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Craig's late-round fliers and fantasy football sleepers for the final rounds of 2025 drafts. Target these players with your last picks to round out rosters.
It is not hard to draft, buy or protect Saquon Barkley, Josh Allen, and/or Justin Jefferson and watch them lead you to a fantasy football title. You will not win the GM of the Year award in your fantasy league because you did that.
What is difficult is finding the late-round sleepers that can round out your roster, provide depth so you can concentrate on using your weekly waiver picks on other positions, and possibly find a diamond in the rough who can become a cornerstone of your fantasy squad, especially if you play in a dynasty or keeper league.
Who are the late-round fliers fantasy football general managers should focus on when their drafts take place in early September? Here is my take on some players you should think about when your draft reaches the final few rounds.
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Darius Slayton, WR, New York Giants
Darius Slayton’s fantasy value has been long-suffering like a New York Jets fan. Despite having four 700-yard years during his six-year career, his fantasy worth has been below average because he cannot catch a pass in the end zone (13 touchdowns over his last five seasons) and that he has failed to turn into a 1,000-yard receiver despite being the Giants’ WR1 during much of his tenure with the team.
Slayton has been hampered by the fact that the supporting cast around him over the years has been less talented than an XFL roster. His quarterbacks could not get him the ball on a consistent basis, his fellow receivers were not skilled enough to keep defenses from keying on him, and Slayton has been miscast as a WR1 when he really is better suited as a WR2 or WR3.
Now Slayton will have either a grizzled veteran (Russell Wilson) or a young gunslinger (Jaxson Dart) throwing to him, and both are probably upgrades over Daniel Jones. Just having a quarterback who can throw passes into his bread basket and not over his head could turn Slayton into an 800-to-900-yard receiver who can score a half-dozen touchdowns.
Darius Slayton with one of the best training camp catches you’ll see
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) July 27, 2025
With top target Malik Nabers seeing all the double coverage, Slayton should find openings on the other side of the field when he is covered man-to-man. New York does not have depth in the pass-catching department, so look for Slayton to see a fair share of passes and possibly have the best fantasy year of his career.
Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford used to be a top-10 fantasy quarterback who could rack up 4,000 passing yards and 25 touchdown tosses as easily as I take out the trash. But since his outstanding 2021 season when he threw for an ungodly 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title, his fantasy numbers have become pedestrian and his wife has made more headlines with her opinions than he has with touchdown passes.
Fantasy managers might think Stafford and his fantasy value are on the downside heading into 2025, but as long as his offensive line can keep him upright he could have the best season he has since he was a Super Bowl hero. First off, he will have Davante Adams (five straight 1,000-yard years) as his WR2 behind favorite target Puka Nacua, instead of the injury-prone Cooper Kupp, whose best days are probably in his rearview mirror.
Stafford will also have top tight end Tyler Higbee at 100 percent for an entire campaign after the sturdy veteran missed most of 2024 due to a torn ACL. The Rams were unable to replace Higbee last year with someone else who could provide similar stats, so Stafford will benefit greatly from his dependable pass catcher returning to full strength. Higbee is steady and solid, good for 550-700 yards this year.
Stafford still has offensive guru Sean McVay calling the plays and top tailback Kyren Williams keeping defenses from focusing on the pass. I can see Stafford topping the 4,000-yard plateau again and delivering 25-28 touchdown passes, which would make him a QB9 to QB16 depending on how everyone else fares.
Xavier Legette, WR, Carolina Panthers
With Adam Thielan traded back to his hometown Minnesota Vikings and Jalen Coker landing on injured reserve, Legette will be battling first rounder Tetiroa McMillan for the role of WR1 in Bryce Young’s embattled offense.
#Panthers WR Xavier Legette is poised for a Year 2 breakout, teammate Jaycee Horn told me on a recent camp visit to Carolina:
“He’s got the ability to separate. Reminds me a lot of A.J. Brown, how tough he is at the top of his routes and how fast he is at his size. Even when… pic.twitter.com/kytshZjr11
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 20, 2025
I just love receivers on bad teams that will be throwing tons of times in the second halves of games they are losing. I have no qualms taking Legette as my WR5 and watching him realize his potential in Year Two. I feel like some people have forgotten he is a former first-round pick.
Rachaad White, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
White had 1,539 combined yards in 2023 when he burst onto the fantasy scene as a third-down back who could catch passes as well as he could run sweeps. Now he is being ranked as a RB50 in PPR leagues.
I know Bucky Irving is a better runner and has more big-play ability, but White is one tackle away from reclaiming Tampa’s top tailback spot and putting up 75-100 total yards per game as one of Baker Mayfield’s favorite targets.
Trey Benson, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Many fantasy pundits, like myself, thought last season was when Trey Benson would become a sleeper after he was selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. While he did average 4.6 yards per carry in his rookie year, he only managed 291 rushing yards and one lone TD because RB1 James Conner and QB Kyler Murray monopolized the running plays in Arizona’s offense.
But while Conner is the bellcow back of the running attack, he does have a history of getting nicked up. While he has never missed more than a half-dozen games in a year, he has not played a full season in any of his eight NFL seasons. Conner is 30 years old, has 1,361 career carries, and runs through defenders, not around them. He is due to start breaking down.
Enter Benson, who is a big, bruising back like Conner, so it is not like his skill set is entirely different, which is why he will get on the field. Benson is Conner’s understudy, and while he is being ranked between a RB35 and RB40 in the draft lists I have seen, I think he will be one of the best backup backs in fantasy football in 2025.
I am predicting that Conner will get banged up, and when he does, Benson will seize the save opportunity and convert like an All-Star closer in baseball. Do not be shocked if you draft Benson in the latter rounds to be your RB4 or RB5, and he becomes your RB2 or RB3 by season’s end.
Brenton Strange, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars
Brenton Strange is being listed in TE3 territory on cheat sheets right now, being ranked between 20th and 25th at the position by most fantasy experts and publications. Fantasy pundits are not wrong in placing him in that position, but he has upward mobility that should not be ignored.
Strange is a former second-round pick entering his third NFL season, and he showed flashes of brilliance last season when he stepped in for injured starter Evan Engram and became Jacksonville’s top tight end.
Strange finished his sophomore season with 40 receptions for 411 yards and two touchdowns, but he is now arguably the third-best option in the Jaguars’ passing attack for 2025 behind the talented twosome of Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter. With those two electrifying youngsters garnering double coverage and keeping cornerbacks and safeties deep downfield, Strange should receive plenty of looks from QB Trevor Lawrence over the middle while the speedsters open up the seams for him.
Drafting Strange in the latter rounds as your TE2 is definitely a wise strategy. I think he could end up being a TE15 overall and could come close to the top 10 at the position if Lawrence peppers him with passes like he did to Engram in 2023, when the veteran was targeted 143 times and had the best year of his career.
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