Adam Koffler's 5 Fantasy Football Deep Sleepers: Later-Round Breakout Candidates to Draft

August 29, 2025

Adam highlights five fantasy football deep sleepers and breakout candidates. Read his undervalued draft targets for 2025 fantasy football, including Matthew Golden and more.

In fantasy football, there are sleepers, and then there are deep sleepers. These guys typically come off the board in the later rounds of your drafts. This is where you can have a serious edge over your league mates.

Hit on a couple of these guys and you'll be golden (hint, hint) this season. The five players highlighted below all have average draft positions (ADP) outside the top 100.

The late rounds of your draft are just as, if not even more important, than the early rounds of your draft. These five players are very talented and ready to make a splash in 2025. Draft these undervalued deep sleepers this season.

Matthew Golden, WR, Green Bay Packers

Yahoo ADP - 110 (WR46)

"Gonna be, gonna be Golden." Every time the Packers' first-round rookie wideout shows out in 2025, I'll be singing the popular K-pop "Demon Hunters" song in my head.

The Packers haven't selected a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL Draft since taking Javon Walker back in 2002. And it appears they're comfortable slotting Golden in as a starter on Day One.

"The playmaking ability is there," said Jordan Love during training camp. Love, like many others, praised Golden for his aggressiveness, sticky hands, and ability to track the football when it's in the air.

It’s Day 2 in pads, and already Jordan Love is singing rookie Matthew Golden’s praises. From the 60-yard TD to the 1v1 rep Love thought had no chance, until Golden caught it, QB1 on the first-round WR:

“The playmaking ability is there. You see that. When the ball is in the air,… pic.twitter.com/55iWdJ3JGL

— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) July 29, 2025

There's a lot of opportunity up for grabs in Green Bay. Last season, the Packers were just one of five teams without a single pass-catcher having over a 25% first-read target share, per Fantasy Points Data. Romeo Doubs led the way at 23.6%.

If Jayden Reed continues to play exclusively from the slot (like he did at Family Night), that's even better news for Golden, who could lead all Packer wideouts in routes run as a rookie.

And if he's as good as advertised, that's going to lead to a lot of fantasy points. It's not often we have the opportunity to draft a team's WR1 with the 110th pick. Don't miss this golden opportunity.

Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans

Yahoo ADP - 120 (RB41)

Heading into the 2024 season, many thought Tony Pollard and Spears would be a 1A/1B backfield. That's because that was exactly what head coach Brian Callahan told us.

But it was Pollard who opened the season as the clear-cut RB1, and he never looked back. It certainly didn't help that Spears battled a multitude of injuries (ankle, hamstring, concussion) throughout the year.

Pollard totaled 260 carries to just 84 for Spears. But this offseason, after having an entire season as a sample size, Callahan told reporters that, "in a perfect world, it's a healthier division of labor" between his top two backs. ESPN NFL Nation Titans reporter Turron Davenport even noted that Pollard and Spears alternated series in OTAs and minicamp this spring.

Pollard was good, not great, last season. But he has now toted the rock 705 times in the last three seasons. That's nearly as many carries as Joe Mixon has had in the same time frame (714).

It makes a lot of sense why the Titans might want a healthier division of labor between a 28-year-old with a lot of wear and tear on his body and Spears, who is still just 24 years old with a lot to prove.

Just two years ago, he was fifth among running backs in explosive run rate (7.1%), eighth in targets per route run (0.25), and ninth in yards after contact per reception (3.48), per Fantasy Points Data.

And Spears has looked more explosive in training camp. When asked by Titans' beat writer John Glennon what's attributed to that, Spears said candidly, "Stop worrying about everybody else and start worrying about myself."

Last season, he cost you a top 95 pick. This season, you can get him at around pick 120. Take that discount straight to the bank and profit.

UPDATE: Spears suffered a high-ankle sprain in Tennessee's first preseason game, which could affect his early-season role.

Jaydon Blue, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Yaho0 ADP - 131 (RB44)

Originally, I was in on Javonte Williams. He'll most likely start the season as the Cowboys' RB1, but it's only a matter of time before Blue is dominating snaps. He's just that good.

