Sneaky Overall WR1 Candidates for 2025 Fantasy Football - 5 Sleeper Wide Receiver Contenders

Quincy Milton's fantasy football WR1 sleepers for 2025. His undervalued dark horse wide receivers to be the overall WR1 in 2025. Read the expert draft analysis.

Wide receivers are important assets for fantasy football teams. They often occupy the most spots in starting lineups, and they can have huge boom weeks at any given moment. However, due to their variability in volume, wide receivers can be inconsistent for fantasy managers from game to game and year to year.

The volatility at the position means that new players can emerge at the top of the pack in any given year. While players such as Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson tend to remain among the best fantasy finishers each season, it is difficult for even them to keep a stranglehold on the WR1 spot every year. Players often have magical seasons that cannot be repeated. 2025 will be no different.

As usual, there is a crop of players who have a realistic path toward a WR1 finish. For this analysis, we will omit RotoBaller's top five-ranked wide receivers. Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Puka Nacua, Nico Collins, and CeeDee Lamb all come with the expectation that they could finish as the WR1. However, let's dive into the lower tiers and look at which true sleepers could finish at the top in 2025.

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Drake London, Atlanta Falcons

London quietly had an excellent season in 2024. He finished as the WR5 in fantasy, and he had a clear rapport with new Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. London is by far the Falcons' best wide receiver, and he will continue to attract a lot of attention from Penix.

Drake London in 3 games with Michael Penix Jr. as the starter:

• 22 catches (3rd)
• 39 targets (1st)
• 352 yards (1st)
• 6 20+ yard catches (T-1st)

1,400+ Drake season loading🤫 pic.twitter.com/ZA2NfE6xbt

— Not Bijan (@InBijanWeTrust) May 5, 2025

London's career to this point has been similar to CeeDee Lamb's first three seasons. Both players were underwhelming over their first two seasons and were even slow to come on during their third season. However, once both players figured everything out with their respective quarterbacks, they were unstoppable. Coincidentally, both Lamb and London finished as the WR5 during their third season.

Lamb took his WR5 finish in 2022 and never looked back. He finished as the WR1 in 2023 and was the WR8 in 2024 despite fighting through injuries over the back half of the season.

A bet on London is a bet on Penix. Penix did not provide a large enough sample size to say that he will be good or bad with any certainty. However, he is a top-10 NFL Draft selection and was overwhelmingly productive in college. With a full offseason under his belt as the clear starting quarterback in Atlanta, all signs point to Penix, and subsequently London, succeeding.

Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins

This selection may be tougher for fantasy managers to swallow. However, are we going to let one down year allow us to completely count out Tyreek Hill? 2024 was a bit of a lost season for the Dolphins, with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffering yet another concussion.

The year is 2025:

Tyreek Hill will average ___ yards per target. pic.twitter.com/343WjTHZN5

— Fantasy Life (@MBFantasyLife) June 17, 2025

Tyreek Hill opened the 2024 season with a strong showing. He caught seven passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. Tagovailoa went down in Week 2, and the wheels fell off until he returned in Week 8. From then on, Hill was a solid WR2, and he even delivered a couple of vintage games in Weeks 13 and 14.

Unfortunately, Tagovailoa's injury forced the Dolphins to change their offensive philosophy. Rather than pushing the ball downfield, Tagovailoa lived behind the line of scrimmage. Hill thrives as a deep threat in open space and was hamstrung by that change. The Dolphins will not be able to sustain that type of play and compete in the AFC. If they want to win games, they need to find their All-Pro wideout.

Nothing about Hill's 2024 tape suggested that he does not still have the juice or talent to produce at a high level. Fantasy managers are wary of his downfall, but it would be completely unsurprising to see Hill bounce back in a big way. Hill could see even more opportunities open up as the Dolphins traded tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

Harrison was disappointing relative to expectations in 2024. Fantasy managers inflated his draft value due to recent excellent rookie seasons from Ja'Marr Chase and Puka Nacua. Harrison was drafted as a WR1 and finished as the WR30. He was a huge bust for fantasy, but he was solid in real life.

