A sleeper is essentially any late-round player whose expectations far exceed their draft capital. Most of them won’t become elite options this year, but some of them will become productive weekly fantasy starters. Prioritizing sleepers late in your drafts or keeping them on your waiver-wire watch list and acting accordingly is how leagues are won.

We asked our featured analysts for their favorite sleepers. Read on to see which players they’re targeting late in drafts or on the waiver wire early in the season.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team, and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.

Q. Who is your absolute favorite sleeper for this year and why?

Drake London (WR – ATL)
“I walked out of several drafts this summer with Drake London as my WR3 or WR4. I don’t care that his quarterback is going to be Marcus Mariota and/or Desmond Ridder, and I don’t care that the Falcons are going to be bad and likely have a below-average offensive line. He’s WR39 in ECR right now, which puts him outside of WR3 territory. I think he finishes as a WR2 because I believe in the talent and think he’s going to see 125 targets in this offense. Everything Atlanta does on offense, especially in the red zone, is going to be focused on getting the ball to London and Kyle Pitts. Both should have a solid floor and a high ceiling every week, and London is someone I targeted in the seventh and eighth rounds throughout draft season.”
– Mike Maher (FantasyPros)

Christian Kirk (WR – JAC)
“Christian Kirk is being drafted as the WR40 and has a chance to be a top 20 WR based on volume alone in PPR formats. Kirk showed plenty of flashes with Arizona but lost target share consistently to DeAndre Hopkins. That will no longer be the case in Jacksonville. He’s been a target for me in every draft.”
– Joe Pisapia (FantasyPros)

Khalil Herbert (RB – CHI)
“Khalil Herbert. The new Bears coaching staff and management have no loyalty to David Montgomery, and while Matt Nagy chose to keep Herbert off the field despite impressive showings during his rookie campaign, the whispers out of camp are that the new staff might prefer Herbert’s fit in their scheme compared to Montgomery. Available deep in your drafts, Herbert will be a difference maker this year as the Bears rely on their running game to ease the pressure on Justin Fields.”
– Tom Strachan (NFL Best Ball)

David Njoku (CLE – TE)
“David Njoku is a player I love. Last year he averaged 9.0 yards per target, and in Week 1 of the preseason, he played on 100% of the first-team snaps before resting in Week 2 and then seeing 22 of 23 first-team snaps in Week 3. The main issue with Njoku in previous seasons was his paltry playing time, but with the offseason departure of TE Austin Hooper and how the team has used Njoku in the preseason, I think it’s safe to say that he’ll get all the playing time he needs this year, perhaps enough to be the No. 2 receiver for the Browns. Best of all, he’s often available well outside the top 12 at the position, usually in the final rounds.”
– Matthew Freedman (FantasyPros)

“Franchise-tagged TE David Njoku has a golden opportunity to break out in 2022 after an encouraging 2021. He set career highs in PFF grade (70.9, 10th), yards per route run (1.56, eighth), and yards after the catch per reception (7.0, first) among tight ends that commanded at least 50 targets in 2021. The Browns also released Austin Hooper, which should open up the opportunity for the athletic Njoku to take a major leap. Don’t forget that Njoku already has a top-10 TE finish on his career resume. Even with Jacoby Brissett under center for the first 11 weeks, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Njoku lead this team in targets. Former Colts tight end Jack Doyle led the Colts in targets/receptions in the seasons started by Brissett a few years ago, which suggests that Njoku could be a prime buy-low target. The Browns offense ranks top-three in target share to TEs over the past two seasons under head coach Kevin Stefanski.”
– Andrew Erickson (FantasyPros)

“I couldn’t resist traveling down the late-round TE route with this one. David Njoku is my favorite late-round tight end to target as a sleeper in 2022. His ADP hasn’t budged all off-season. The team got rid of Austin Hooper. Njoku’s ADP didn’t change. He got the bag from Cleveland. Njoku’s ADP didn’t change. Deshaun Watson signed. Njoku’s ADP didn’t change. Njoku is exactly the archetype we want from a late-round TE mega breakout candidate. Hyper-athletic (97th percentile burst score). Extremely efficient (top 12 yards per route run and YAC per reception). He could be the top target in his passing offense. Don’t sleep on Njoku anymore. Wake the hell up and draft him.”
– Derek Brown (FantasyPros)

Rex Burkhead (RB – HOU)
“Rex Burkhead He’s second behind an unproven rookie on a team that should be looking for offensive firepower from somewhere. As a veteran pass catcher, he could be in line for a lot of targets. I’m stashing him everywhere I can.”
– Andrew Hall (Dynasty Dorks)