And he's continuing to get first-team reps:

Jaydon Blue 1st team rep today #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/I34JAleywE

— Nicole Hutchison (@nhutchisontv) August 2, 2025

Every relevant running back on the Cowboys is new to the organization. Williams and Miles Sanders were signed as free agents, while Blue and Phil Mafah were drafted by this regime just a few months ago.

Needless to say, it's not just Blue learning a new playbook. Both veterans ahead of the Texas product are also learning a new playbook and familiarizing themselves with the offensive scheme.

Advantage Blue, who has looked like the best back in training camp. He only has to beat out Williams and Sanders to become the RB1 in Dallas. Williams had the fourth-lowest PFF rushing grade last season, while Sanders is already dealing with an injury in camp.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer recently said Blue's "quickness and ability to accelerate through the hole is just different." He even went as far as to compare him to a larger version of Darren Sproles. Sproles used to score a lot of fantasy points early in his career as a receiver. Fantasy managers would love nothing more than over 75 targets for Blue.

Meanwhile, Williams and Sanders ranked 50th and 58th out of 70 qualifying running backs, respectively, in explosive run rate last season.

If Blue can translate his practice reps to game action, Schottenheimer and new offensive coordinator Klayton Adams will have no choice but to give him more and more reps as the season goes along.

If you're going to bet on one of these Cowboys running backs to take the bull by the horns, it's gotta be Blue.

Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints

Yahoo ADP - 160 (WR60)

It's not every day you can get a talented and efficient wide receiver with the 160th overall pick in fantasy drafts. But here we are!

Shaheed suffered a season-ending meniscus injury in 2024, but from camp reports, he looks just as good as he did pre-injury. And that pre-injury self was really good. In fact, he was maybe even better than teammate Chris Olave.

Per Fantasy Points Data, Shaheed bested Olave in some key metrics last season:

Of course, there's a new coaching staff in town. But new head coach Kellen Moore coached the Eagles to a compelling Super Bowl victory last season. That Eagles' offense was fantastic in 2024.

Will he transform the Saints into a real contender? Probably not. But can he make this a competent offense? Absolutely. And he'll find a way to get his best players the football.

#Saints WR Rashid Shaheed said he feels like Kellen Moore knows what superpowers his players have and will put them in the best situation.

— Tina Howell (@TinaHowellNOLA) July 25, 2025

Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough most likely aren't elite NFL quarterbacks, but that doesn't mean Shaheed can't ball out in Year 3 with the Saints having the most favorable schedule for wide receivers, according to Fantasy Nerds.

DeMario Douglas, WR, New England Patriots

Yahoo ADP - 211 (WR72)

Douglas, much like Spears, had some steam heading into Year 2 last season. But it didn't pan out. Despite playing in all 17 games, Douglas finished the season as just a WR5 (WR47 overall) in PPR leagues.

But things are bound to be different this season. Josh McDaniels is the new offensive coordinator, and we know what kind of success he's had with slot receivers in the past. His most recent one being Julian Edelman.

But what's best about McDaniels' slot receivers is that they don't play exclusively in the slot. New England beat writer Taylor Kyles alluded to this back in June, saying, "Douglas hasn’t been stuck inside like he was throughout 2024, and he’s a big fan of option routes."

In 2018 and 2019, Edelman ran about half of his routes from the slot. Per PlayerProfiler, he had an average depth of target (aDoT) of nine yards and played 90% of the snaps in those two seasons.

Douglas, on the other hand, had the fourth-highest slot rate (79.1%) in 2024 with an aDoT of just 5.6 yards (fourth-lowest). Per Fantasy Points Data, he ran a route on just 67% of his team's dropbacks (70th among wide receivers).

Douglas is once again shining this offseason, but this time, things feel a bit different. He already has a strong connection with Drake Maye. In that regard, he already has a leg up on Stefon Diggs and rookie Kyle Williams.

DeMario Douglas pic.twitter.com/4sCkToIrGs

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) May 24, 2025

"As I practice, I see how it [the offense] opens up. I feel like it's all going to come together," Douglas told reporters this spring. In 2024, he ranked just 57th among wideouts in yards per route run (1.46) and 62nd in end zone targets (4).

A more diverse route tree, better quarterback play, and a better offensive scheme could result in a Year 3 breakout from McDaniels' newest slot receiver.

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