2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers 2.0: 15 players early drafters are sleeping on
Updated Fantasy Football Sleepers from Heath Cummings
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2 min read
The first sleeper list I put together for 2025, I lamented the fact that we really didn't have reliable ADP yet, so I used our consensus rankings and highlighted late-round guys I was higher on. As we head into July, the ADP still isn't set by any means, but it is getting better, and thanks to Dave Richard's Fans Only mock project, we do have CBS PPR ADP that is much better, much earlier than normal. With that in mind, for Sleepers 2.0, I am highlighting players currently ranked outside the top 100 in our ADP that I have ranked at least a round higher than they are being drafted.
It is becoming more and more evident that any sleepers list I put together this summer is going to talk about the Jacksonville Jaguars backfield. Bhayshul Tuten (108), Travis Etienne (112), and Tank Bigsby (138) are all being drafted after Round 8. Any of them could qualify as sleepers, though I have a hard time making the case for a 23-year-old rookie who was drafted in Round 4, who is already being drafted as the RB1 on his own team. So I will make the case for the veterans instead.
The easiest case to make is for Etienne, the likely Week 1 starter, the only back on the team who doesn't have a problem catching the ball and holding on to it. Etienne is a former first-round pick, has been teammates with quarterback Trevor Lawrence since the pair won a National Championship in 2018 with the Clemson Tigers, and he is still just 26 years old. While his rushing efficiency hasn't been good since his rookie year, he has caught 97 passes in his last 32 games, and Liam Coen's Buccaneers threw 121 passes to their backs in 2024. In full PPR, Etienne should be the first Jaguars back drafted, and he should go at least three rounds earlier than his current Round 10 ADP.
Making the case for Bigsby isn't quite as easy in full PPR; he's only seen 16 targets in two seasons and turned those into a paltry eight catches for 60 yards. But he was legitimately good as a rusher last year, borderline great. Bigsby led the entire league in yards per contact after rush (3.30) and the percentage of his rush yards that came after contact (72.3%). He was also top-five in yards per carry against a stacked box. The fact that he is going 30 picks after Tuten does not make any sense at all to me, but you should take advantage of it.
From my perspective, the Jaguars already have a very good pass-catching back and a very good rushing back. Which is why I have a really hard time getting excited about Tuten, who the team didn't draft until Day 3. The argument I have most commonly heard is that Coen drafted Tuten; he merely inherited Etienne and Bigsby. That argument could end up winning out, but it would carry more weight with me if Coen had drafted a running back earlier in the draft. For now, I rank them Etienne, Bigsby, and Tuten in full PPR, and only the first two are good values according to my rankings.
Here are eight more sleepers with an ADP currently outside the top 100 in early CBS drafts:
Sleepers 2.0
Projections powered by
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Purdy is only going a round later than I would suggest, but five spots lower in the QB rankings. He has been the most efficient QB in the NFL since he took over as the 49ers' starter, averaging a remarkable 8.9 yards per pass attempt and posting a superb 6.0% touchdown rate. I wouldn't be surprised if those efficiency rates come down a little this year, partially because Deebo Samuel is gone and Brandon Aiyuk is injured, but mostly because I expect Purdy to smash his career-high of 455 pass attempts. This could be the worst defense he's had since he became the starter, and we saw a glimpse of more passing coming late in the season. Purdy threw 35 passes per game in his final three starts and averaged 277 passing yards per game. In 11 games last year that were decided by two scores or fewer, he was on pace for 550 attempts. He was also more of a threat on the ground last year with 323 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Despite last year's poor performance in Fantasy, this all lines up to give Purdy legitimate top-five upside and a non-injury floor that is similar to 15 other quarterbacks who aren't ranked in the top five. He is a great option if you decide to wait on quarterback.
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I didn't even think I was high on Goff, but I am two full rounds ahead of his ADP. Somehow, despite the last two years, Goff is QB19 in early ADP. The best theory to explain that is that people are worried about the loss of Ben Johnson and Frank Ragnow, but that concern doesn't show up in the ADP of Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, or Sam LaPorta. I am concerned about those losses, which is why I rank Goff six spots lower amongst the QBs than he finished last year. Somehow, that is still seven spots higher than he is being drafted. We don't need to understand it; we should just be prepared to take advantage of it.
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I am a big TreVeyon Henderson guy, especially in full PPR, and I strongly prefer him to Stevenson in that format. But I still think Round 10 is a steal for the veteran, Stevenson. While he was disappointing last year, he was still RB27 per game before he got hurt in Week 16 in an awful offense with a terrible offensive line. That was with a 51.8% rush share and an 8.9% receiving share. I expect a small dip from those rates, but a better offensive environment with Josh McDaniels returning and the Patriots' investments in the offensive line. There is also upside that I am wrong about Henderson, and Stevenson holds on to the lead job even longer than I am projecting. That's a risk worth taking in Round 9 to make sure you get him.
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I am only a round higher on Spears than ADP, but this is exactly the type of back you may want to reach on. Spears had five games with at least four targets last year and shared short-yardage duties with Tony Pollard when he was healthy. In his lone start, Spears had 23 touches. As long as Pollard is healthy, Spears has a chance to be a solid flex play, and if Pollard misses time, we'll view Spears as a must-start RB2.
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Mooney was one of the pleasant surprises of 2024, and it seems many have already forgotten about it. He scored at least 13 PPR Fantasy points in half of his 16 games and mixed in a few week winners as well. He was the clear No. 2 option in the passing game and led all regulars with an elite 9.4 yards per target. The Falcons made no significant additions to the receiving corps, so Mooney should be locked into 110 targets with contingent upside if Drake London misses time. You don't often find this profile in Round 10 of PPR drafts.
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Downs, like Goff above, was not someone I expected to be higher than ADP on. The former third-round pick has produced 83 catches for 943 yards and five touchdowns in his last 17 games and is still just 23 years old. The quarterback position is a concern, but it has been for all of Downs' time in Indianapolis. If Anthony Richardson improves, Downs has a chance to smash ADP and my ranking. If Daniel Jones starts instead, it is worth noting that his best connection came with Sterling Shepard, who, like Downs, did a lot of his damage from the slot.
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Texans wide receivers not named Nico Collins saw 242 targets in 2024, so there is plenty of room for either Christian Kirk or Jayden Higgins to have a valuable role. Kirk may be the most likely to earn targets in Higgins' rookie year, but Higgins has far more upside and an ADP at the end of Round 12. The 22-year-old second-round pick caught 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last year, accounting for a third of his team's receiving production on a team that had another 1,100-yard receiver in Jaylin Noel. It's also worth mentioning that Collins has missed 14 games over the last three seasons.
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The Packers have spent the offseason talking about Kraft getting more involved in 2025, from Head Coach Matt LaFleur to quarterback Jordan Love. That makes sense, because Kraft has been elite with the ball in his hands. Amongst wide receivers and tight ends who have seen at least 100 targets since Kraft entered the league, only Deebo Samuel can match his 8.5 yards after catch per reception. George Kittle is the only tight end to average even 7.0 YAC/R. If Kraft gets a volume boost, he could be a top-five tight end.
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Five more Deep Sleepers:
Austin Ekeler, RB, Commanders
Heath: 88
ADP: 149
Romeo Doubs. WR, Packers
Heath: 115
ADP: 177
Zach Ertz, TE, Commanders
Heath: 129
ADP: 162
Dallas Goedert, TE, Eagles
Heath: 131
ADP: 167
Quentin Johnston, WR, Chargers
Heath: 154
ADP: 187
