5 Late-Round Upside Picks for Fantasy Football: League-Winners to Draft (2025)

September 2, 2025

Hayden's sneaky fantasy football draft sleepers who have league-winning potential. Target these fantasy football sleepers and draft values in the mid-to-late rounds.

With the NFL preseason over, fantasy football drafts are really heating up now. Naturally, that means the time has come to identify which players will provide the biggest edge over your competition. Correctly identifying the year's "league-winning" players gives the biggest edge of all.

Some of the most common players on championship teams will be stars who excel in the fantasy playoffs. Others, though, will be the guys who return value well above their draft positions. Two examples from last season were rookies Bucky Irving and Brian Thomas Jr., who stood out despite low ADPs. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was also a league winner; he was drafted as the QB21 but turned in three consecutive top-6 QB finishes in the fantasy playoffs.

Guessing who the league winners this season will be is a daunting task, but let's take a look at five players who have that potential in 2025.

Justin Fields, QB, New York Jets

ADP: QB14

Justin Fields' struggles passing the football have distracted from his value as a fantasy option. In 2022, Fields was the fifth-best QB with 20.5 fantasy points per game. In 2023, his average declined to 18.4 PPG, but that still made him the QB9 on a per-game basis. Finally, in his six starts last season, Fields averaged 19.1 fantasy points. His inconsistency in real life is met with consistency in fantasy.

His fantasy efficiency has been even more remarkable. He led all QBs in 2022 with 0.82 fantasy points per dropback, and he ranked fifth a year later. His 0.68 fantasy points per dropback last year also made for a very impressive average on a small sample. This is largely due to his rushing production, where he routinely ranks among the best at his position. Fields' rushing ability gives him a quality baseline in production even when the passes aren't connecting.

.@justnfields FOR SIX‼️

📺: #NYJvsGB on WLNY, WCBS pic.twitter.com/ykJRUu5lVw

— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 10, 2025

Entering 2025, Fields finds himself on a new team again. With the Jets, he's been given the key to the offense all season with little fear of being benched, unlike last year when he was replaced by Russell Wilson. With just Tyrod Taylor as a journeyman backup behind him, Fields should start the whole year, barring injuries. That is a full season of some of the most efficient fantasy production you can find at QB.

However, Fields is currently being drafted as just the QB14. He also has a reliable target in Garrett Wilson as his WR1, plus RBs like Breece Hall and Braelon Allen to ease the focus on his own legs. Waiting on a QB in your fantasy draft and nabbing Fields is a smart play for constructing your roster.

Trey Benson, RB, Arizona Cardinals

ADP: RB51

The Cardinals drafted Trey Benson out of Florida State last year in the third round. The rookie spent his first season backing up James Conner, who continued to perform well in Arizona at age 29. Benson finished his campaign with 63 carries for 291 yards and one touchdown, plus six catches for 59 yards. He finished as just the RB69 in PPR formats due to his limited touches.

However, Benson has a chance to excel in 2025, contrary to expectations. With no notable additions, Arizona's backfield remains headlined by Conner and Benson. Conner is also now 30 years old, an age at which RBs are susceptible to rapid declines. Moreover, Conner's extensive injury history does not inspire confidence in his chances of blocking Benson for the full season. Conner has missed three or more games in five of the last seven years.

Benson himself also showed promise as a rookie. Despite having relatively few carries, he did well with them. Benson rushed for 4.62 yards per carry, and his 4.5 true yards per carry ranked 15th among running backs. His 98th-percentile speed score also provides reason for excitement. With another year of experience under his belt, Benson will be no slouch when challenging Conner for a larger role.

Trey Benson's stock 📈👀 pic.twitter.com/7slcyAFlRW

— ESPN Fantasy Sports (@ESPNFantasy) August 11, 2025

Despite this, Benson is being drafted as merely the RB51. While Conner has been good throughout his career, his vulnerability as a bell cow only increases as he ages. Any extended Conner absence or slump will open the door to a big year for Benson. Thus, drafting the young RB would be a wise move, especially at his ADP.

Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

ADP: RB52

The Jaguars added the speedy Bhayshul Tuten to their RB room in this year's draft. The fourth-rounder out of Virginia Tech possesses elite speed, running a 4.32-second 40-yard dash. Tuten also boasts a 97th-percentile burst score, and he had the strength to achieve 24 bench press reps at the NFL Scouting Combine. Needless to say, his selection got some fantasy managers excited.