Harrison caught 62 passes for 885 yards and eight touchdowns. His 53 percent catch rate leaves much to be desired, but it also signals there is a lot of room for improvement. Additionally, Harrison's eight touchdowns as a rookie proved that he will have no issues scoring in the NFL.

Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray could never get on the same page as Harrison in 2024. The offensive scheme did not feature Harrison as it should have. This resulted in a disillusioned Harrison, which only compounded the situation. Harrison has put on serious bulk this offseason and appears to be more focused as he enters camp. With a change in mindset and a better scheme, Harrison could thrive this year.

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort on Marvin Harrison Jr.:

"I don't know if there was a day this offseason that he wasn't in our building, training and getting better. And it's shown... He's well on his way."

Expect big things from Maserati Marv this year. pic.twitter.com/b37xw2ExKw

— The Silver Bulletin (@tSilverBulletin) June 17, 2025

The fact of the matter is that this guy is supremely talented. He would not have been the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft otherwise. With a lack of solid targets outside of Harrison and tight end Trey McBride, Murray has the talent to realistically support both players finishing at the top of their positions in 2025.

Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars

As 2024's WR4, Thomas is about as well-positioned as anyone on this list to finish as the WR1 in fantasy. Thomas racked up 1,282 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie. He did so while playing the second half of the season with Mac Jones as his quarterback.

Wide receivers often take a second-year leap forward. It's unlikely that we have seen the best from Thomas at this point in his career. He is also receiving an upgrade with head coach Liam Coen coming to town. Coen worked wonders with the Buccaneers offense as their coordinator in 2024. All of their top wide receivers enjoyed serious fantasy success last season when healthy.

Coen should substantially boost the production of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, which will inevitably assist Thomas. All of Thomas' metrics are solid. He has room to improve on his 65% catch percentage, but that will likely increase as he receives more targets in various parts of the field.

Brian Thomas Jr has a legit chance to finish as the Overall WR1 this season‼️

Last year wasn’t a fluke, he really is that good and will only be better. Here’s why🧵⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Nce37UpQAn

— Bryce DeGroat (@NFL_Convo) June 16, 2025

A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles

While Brown likely has the highest floor of anyone on this list, he is the deepest sleeper to finish as the WR1. Brown is entering his age-28 season still squarely in his prime. He should finish the season as a solid WR1, but to finish as the WR1 is another story.

Brown finished 2024 as the WR20 despite missing four games. However, he finished as the WR6 and WR5 in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The Eagles' running game was so spectacular with Saquon Barkley that they did not need to rely on the passing game in 2024. The running game will almost surely take a step backward in 2025. No player in NFL history has ever repeated a 2,000-yard rushing season. The Eagles may be well built, but a regression is likely.

AJ Brown’s 2024 was ELITE

💥3.45 Yards Per Route Run was his best & 7th best ALL-TIME

💥14th in Yards (1,079) w 120 Routes less than any of the other 13

💥34.28 Target % (2nd to Puka)#FlyEaglesFly WR1 has WR10 ADP but has WR1 overall upside in 2025🚀pic.twitter.com/bkj2RgvzQu https://t.co/Q3HJBhvEbm

— Dynasty Dad (@DynastyDadFF) June 16, 2025

A regression in the running game opens up an opportunity for Brown if the Eagles are forced to throw more in 2025. We have seen Brown perform as the WR1 in fantasy for periods, but never over a full season. It is likely that Brown only has a couple of seasons left of high-end production, so this could be one of the final years that he has a good shot at the WR1 title.

By no means is this a prediction, but when you are staring down Brown and other players such as Ladd McConkey and Jaxon Smith-Njigba around WR10 in your fantasy draft, it may be better to take a shot on a player with a ceiling like Brown's.

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