Late-Round Fantasy Football Sleepers to Target

By Logan Flynn | August 10, 2023

Fantasy Football Sleepers to Target

Every year, there are a number of players who greatly perform their very low ADPs. Sometimes they are taken in the final rounds of the draft, and sometimes they are waiver pickups who weren’t drafted at all. We call these guys sleepers. Sleeper options can be hard to predict and very hit-or-miss. Because their draft value is so low though, the return on them can be huge. With one late-round investment in a successful sleeper, the trajectory of your season can change. Here are some of the guys that are going extremely late in drafts who could turn out to be viable and even star pieces of your lineup by the end of the year.

Zay Flowers 

  • ADP: 128
  • WR 54

This offseason, the Ravens committed to getting Lamar Jackson the weapons he needs to make Baltimore a high-caliber passing offense. Mark Andrews has consistently been Lamar Jackson’s favorite target, but the Ravens have had trouble securing talent at the wide receiver position in recent years. To give Lamar some more weapons besides Andrews and Rashod Bateman, Baltimore shelled out some serious cash on Odell Beckham Jr and spent the 22nd pick in the 2023 NFL draft on Boston College product, Zay Flowers. Beckham missed all of the 2022 season due to an ACL injury that he sustained against the Bengals in Super Bowl 56, and he has not played much within the last 3 seasons in general. It is uncertain whether he will be able to return to the high level he played at for most of his career, which draws some uncertainty to who could emerge as the Ravens’ WR1. Zay Flowers is a human joystick that can make plays all around the field. He is not huge in stature, but he plays with a high motor and can get open with ease. He should be a very quarterback-friendly receiver, and he could end up leading the Ravens in receiving yards. He is currently going as WR 54 which is a steal for teams looking for high-upside players in late rounds.

Jerick McKinnon

  • ADP: 114
  • RB 42

Runningbacks are a hot commodity in fantasy football, so finding viable options in the late rounds can be very difficult. Jerick McKinnon is a veteran runningback who turned out to be a key playmaker in the final stretch of the regular season for the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. In weeks 13 through 18, McKinnon racked up 416 all-purpose yards and 9 touchdowns. It is difficult to tell who Kansas City’s playmakers will be besides Mahomes and Kelce, but McKinnon proved to be a trusted target with big play ability in the second half of the season. While Isaiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire will also fight for touches in the backfield, McKinnon benefits in that most of his production last year came from being a receiver out of the backfield. 9 touchdowns in 6 weeks is very impressive, but it’s not necessarily sustainable. However, McKinnon averaged nearly 21 PPR points in that span, which would make him a mid to high-end RB1. The fact that a running back with that potential is going 114th overall in drafts is nuts. If he gets fazed out of the offense for whatever reason, drafting him is still low risk because he is going in late rounds. If he continues anywhere near his production from 2022 though, he could be a huge asset to fantasy rosters. 

Mike Gesicki

  • ADP: 182
  • TE 23

Consistently good tight ends are difficult to come by in fantasy football these days. Besides players like Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews, scoring is quite volatile with nearly every other tight end. A season removed from 2 straight top-10 fantasy football performances, Mike Gesicki is joining a New England Patriots offense that loves to utilize tight ends in the passing game. Gesicki was a gifted playmaker and red zone threat in Miami, but there have just been too many mouths to feed in the Dolphins’ passing game with the addition of Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill. Hunter Henry will likely remain the top dog as the most well-rounded tight end on the team, but Gesicki’s pass-catching talent could allow him to become a productive member of an offense that desperately needs receiving playmakers. It is unclear how tight ends will be utilized in Bill O’Brien’s new-look offense, but the one constant in New England despite offensive coordinators coming and going is their usage of tight ends. Gesicki is being drafted as the 23rd tight end and 182nd overall player in fantasy, so picking him up in the late rounds of drafts could prove to have a serious return on investment. 

John Metchie III

  • ADP: 240
  • WR 82

After being selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, John Metchie was forced to miss the 2022 season after being diagnosed with leukemia. A little over a year later, Metchie is cancer-free and cleared to begin his career in the NFL. The last season Metchie played at Alabama in 2021, he broke out with 96 catches for 1142 yards and 8 touchdowns. He is a talented route-runner who could be the next Alabama receiver to make a big splash in the NFL. The Texans’ receiver room is wide open, and Metchie could prove to be the best out of the bunch. He is going to be catching passes from the 2023 #2 overall pick, CJ Stroud, who could end up taking a while to sustain fantasy receivers. However, Metchie’s talent and extremely low ADP could make him a solid late-round sleeper if he and Stroud are able to form a connection throughout the season. 

Kyler Murray

  • ADP: 164
  • QB 21

In December of 2022, Kyler Murray tore his ACL and missed the rest of the season. An ACL tear is a significant injury for players of any position, but it is especially concerning for quarterbacks who take lots of hits and rely heavily on their footwork. It is unknown when Murray will make his return in Arizona, but he could be a valuable player to have in your injured reserve slot if he does. Every year Murray has been in the NFL besides last season, he has been a top-10 scoring quarterback in fantasy football. This includes a top-3 campaign in Murray’s sophomore year. Murray still possesses the rushing and passing upside needed to be a top fantasy football quarterback, and managers will likely avoid him because of the uncertainty about his health. If you can get Murray late in drafts and stash him until he’s healthy, he could be a sneaky weapon when it’s crunch time for making the fantasy football playoffs. 

D’Onta Foreman

  • ADP: 129
  • RB 45

After Christian McCaffrey was traded to the 49ers, D’Onta Foreman took over as the lead back for the Carolina Panthers in 2022. The Panthers all around did not have a very talented offense last season, but Foreman surprised many by proving to be a powerful and effective replacement for McCaffrey. Foreman didn’t see much action in the first 6 weeks of 2022, but when he became the starter, he was a focal point of the Panthers’ offense. He ended the season with 914 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns, and he proved that he could be an effective back in the NFL. While it seemed like the Panthers were satisfied with Foreman as their RB1, they opted to sign Miles Sanders to a 4-year deal and have him take the reigns in the backfield. Foreman then signed a 1-year deal with the Chicago Bears where he will likely fill the void that David Montgomery left when he opted to sign with the Lions. While Khalil Herbert is still on the roster and the Bears drafted Roschon Johnson 115 overall, Foreman could very feasibly take over the #1 back duties in Chicago. Although Justin Fields should also eat into Chicago’s rushing volume, it is not often that a team’s potential RB1 has an ADP in the 120s. Going at RB45, D’Onta Foreman could be a steal and a genuine starting option this season.

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Logan Flynn
Logan was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where he grew up watching sports with his parents and brother. He recently graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he studied Psychology. While getting his Bachelor’s degree, his favorite pastime was researching and writing about sports, particularly the NFL. His interest in writing about fantasy football started when he began writing comedic editorials for the enjoyment of his long-time league mates. He is a die-hard Patriots, Bruins, and Red Sox fan, but when it comes to basketball, he roots for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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