👉 TAP TO SAVE 30% WITH CODE NEW
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Five Wide Receiver Sleepers - 2017 Fantasy Football ADP Values

Legend has it that only true love's kiss can wake a sleeping beauty. I present to you five wide receivers that are in a deep comatose state buried on your draft board. Whether it was because of injuries, lack-luster offenses, or incapable quarterbacks, these five players are presenting you with the opportunity to be the hero of your league.

Don't be afraid of the dragon in the shape of a bogus "Pre-Rank" next to their names on the screen. Scroll down that list and take these studs with confidence because when awaken, they will be beautiful.

Okay Prince Charming, do your thing.

Featured Promo: Looking for some more fantasy football action? Adopt a dynasty orphan team over at FFPC. Sign up today and get $25 off any FFPC league. Sign Up Now!

 

2017 Wide Receiver Sleepers

Pierre Garcon, SF (ADP: WR36 Standard, WR34 PPR)

In 2013, Garcon played his first full season in Kyle Shanahan's offense with the Redskins. He finished that year with a career high 113 Receptions and 1,346 Yards. Fast forward to 2017 and the two are reunited out in the Bay. Still 31 years young, Garcon is coming off his only other career 1,000 yard season, but was only able to score three TD in the crowded Redskins aerial attack. In fact, he only caught five passes in the red zone all year.

But I don't see this being an issue in 2017, as the 49ers don't have another viable threat to compete with Garcon for those red zone targets, especially after trading TE Vance McDonald to the Steelers this week. Marquise Goodwin is a fantastic vertical threat, and Jeremy Kerley was just released. Brian Hoyer will lock on to Garcon with all his might from the get-go, and Kyle Shanahan is capable of making sure his #1 WR doesn't get negated by the defense. Remember the 2015 campaign DeAndre Hopkins had himself with Brian Hoyer targeting him a hundred times a game? Okay, not really 100, but he did get 22 in one game and 192 on the season.

I don't understand what is keeping Garcon on the board so long on draft day. In PPR leagues especially, with the target share that he is going to be fed, he could easily be sitting in the top 20 WR range by season's end. If its the 49ers projected record that is scaring you, then I will tell you that in 2013 when Garcon had his most successful season, the Redskins went 3-13. Bottom line: Kyle Shanahan + Brian Hoyer + terrible WR depth = all the Garcon shares I can handle.

 

John Brown, ARI (ADP: WR45 Standard, WR50 PPR)

Before he went out and lit up the Falcons for two touchdowns last week, John "Smokey" Brown was flying WAY under the radar in 2017.  Due to difficulty recovering from injuries due to the sickle-cell trait, Brown missed most of 2016. But if you think back to 2015, Smokey hauled in seven TD along with over 1,000 yards as he proved to be just too fast for defenses to cover when healthy. He claims to be at "90 percent" right now, which for Smokey is plenty healthy enough to duplicate those 2015 numbers again this season, especially with Michael Floyd no longer posing a threat to his deep-zone air space. The 207 FP (PPR) he earned in 2015 would have ranked inside the top 25 WR last year, and that's the kind of ceiling you should be targeting with your WR3/4 spot. The floor is a bit Smokey, but the sky is the limit in that Bruce Arians offense.

 

Adam Thielen, MIN (ADP: WR46 Standard, WR41 PPR)

Every day this guy's ADP is slowly creeping up. This is mostly due to the fact that he has now taken over the slot position for the Vikings, as Stefon Diggs moves to the outside, and people are realizing what this could mean in terms of PPR points. But Adam Thielen is still ripe with value even at his present ADP. Fantasy football doesn't always portray just how good some guys are at this game, and Thielen is one of the cases. Only five WR in the entire league ranked in the top 10 of both DYAR (Defense Adjusted- Yards Above Replacement) and DVOA (Defense-Adjusted Value over Average) during the 2016 season. Yes, these are just Football Outsiders attempt at making a WAR-like statistic for football, but back to the point. Adam Thielen was one of the heralded five. He boasted a 75% catch rate, which was only bested by four other wide-outs, one of which being his teammate Diggs.

Fantasy-wise, Thielen was the sneakiest top 30 WR of the year in 2016. He became Sam Bradford's go-to man to move the sticks, and the connection-and targets grew with every month. Now add a full off-season into the chemistry maker, and we'll get even more volume. 62% of Bradford's passes last year were of the "short" variety, which is why Thielen will at least repeat his 2016 Top 30 WR performance again in PPR leagues in 2017.

