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Nathan's fantasy football draft values and sleepers to target in the late rounds of 2025 drafts. His top late-round targets include Trevor Lawrence, J.K. Dobbins, and more.
Every season, managers debate and grind over the early portion of the draft. However, the late-round sleepers are what make champions.
Players like Bucky Irving and Jameson Williams won leagues last season with their efforts despite being drafted outside of the first 120 picks.
These five late-round sleepers will be the difference-makers for your fantasy teams this season and should be rostered in all fantasy formats.
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Trevor Lawrence - Jacksonville Jaguars - QB
The Jacksonville Jaguars are building a fortress around their quarterback, Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence was a former first-overall pick who was labeled as one of the best quarterback prospects since Andrew Luck. The “Prince Who Was Promised” hasn’t lived up to expectations early in his NFL career, but with a new system and the best receiving core he’s ever had, now is the time to buy stock in Lawrence.
The Jaguars struggled immensely in 2024, ranking 25th in total offense and 29th in turnover margin. Under former head coach Doug Pederson, the team just looked stagnant, which led the Jaguars to go in a new direction, hiring former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen. Coen elevated the Bucs’ offense from average to elite, ranking inside the top five in total yards, passing yards, and total points in 2024.
The Jaguars also added an elite weapon for Lawrence in the passing game, selecting WR/DB Travis Hunter with the second pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Hunter was one of the top receivers in college football last season, amassing nearly 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns and winning the Biletnikoff Award (Best WR) and the Heisman Trophy. The former Heisman winner will serve as the WR2 on this offense.
The WR1 role belongs to rookie sensation Brian Thomas Jr., who finished with 1,282 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns last year. Thomas Jr. was productive despite the Jaguars’ struggles to move the ball and score points. Thomas and Hunter should form one of the best duos in the NFL this season, and they are key reasons why Lawrence will excel in 2025.
With upgraded weapons and a mastermind of a play-caller, Lawrence is in line for a potential MVP-caliber season. At an ADP of 129 and a position rank of QB18, Lawrence is one of the best late-round picks you can make at the quarterback position.
J.K. Dobbins - Denver Broncos - RB
J.K. Dobbins is one of the best sleeper running backs in all of fantasy football this season. The Denver Broncos made two major additions to their running back room this offseason, adding Dobbins and second-round draft pick R.J. Harvey.
Dobbins has been one of the most efficient runners in the NFL, averaging a career 5.2 yards per carry, the third-highest among active running backs (minimum of 300 carries), trailing only Jahmyr Gibbs and De'Von Achane. Dobbins was coming off a ruptured Achilles tendon last season and was unfazed, averaging 13.5 half-PPR fantasy points per game (RB17).
Dobbins and rookie running back Harvey are expected to split the load in Denver behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. Many people are raving about Harvey, expecting him to play in the “Alvin Kamara role” in Sean Payton's offense.
Kamara was a premier rookie back in New Orleans in 2017, but most forget that Mark Ingram II had nearly 300 touches in that same offense and finished as the RB6 that season. Dobbins in the “Ingram role” might be just as valuable with his elite efficiency.
Broncos insider/reporter Benjamin Allbright suggests that Dobbins will be the starting running back due to his advantage in pass protection. Dobbins, as the RB1 of an ascending Broncos offense led by Bo Nix, is a must-have in fantasy this season. Health has always been the main concern with Dobbins, but you will be drafting him outside of the top 120 in most fantasy formats, and that price is too low for a player of his caliber.
They both look good.
I’d suggest Dobbins is RB1 and stays that way until Harvey gets better at pass pro https://t.co/BN0SjFO3rr
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) August 4, 2025
Bhayshul Tuten - Jacksonville Jaguars - RB
The Jacksonville Jaguars were one of the worst rushing attacks in the NFL, ranking 26th in rushing last season. Newly hired HC Coen made only one notable move to improve this rushing attack, drafting Virginia Tech running back Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round.
The lack of explosiveness from the Jaguars' running game was evident, with Tank Bigsby recording only two carries over 30 yards last season, while former first-round pick Travis Etienne recorded zero carries over 25 yards. Meanwhile, Tuten ran a 4.32 40-yard dash (fastest in the 2025 class) and broke off many long touchdowns at Virginia Tech, totaling 21 carries over 15 yards in 2024.
The Jaguars brought Tuten in to be the home run hitter in this run game, and it will be extremely difficult to take him off the field if Bigsby and Etienne struggle yet again.
