5 Fantasy Football Draft Sleepers: Undervalued Players to Target (2025)

May 30, 2025

Adam's fantasy football sleepers and under-the-radar draft picks. Read his undervalued draft targets for 2025 fantasy football, including Darnell Mooney, Josh Downs, and more.

A handful of players are undervalued by the fantasy football community every year. Every year, those players help carry managers to a fantasy football championship. Or at least help them get very close to winning it all.

Last season, it was guys like Brock Bowers, Brian Thomas Jr., Ladd McConkey, Bucky Irving, and Chase Brown. They all blew their average draft position (ADP) out of the water! None of these guys had an ADP inside the top 95 players in 2024.

So, who will it be this season? I present to you my top 5 most undervalued players in 2025.

Darnell Mooney, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Underdog ADP - 86.9 (WR47)

After a down year with the Bears in 2023, Mooney signed a three-year, $39 million deal last offseason with the Falcons. Eager to write off his doubters, Mooney posted some solid numbers in his debut season in Atlanta.

Per PlayerProfiler, he posted a target share and target rate of 21.3% in 2024. He also had a yards per route run average of 1.97, good for 33rd among wide receivers. While not elite (like Drake London's 2.45 yards per route run), it's still a very good mark.

The Falcons deployed Mooney a bit differently than he was utilized in Chicago. He had a career-high 12.4 average depth of target (aDOT) and a career-high 15.5 yards per reception. His 24 deep targets were the 10th-most among wide receivers.

Darnell Mooney appreciation post

🌕 64 catches, 992 yards, 5 TDs

He missed a game so he didn’t get the 1k PR but he balled out pic.twitter.com/yVSUytEWbr

— Not Bijan (@InBijanWeTrust) May 6, 2025

We've heard Kyle Pitts has a lot of developing to do, and the Falcons didn't take a pass-catcher in the 2025 NFL Draft. So it's London, Mooney, Ray-Ray McCloud III, and Pitts at Michael Penix Jr.'s disposal this season.

Mooney dealt with a plethora of changes last season. A new team, a new coaching staff, a new quarterback, poor quarterback play, a quarterback change, and a change in role. Despite all of that, he finished the 2024 season as the WR31.

This offseason, everything is already in place, and Penix is likely to be an upgrade over the 2024 edition of Kirk Cousins. At his current ADP of WR47, Mooney is one of the most undervalued players in 2025 fantasy football drafts.

To the moon ✨@themikepenix x @Darnell_M1 pic.twitter.com/ufql5acBiE

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) May 21, 2025

Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts

Underdog ADP - 92.2 (WR49)

I bet you didn't know that Downs (85.1) had a higher PFF receiving grade than Ja'Marr Chase (84.9) in 2024. Pretty crazy. But when you dive into his underlying metrics, it doesn't seem so crazy.

Downs improved in many key metrics from his rookie season to his sophomore season. Per PlayerProfiler, his target share increased from 17.9% to 25.6%, his target rate increased from 20.2% to 29.6%, and his yards per route run increased from 1.59 to 2.22.

He was also fifth among all receivers in route win rate (55%), and it's easy to see why:

The most underrrated WR in the NFL is Josh Downs https://t.co/Y8sGdF6Xtl pic.twitter.com/QnBz2GIbDA

— Eagles Eric (@EaglesXsandOs) May 20, 2025

"But Adam, we can't possibly trust Downs if Anthony Richardson is throwing him the football." Who said Richardson is the starter? Daniel Jones could easily win the starting job in Indy.

If that happens, we could see Downs, who played 72.5% of his snaps from the slot in 2024, be peppered with targets much like Wan'Dale Robinson was with Danny Dimes last season. Robinson saw a whopping 8.4 targets per game over that 10-game stretch.

If Downs gets that kind of volume, it could be wheels up for one of, if not the most, undervalued wide receivers in the NFL. It could still happen even with Richardson; he just needs to take a step forward as a pocket passer for Downs to pop in 2025.

Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Underdog ADP - 104.4 (RB33)

Here, we have a starting running back going after pick 100. All Warren has to do is fend off Iowa product Kaleb Johnson, the 83rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Johnson, however, has an ADP of 76.2, or RB25. Some way, somehow, he's already usurped the job from Warren in many people's minds. But not so fast! The undrafted back out of Oklahoma State has done nothing but produce efficiently for the Steelers in his three-year NFL career.

