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 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: Running Backs
Here are 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
Devin Neal went later than expected in the NFL Draft, slipping into the sixth round. But he landed in New Orleans, where he has a reasonable chance to be the No. 2 running back in a complementary role behind Alvin Kamara. Neal had more than 1,000 rushing yards and 20-plus catches for Kansas in each of his last three college seasons, averaging 6.0 yards per carry over that span. He had 16 TD runs in each of the last two years. Although his top-end speed isn’t great, Neal has terrific lateral agility and is a dangerous cutback runner. He can stop on a dime and then quickly re-accelerate. Neal also has good vision and patience.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
Croskey-Merritt was a predraft love lister for me. Sadley, he dropped all the way to the seventh round of the NFL Draft before the Commanders picked up the phone. If Croskey-Merritt hadn’t had his 2024 season cut off by an eligibility issue, he would have gone much higher than this. His 2023 season was excellent. He ranked 19th in yards after contact per attempt and 12th in elusive rating (per PFF). He’s a no-nonsense runner who makes one cut and gets downhill. He’ll have his work cut out for him to climb up a crowded running back depth chart, but he has the talent to do so.
– Derek Brown
A fifth-round selection of the Indianapolis Colts, D.J. Giddens becomes the handcuff to Colts lead back Jonathan Taylor. Giddens is a smart runner with good vision and patience. He’s a smooth mover who changes direction without gearing down. Giddens sets up linebackers with feints and dekes, then cuts sharply in the opposite direction once those LBs commit.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
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