Let’s dive into fantasy football sleepers! I selected the start of Round 8 as my cut-off for sleepers because I’ve often found that’s the range in the draft when we start to see breakout RBs emerge.
The main goal is that one or several of them beat their average draft positions (ADP) by a significant margin, akin to performances from Rhamondre Stevenson, Tyler Allgeier, Dameon Pierce, Jerick McKinnon, Isiah Pacheco, D’Onta Foreman, Brandon Aiyuk, Christian Kirk, Garrett Wilson, Justin Fields, Daniel Jones and Tyler Conklin last season.
Be prepared to find hidden talents across all teams, including those in unexpected situations like the Arizona Cardinals. My only requirement is that these players possess ADPs outside the top-84 players (in some capacity because this can vary by draft platform).
Get ready to make strategic moves and uncover the next breakout stars! Here are my top fantasy football sleepers for all NFL teams. Below we’ll offer a free look at a few of these names.
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Fantasy Football Draft Sleepers
Baker Mayfield posted decent completion numbers with the Rams (64%), and I think the offense in Tampa will be similar to that based on new OC Dave Canales coming from the Sean McVay/Shane Waldron scheme. If Mayfield can complete closer to 64% of his passes — his average completion rate during his best seasons in 2020 and 2022 — he should be decent enough as a pocket passer throwing to arguably the best duo of WRs he has ever played with, between Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.
A final name that should not be overlooked late in drafts is Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell. Apparently, Washington feels content entering the year with Howell as the team’s starter after he impressed in his Week 18 debut. The former UNC product scored 19.2 fantasy points versus the Dallas Cowboys while flashing his potential as a rusher (5-35-1). The Commanders are not short on offensive weapons, making Howell an ideal dual-threat quarterback to stack super late in early best-ball drafts.
Here’s what I wrote about Howell during the 2022 NFL Draft process for additional context: Howell earned the starting quarterback job at North Carolina as a 19-year old true freshman and never looked back. He finished fourth in the FBS with 38 touchdown passes in his first season, cementing himself on the NFL radar. He followed up an impressive introduction with an even more dominant performance as a passer in 2020, finishing as the nation’s sixth-highest-graded quarterback (92.3) and fourth-best deep passer (98.0) in an offense littered with future NFL talent. Unsurprisingly, Howell took a bit of a step back in his final season without the likes of Javonte Williams, Michael Carter, Dyami Brown, and Dazz Newsome at his disposal. The UNC product was PFF’s 37th-graded passer (80.3) – 15th among his 2022 draft class. Howell turned up the dial on his rushing production to compensate for the lack of passing efficiency. After posting just 600 yards on the ground through two seasons, Howell rushed for 1,106 yards as PFF’s second-highest-graded rusher (91.0) in 2021. Howell was looking to create yards with his legs if the first read wasn’t there. This presents problems for the real-life NFL but shouldn’t be considered negatively for fantasy. Howell’s escapability lends itself to rushing success at the NFL level if he doesn’t have a lot of talent around him. Conversely, his first two years of college show he will take full advantage when he does have weapons around him. It’s hard to label Howell as a “situation-proof” quarterback – a young quarterback’s team context plays an integral part in their growth – but it’s hard to overlook his versatility as far as how he can rack up fantasy points in the years to come based on which team selects him.
Arizona drafted Houston’s quarterback Clayton Tune in Round 5, as a potential stop-gap option while Murray rehabs from his torn ACL. Tune was super accurate last season, posting Sports Info Solutions’ highest on-target percentage (78%) among the 2023 QB Draft Class. He also led the class in passing yards per game (313) and touchdowns per game (3.5). Wouldn’t surprise me at all if the 6-foot-3 and 220-pound quarterback starts games in 2023 as the Cardinals look to lock up next year’s No. 1 overall pick. The veteran QBs on the roster will all be free agents at the end of the season.
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