 

Jordan Matthews, BUF (ADP: WR50 Standard, WR47 PPR)

With the departures of Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, and Marquise Goodwin, there are currently around 250 targets up for grabs in the Bills passing game. As of right now, based on the fantasy football community and social media, one would be led to believe rookie Zay Jones is going to fill every bit of that void by himself. But let's pump the breaks. Yes Zay Jones was amazing at East Carolina, but we all remember how dominant Jordan Matthews was at Vandy, right? Matthews scored eight TD in both of his first two seasons in the NFL, and has reached 800 Rec Yds in all three seasons. So we have two rare specimen of human beings fighting for targets and you expect me to believe the one with zero NFL experience is going to box out the guy with three seasons under his belt because of some success in preseason? Get out of here.

Tyrod Taylor was fantastic in the red zone last season, boasting a 11:0 TD:INT ratio. But... only four of those TD were to a player still on the roster. Enter Matthews, who has hauled in 14 red zone TD already in his short career. Just two years ago, he owned the sixth highest target percentage among WR inside the 10 yard line. This is where Matthews will make his mark. Matthews will be all healed up from his chest injury by week 1, and if Tyrod stays healthy, the often-trailing Bills should be able to force feed Matthews enough volume to finish as a top 35 WR. I have been landing Matthews in the tenth round in my 2017 drafts, and I feel like a thief looking at him in my WR4 slot. The fact that the new #1 on the team is being drafted behind the likes of Donte Moncrief, Randall Cobb, and Corey Coleman is just absurd.

 

Robby Anderson, NYJ (ADP: WR56 Standard, WR56 PPR)

Plain and simple, I don't care how ugly the team is, or who is throwing the ball. The clear #1 WR on any offense, especially one that will be playing from behind so much, has to be drafted before this! Kenny Britt and Corey Coleman are being drafted 4-5 rounds prior to Robby and they're playing in Cleveland with a rookie QB, while stealing targets from each other. Stop the hate people. Yes, the butt fumble will always be funny, but good fantasy numbers can come out of awful football. Anderson was targeted over 10 times just twice last season. He scored 33 FP (PPR) between the two, and that's what we have to look forward to when the Jets are losing by 30 and the garbage-time force feeding begins.

As I am writing this of course, the Jets trade for Jermaine Kearse. The addition of Jermaine Kearse doesn't scare me away from Robby Anderson, it actually makes me feel safer about drafting him. Now the Jets have a competent WR that can provide some respite for Robby from the defenses' focus. Neither of the two will be anything close to studs this year, but things would have to go historically bad for Robby to not provide value at his current ADP.

 

