Are you sleeping on the sleepers?? Fantasy football is all about the SLEEPER, baby…they literally named an app after it! Any Joe Schmo can draft A.J. Brown or George Kittle, but can you find the next one?
The fun of fantasy football is picking up that one random waiver wire player who outscores your oppponent’s first-round pick. This is easier said than done, of course. The best method is to focus your bench on sleepers/rookies who are unlikely to hit your fantasy football lineup in week one, but can contribute at some point from midseason onward.Â
Patience is a virtue. If you can hold onto these players for at least a month after drafting them, multiple can potentially pay off and serve as those ever-valuable “league winners”. Especially, the RBs. Handcuff/contingent RBs are gold and must be held despite early-season frustration (unless injuries strike them). If the snaps and/or production fluctuates, do not waver unless they drop far down the depth chart.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to comment below or contact me on Twitter/X (@RotoSurgeon).
2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers
QB Trevor Lawrence (JAC)
What’s that old saying? Right, “A rising tide lifts all boats”. The Jaguars traded their 2026 first-round pick to move up for Travis Hunter in this year’s NFL Draft. Hunter projects as an incredible WR and DB. Based on reports from camp, it appears that Hunter will be prioritized on offense to begin this season as the Jaguars reconstruct their offense after years of Evan Engram and Christian Kirk.
With Hunter and 2024 breakout WR Brian Thomas Jr. in the fold, Lawrence should have two elite athletes to seek downfield, along with the field-stretching Dyami Brown. Lawrence also has an inherent advantage for potential fantasy production with his rushing ability. The 6’6″ 220lbs QB averages a quality 4.7 yards/carry and has 14 rushing TDs through 60 career games. Unfortunately, he has finished as a top-12 fantasy quarterback just once (2022, QB12). With a potential offensive guru (Liam Coen) coaching the team this year and his added weapons, we could see his first top-10 season.Â
RB Ray Davis (BUF)
Ray Davis produced as one of the league’s better backup running backs last season. He posted 631 yards on 130 touches and scored six times. Meanwhile, starting RB James Cook scored a career-high 18 TDs on 239 touches. Cook is currently “holding in” for his next contract while Davis operates as the lead RB in practices. Davis is unlikely to overtake Cook if/when his contract issue is resolved, but the extra reps will build more trust with the coaching staff and allow him more grace during the season to potentially earn more “money” touches in the red zone.Â
The Bills are one of the league’s best offenses (thanks to Josh Allen), and should be in the red zone plenty once again. Davis has a natural advantage over Cook in this area with his size. He is 5’8″ 220lbs while Cook is 5’11” 190lbs. Cook is the far more valuable back with his explosive speed, but when the Bills are in goal-line situations this season, Cook could be spelled more for Davis to pound the football (unless Josh Allen tucks and runs instead). Ironically, half of Davis’s six touchdowns last season came as a receiver! We love versatility, thus, we love Ray Davis.Â
RB Bhayshul Tuten (JAC)
Fourth-round RBs are typically not the best bets in redraft, but Bhayshul Tuten is not your typical fourth-round RB. The 2025 Draft is a very talented class for RBs. Four RBs were drafted in the top 40 for the first time since 2018. Tuten could have been pushed down as a result of this relative talent. Nevertheless, he was taken as the seventh RB off the board and very early in round four (104th). Bucky Irving (125th), Ray Davis (128th), and Tyrone Tracy Jr. (166th) all went later in last year’s much weaker RB draft, yet made immediate impacts for their team with some quality fantasy weeks.
Tuten is currently RB3 on the Jaguars, but the current administration did not draft either of the two backs ahead of him. Tank Bigsby is coming off a successful season on the ground, but lacks receiving ability. Travis Etienne has a top-five fantasy finish in the past, but looked like a shell of himself last year. If Tuten flashes enough, he can carve out a role early in the season and build on that throughout the year. Within the confines of an improving offense, Tuten could produce monster fantasy numbers as a back who can do it all with elite 4.32 40 speed.Â
RB Trey Benson (ARI)
Good news: The Arizona Cardinals invested the 66th-overall pick into Trey Benson last year and did not select a single RB among the 26 drafted in 2025.Â
Bad news: James Conner had a career-high in touches and yards in 2024, which led to a mid-year contract extension through the 2026 season.
