5 Deep Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Sleepers - Breakout Candidates to Target in Drafts (2025)

Matt Donnelly's 5 late-round fantasy football wide receiver sleepers for 2025 leagues. Target these breakout candidates in drafts: Marquise Brown, Cedric Tillman, Wan'Dale Robinson, Jalen Coker, and Dyami Brown.

A good fantasy football sleeper is like pulling a $20 bill from your jeans pocket after you run them through both the washer and dryer. Not only is it a surprise, but it also puts you in a position to be a buyer when you may not have previously considered it.

Let's go deep here. Once you hit the Rashod Batemans, Jalen McMillans, and Rashid Shaheeds of the fantasy world, grab that shovel and keep digging. It's time to focus on those wide receivers who are coming off the board after the 10th round when August comes, and fantasy football drafts are in full swing.

Let's look at five sleepers fantasy players should target after the 10th round in a 12-team league. The ADP used for this article is courtesy of RotoBaller.

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Marquise Brown, Kansas City Chiefs

WR61, ADP 140

Marquise "Hollywood" Brown made this list last season. However, injuries cut his season short and left fantasy managers with a bitter taste in their mouths after taking a chance on the 28-year-old wideout.

Injuries have been increasingly more common for Brown, who hasn't played more than 14 games since the 2021 season. During that season, Brown would go on to haul in 91 receptions for 1,008 receiving yards.

There is some hope for optimism when looking at Brown's recent game log. Last season, including the playoffs, Brown was targeted on five or more occasions in four of the five contests in which he suited up. This indicates that Patrick Mahomes considers him an essential piece for this Chiefs offense, which also includes Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy, and Rashee Rice.

With the return of Rice and the expected second-year leap many expect from Worthy, people forget that Brown had already become a trusted target of Mahomes. He earned 0.43 targets per route run during the regular season, which was better than Rice, Malik Nabers, and even Puka Nacua. Brown was Mahomes' first read 23.3% of the time.

New Chiefs WR Marquise Brown has been a solid zone-beater throughout the course of his career and specializes in intermediate in-breaking routes.

Full #ReceptionPerception profile:https://t.co/tUp7KDKaAk pic.twitter.com/WiGAiawvY3

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) March 15, 2024

Expect the Mahomes to Brown connection to be even better in 2025, as the Chiefs will utilize Brown and his speed and route-running abilities in a variety of ways, especially when attacking the intermediate areas of the field where Brown has historically been successful in exploiting. Brown could even enjoy a slight bump in targets during the early part of the campaign if Rice were to be hit with a suspension, as he recently accepted a plea deal.

Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns

WR71, ADP 176

Cedric Tillman enters his third season as a prime breakout candidate, considering the effect he had on the Browns' passing game when healthy after Amari Cooper had been sent packing before Week 7.  

From Weeks 7 through 12, Tillman would go on to average 0.40 fantasy points per route run and 15.6 fantasy points per game. Over that five-game period, Tillman accumulated 26 receptions on 44 targets, earning a 19.7% target share with an average depth of target of 12.8. In those five contests, Tillman was more productive than Jerry Jeudy, who is coming off the board in the back half of the sixth round of fantasy drafts as the WR35.

In the four games preceding Tillman's concussion that ultimately ended his season, the Browns wideout produced 302 receiving yards on 24 receptions, with 92 of those yards coming after the catch. 

JAMEIS GOING FOR IT ALL!

📺: #BALvsCLE on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/hAZ6Y2r9px

— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024

With Joe Flacco as the anticipated quarterback for the Browns come Week 1, fantasy managers should be viewing Tillman's floor much as they did Michael Pittman Jr. when the duo was hooking up in Indianapolis. In seven games that season, Pittman had 31 receptions on 52 targets, leading to 396 receiving yards, three touchdowns, and 12.7 fantasy points per game.