In his first year playing for offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Warren was ninth among running backs in yards created per touch (4.17), 13th in yards per touch (5.2), and sixth in yards per route run (2.5). And that was with a hamstring injury to start the season and a back injury later in the year.

In theory, it would make sense for Johnson to take over the "Najee Harris role" in the Steelers' offense. But he's just a rookie, and his third-round draft capital doesn't exactly scream "immediate starter."

Remember, Bijan Robinson was the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and had just a 52.5% opportunity share as a rookie playing for Smith in Atlanta. If he's unwilling to give the eighth overall pick a big workload, chances are the 83rd overall pick isn't overtaking Warren right away either.

Warren is Tomlin's guy, and he's ready to bulldoze dudes in 2025.

Jaylen Warren looks like a human pitbull 😳 pic.twitter.com/keGn2S3zZ3

— Chris Ferland 🐝 (@chris_ferland) May 21, 2025

Travis Etienne, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Underdog ADP - 120.2 (RB38)

I fear we're writing off Etienne prematurely. Yes, it's true that new head coach Liam Coen drafted Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round, much like his former team drafted Bucky Irving in the fourth round a year ago.

But Tuten, who had a fumbling problem in college, put the ball on the ground on his very first carry in a live NFL setting. Here's Coen sounding off on that moment:

#Jaguars HC Liam Coen on how Bhayshul Tuten is looking:

“He put the ball on the ground today, that kinda stands out… Good learning experience, first time in a live setting in the National Football League on your first carry — hopefully you learn something from that moment.” pic.twitter.com/6nlwWz1kZo

— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) May 19, 2025

Meanwhile, Irving only lost one fumble on 475 career rushing attempts in college. Let's pump the brakes on Tuten taking over this backfield, which leads us back to Etienne and Tank Bigsby.

Bigsby was the better pure rusher in 2024, but Etienne dealt with shoulder and hamstring injuries last season. It's possible the injuries, along with limited playing time in multiple games, slowed him down and prevented him from getting into a good rhythm.

But remember, Etienne is a former first-round pick and just two years removed from a top-5 season at the running back position. He's more than capable of shouldering a heavy workload.

He's also most likely going to be the guy who handles the majority of the pass-catching work. Last season, despite the injuries, Etienne received a PFF receiving grade of 70.7, while Bigsby was graded as the very worst receiving back among guys who played over 100 receiving snaps.

I want to be invested in a Liam Coen-run offense, and Etienne has the highest ceiling of any running back on the roster in 2025.

He's extremely undervalued and an easy click at pick 120 after having an ADP of 17 (RB8) going into last season.

Kyle Williams, WR, New England Patriots

Underdog ADP - 121.1 (WR59)

We don't yet know what Williams will be like in the NFL, but we should be willing to pay to find out. And the best part: You don't have to pay much at all.

The rookie wideout from Washington State has an ADP of 121.1. He can be had after guys like Keon Coleman, Rashod Bateman, and Marvin Mims Jr.

The thing about those three guys is that they are highly unlikely to become the WR1 on their respective teams. Williams, however, definitely has a shot to become the WR1 on his.

The Patriots signed Stefon Diggs to a three-year, $63.5 million contract this offseason, including $25 million guaranteed. The 31-year-old is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 8 last season.

Diggs, who was already showing some signs of decline before the injury last season, might not be the same guy we've become accustomed to seeing. That's where Williams comes into the picture.

He was the first wide receiver drafted by the new regime of Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels and should get plenty of opportunities to prove himself early on.

Kyle Williams isn't a secret anymore, he's a Patriot. And a bad man.

My top-60 WR taking 6⃣points like a bribe here on a straight up go.

Content 🎦coming up on how draft's best technician was always open at Washington State. pic.twitter.com/5j7rEAkGAI

— ZeeBee (@BellinoZee) April 27, 2025

Not only does he pass the eye test, but he also gets the stamp of approval from Matt Harmon's Reception Perception.

New Patriots WR Kyle Williams shows a ton of excellent skills in his #ReceptionPerception Prospect Profile 👀

Some highlights:
- 73.5% success rate vs press (82nd percentile)
- Elite short route success rates
- Went down in first contact on just 44% of “in space” attempts… pic.twitter.com/1Cq8Mcnqpn

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) April 30, 2025

Drake Maye is an ascending quarterback, McDaniels has a long history as a great offensive coordinator, and Williams has a shot to be the WR1. Yeah, I'd say he's undervalued at pick 121.

Think McConkey and Thomas Jr. from a year ago.

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