When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and others to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Let’s dive into a few notable POSITION fantasy football sleepers below. And check out all of the fantasy football sleepers experts love in our consensus sleeper rankings.
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Fantasy Football Sleepers: POSITION
Here are POSITION fantasy football sleepers the experts love to target in drafts.
Who are Fantasy Football Sleepers?
Fantasy football sleepers are players who have a strong chance to exceed expectations and become surprise difference-makers for fantasy managers.
Fantasy Football Sleepers: Running Backs
Mason moves from San Francisco to Minnesota in an offseason trade to become Aaron Jones‘ running mate/handcuff. Mason sustained a shoulder injury and an ankle injury last year. The bum ankle ultimately ended his season. In the brief six games, he played 64% or more of the snaps as the starter for the 49ers, with an average of 21.3 touches and 111.8 total yards. He was a top-24 fantasy option at the running back position in four of those six outings and an RB1 in 50% of them. Mason finished top six among running backs last year in explosive run rate (second), missed tackles forced per attempt (sixth), and yards after contact per attempt (third, per Fantasy Points Data). Mason is a top-shelf handcuff again this season who could offer some stand-alone value in Minnesota’s high-scoring offense.
– Derek Brown
Lloyd lost nearly his entire rookie season to injuries. First, he dealt with a hamstring strain during training camp and the preseason. That was followed by an ankle sprain in Week 2 and surgery to treat appendicitis after that. It was an unfortunate and insane runout for the former third-round pick out of USC. Don’t forget Lloyd is a ridiculously talented player who ranked 16th and 20th in yards after contact per attempt and fourth and 15th in elusive rating across his final two collegiate seasons (per PFF). The Packers didn’t add anyone to the backfield in the draft. Lloyd should be considered the favorite for the RB2/handcuff spot on the depth chart for Green Bay behind Josh Jacobs. We’ll see how much of a stand-alone role he has this season, but his handcuff value alone is solid.
– Derek Brown
Fantasy Football Sleepers: Wide Receivers
Keon Coleman flashed big-time potential as a rookie, most notably with his 125-yard breakout in Week 7. Prior to a midseason wrist injury in Week 9, Coleman was emerging for Buffalo, averaging over 2.0 yards per route run and posting +136 receiving yards over expected (recYOE) – the third-best mark by a rookie WR through eight weeks since 2018, behind only Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. Now healthy and a projected starter in Buffalo’s 3-WR sets, Coleman is slated for a strong Year 2 breakout in an offense looking for playmakers behind Khalil Shakir.
– Andrew Erickson
Darnell Mooney was a major value in 2024, outperforming his WR69 ADP to finish as the WR28 overall and WR39 in points per game through 17 weeks with over 1,300 air yards and a career-best 1.88 yards per route run. He held a steady 20% target share as Atlanta’s WR2 and came just eight yards shy of his second 1,000-yard season. With Michael Penix Jr. taking over at quarterback in 2025, Mooney has room to grow – he posted 5 catches for 82 yards in Penix’s debut. Locked into a starting role, Mooney is a strong late-round target with sneaky WR3/FLEX upside.
– Andrew Erickson
Fantasy Football Sleepers: Quarterbacks
Will 2025 bring the long-awaited Trevor Lawrence fantasy breakout? The No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence has never finished better than QB12 in fantasy points per game. He was limited to 10 games last year, missing time due to a concussion and an AC joint injury in his shoulder that required offseason surgery. There’s optimism that 2025 will be the best season of Lawrence’s career. New Jaguars head coach Liam Coen coaxed a career-best season out of Baker Mayfield last season in Tampa. And the Jaguars aggressively traded up to the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft to take two-way college star Travis Hunter, with the intention of primarily using Hunter as a wide receiver.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
Michael Penix heads into the 2025 season as the Falcons’ unquestioned starting quarterback after sitting behind Kirk Cousins for most of the 2024 season. Penix did make three late-season starts, completing 58% of his throws in those games, averaging 245.7 passing yards per game and 7.4 yards per attempt, with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Penix is a pocket passer who doesn’t offer much rushing upside, but he has a powerful and accurate arm. He led FBS in passing yardage in each of his final two college seasons at Washington. Penix has the potential to return profit on his low-end QB2 price tag.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
Fantasy Football Sleepers: Tight Ends
Zach Ertz still appears to have gas left in the tank at age 34. He had 66 catches for 654 yards and seven touchdowns last season, finishing TE8 in half-point PPR scoring. After scoring only one touchdown over his first 10 games of 2024, Ertz scored six touchdowns over Washington’s last seven regular-season games. He scored another TD in the playoffs and went out with an 11-catch, 104-yard performance in the Commanders’ season ending loss to Ertz’s former team, the Eagles. After playing a full season for the first time since 2021, Ertz agreed to a one-year deal that will keep him in Washington. He and young QB Jayden Daniels developed strong chemistry. Despite his age, Ertz could be a sneaky-good late-round TE option in 2025.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
In his ninth NFL season, Hunter Henry established new career highs in targets (97), catches (66) and receiving yards (674). He scored only two touchdowns nut still managed to finish TE12 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring. Henry quickly developed chemistry with rookie QB Drake Maye, who leaned heavily on the veteran tight end. Maye could take a step forward in his second season, and while the Patriots added WR Stefon Diggs in free agency and WR Kyle Williams via the draft, New England isn’t exactly loaded at wide receiver, so Henry should still have ample opportunity to contribute. If Henry has better luck with touchdowns in 2025, he has a chance to return low-end TE value.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
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