d-k-metcalf-steelers-getty-images.jpg
Getty Images

Turning a late-round flier on a running back into a week-in, week-out starter is one of the quickest ways to ensure you're competitive when it comes time for the Fantasy football playoffs and there were a few drafted late in 2024. Chase Brown, Rico Dowdle and Bucky Irving all had Fantasy football ADPs of 91 or higher last season, and they all wound up being highly productive. So who are some of the running backs available this season that can significantly outperform their ADPs and help lead you on a deep postseason run?

Identifying potential 2025 Fantasy football sleepers is a top priority as you begin your 2025 Fantasy football draft prep. And having a reliable set of live-updated 2025 Fantasy football rankings is the best way to identify the best values on this year's draft board.  Before crafting your 2025 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2025 Fantasy football rankings and cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Use promo code CHAMPIONSHIP to get your first month at SportsLine for $1 JOIN NOW. 

Last year, the model accurately predicted that Bills running back James Cook would comfortably outperform his ADP (RB14). The result: Cook rushed for 1,009 yards and 16 touchdowns while adding 32 receptions for 258 yards and two more scores as a receiver. He finished as RB8 in CBS Sports PPR leagues and his maturation into a scoring threat cemented his status as a Fantasy football superstar.

The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, identifying A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020, nailing Jonathan Taylor's monstrous season in 2021 and correctly predicting C.J. Stroud would take a step back in 2024. Additionally, it's called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.

Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2025, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them. 

Top 2025 Fantasy football sleepers

One of the 2025 Fantasy football sleepers the model is predicting: Raiders quarterback Geno Smith. The veteran quietly had career highs in passing yards and completion percentage last year while tossing his second-most touchdown passes. He ranked 14th amongst quarterbacks in Fantasy points and was then traded from Seattle to Las Vegas. He'll reunite with Pete Carroll, who Smith had his two best statistical seasons under, and he'll get to play for new OC and offensive guru, Chip Kelly.

Despite a lack of success last year, the Raiders still managed to rank 13th in passing offense, even with a trio of backup-caliber quarterbacks starting for them. Brock Bowers may already be the best receiving tight end in the league, while the offense added a potentially generational running back talent in Ashton Jeanty. Out wide, Jakobi Meyers is coming off a 1,000-yard season, and rookie Dont'e Thornton is an explosive playmaker who led all of FBS with 25.4 yards per catch at Tennessee a year ago. The model puts Smith on par with C.J. Stroud in its 2025 Fantasy football rankings, despite Smith being drafted multiple rounds later on average.

Another sleeper that SportsLine's Fantasy football rankings 2025 have identified: Bears running back D'Andre Swift. In the only season that Swift and new Bears head coach Ben Johnson were paired together in Detroit (2022), Swift averaged 5.5 yards per carry and finished with 931 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns despite missing three games with an injury. He also did that while playing behind Jamaal Williams, who outcarried Swift 262-99 and bested him 274-147 in total touches.

Swift left for Philadelphia the following season, where he went on to rush for over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, and then signed with the Bears in 2024, where he produced a career-high 1,345 scrimmage yards. Johnson had two highly-productive backs in each of his three years calling plays in Detroit, so there should be more than enough work to go around for Swift and his backup Roschon Johnson. That's a big reason why the model ranks him ahead of Joe Mixon and David Montgomery, who are both being drafted earlier on average. See which other Fantasy football sleepers 2025 to pick here.

How to find proven 2025 Fantasy football rankings

SportsLine is also extremely high on a veteran wide receiver to surprise with his production. The model says this wideout is a shocking top-10 option ahead of younger stars like A.J. Brown and Drake London. You can only see who it is, and the 2025 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.

So which 2025 Fantasy Football sleepers should you target, and which wide receiver shocks the NFL with a top-10 performance? Visit SportsLine now to get 2025 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called James Cook's huge season, and find out.

2025 Fantasy football ADP

(PPR, via CBS)

1. Ja'Marr Chase (1.70)
2. Bijan Robinson (2.59)
3. Saquon Barkley (3.15)
4. Jahmyr Gibbs (3.91)
5. CeeDee Lamb (7.23)
6. Justin Jefferson (7.44)
7. Derrick Henry (8.28)
8. Christian McCaffrey (9.14)
9. Ashton Jeanty (11.63)
10. Josh Jacobs (12.05)