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.
- Fitz’s Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy
- 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Fantasy Football Draft Sleepers
The Commanders tight end has been completely written for fantasy football, despite his clear-cut TE1 status on Washington’s roster. He is another year removed from an ACL injury and there’s no TE being drafted as late as him with his track record of production. He finished 4th at the position in 2020, and was 10th in points per game in 2021. In 2022, Thomas was slow coming back from his injury, finishing the year as the TE35. But with LT entering the season fully healthy, I expect him to blow his TE34 ADP out of the water. Simply put, he’s being drafted at his stone-cold floor. Per ESPN’s Commanders writer John Keim, Thomas has been developing solid rapport with projected quarterback starter, Sam Howell.
Otton finished the 2022 season as the TE24, but his numbers were hit hard due to his timeshare with Cameron Brate. Brate was not retained by the Buccaneers, slating Otton up for a full-time role. In six games without Brate playing last season, Otton averaged 8.3 points per game. That average would have ranked 8th at the position last season. If Otton maintains a near-every-snap role in the Bucs’ offense (6th in total routes run among tight ends) he can be a solid fantasy contributor in Year 2.
Over the final six weeks of the 2022 season, Colts rookie tight end Jelani Woods ranked second in yards per route run among all tight ends. With top-tier athletism and whispers that he is the favorite to take over the Dallas Goedert role in Shane Steichen’s new-look offense in Indianapolis, Woods is a great late-round tight end to target.
TE Leaders in yards per route run (final 6 weeks)
1. Darren Waller – 2.66
2. Jelani Woods – 2.60
3. Chigoziem Okonkwo – 2.50
4. Travis Kelce – 2.21
5. Juwan Johnson – 2.16Woods is DISCOUNT Okonkwo
S/O to @Fitz_FF for calling out Woods' 8-catch game last year as well. A rare…
— Andrew Erickson™ (@AndrewErickson_) May 19, 2023
It could easily be Luke Musgrave that emerges as the Packers leading rookie tight end, but my money is on Tucker Kraft to be that guy. He broke out in 2021 but missed time with an injury in 2022. He’s still super young at just 22 years old, and he went to the same school as Dallas Goedert. In 2021, Kraft finished 11th in PFF receiving grade and fourth in receptions to earn a 21% dominator rating – a top-5 single-season mark in the class.
Isaiah Likely played two games without Mark Andrews last season: Averaged nearly 14 PPR points per and 9 targets per game. His 3 top-12 finishes were the same as Kyle Pitts last season. Likely has great upside if Andrews gets hurt and could provide standalone value if Baltimore decides to deploy heavy 12 personnel. Or if their new WR corps fails to stay healthy.
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