Everybody loves the idea of a fantasy football sleeper, but what does it mean, really?
At minimum, the goal is to find a player who will outperform their ADP, or average draft position. In the most ideal of cases, it is an under-the-radar player or even a backup who ends up being one of the best values of the season. Our experts did their best to uncover both of those scenarios below. What all these players have in common is that the conditions are right for a potential breakthrough.
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NFL: Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys
Your one-stop-shop for Rotoworld’s preseason fantasy football content.
Drake Maye QB, New England Patriots
Consensus ADP via FantasyLife - 128
Maye entered the league as a big-armed gunslinger with some rushing juice. He was built in a lab to score fantasy points and showed flashes of that as a rookie. He finished as a QB1 in 4-of-12 starts. He left two of his starts before halftime. Removing those games, Maye averaged an impressive 17.6 fantasy points per game. That mark would have seen him finish as the QB11 by points per game. Maye excelled as a fantasy asset despite a horrendous situation because of his rushing. He posted 36 yards per game in the contests he finished and averaged 7.8 yards per carry on the year. That is the third-highest yards per carry in a season (min. 50 attempts) since 2000. Now Maye gets an improved line and better receivers heading into his second season. This is what a quarterback breakout looks like. - Kyle Dvorchak
Jaydon Blue RB, Dallas Cowboys
Consensus ADP via FantasyLife - 134.8
Because of his skillset it shouldn’t be long before Blue gets significant opportunities in the Cowboys’ backfield. Blue caught 42 receptions for 368 yards and six touchdowns in his final season at Texas. His ability to be a pass catcher out of the backfield already supplants the backs ahead of him on the depth chart (Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders). Another element of his game where he outdoes his back mates is explosiveness and being able to take it to the house. So while Blue was a 5th round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, his landing spot and competition in the Cowboys’ backfield isn’t something that should be held in the highest regard. Williams and Sanders are serviceable players, but Blue will give the offense a back that can create more for himself in running lanes. He’s a player you want to draft as your RB4 (if you go WR heavy) or RB5 with upside much higher. - Lawrence Jackson Jr.
NFL: Las Vegas Raiders Training Camp
Three rookies make the top 20 in Kyle Dvorchak’s dynasty rankings for 2025.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt RB, Washington Commanders
Consensus ADP via FantasyLife - 194.6
Croskey-Merritt has been the talk of Commanders camp thus far and the seventh-round rookie could bring some much-needed explosiveness to the Washington backfield. Brian Robinson is a good player, but he’s essentially an early down grinder. And while Austin Ekeler was very efficient last season, he’s more of a complimentary player at this stage of his career. And both have struggled with injuries recently so there’s definitely multiple paths for JCM to carve out a role if he continues to impress the coaching staff this preseason. My Commanders also quietly ranked top 12 in RB fantasy points last season, so the team context here is very favorable. And while Croskey-Merritt doesn’t seem like a standout prospect, he almost certainly would’ve received higher draft capital if he didn’t have to sit out essentially his entire final college season due to a bizarre eligibility issue. Seriously, go look it up. Call me a homer if you want, but keep in mind JCM is basically free in every draft right now and General Manger Adam Peters knows a thing or two from his time in SF about finding some Day 3 running talent. So take a flier on him with your final pick and let’s see how things turn out. - Matthew Berry
Emeka Egbuka WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Consensus ADP via FantasyLife - 115.9
Egbuka has a path to fantasy value this season despite heavy target competition. In four years at Ohio State, the 22-year-old worked primarily from the slot and posted a career 87.2 PFF grade. Egbuka was the second player in school history to record multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons and now joins a seemingly crowded Bucs pass-catching room as a rookie. Chris Godwin underwent a second surgery for his ankle in the offseason and won’t be fully healthy to start 2025. Reports out of training camp have Egbuka slipping into the slot role, edging out Jalen McMillan, who lined up out wide frequently last season. Baker Mayfield threw for the third-most passing yards in 2024, plenty of volume for Egbuka as the No. 2 receiver behind Mike Evans while Godwin heals. Barely valued inside the top-50 receivers in redraft, Egbuka has the upside to pay off ADP and then some. - Aditya Fuldeore
Egbuka draws rave reviews from Mayfield
Baker Mayfield's effusive praise of Emeka Egbuka bodes well for his usage with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Joshua Palmer WR, Buffalo Bills
Consensus ADP via FantasyLife - 176.8
With Khalil Shakir hobbling into the regular season with a reportedly serious ankle injury and Keon Coleman looking more and more like a bust, Palmer could assert himself as an important part of the Bills’ passing attack in 2025. Operating mostly as a downfield option for the Chargers, Palmer often made the most of his opportunities as the team’s third or fourth option. Over the past two seasons, Palmer’s open score -- measuring how effectively a pass catcher separates himself from defenders -- has been higher than Shakir’s and Coleman’s. That Palmer has never been a strong target commander might not matter in a Buffalo offense without many options in the passing game. He could be a surprisingly solid option in 12-team leagues with multiple flex spots. - Denny Carter
Woody Marks RB, Houston Texas
Consensus ADP via FantasyLife - 209
There’s wanting a player, and then there’s what the Texans did to land Marks. The fourth round is on Day 3. It is not a time for big moves. And yet the Texans traded a future third-round/Day 2 pick for the right to select Marks at No. 116 overall. Highly unusual. What happened next was just as curious, as the Texans were desperate enough at running back to give dead-legged Nick Chubb nearly $1 million guaranteed. That speaks to a high level of concern with regards to Joe Mixon’s injury. Of course, Chubb’s camp reports have been predictably bearish, from the coaching staff and media alike. That leaves Marks as the most likely beneficiary. At worst an immediate third-down option, Marks is a Day 3 pick who could default into immediate heavy workloads. - Patrick Daugherty
Dylan Sampson RB, Cleveland Browns
Consensus ADP via FantasyLife - 157.9
The Browns are committed to running the ball more in 2025, because look at their quarterback and wideout room. The Kevin Stefanski system has generated above-average results on the ground in every year in which they didn’t make a brand new offense around Deshaun Watson’s supposed strengths. And the only problem they have is ... they have no running back. Jerome Ford took a paycut and dealt with an undisclosed injury. Quinshon Judkins is unsigned as the Browns and the NFL wait for the legal process to play out. Sampson can play a little, and led the SEC in rushing yards and touchdowns at Tennessee in 2024. I like the chances of him seizing control of the backfield early in the season enough that I keep picking him at the end of drafts. - Rivers McCown