In every fantasy football draft, there’s always those handful of players who go unnoticed by the majority but end up making a massive impact. These hidden gems, known as sleepers, are the unsung heroes that can turn a good team into a championship contender.
Every year, fantasy managers scour through stats, preseason reports, and expert opinions to uncover these overlooked talents because hitting on the right sleeper can sometimes be the difference in winning your league. In this article, we’ll dive into five sleepers after round 8 who you should have on your radar for this season’s draft. These players might just be the key to your fantasy football success.
Is there anything better in fantasy football than hitting on a sleeper? That moment when your late-round pick or overlooked player turns into a star feels like striking gold. It’s not just about the points they add to your team, it’s also the thrill of outsmarting everyone else and knowing you can brag about how much you know. It’s the kind of move that can turn a good season into a great one.
Let’s jump right into it. These are in no particular order but are my 5 favorite sleepers. (ADP is found on FantasyPros as an average across some of the major platforms here)
Matthew Stafford (ADP – 149.6 / QB20)
Even with the constant injury shuffling with Cooper Kupp and Kyren Williams being out of the lineup, Stafford still finished the year with 17 FPPG, good enough for a QB 18 finish (based on PPG, not total FP) and I see a better year on the horizon. For the first time in a couple of years, the entire offense is healthy heading into the beginning of the year.
There is no doubting the talent that is in the playmaking positions of this rams offense. They added some offensive line depth and PFF is projecting them to be a tier 2 (or middle of the road) line. Any upgrade here is massive as last year they were ranked #28.
Matthew Stafford is one of the most talented QB’s in the NFL and a recipe for success is brewing in LA. Even at 36, there is still no throw that he cannot make. The defense isn’t great after Aaron Donald retires and a salary cap disaster arose after the Super Bowl run they had a few years ago. This leads to more possessions and better fantasy stats. We’ve already seen Stafford come up with a 4,886-yard, 41-TD season for the Rams in the pre-Puka era. Now having two deadly receivers, a great all around running back, and one of the top offensive minded head coaches in the league, Stafford could be in for a monster year.
His last 4 QB fantasy football finishes with LA and Sean McVay are:
- 2023 – 17 FPPG, QB18
- 2022 – 12.9 FPPG, QB30 (Injury Ridden Year)
- 2021 – 20.4 FPPG, QB5
It feels like he can recover that 2021 form this year with how the offense is looking. It feels like at the worst, you are drafting him at his floor.
Mike Williams (ADP – 141.8 / WR53)
Listen, I know the first factor managers are going to think about when they hear Mike Williams‘ name are the injuries. Yes, he was injured last year and had concerns over his career. But, we have to try to get by drafting around injuries. Truthfully, if you look at the draft board – a pool of NFL players will either be coming off of an injury or had injury concerns in their past. This is football and injuries are apart of the game.
There’s no doubting his talent as Mike Williams has played the perfect #2 receiver alongside Keenan Allen in Los Angeles over the last few years. He’s a large-framed receiver, who thrives with the deep ball and is a true outside the numbers threat. We know that Garret Wilson will see 100+ targets and get the majority of the work but with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, we could see Williams make the leap into the top 30 of WR’s.
In 2021, he posted a career year with 76 catches for 1,146 yards and nine touchdowns. He finished as WR12 that season. In 2022, he saw 93 targets, catching 63 passes for 895 yards and four touchdowns, which put him at a WR32 finish. He’s currently being drafted as the WR53 and if healthy, I believe he could make a strong push into the top 30.
During the offseason, Mike Williams signed with the Jets which I believe went under the radar. This, including the injury concerns, is why he sits at his current ADP. If Williams is able to stay healthy and get the #2 receiving work in an Aaron Rodgers led offense, I like his odds to return value for fantasy owners at his current ADP.
Gus Edwards (ADP – 111.2 / RB37)
It is very difficult to find a running back in the later rounds, especially in 2024. There are a lot of unknowns as you get through the draft board and into the RB30+. Here’s what I do know. Gus Edwards ran himself into a RB14 (standard) and RB25 (PPR) finish in 2023 with the Baltimore Ravens. He had a career year with 198 carries for 810 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Now I know this was in the run-heavy Ravens offense, but this was also with limited opportunity. He finished t-30th in total touches among running backs, only had 36.5% of the rushing attempts for the Ravens last year, only had a 42% snap share which was t-45th among running backs, and still had a top 15 fantasy finish in standard scoring and top 25 in PPR formats. Impressive.
