By the time the NFL Draft arrives, there is typically a consensus on the best prospects. But every year, some unexpected impact players emerge.
Heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, who are some players that could be fantasy football sleepers at the wide receiver position as rookies?
Jaylin Noel, Iowa State
Teammate Jayden Higgins is the one getting more buzz and likely higher draft capital, but Jaylin Noel could very well end up being the better NFL player.
Noel spent four years at Iowa State and improved each and every season. His best year was his last one, hauling in 80 passes for 1,194 yards and eight touchdowns.
Noel was primarily a slot receiver with a low aDOT, but don’t mistake that for meaning he can’t do anything downfield. He’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type player. Fantasy managers don’t need to really care about special teams usage, but the fact that Iowa State used him there in college is a positive because it means they wanted to get the ball in his hands more.
On the right team with decent enough draft capital, Noel could be a solid WR3 with PPR WR2 upside.
Tory Horton, Colorado State
I always hesitate to recommend five-year college players. But if Tory Horton had a flawless prospect profile, they wouldn’t be going on Day 3 and qualify as sleepers.
Horton played two years at Nevada, posting solid yet unspectacular numbers. Then, as a junior, he transferred to Colorado State and exploded. Horton posted lines of 71-1,131-8 and 96-1,136-8 in his junior and senior seasons. Had he not returned for a fifth year and suffered a season-ending injury after just six games, he might be more highly touted.
Horton did manage to run a 4.41 40-time. Although speed isn’t as important at wide receiver, it speaks to his health, which is admittedly a concern entering this year.
Able to play both inside and out, Horton is very likely to have a role on an NFL team, regardless of when he is drafted. If he lands in the right spot, he could end up being the type of rookie who emerges over the second half of the season and increases his value significantly over the course of the year.
Ricky White, UNLV
Let’s dig really deep for this last one.
Ricky White probably won’t be anything at the NFL level… probably. But the reason he sticks out as a sleeper is because of how utterly dominant he was at UNLV.
Playing outside of a Power 5 conference, great production is the bare minimum. For small-school players to have a shot at NFL success, they need to completely dominate. And White did. In 2024, White commanded a 40.6% target share, catching 79 passes for 1,041 yards and 11 touchdowns.
With that said, White dominating weaker opponents doesn’t tell us what he will do against the best of the best. We’ve seen plenty of receivers destroy the competition at lower levels but then are unable to hack it in the big time.
That’s probably White. But just in case it’s not, he’s a name to file away should he show signs of breaking out.
