Dynasty Fantasy Football Values: Later-Round Targets For Dynasty Start-Up Drafts

February 18, 2025

John's dynasty fantasy football sleepers for 2025 dynasty start-up drafts. His later-round fantasy football value picks to target in new dynasty league drafts.

The most important part of every Dynasty fantasy football league is the startup draft. There's nothing more impactful that you can do to boost your team in the short term than nail your picks in the drafts. But as the rounds wear on, less and less obvious picks are present.

By the late rounds, it may seem like the landscape is barren, and you have to pick players who are either mostly unknown or known not to be good. That's not always the case, though -- if you read on, you can find some of the best steals to get in the later rounds. Five of them, specifically.

The reasons for drafting each player will be broken down in their section. I'll try to provide my best arguments. It's critically important to remember that if there wasn't any pessimism surrounding a player, they wouldn't still be there in the later rounds. Sometimes, having doubt is good -- it means others will doubt a player, too, and that's how you get great value.

Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints

Consensus still believes that New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed is the clear No. 2 wideout on his team, with fellow WR Chris Olave firmly in the No. 1 slot. But Saints quarterback Derek Carr showed us that this wasn't the case in the few games Shaheed played in before he got injured.

Shaheed went down with a knee injury after Week 6. In Weeks 4-5, though, Shaheed was targeted 20 times, while Olave saw 14 targets come his way. It was emblematic of a breakout -- No. 22 took some time to develop his route-running and other WR skills, but he was starting to click with his QB at just the right time.

Who do we think would play the Rashid Shaheed role in Seattle if the Seahawks hire Kubiak? Is this a shot play to JSN because it’s from the slot? https://t.co/bqw1y8awSD pic.twitter.com/JrtmOE5ld3

— Parker (@ParkerLewes) January 16, 2025

The injury seems to have stopped what would have been a takeover of the WR1 role by Shaheed. Carr's love for launching deep passes works perfectly with the third-year pro's speed and quickness. And despite two seasons with Olave, the two have never clicked consistently.

It was becoming clear to those that watched the Saints that they might never click, and that the QB was likely looking for a more fitting No. 1 target. And Shaheed ranked in the top-30 in first-read target shares for 2024, while Olave was found nowhere on the list.

First-read target share is more important than overall targets because it takes into account routes (players who run fewer routes obviously get fewer targets, by nature) and it shows that Carr preferred to look Shaheed's way first. I won't convince everyone who the real No. 1 is, but the data and tape suggests it's not Olave any more.

Colston Loveland, TE, 2025 Rookie

This year's tight end and running back classes are absolutely stacked. The upside of this is that usually, most of the attention goes to the top player in the class. Interestingly, though, former Michigan Wolverines tight end Colston Loveland has been pushed up a bit. Still, he's a strong value. The current best TEs in the league, other than Sam LaPorta of the Detroit Lions, are mostly aging.

George Kittle (49ers), Mark Andrews (Ravens), and Travis Kelce (Chiefs) are all old now. Kittle is approaching a big fall-off age for his position, Andrews was highly touchdown-dependent, and Kelce is completely washed. Now is a great time to buy a rookie TE, considering that we have a strong class.

Random Michigan highlight from this season goes to Colston Loveland for this 3yd TD reception vs Northwestern

Loveland this season:
- 56 REC
- 582 YDS
- 5 TD
- 10.4 AVG YDS#GoBlue 〽️ pic.twitter.com/AVOOWdMsoi

— Wolverines〽️use (@wolverinesmuse) February 12, 2025

There's a great formula to follow if you're looking for a good rookie pass-catcher to select in start-up drafts (and all formats, for that matter). Step 1 is to find the best route-runner at his position. Step 2 is to see if he's the highest-rated player at their position in the draft. And if he's not, Step 3 is to pick him up because he's probably underrated.

These apply to Loveland. He moves exceptionally well for his size. I've scoured hundreds of hours of tape, and the Michigan TE profiles very closely to a Brock Bowers-lite type of player, which is interesting. Oh, and he carried his offense on his back, so that helps as well.

Isaac Guerendo, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Being stuck behind San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey isn't great for a player's Dynasty fantasy football value. But RB Isaac Guerendo is incredibly cheaply priced, and if you decide to take McCaffrey in your startup drafts, you should take Guerendo as well.

Even if you don't, you can pick up the soon-to-be second-year pro and acquire a valuable piece of trade bait in case CMC continues to struggle with injury issues. And various ailments have been a big part of his career so far. He's now played eight seasons in the NFL, and in three of them, he wasn't able to exceed seven games played.

Christian McCaffrey injury -

Right knee slams into the ground. Concern for PCL sprain or patella/bursa related from the impact.

PCL would negatively impact him ROS (or they shut him down). Bursa would allow him to play once irritation/inflammation reduces. https://t.co/Pr3k14haNu pic.twitter.com/LNFaX95m2D

— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) December 2, 2024

"Injury-prone" is an accurate descriptor for McCaffrey. His 2024 campaign was especially bad, as he only played in four contests due to Achilles' tendonitis, which held him out for the first nine weeks of the year, and a PCL sprain he picked up in just his fourth game back.

While 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan stubbornly insists on giving nearly all the backfield touches to one person, he may also reconsider things, given that the rookie Guerendo was electric when he was on the field. It would be wise for McCaffrey to handle less of a workload, too.

Shanahan's usage of his RB1 in 2023 was just irresponsible, as he had him taking snaps and getting touches in blowout games and for the majority of drives, even when utilizing a backup would have been fine. And if Shanny insists on using CMC this way from now on, it could lead to even more maladies, giving Guerendo another chance to shine. And he's a must-start when he gets the lead role.

Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Pay attention to coaching changes in the NFL. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had one of the best offenses in the NFL in 2024, in large part due to offensive coordinator Liam Coen's schemes creating havoc for opposing defenses and allowing his players to rack up massive yardage and plenty of scores.

In particular, the effectiveness of the running back tandem of Rachaad White and Bucky Irving stood out. Both were viable fantasy options, with White having an impressive stretch of RB1 numbers and Irving morphing into a league-winning player. Even though Tampa Bay's offensive line was mediocre, both backs smashed at some points during the season.

Tank Bigsby ... DOG pic.twitter.com/rbuUZEJabi

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) December 12, 2024

A big reason why Coen was hired was that the Jaguars' offense massively underachieved relative to the talent on their roster. Even though they had rookie Brian Thomas Jr., Christian Kirk, and Gabe Davis as their primary wideouts, tight end Evan Engram, and running backs Travis Etienne Jr. and Bigsby, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence throwing the ball, the offensive schemes were weak.

They were decimated by injuries later in the season, but that wasn't an excuse for the lukewarm production early on. Coen completely changes things, and the RBs probably benefit the most. Bigsby is valued as if his future seasons will be similarly disappointing, but he showed potential to have week-winning performances in 2024.

Tough Running Thursday Spotlight 🏈✅

During a week 5 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, Tank Bigsby rushes for a 63 YD TD.

The expected yards gained on this play was -3.

Tank hop stepped behind the line of scrimmage and found a hole through the line, breaking numerous… pic.twitter.com/OObU4n4pbs

— Connor (@Grid2Turf) January 23, 2025

He made a good number of explosive plays before the wheels fell off of the entire offense, despite having to deal with poor run-blocking from one of the worst offensive lines in football. The schemes Coen brings help to compensate for bad OL play, though, as we saw with the Bucs.

Their offensive line wasn't stellar, but they still created plenty of room for White and Irving to run through. We should expect Etienne and Bigsby to have the same luxuries, yet Bigsby is younger and priced much cheaper in startup drafts.

J.J. McCarthy, QB, Minnesota Vikings

If you want to punt quarterback until a later point in the draft, it might be a good idea to pick up Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He was viewed as an excellent yet raw prospect out of college, and his value is being depressed by the overall depth of the 2024 NFL Draft quarterback class.

The situation he's in is perfect. He lost his rookie season to injury, but the team around him is built to support good quarterback play. He'll be behind one of the best pass-protecting offensive lines in football and have wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison to throw to. Add in tight end T.J. Hockenson, another season removed from his ACL tear, and you have an elite pass-catching corps.

JJ McCarthy with a big run on third down pic.twitter.com/oevt5CbcWo

— Matthew (@HildenbrandMa) January 9, 2024

The value of rushing upside for quarterbacks is also massive, so it's odd to see that McCarthy's is mostly being ignored. He's a fantastic athlete with seriously underrated acceleration and speed. While Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is probably a better overall rusher, McCarthy can give him a run for his money, literally.

He's a fantastic QB to pick if you want to punt the position and focus on building your roster around skill-position players. And that's not a bad idea, considering how much more valuable elite RBs and WRs are than QBs in fantasy football.

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