Let’s dive into fantasy football sleepers! I selected the start of Round 8 as my cut-off for sleepers because I’ve often found that’s the range in the draft when we start to see breakout RBs emerge.
The main goal is that one or several of them beat their average draft positions (ADP) by a significant margin, akin to performances from Rhamondre Stevenson, Tyler Allgeier, Dameon Pierce, Jerick McKinnon, Isiah Pacheco, D’Onta Foreman, Brandon Aiyuk, Christian Kirk, Garrett Wilson, Justin Fields, Daniel Jones and Tyler Conklin last season.
Be prepared to find hidden talents across all teams, including those in unexpected situations like the Arizona Cardinals. My only requirement is that these players possess ADPs outside the top-84 players (in some capacity because this can vary by draft platform).
Get ready to make strategic moves and uncover the next breakout stars! Here are my top fantasy football sleepers for all NFL teams. Below we’ll offer a free look at a few of these names.
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Fantasy Football Draft Sleepers
With the addition of Bijan Robinson, it’s hard to envision Cordarelle Patterson taking too many carries in the backfield. But based on his dynamic playmaking ability, he could be used more like a traditional WR. That doesn’t necessarily make him that much better of an option than most WRs in superior situations, but getting a WR with RB-slot eligibility has its perks. During Patterson’s 2021 breakout campaign with the Falcons, he finished tenth in yards per route among all RBs and WRs.
Gus Edwards is a full go for the off-season minicamp. Efficient last season, averaging 4.8 yards per carry and 3.48 yards after contact per attempt (7th-best in the NFL). Solid high-end handcuff option to J.K. Dobbins, who sat out mandatory minicamps over a contract dispute.
D’Onta Foreman‘s performance in 2022 with the Panthers was enough to convince the Bears to sign him to a one-year contract worth $3 million. He joins a crowded backfield with Khalil Herbert, Travis Homer, and 2023 fourth-round pick Roschon Johnson. While Foreman’s late-season breakout was impressive, his inconsistency raises questions about his potential usage in 2023. From Week 7 on, Foreman was the RB21 in fantasy scoring and RB22 in fantasy points per game. He ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing yards (852) over that span. But his production wasn’t consistent week-to-week, as he rushed for more than 110 yards in half of his last 10 games while finishing with fewer than 40 rushing yards in four of the others. His weekly half-point PPR fantasy finishes over those last 10 games were RB13, RB5, RB42, RB9, RB48, RB27, RB27, RB70, RB3, and RB53. Additionally, Foreman was not involved in the passing game, recording only five receptions as the team’s starter. Despite his potential, Foreman will have to compete with Herbert, Homer, and Johnson for snaps in the Bears’ backfield. While Herbert has shown the most promise on limited opportunities to the current staff, it’s hard to predict how the workload will be divided among the trio of veteran backs, especially with a fourth option added in the form of Johnson. Fantasy managers should keep an eye on Foreman’s usage during training camp and preseason to gauge his potential value for the upcoming season. He could easily be cut or emerge as the Bears RB1 given the wide range of outcomes regarding Chicago’s backfield.
The former Michigan Wolverine finished as PFF’s fifth-highest graded receiver and 10th-best pass-blocker at the running back position in 2021. His 2.11 yards per route run ranked fourth-best among all RBs, suggesting he has a legitimate shot to take over third-down duties in the Bengals’ backfield vacated by Samaje Perine. But there’s a case to be made that he would also thrive if an injury should occur to Mixon with an equally excellent rushing skill set. Evans’ elusive rating ranked No. 1, and his yards after contact per attempt (4.05) ranked fourth. Fantasy gamers got a glimpse of Evans’ potential in a feature role in Week 18, 2021 when the Bengals rested their starters with their playoff spot secured. Evans played 56% of the snaps in the regular-season finale, compiling 13.9 fantasy points – seven carries for 35 yards and four catches for 24 yards on five targets.
As PFF’s 4th-highest graded rookie running back last season (80.6), Malik Davis could see an expanded role as the No. 2 RB behind Tony Pollard. His main competition for backup duties includes NFL journeymen Ronald Jones and Rico Dowdle.
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