When I covered three sleepers to target at their average draft position (ADP) last month, I used the cut lines of an ADP after QB12, RB30, WR42 and TE12. This time, I’m featuring three players with ADPs after pick 108, the final pick of the ninth round in 12-team leagues.
- Fantasy Football Research & Advice
- Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- 2026 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer
Late-Round Fantasy Football Sleepers
Dalton Kincaid (TE – BUF) | ADP: 110 (TE13)
Dalton Kincaid was Buffalo’s most productive receiving tight end last year, but he was a part-time player. Blocking limitations impacted his playing time, but so did tending to an aggravation of the PCL in his left knee. Kincaid had only a 38% snap share in the regular season.
Including the playoffs, according to the Fantasy Points Data Suite, Kincaid had a 45.7% route participation rate in 14 games, running 224 routes. Kincaid was a useful fantasy option, despite the playing time limitations. Among tight ends who played at least eight games in 2025, Kincaid was tied for the TE10 in half-PPR points per game (8.9).
Unsurprisingly, given his fantasy scoring, Kincaid was electrifying in his limited workload. Among 45 tight ends with at least 200 routes last year in the regular season and postseason, Kincaid was…
- Fifth in average depth of target (9.1-yard aDOT)
- Eighth in air yards share (18.2%
- First in targets per route run (0.27)
- First in yards per route run (3.04)
- First in yards per target (11.37)
- First in yards per reception (14.21)
- Tied for sixth in touchdown receptions (seven)
- First in first downs per route run (0.147)
- First in expected half-PPR points per route run (0.46)
Kincaid should remain a low-end starter at tight end in fantasy football leagues if his playing time remains drastically limited. However, he could truly smash in a larger role. Dawson Knox and Jackson Hawes remain on the roster behind him, but offensive coordinator Joe Brady was elevated to head coach after the club fired Sean McDermott.
Additionally, Kincaid has bulked up, adding 10-to-12 pounds of muscle while working with a new trainer to stabilize his knee further. If Kincaid’s added weight can help him as a blocker and, more importantly, if he can avoid aggravating his PCL again, Kincaid could see a meaningful uptick in playing time that elevates him into a top-six player at the position.
Malik Willis (QB – MIA) | ADP: 132.3 (QB21)
The Dolphins have a putrid wide receiver and tight end room. With all due respect to De’Von Achane, an explosive running back with receiving chops doesn’t erase the lack of talent at those positions. Nevertheless, gamers should be interested in Malik Willis.
Running quarterbacks elevate their floor, and if they add any quality through the air, they are a cheat code in fantasy football.
According to StatHead, there are 32 quarterback seasons of at least 500 rushing yards in the regular season in the last decade (2016-2025). Taysom Hill‘s 2022 is included on the list, but he attempted only 19 passes that year. Thus, it should be excluded from the sample, since his multi-position designation is the only reason he’s included in the group.
Lamar Jackson‘s rookie season (2018) also has a caveat. He had a package of plays as Joe Flacco‘s backup quarterback early in the season, and he started only seven games as a rookie. Therefore, his inclusion on the table should also be taken with a grain of salt.
The other 30 quarterback seasons on the table produced at least 17.27 fantasy points per game, which was Cam Newton’s uninspiring 2020 campaign with the Patriots. That’s the floor.
A whopping 19 of those seasons produced at least 20 fantasy points per game. Six quarterbacks started at least eight games last year and reached 20 fantasy points per game. Jackson was the QB16, with 17.1 points per game. Recent history has been kind to quarterbacks who’ve reached the 500-yard threshold on the ground.
Willis has averaged 44.8 rushing yards per game in six career starts. In the two contests he had over a 60% snap share for the Packers last year, Willis ran for 44 and 60 yards, scoring two rushing touchdowns. He ran for 41 and 73 yards, with one rushing touchdown in his two starts for the Packers in 2024.
Willis has also been a quality passer since his move to the Packers. According to SumerSports, Willis was tied for fourth in expected points added (EPA) per play among quarterbacks with at least 50 plays in 2024 and was first in EPA per play in 2025.
There might be something to Willis as a passer, and while it would be easy to point to Justin Fields getting benched, Fields never demonstrated the passing acumen Willis did in the previous two years. There’s essentially no risk to picking Willis at his ADP, as he can be dumped if he flops or gets benched. Willis has massive upside.
Keaton Mitchell (RB – LAC) | ADP: 150.3 (RB47)
Keaton Mitchell landed with Mike McDaniel as his offensive coordinator in Los Angeles, and it’s an ideal marriage for the diminutive speedster. It’s not the perfect situation since Omarion Hampton is ahead of him on the depth chart and is an exciting second-year running back with a bell-cow build and skill set.
Nevertheless, McDaniel has crafted offenses that supported more than one running back, namely the 2023 Dolphins. Among running backs who played at least eight games in 2023, Raheem Mostert was the RB3 in half-PPR points per game (17), and De’Von Achane was the RB4 (16.1).
Mostert had 234 touches (15.6 per game) in 15 games, and Achane had 130 (11.8 per game) in 11. It’s unlikely Hampton and Mitchell will finish as the RB3 and the RB4 in half-PPR points per game. Still, Mitchell could flirt with Achane’s 11.8 touches per game, and that might be all he needs to serve as a FLEX or bye-week replacement.
According to StatHead, 84 running backs have toted the rock at least 120 times in the regular season since 2023, and Mitchell’s 6.3 yards per carry ranked second, directly ahead of Achane’s 5.6 yards per carry.
Of course, small sample caveats apply, as Mitchell carried the ball only 121 times, and Emari Demercado‘s 6.5 yards per carry rank ahead of Mitchell, and no one is salivating at the thought of Demercado breaking out with the Chiefs this season.
Having said that, only eight running backs averaged at least five yards per carry from that sample, and it’s an eye-catching group, with Jahmyr Gibbs (5.3 yards per carry), Derrick Henry (5.1), TreVeyon Henderson (5.1), James Cook (5.0) and Jordan Mason (5.0) joining Demercado, Mitchell and Achane. That’s good company for Mitchell.
Mitchell hasn’t demonstrated the same target-earning ability as Achane, but his 9.7 yards per reception and 7.7 yards per target on 24 targets and 19 receptions in Mitchell’s career provide some hope for him scoring fantasy points through the air if a new offensive coordinator taps into that part of Mitchell’s game.
Furthermore, Lamar Jackson‘s explosiveness as a runner reduced the appeal of swinging the ball to Mitchell in space, and Justin Herbert‘s rushing ability isn’t in the same tier as Jackson’s.
Kimani Vidal is still on the Chargers and could be a thorn in the side of both Hampton and Mitchell. Nonetheless, Mitchell has contingent upside beyond a change-of-pace projection.
Jim Harbaugh is the Chargers’ head coach, and he could have a say in a backfield split if Hampton misses time with injuries again. However, McDaniel loaded Achane up with 281 touches in 17 games in 2024 and 305 in 16 in 2025. Mitchell and Achane have similar measurables.
According to PlayerProfiler, Mitchell is 5-foot-8 and 179 pounds, with a BMI of 27.2. Achane is 5-foot-9 and 188 pounds, with a BMI of 27.8. It would be foolish to handwave away the possibility of Mitchell absorbing a sizable workload if Hampton were injured, based on his size, given who his offensive coordinator will be this year.
Mitchell is a fun sleeper to draft and stash to monitor his early-season usage.
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn
Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.