiving production off the roster this offseason with the departures of Diggs and Davis. While that bodes well for Shakir’s chances of potentially seeing a bigger role in the passing game, it’s been coupled with Buffalo signing Curtis Samuel and drafting Keon Coleman this offseason.
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Samuel is a proven veteran with a similar skill set to Shakir, and Coleman has the physical tools to potentially operate outside as an X receiver but has some issues consistently creating separation.
In an ideal world, Shakir could see a similar role to Cole Beasley’s in 2020, when the former Bill finished as the WR27 with 82 receptions for 967 yards and four scores from 107 targets.
Shakir lined up in the slot for 69% of his snaps last year, which echoes Beasley’s usage in this offense during his best years with the Bills. Since Buffalo doesn’t have an established alpha target-earner on the roster anymore, this certainly feels like it’s within the range of outcomes.
Shakir’s ADP of No. 129 overall (WR52 off the board) means fantasy managers aren’t quite convinced he’ll become a reliable fantasy starter in 2024. I don’t share those concerns.
Shakir really emerged as a reliable option for Allen down the stretch. His above-average ability to create yards after the catch makes him a great potential option for Allen to connect on some easy completions with the lack of a true WR1 in this offense.
Ultimately, you want a piece of this Buffalo passing offense. Shakir is currently the cheapest option among all of the pass catchers on the Bills’ roster on fantasy draft day, so I want him on my team.
Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
Brian Thomas Jr. had a bit of a quiet start to training camp, which helped push his fantasy football draft-day price down the board all the way to the 11th round. This presents managers with an outstanding opportunity to land an exceptional vertical threat prospect paired with a promising talent under center at a clearance-rack price entering the 2024 NFL season.
Thomas’ exceptional size (6’3”, 209 pounds), elite speed (4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine), and explosive athleticism (38.5” vertical jump) all appeared on the tape from his 2023 season and afford him the physical tools to be a menace as a vertical threat operating as an X or Z receiver at the professional level.
Additionally, the foot suddenness, curvilinear acceleration, and lateral agility for a player that size suggest Thomas had some of the essential building blocks to be an effective separator along the vertical plane, outside of just running a post or go route.
Yet, Thomas’ lack of consistent route-running refinement could limit what the Jaguars ask him to do early in his rookie season, but his role as a vertical field-stretcher with red zone and contested-catch upside should help mask those potential pitfalls in his prospect profile.
The target competition in Jacksonville isn’t exactly terrible. Christian Kirk is a very effective hybrid slot operator, Evan Engram is quietly one of the best receiving TEs in the league, and Davis, who may be volatile, does have a proven track record of serving as a capable vertical weapon in the passing game during his time in the NFL.
Yet, I still strongly believe Thomas is the best candidate to step into the Calvin Ridley role from last year — which means he has sneaky top-20 upside at the position entering his rookie year. For some reference, that role led to a WR18 overall finish with 76 receptions for 1,016 and eight scores and included a league-leading 23 end-zone targets in 2023.
If Thomas sees the type of volume Ridley did last year, then he is an immense value with elite upside in 2024.