BHAYSHUL TUTEN DID NOT GIVE UP ON THE PLAY 😤

He powers his way in for the TD

Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/sQ5iIMUSLh

— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2025

However, that enthusiasm died down a bit after early reports from OTAs and training camp. Head coach Liam Coen emphasized Tuten's deficiencies in pass protection, and the rookie's fumbling issues from college persisted. This increased the hype surrounding Tank Bigsby and rejuvenated Travis Etienne Jr.'s outlook. Importantly, it also ensured that Tuten would have the cheapest ADP out of the three.

Now, the tide has begun to turn back to Tuten's direction. He has received first-team reps this preseason alongside Etienne and Bigsby. Moreover, Jags beat writer John Shipley of Sports Illustrated believes Jacksonville will deal one of Bigsby or Etienne. This would be huge for Tuten's playing time. Additionally, even if a trade does not happen, such a claim is an indicator of the team's confidence in the former Hokie.

Ultimately, Tuten is a great choice at his ADP. He has the strength and speed you hope for, and then some. The Jaguars' offense also should be back to normal with Trevor Lawrence healthy and the dynamic Travis Hunter now in the fold. Finally, with Tuten's outlook trending upward with each new report, buying into his hype is a good idea.

Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts

ADP: WR50

The Colts had an interesting quarterback competition in the preseason between Anthony Richardson Sr. and Daniel Jones. Richardson was the more aggressive downfield thrower of the two options. He led the league with 12.2 air yards per pass attempt last season, and he posted the 10th-most deep ball attempts despite having just the 33rd-most pass attempts overall. However, Jones won the battle, and this is great news for Josh Downs.

Downs does most of his damage on short-yardage throws, with few of his targets coming on deep passes. He had an aDOT of 6.9 yards last year, and that figure was 7.2 yards the year before.

Moreover, although Downs saw 107 targets in 2024, just 10 of them were on deep throws. With Richardson being supplanted by Jones, who hasn't had more than 8.0 air yards per attempt since his rookie year in 2019, the focus of the offense will favor Downs.

We can see this in the data from last year. In the eight games Downs played with Richardson starting, he averaged 3.8 catches on 6.3 targets. In the six games Downs played without Richardson, he averaged 7.0 catches on 9.5 targets. The difference was stark. Expect more of the latter type of games with Jones at the helm.

‘Josh Downs Touchdown’ has a perfect ring to it.

📺 #INDvsJAX | 10/6 on CBS pic.twitter.com/lG5eclTXFs

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 30, 2024

There are other factors currently limiting Downs' hype. He suffered a hamstring injury that he is still recovering from, for instance. Also, the Colts added tight end Tyler Warren in the first round of this year's draft. Finally, it needs to be made clear that Jones is not actually a good QB. Still, the volume that Downs will receive in 2025 makes him an excellent choice at his ADP of WR50.

Kyle Williams, WR, New England Patriots

ADP: WR69

The Patriots elected to overhaul their offense around second-year quarterback Drake Maye this offseason. New England added offensive line help with Morgan Moses, Garrett Bradbury, and first-rounder Will Campbell.

It also added to its crop of playmakers by signing wideout Stefon Diggs and drafting RB TreVeyon Henderson and WR Kyle Williams. While Henderson has received his fair share of attention, Williams is being overlooked.

Williams, a third-rounder out of Washington State, ran a 4.40-second 40-yard dash at the combine. In addition to his good speed, Williams is known for his route running and his excellent release. This facilitates a lot of YAC opportunities. Although Williams is on the small side at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, he starred in college.

Kyle Williams hit the JETS for @WSUCougarFB on this 66-yard TD 💨 pic.twitter.com/r6XXxtz84t

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 28, 2024

The rookie's competition for targets is less stiff than it may appear, too. While Diggs has been great in the past, he is now 31 and coming off a torn ACL. Fellow arrival Mack Hollins is not a huge obstacle. DeMario Douglas has been reliable, but he will operate in the slot while Williams is more of an outside receiver. By the end of the season, Williams may be Maye's top vertical threat.

Given his ADP, it is important not to get overly ambitious when targeting Williams. As a third-round rookie with some other fresh faces in the WR room, it is very unclear how things will shake out with him. Still, Williams' upside makes him worth a late-round stash in an offense that should continue to make strides.

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