Wan'Dale Robinson, New York Giants

WR70, ADP 174

While Malik Nabers captures all the headlines in New York, and rightfully so, Wan'Dale Robinson proved to be a pivotal piece for fantasy managers, especially those playing in PPR formats.

Last season, Robinson finished as the WR36 on the strength of 93 receptions, handling a 25% target share along with a 23.1% first-read target share. Robinson saw 140 targets, the 13th most in the NFL.

New York will undoubtedly be much improved under center, whether it's Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, or Jaxson Dart taking the snaps rather than the Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, and Tommy DeVito disaster witnessed a season ago.

If you are drafting this late, then you need to be looking for an opportunity. While the yardage will likely be tough to come by, Robinson finished 12th or higher in targets, receptions, and routes run in 2024, while his 378 yards after the catch ranked 22nd among wide receivers.

HC Brian Daboll also seemed to call upon Robinson down in the red zone. Robinson recorded a 38.6% red-zone market share in 2024, the second highest among his peers.

Wan’Dale Robinson was 13th in the NFL in targets last season with 140. pic.twitter.com/N0iPjo5Rka

— Nick Penticoff (@NickPenticoff) April 29, 2025

In Robinson, you are getting WR3 value at a WR6 price.

Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers

WR82, ADP 217

Before the start of last season, Jalen Coker was considered a rookie deep sleeper, thanks to his college metrics. The undrafted free-agent signee entered the league with a 98th-percentile burst score and a 42-inch vertical leap that makes him one of the best contested catch receivers out there when afforded an opportunity. Coker lined up in the slot in Adam Thielen's absence, then bounced outside once Thielen returned.   

In two separate stretches covering Weeks 5 through 10 and then again Weeks 15 through 18, Coker caught 32 of 45 passes for 478 receiving yards, averaging 9.3 fantasy points per game, including a 21-point performance in Week 15 against the Cowboys.

Coker had found much of his success on outs, digs, flats, and slants last season, with success rates over 73% on each route. Bryce Young particularly trusted him on both out and on dig routes, where Coker recorded 11.8% and 15.4% route percentages, according to Matt Harmon's Reception Perception.

Coker has continued to build a rapport with Young this offseason, as the two were seen in Southern California training together. It may mean something, or it may not. Either way, anything free is worth saving up for, and Coker is free right now to add to your rosters.

Jalen Coker pic.twitter.com/AAiwRkDOJE

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) January 25, 2025

Dyami Brown, Jacksonville Jaguars

WR85, ADP 236

Can we go deeper than Coker? You bet we can. With an ADP of 236, Dyami Brown is essentially going undrafted. If he is being drafted, it's likely in the 20th round of deeper leagues as the WR85.

This is the same Brown who showed in the postseason that he could flip the script, posting 14 receptions, 229 receiving yards, 89 yards after the catch, 16.4 yards per reception, and a touchdown for the Commanders in just three games. Brown's receptions, targets, and yardage were all among the top 10 among pass-catchers throughout the postseason run.

Here’s 4 minutes of Dyami Brown torching defenses. pic.twitter.com/owsBTC7Uqu

— 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐒𝐙𝐍 🌴💫 (@PremierNasir904) June 3, 2025

Brown's postseason production in three games equaled that of his 16-game regular season but gave fantasy managers a glimpse of what Brown can do for you.

In fantasy, hope carries plenty of weight, especially when scouring the waivers. If Brown's 27.1% receiving market share or 12.72 yards per target from the postseason carries any weight, then Brown can certainly provide a substantial return on investment for a manager willing to put a little skin in the game.

Brown is taking his talent from Washington to Duval County, going from Jayden Daniels to Trevor Lawrence. While that seems like a bit of a downgrade, an opportunity once again awaits the former Tar Heel.

True, Jacksonville drafted Travis Hunter back in April. Still, Hunter will see time on both offense and defense, meaning Brown will have a chance to claim a portion of the 153 vacated targets left behind by the departures of Evan Engram, Christian Kirk, and Gabe Davis.

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