Now he’s leaving the Ravens run first offense and heading to the Los Angeles Chargers. Jim Harbaugh has brought in Greg Roman as the offensive coordinator and here is the interesting part of this. Roman’s teams have never finished outside of the top 10 in both rushing attempts and yards. He installs a run first mindset in the offense and with the team lacking wide receivers, I’m looking for Gus Edwards to carry the load.
With an increase in opportunity looming, I believe this could be a huge year for Gus. The offensive coordinator is familiar with Edwards as they spent some years in Baltimore together. He brought over former Raven J.K. Dobbins who will most likely take some carries away from Gus Edwards as a change of pace type back – but Edwards will receive a majority of the red zone work.
The Chargers invested in their offensive line during the draft and want to run the ball, plain and simple. At this price, you are getting a running back who will have a role in, what should be, a run first offense this year. At RB37, it’s hard to not take the chance on Gus Edwards.
Curtis Samuel (ADP – 138.8 / WR51)
Trying to pick out what Buffalo Bills wide receiver will be the ‘guy’ this year is like throwing a dart at a dart board. There’s three names we can mention that are the top threats; Khalil Shakir, rookie Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel. A 3rd year receiver who has 49 career receptions, a rookie, or a 7 year veteran. I’ll take my chance on the guy that had more receptions last year than the other two have combined in their career.
Josh Allen is easily the best quarterback Curtis Samuel has ever had on his side. Early in his career, Samuel was catching passes from Cam Newton, but since then, he’s been paired with a revolving door of quarterbacks. Despite this, Samuel has managed to exceed 600 receiving yards in four of the last five seasons, each time with a different QB at the helm.
Allen has a way of bringing out the best in his receivers. There’s guys like Cole Beasley, who had the most productive years of his career with Allen, and John Brown, who put up over 1,000 yards in 2019. Even Stefon Diggs didn’t truly reach his potential until he teamed up with Buffalo’s star QB.
Another key factor to consider is that the Bills brought in Joe Brady as offensive coordinator, who previously called plays for the Carolina Panthers. That 2020 season was Samuel’s best year in the NFL, where he racked up 1,051 total yards and caught a career-high 79.4% of his targets with Teddy Bridgewater as his quarterback.
With Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis no longer in the picture, leaving behind 241 combined targets, Samuel is likely to see even more opportunities than the 97 targets he got in 2020, where he hauled in 77 catches for 851 yards. Under Brady’s guidance, both Robby Chosen and DJ Moore went over 1,000-yards receiving. With Curtis Samuel also being versatile and a threat as a runner in the backfield, it’s not a stretch to think Samuel could be poised for a breakout season with the right system and quarterback in place.
Michael Wilson (ADP – 204.8 / WR75)
Unfortunately, Wilson’s season hit a few bumps when he suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him in Week 9 and then re-aggravated it in Week 11. He also dealt with a neck injury. When he returned for the final four games of the regular season, he struggled to make an impact, going without a catch in his first two games back.
Not only was he shaking off the rust from injury, but it was also his first chance to play with Kyler Murray. Fortunately, things started to click with Murray over the last two weeks, where Wilson finished as WR16 in Weeks 17-18.
Wilson, who was a third-round pick by the Cardinals last season, was quickly slotted in as a main receiver last year. He ranked as WR40 from Weeks 2-8 while playing with Joshua Dobbs at quarterback.
His end zone target share was 27.8% and he will look to increase his total target/target share this year with an upgrade at quarterback. Kyler Murray will return, healthy in 2024. The cardinals passing offense is projected to be much better with a healthy Kyler Murray and rookie Marvin Harrison Jr.
I think this was a case where they had no reps together. Now they head into this season, plenty of reps to put together during camp as well as the Cardinals making some major changes, replacing Marquise Brown with Marvin Harrison Jr., trading away slot receiver Rondale Moore, and adding veteran Zay Jones. This means Wilson’s role in the Cardinals’ offense should remain similar to what it was last season.
If the 2nd year wide receiver is able to increase his opportunity by playing his way into a #2 receiving role on that Cardinals team, I think he could make a huge leap from his current ADP. At WR75, you can get him at the end of drafts – and why not take a shot on him at this value. Truthfully, you’re not going to lose the draft with your 204th pick but you could potentially win it.
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Hey people!!!!!
Good mood and good luck to everyone!!!!!