More Sleepers & Draft Values




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Jordan Walker

to Run More in 2026?
Mitch Spence

Royals Acquire Mitch Spence From A's
Tylor Megill

Moves to 60-Day Injured List
Christian Encarnacion-Strand

May Miss First Few Spring Games
Seth Lugo

Throws a Bullpen on Thursday
Keibert Ruiz

Cleared From Concussion Restrictions
Ryan Bliss

Back in Action at Spring Training
Lars Nootbaar

Will be Delayed in Reporting to Camp
Nabil Crismatt

to Have Elbow Surgery
Agustín Ramírez

Agustin Ramirez Working to Improve his Defense
Nathan Lukes

Davis Schneider Likely to Platoon in Left Field
Jordan Binnington

Records 26-Save Shutout Against Czechia
Connor McDavid

Ties Canadian Record With Three Assists in Olympic Debut
Addison Barger

Moving to Outfield Full Time?
Josh Morrissey

Hurt in Olympic Opener
Robert Williams III

Will Not Play Against Utah
Braxton Garrett

Reaches 95 MPH During Live BP
Deni Avdija

Sidelined vs. Jazz
Alexandre Sarr

to Miss Multiple Weeks
Naji Marshall

Gets Upgraded to Probable
Ian Anderson

to Miss All of 2026 After Shoulder Surgery
Myles Turner

Will Not Play Thursday
Caleb Martin

is Downgraded to Doubtful
Gunnar Henderson

Leaves Camp Due to Personal Matter
Noelvi Marte

to Work in Center Field in Camp
New York Knicks

Jeremy Sochan Heading to New York
Sal Stewart

Drops Weight Heading into First Full MLB Season
CFB

Trinidad Chambliss Eligible for 2026 Season
Kyle Kuzma

Cleared to Play Against Thunder
Ryan Rollins

Remains Sidelined Against Thunder
Keston Hiura

Dodgers Sign Keston Hiura to a Minor-League Deal
Shaedon Sharpe

Sidelined Against Utah
Nick Castellanos

Drawing "a Lot of Interest"
Hunter Dobbins

Not Running or Fielding Yet
Jeff Criswell

to Open 2026 Season on 60-Day Injured List
Scoot Henderson

Available Again on Thursday
Deandre Ayton

Ruled Out on Thursday
Isaiah Hartenstein

Resting on Thursday
Jalen Williams

Will Not Play Thursday Against the Bucks
Deni Avdija

Listed As Questionable on Thursday
Lauri Markkanen

Will Rest on Thursday Against Portland
Keyonte George

Will Not Play Thursday
Jaren Jackson Jr.

Will Likely Miss the Rest of the Season
CFB

BYU's Parker Kingston Charged with Felony Rape
Joel Embiid

to Be Re-Evaluated After All-Star Break
Caleb Martin

Iffy for Thursday's Game
Naji Marshall

Uncertain to Face Lakers
Cameron Young

Looking for Pebble Beach Success
J.J. Spaun

Looks to Turn Things Around at Pebble Beach
Collin Morikawa

Eyes Turnaround at Pebble Beach
Jake Knapp

Brings Hot Form to Pebble Beach
Nick Taylor

in Good Form Going into Pebble Beach Event
Viktor Hovland

Carrying Momentum Into Pebble Beach
Tommy Fleetwood

Set for 2026 PGA Tour Debut at Pebble Beach
Harris English

Looks to Build on Steady Form at Pebble Beach
Justin Rose

Tuned in for AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Keegan Bradley

a Boom-or-Bust Play at Pebble Beach
Maverick McNealy

Playing Well with Pebble Beach Looming
Russell Henley

Carries Momentum to Pebble Beach
Shane Lowry

Makes 2026 PGA Tour Debut at Pebble Beach
Michael Kim

Putting Well with Pebble Beach on the Horizon
Billy Horschel

a Little Rattled After Consecutive Missed Cuts
Ben Griffin

Solid But Not Spectacular Early in 2026
Wyndham Clark

Has Question Marks Heading to Pebble Beach
Daniel Berger

Heating Up at the Right Time for Pebble Beach
Jordan Spieth

Looking For a Return to Form at Pebble Beach
Juuse Saros

Starting Wednesday
William Nylander

Iffy for Olympic Opener
Martin Necas

Ready for Thursday
Drake Maye

Says his Shoulder Injury was Significant
Xander Schauffele

Trying to Get the Motor Going at Pebble Beach
Hideki Matsuyama

Trying to Overcome Sunday Collapse
Kenneth Walker III

Runs Away With Super Bowl MVP Honors
Vinicius Oliveira

Suffers His First UFC Loss
Mario Bautista

Gets Back In The Win Column
Kyoji Horiguchi

Dominates At UFC Vegas 113
Amir Albazi

Gets Dominated At UFC Vegas 113
Rizvan Kuniev

Earns His First UFC Win
Jailton Almeida

Drops Decision At UFC Vegas 113
Marc-Andre Barriault

Loses Back-To-Back Fights
Michal Oleksiejczuk

Gets His Third Win In A Row
Las Vegas Raiders

Klint Kubiak Confirms he Will be Next Raiders Head Coach
Jonas Rondbjerg

Out for Olympics
Brad Marchand

Good to Go for Olympic Opener
Gabriel Landeskog

Healthy for Olympics
Jack Hughes

Cleared for Olympics
Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Returns to Super Bowl After Injury Scare
Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Being Evaluated for Concussion, Questionable to Return
James Pearce Jr.

Arrested Following Police Chase
Quinn Hughes

Enters Olympics in Red-Hot Form
NHL

Juho Lammikko Returns to Switzerland
Pavel Zacha

Misses Olympics
Travis Kelce

Undecided on Playing Future, Leaning Towards Returning in 2026?
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF