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Nick's late-round fantasy football draft sleepers for 2025 best ball formats. His draft value picks and fliers at QB, RB, WR and TE to target late in drafts.
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Fantasy football championships are often celebrated through the superstars taken in the early rounds, and for good reason! However, let's be sure to support them with difference-makers, thanks to late-round fliers at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end who are worth taking due to their upside, considering their average draft position.
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Late-Round Fliers - Quarterbacks
Tua Tagovailoa is going well past the QB20 mark on Underdog and DraftKings despite being the QB13 on a per-game basis last year. The health risks are overly baked in at this point, and it flies against the attitude one needs to construct a narrative with the draft. If you take Tua, you are assuming a largely successful season, which gives us a top-12 QB with spike-week potential.
Geno Smith goes even later, as most don’t envision a 95th percentile outcome for the offense. You may have seen his 30:5 TD:INT and 110.8 QB rating over 14 indoor starts across his career, versus a 43:31 mark and 89.7 rating in 36 outdoor starts. He wanted to play for Pete Carroll again, and now he gets his wish.
Mix in a Chip Kelly offense with the best receiving TE in Brock Bowers and a top RB prospect in Ashton Jeanty, and why couldn’t Smith pop off? The Raiders do not have a good offensive line, but it isn’t a bottom-tier Seattle unit that had him facing horrid pressure far too often.
Daniel Jones is as cheap as reasonable starting stashes go. He doesn't have to be Saquon Barkley in order to thrive away from the Giants, and the Colts have a stellar cast of playmakers for a QB who can move the ball on target. Josh Downs, Michael Pittman Jr., Tyler Warren, and Jonathan Taylor is quite the crew!
Now two years away from his torn ACL, Jones put up a rushing line of 120-708-7 in his last full season. And despite a sketchy NYG offensive line, he delivered nearly 10 catchable targets per game in '24 compared to A-Rich.
Catchable Targets per Game in 2024 (by team):
Giants with Daniel Jones: 10th
Colts with Anthony Richardson: dead-last, ~16% fewer than the next-closest team
Who will start for the Colts in Week 1? pic.twitter.com/cjPA5Eb7Qh
— Fantasy Points Data (@FantasyPtsData) August 10, 2025
Jake Browning is a great last-round snag for those Ja’Marr Chase/Tee Higgins drafters who get sniped on Joe Burrow and want a Hollywood ending to write.
Late-Round Fliers - Running Backs
Jaydon Blue gives us an avenue to big plays in a potent offense, with an ADP that suffers from an ambiguous backfield. Javonte Williams may regain his pre-injury form, but he looked cooked last year, and Denver moved along.
Miles Sanders is also in the mix, but has a longer road to success. Blue doesn’t have far to go for meaningful reps in a Dallas offense where most ADPs are suppressed due to the injury-laden 2024 season.
Braelon Allen is so cheap that if Tanner Engstrand’s Detroit influence carries over and gives Allen a 25% chance of becoming David Montgomery next to Breece Hall as Jahmyr Gibbs, then we would be foolish not to attack this backfield.
Woody Marks enters a fraught backfield that has Joe Mixon dealing with a foot injury and Nick Chubb yet to prove he still has NFL-caliber burst. Marks averaged five yards per carry with over 600 college totes alongside 261 catches, with only five total fumbles! There's an opportunity here.
Jaylen Wright failed to make an impact as a rookie, but Miami was floundering for much of the year. The lack of explosive results doesn’t magically erase his promising profile, with size and speed for days.
Most handcuffs for RBs going in the first round won’t be had this late, especially after Miami's line let him get stuffed during preseason action. Surely, everyone won't overreact to one goal-line drive? (Ha-ha.)
Ollie Gordon II is the mad scientist pivot, but I find it difficult to envision a sizable role for him to play beyond 1-2 weeks in our lineups. Gordon is limited to severe zero-RB builds where you aren't winning unless the spate of R14-18 RBs go off. (UPDATE: Alexander Mattison's season-ending neck injury changes the math a bit, which helps Gordon's case unless they bring in a Jamaal Williams-type veteran.)
Roschon Johnson looks like a potential Jamaal Williams in Ben Johnson’s short-yardage role for Chicago. We’ve already seen D’Andre Swift lose favor in Johnson’s offense on the 2022 Lions, when Williams tallied 262 carries for 1,066 yards and 17 TDs.
The Bears just concluded a long team period that was fully live and very physical. There were two skirmishes. The highlights were two TD runs by Roschon Johnson at the goal line vs. the first defense. One of the most intense periods of practice I’ve seen in a while.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 5, 2025
Swift did well to average 5.5 YPC, but only had 99 carries (542 yards, 5 TDs) next to 70 targets to Williams’ 16. If Johnson (or Kyle Monangai) can prove worthy of that Williams-caliber trust from his new head coach, then we’re cooking with gas.
Keaton Mitchell came off a brutal knee injury and was a shell of his speedy self in very limited duty last year. But he’s already showing promising burst in the preseason, and we could get the man who could fly on turf in Baltimore’s ground-and-pound offense.
Keaton Mitchell looks like he’s finally back to pre-injury form. That lethal speed and explosiveness is a ton of fun to watch.
On this run I do want to point out something other than just his burst. Probably the main concern about him as a prospect was his tendency to bounce… pic.twitter.com/mJDLNEcQSc
— Charles “Chux” Maranan (@ChuxMaranan) August 9, 2025
He’s got value even if he remains the change-of-pace speedster next to Derrick Henry, and could be a league-winner if Henry misses time. Justice Hill is the safer “floor” play, but that’s not what we’re here for.
AJ Dillon is criminally overlooked as a handcuff in the No. 1 NFL rushing attack. Will Shipley has the hype of being last year’s flashy rookie and undoubtedly has earned his own place in sleeper articles.
But Dillon has the bruising size and massive quads to best fill Saquon Barkley’s cleats, if needed. He still needs to rebound from missing all of 2024 and having a rough ‘23 (3.4 YPC), but he’s still got plenty of juice at 27 years old.
Late-Round Fliers - Wide Receivers
Dont'e Thornton Jr. boasts game-breaking speed and lands in a dome with Geno Smith’s plus deep-ball arm on a team with little competition for WR reps beyond Jakobi Meyers.
Jalen Royals could sneak into a sizeable workload for Kansas City. Everyone is so fixated on Rashee Rice’s potential suspension that his coming off a major knee injury has been squeezed from most of our conscious thought.
Marquise Brown is dealing with an ankle injury and has barely been healthy during his Chiefs' tenure. The door is cracked for Royals to shine early and earn trust for a seasonal role.
Darius Slayton gets a premier deep-ball artist in Russell Wilson and could outearn Wan'Dale Robinson for WR2 numbers alongside Malik Nabers in New York. I like reports that Robinson is lining up more on the perimeter for all-around usage, but he's been creeping up draft boards while Slayton remains stagnant.
Tory Horton reportedly has a leg up on Marquez Valdes-Scantling for No. 3 WR duties in Seattle. Much is being (rightfully) made about the poor state of Seattle’s offensive line and how that affects Sam Darnold, but there’s a reasonable avenue to the No. 2 seat with Cooper Kupp’s recent health trends. If Horton's athleticism earns a spot in the top three then we're excited.
Tory Horton was drafted in round 5 pick 166 in the 2025 draft class. He scored a 9.83 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 66 out of 3816 WR from 1987 to 2025. https://t.co/WZ4iGa7muC pic.twitter.com/pCv80dqLWV
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 26, 2025
Ray-Ray McCloud III is running in Darnell Mooney’s spot with the latter nursing a shoulder injury. You’ll feel far better about McCloud on DraftKings with the full PPR boost, but Atlanta’s offense should move the ball well with Michael Penix Jr. in control.
Bijan Robinson and Drake London are premier picks, but then there’s a chasm until the secondary guys get drafted. Take advantage of the gap and scoop up McCloud’s trusted hands.
Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike are fun darts to throw in the final round as Tennessee offers a vacancy next to Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett. This writer does not buy Van Jefferson holding onto a viable snap share deep into the season, which paves the path to opportunity for this pair of fourth-round picks.
While Ayomanor has a higher ADP and highlights against Travis Hunter, please note that Tennessee selected the versatile Dike over 30 picks earlier (within the same round).
Isaac TeSlaa is tabbed as the future “X” receiver of the Detroit Lions. Standing at 6-foot-4 with a 215-pound frame, his 4.43 40-yard dash time and 39.5 vertical jump highlight the all-around tools that could make him a force.
Jalen Coker is either a roster-bubble wideout or an underrated diamond waiting for more run. Boasting first-year metrics that make Xavier Legette blush, Coker got strong usage down the stretch.
Update - Coker has been placed on the injured reserve due to a quadriceps injury and will miss at least the first four games of the regular season. As a result, he is only worth targeting in formats that have IR spots.
Jalen Coker saw 38 fewer targets than Xavier Legette, but accumulated just 19 fewer receiving yards.
Coker's snap percentages in his final five games last season: 88%, 87%, 82%, 87%, and 93%.pic.twitter.com/x35QUJ7YoA
— Ben Cummins (@BenCumminsFF) August 8, 2025
Josh Reynolds is the likely No. 2 WR for the Jets, which may not carry much weight, but starters shouldn’t be THIS cheap. Yes, it is a Justin Fields offense, but there’s middle ground between doubting Garrett Wilson’s lofty ADP and burying Reynolds among the undrafteds.
Kayshon Boutte flashed upside last year and looks like the favorite for X duties alongside Stefon Diggs and DeMario Douglas. Now, he’ll have to play well to maintain the role with Kyle Williams mixing in, but Boutte shouldn’t be a forgotten man simply because he didn’t catch fire immediately.
Elijah Moore could step into Josh Allen’s trusty slot role with Khalil Shakir already dealing with a high-ankle sprain. Taking Curtis Samuel in 2025 doesn’t carry that best-ball upside, but Moore still has juice at 25 years old.
Jordan Whittington has an early edge over the drop-plagued Tutu Atwell for the No. 3 role. Puka Nacua has some durability concerns and Davante Adams is getting up there in age. Whittington showed promise in a small sample and could explode if we start getting downfield looks.
Interesting fallout from this weekend: Jordan Whittington was held out with the starters for the Rams. 🧐
— Mark Garcia (Hilow) (@HilowFF) August 10, 2025
Jermaine Burton is a forgotten man in Cincinnati, though I still like Andrei Iosivas after he performed well when needed last year.
Late-Round Fliers - Tight Ends
Brenton Strange is a great candidate to kick off late three-TE builds as Liam Coen’s offense takes shape in Jacksonville. Many are scrambling to figure out how the RB room is shaking out, and how Travis Hunter (plus Dyami Brown) will fit into the offense. With Evan Engram out of town, there are no questions about Strange getting a featured role. Inve$t!
A lot to like about Brenton Strange in 2025, especially this part:
Liam Coen gave Cade Otton the highest snap share (92.8%) and 2nd-highest route rate (85.5%) among all TEs in 2024
Strange is also listed at 6-foot-4, 253 pounds, very similar to Otton who is 6-foot-5, 245 pounds https://t.co/FipDme00gr
— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) May 25, 2025
Hunter Henry doesn’t have the highlight-reel ceiling to go early in most fantasy football drafts, but he was New England’s leading receiver last year. Sure, that only led to 674 yards and two touchdowns on 66 catches, but the projected growth for this offense isn’t going to erase Henry as a threat. There’s enhanced competition and potential at RB and WR, but Henry remains the alpha over Austin Hooper.
Mason Taylor is working through a high-ankle sprain, and that hurts, but we’re taking these late fliers for the late-season, best-ball-playoff window. We needed those preseason reps to help him prove his blocking chops capable of more work, though there is plenty of time for that in September.
Elijah Arroyo has the elite speed and receiving skill set to break the game open out of the TE position if he can earn meaningful reps. AJ Barner may be the answer throughout the 2025 season, but Noah Fant moving to Cincinnati makes this a coin-flip gamble versus a three-horse race.
Darren Waller has many rolling their eyes at the comeback bid, but if the fast-paced Dolphins target a fast TE with success in the past, then we’re fools to ignore it. We won’t pretend that 2025 Waller is magically 2020-22 Waller, but this is a creative offense, and we just saw Jonnu Smith explode in the face of injury turbulence. Turning our nose up at this feels foolish.
Juwan Johnson is a popular last stand to make at TE, as there is little competition with Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill both injured. Seventh-round pick Moliki Matavao shouldn’t push the established veteran.
The Saints' offense could be painful to watch with either Tyler Shough or Spencer Rattler, but negative gamescripts should keep Johnson, Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, and Rashid Shaheed afloat for spikes.