Benson was in a committee behind the workhorse veteran last season. Michael Carter and Emari Demercado cut into Benson’s snaps, leaving him with just 350 yards and one TD on 69 touches. Benson missed time with an ankle injury and was inconsistent while playing. Fortunately, rookies struggle regularly, and the Cardinals seem to entrust him as their RB2 heading into 2025. Conner remains the starter, but is now 30 years old and playing a position reserved for younger players.
If Conner misses time this season or loses his “juice”, Benson is the logical replacement to step in and siphon touches behind a quality offensive line on a team that wants to run often. Benson has many detractors, but his 5.1 yards/touch last season are good enough to keep hope alive.Â
WR Jayden Higgins (HOU)
The Texans will be without star WR Tank Dell this season (and possibly into the future) after a gruesome knee injury ended his 2024 campaign. As a result, they targeted WRs in the draft and free agency. Slot WR Christian Kirk was signed after being let go from the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars, while Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel were both selected on Day 2 of the NFL Draft. Higgins and Noel were teammates on Iowa State and once again teammates in the NFL.Â
In the two years Higgins and Noel played together, Higgins finished with more yards/game while Noel finished with more receptions/game. Higgins commanded 31% of the Cyclones’ receiving yards in his first season (Junior), then a whopping 36% in his second season (Senior)! Noel and Higgins tied with 15 TDs each, but Higgins was drafted significantly higher in the draft (34th overall vs. 79th overall).
Higgins’ combination of size and speed is tantalizing. He projects as a starting perimeter WR opposite Nico Collins on the Texans’ offense. They should rely on the passing attack plenty as Joe Mixon’s status is in question for Week 1 (and beyond). With C.J. Stroud under center, the Texans can feed multiple “mouths”. Higgins’ ability to command targets, yards, and TDs could lead to a very productive rookie season.Â
WR Keon Coleman (BUF)
Keon Coleman’s 2024 season was a roller coaster. Unfortunately, after going up, it only went down. Coleman suffered a wrist injury at the end of Week 9 and missed the next four weeks. From Week 1 to Week 9, Coleman posted 22 receptions, 417 yards, and three TDs on 36 targets with 11.6 yards/target and a 61.1% catch rate. In his final four games of the season, Coleman posted seven receptions, 139 yards, and one TD on 21 targets with 6.6 yards/target and a 33.3% catch rate.Â
This stark drop-off in production (which leaked into the postseason) may suggest that Coleman was not 100% upon return from his injury. Coleman was a dominant WR in college. He outproduced Packers’ dynamic slot WR Jayden Reed as a sophomore (while Reed was a senior), then scored nearly half of Florida State’s receiving TDs in his Junior season.
The second-year WR is in a room with several good, but not great receivers, while playing with one of the league’s best quarterbacks. If Coleman can take that next step, we could see his midseason production scale to more consistent fantasy opportunities and scoring. The Bills did not draft a WR before the seventh round in this past draft and only made one significant free agent addition with Josh Palmer, who is more of a WR2.
Khalil Shakir, last year’s WR1 in Buffalo, is dealing with a dreaded high-ankle sprain at the moment, but could be ready for Week 1. If Shakir’s production takes a downturn due to this (especially if the ankle is reaggravated), Coleman could benefit even further.Â
TE Colston Loveland (CHI)
Shockingly, the Bears selected Colston Loveland 10th overall in this past year’s draft. Chicago signed TE Cole Kmet to a four-year extension last offseason, but after an underwhelming season and coaching change, they decided Loveland was the best pick for them with several other star prospects available.Â
Loveland was a monster in his final year at Michigan. 56 receptions, 582 yards, and five TDs may not seem impressive, but he was responsible for 38% of the team’s receptions and 45% of the team’s receiving yards as a Junior.Â
The Bears also invested a second-round pick into WR Luther Burden to complement a talented WR room of D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze. The offense will not be funneled through Loveland like it was in college, but it appears that he has already overtaken Kmet on the depth chart and is a safety blanket for Caleb Williams. If Williams can take that next step this season, Loveland could be in for a big rookie season in a TE-friendly Ben Johnson offense.Â