Cole Kmet (TE – CHI)
“Unless I can grab Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews or Kyle Pitts at a discount, Cole Kmet is the tight end I want in every draft this year. In Justin Fields’ final three healthy games last season, Kmet averaged 7.3 targets and 10.8 PPR fantasy points per game. His targets per game were up 25.4% from his season average, while his fantasy points per game were up 34.3% from his season average. More importantly, his 10.8 fantasy points per game average would have made him the TE5 over a 17-game pace despite not scoring a touchdown. Kmet is my top sleeper this season.”
– Mike Fanelli (FantasyPros)

Jerick McKinnon (RB – KC)
“Clyde Edwards-Helaire headlines the Chiefs’ backfield, but he’s been nothing short of a disappointment since the club took him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. In fact, he was bypassed on the depth chart during Kansas City’s 2021 postseason. Jerick McKinnon was stellar in the postseason and is back in the fold this year. Yet, gamers are sleeping on him. In three playoff games last season, McKinnon had 150 rushing yards, 17 targets, 14 receptions, 165 receiving yards, one touchdown and, according to PFF, 1.49 yards per route run. So, taking a stab at KC’s lead back the last time they played is enticing.”
– Josh Shepardson (FantasyPros)

Michael Gallup (WR – DAL)
“Michael Gallup. He’s a draft-and-stash, as he won’t play Week 1, and probably not for a few weeks. However, news out of Cowboys’ camp all summer has indicated that his rehab is going well and that he may be back sooner than expected. Once healthy, Gallup should be highly productive given the lack of pass-catching options in Dallas with Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson gone and no one of note added to replace them. Cooper and Wilson combined for over 10 targets a game last year, so Gallup should see plenty of looks once he’s back. His ADP is WR60, so he’s barely being drafted. If you can nab him late and stash him in your IL slot, you may have a WR2 on your hands come the second half of the season.”
– Scott Youngson (Pitcher List)

Jahan Dotson (WR – WAS)
“Jahan Dotson has been my favorite late-round target throughout draft season. Rookie receivers drafted in the first round have been great fantasy investments in recent years. Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Jaylen Waddle all had preseason ADPs ranging from WR31 to WR49 in their rookie years, and all paid off handsomely. So did Amon-Ra St. Brown, whose ADP of WR64 last year is similar to Dotson’s this year. Dotson can fly, he has terrific hands, and he went for 91-1,184-12 in his final season at Penn State despite playing with accuracy-challenged QB Sean Clifford. Look for Dotson to return a handsome profit on a modest investment of fantasy draft capital.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)

Kadarius Toney (WR – NYG)
“Being drafted as the WR45, Kadarius Toney is my favorite sleeper to keep an eye on. We saw glimpses of how dynamic and explosive he can be when on the field last year. Sporting an impressive 2.13 yards per route run, he should be the main beneficiary of what should be a much-improved aerial attack. As long as he can stay healthy, Toney is a lock to smash his current ADP.”
– Matt Gruber (FantasyPros)

K.J. Osborn (WR – MIN)
“One of my main sleeper targets this season is the Minnesota Vikings wide receiver, K.J. Osborn. Osborn finished second on the Vikings with 13.1 yards per reception. He had 655 receiving yards and seven touchdowns to finish as the WR35 last season. Admittedly, he is the WR3 in the Vikings offense but excelled when veteran wideout Adam Theilen was out. Thielen has missed 11 games across the last two seasons and hasn’t played an entire season since 2018. Osborn averaged 13.8 ppg in the four games without Thielen. Osborn will pick up more snaps and increase his 22% target share in an expanding passing offense with the new offensive-minded head coach Kevin O’Connell, who will bring a wide zone offense and engage in more 11 personnel. The Vikings’ offense should easily eclipse ranking 11th in pass attempts last season, allowing Osborn to make more of an impact with his ability to excel in space. Another injury to Thielen opens the door for Osborn to have the chance to leap up significantly in the wide receiver rankings. His big-play ability catapults Osborn into a wide receiver with the standalone value that fantasy managers can obtain in the double-digit rounds in their drafts. ”
– Dennis Sosic (Fantasy Six Pack)

Russell Gage (WR – TB)
“Russell Gage is the biggest sleeper of the season. In weeks 10-18 in PPR scoring, Gage put up the quietest WR1 period that I can remember. He finished as the WR12 during that span last season. His WR48 ADP is just bizarre. He has a proven record of catching the football, moved to a better offense, and the Buccaneers paid him well, with a 3-year, $30 mil deal very early in Free Agency. Not to mention that the offense has 190 vacated targets to dish out with no Antonio Brown and no Rob Gronkowski. Gage will likely see a sizable uplift in targets and opportunities this season. To get a potential WR2 around pick 140 in drafts is an absolute steal. There is no doubt people will be punished for sleeping on Russell Gage.”
– Adam Murfet (5 Yard Rush)

Thanks to the experts for sharing their advice! For more of their insight, be sure to follow each pundit on Twitter (click their names above) and visit their respective sites.

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If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.