Bhayshul Tuten is a box checker ✅
➖4.32 40-yard dash (100th percentile)
➖118.3 Speed Score (98th)
➖133.9 Burst Score (97th)
➖38.3% Dominator Rating (90th)
➖6.4 yards per carry (84th)
➖24 Bench Press (82nd)Is he worth an early 2nd round pick in rookie drafts?🤔 pic.twitter.com/A20UiVoBya
— PlayerProfiler (@rotounderworld) May 6, 2025
Coen had a similar situation last season when he coordinated the offense in Tampa Bay. Rachaad White lacked explosiveness out of the backfield, and when fourth-round rookie Irving took the field, he was a big play waiting to happen, averaging the most yards per carry of any running back in 2024.
Before Coen arrived, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the worst rushing offense in the NFL. Then, Coen came to town and catapulted the Buccaneers to the fourth-best rushing attack led by Irving. Even White’s yards per carry increased from 3.6 to 4.3, despite losing his job.
Tuten is being drafted outside of the top 150 on most fantasy platforms, and considering the upside, Tuten should be a no-brainer in the late rounds. Tuten is under the radar so far in Jacksonville with Bigsby and Etienne splitting reps with the first team, but once Tuten gets on the field, he’s not going to leave.
Miles Sanders - Dallas Cowboys - RB
After a disastrous two seasons with the Carolina Panthers, Miles Sanders has found himself in an optimal situation for a strong rebound season in 2025. The 28-year-old running back signed a one-year “prove-it” deal with the Dallas Cowboys, joining forces with Javonte Williams, fifth-round pick Jaydon Blue, and seventh-round pick Phil Mafah.
Sanders was very productive with the Philadelphia Eagles in his first four seasons, averaging over five yards per carry and 11.6 half-PPR fantasy points. Then, Sanders signed a deal to join the Panthers. The Panthers were the lowest-scoring offense in the NFL over the last two seasons, and Sanders struggled to find lanes behind a bottom-ten run-blocking unit, according to ESPN.
Now, Sanders is in Dallas, who just helped a former special-teams contributor in Rico Dowdle, to a 1,300-yard season and a top 25 fantasy finish at the RB position. This Cowboys offense is a dream for a running back, boasting an above-average offensive line and a history of utilizing a workhorse approach.
Sanders’ main competition, Williams, entered the NFL as a tackle-breaking machine, leading the NFL in broken tackles in his rookie season. However, since suffering a multi-ligament knee injury in 2022, Williams has ranked 32nd and 33rd in yards after contact over the past two seasons.
Despite playing behind the second-best offensive line according to PFF, Williams couldn’t take over the backfield that consisted of Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime.
It’s probably curtains for Javonte Williams if Miles Sanders is looking better in training camp (per @jonmachota) pic.twitter.com/hXEXknLwdB
— Graham Barfield (@GrahamBarfield) July 30, 2025
Blue has the most upside in this offense, but he never handled a full workload in college, carrying the ball under nine times in a game with the Texas Longhorns. Mafah is another option in the Cowboys' backfield, but only one time in NFL history has a seventh-round pick run for over 500 yards in their rookie season (Isiah Pacheco).
Sanders is getting drafted outside of the top 200 on most fantasy platforms, despite having a legit opportunity to be the starting running back on one of the best offenses in the NFL. This backfield is a Williams vs. Sanders battle, and Sanders will be a player everyone wishes they drafted with their last pick.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt - Washington Commanders - RB
The people around the Washington Commanders organization have been raving all training camp about seventh-round running back Jacory Croskey Merritt. In 2023, Croskey-Merritt had a big year with New Mexico State, running for 1,190 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games. That season, Croskey-Merritt had a 93.8 PFF grade, which ranked second among all college running backs during the 2023 season. After transferring to Arizona in 2024, Croskey-Merritt missed all but one game due to eligibility restrictions, which was the main contributor to his fall in this year's draft.
Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt goes by "Bill"
Bill just went 27 yards to the 🏠
Watch on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/UD9tot9Iau— NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2025
Amidst Croskey-Merritt's emergence in training camp, the Commanders have been attempting to trade their 2024 starting running back, Brian Robinson Jr. Robinson has struggled with injuries in the past, missing multiple games in each of his first three seasons in the NFL, and was very inefficient, with 34% of his carries going for one yard or less. If Robinson were to be dealt, the door is open for the seventh-round rookie to take over the backfield in Washington.
Austin Ekeler suffered two major concussions last season, with Ekeler saying that he experienced short-term memory loss. With the former Chargers star entering his age-30 season, it's hard to imagine he takes the bulk of the workload in Washington. Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Jeremy McNichols are the only other running backs in the Commanders' rotation, but neither back has ever eclipsed 60 carries in their NFL careers.
Croskey-Merritt has started to get run with the first-team offense as training camp has progressed, and beat reporter Zach Selby reported that the rookie had his best reps with the starters. Croskey-Merritt is currently ranked as the RB67 on the RotoBaller half-PPR rankings, but the price tag is going to increase if Brian Robinson Jr. gets traded. Fantasy managers need to strike fast before they have to spend legitimate draft capital on the rookie running back.
