We dropped our sleepers from the Fantasy Football Today crew Tuesday, with picks who could make an impact like Ben Roethlisberger, Jared Goff, Zack Moss, and Allen Lazard from Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, Heath Cummings, and Ben Gretch. Those picks could help win your league, with starting potential to be found in the middle rounds or later on Draft Day. You'll need a few of those for any championship run in Fantasy, and they all represent a dream on what the best-case scenario could be for each player.
But, to quote Tom Hardy's Eames in Inception, "You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling." And like in Inception, we're going deeper here, looking at players with an ADP in NFC drafts of 180 or later. These players won't all go undrafted in your league — a few of them even figure to see their values rise with a good training camp — but for the most part, you'll be able to save them until your last pick.
The Fantasy Football Today team discussed a couple of these names in their Tuesday episode on sleepers, alongside some of the names above. Listen below and be sure to subscribe for non-stop Fantasy football content.
There's upside available in the draft at every point. If you can find those players who will break out with a late-round pick, you're putting yourself in great position to make a run to the title game. Here are my 12 favorite deep sleepers:
Deep Sleepers
Harry struggled mightily as a rookie, with injuries keeping him off the field in training camp and early in the season, and keeping him from ever finding his spot on the field. Hopefully a fully healthy offseason can allow Harry to establish himself as the Patriots' new No. 1 receiver, because there's still tons of potential here — remember, Harry was the second wide receiver drafted in 2019 after a dominant college career with a great athletic profile. This might not be a high-upside offense, but Harry has the talent to overcome that.
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Kelley is a decent prospect, but it's the landing spot that really makes him a promising Fantasy option. The Chargers have their top back in Austin Ekeler, and he should be the primary option all season. However, coach Anthony Lynn has talked about not wanting to overuse him, which means there are going to be touches to go around in this backfield; running backs besides Ekeler still had 246 touches for the Chargers in 2019. If it's Kelley who gets the majority of them, that could make him a viable starting option, especially if he takes on Melvin Gordon's goal-line role.
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It's been interesting to watch Fantasy football debate whether Aaron Rodgers is a good quarterback for tight end production this offseason, but I'm not sure it matters much. The bar for relevance at tight end is incredibly low, and the Packers threw 94 passes to their tight ends in 2019, and that would be enough for Sternberger to be a starting option. The Packers desperately need playmakers in the passing game after yet another offseason came and went with no real investments, and Sternberger could be that guy. He's not an elite prospect, but he was very productive in college, and there's a chance he emerges as a starting-caliber tight end in 2020.
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There was a decent amount of hype around Campbell this time last year, given the Colts' need for a No. 2 receiver and the presence of Andrew Luck, a good combination for Fantasy production. The combination came unraveled before the season even started when Luck unexpectedly retired, and then a series of recurring injuries ultimately doomed Campbell's chance of finding a useful role. However, he is healthy now, and hopefully has a better QB situation with Philip Rivers joining the Colts. If Rivers has something left, Campbell could thrive in the slot.
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Haskins is being pretty much written off entirely — he's the 30th QB off the board right now. The situation isn't ideal, but it's better than you think, with Terry McLaurin leading a group of talented young wide receivers and Antonio Gibson drawing Christian McCaffrey comps from coach Ron Rivera. As much as Haskins struggled as a rookie, he wasn't dramatically worse than Case Keenum, who we've seen be at least passable in the right situation. With a coaching upgrade and some young weapons to grow up with, a big second-year breakout a la Carson Wentz or Jared Goff isn't totally out of the question.
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If you're drafting with the Fantasy Football Today team, you aren't getting Shenault with your last-round pick, because we're high on him pretty much across the board. He was a productive college player with a good combination of size and speed, and he lands in a pretty good situation in Jacksonville with a young No. 1 WR in D.J. Chark and a young QB in Gardner Minshew to grow with. He could emerge as a 1b to Chark, but even as the No. 2, there could be plenty of opportunities on a team that looks like it will be more pass-heavy than they have been.
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Sure, he's not even on a roster right now, nor has he even proven he's healthy enough to play. But if he is, I still believe Newton is one of the 10 best quarterbacks in the NFL for Fantasy. He'll get an opportunity eventually, and the second he steps on the field, you'll want him in your lineup, so why not snag him with your second-to-last pick and see if he gets the chance he needs.
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When the Rams were humming, they were running three-wide sets pretty much all game long. They got away from that last season, but it's possible they go back to it in 2020 if Reynolds proves up to the task. This offense has sustained an elite RB and as many as three Fantasy-viable wide receivers, and Reynolds was a productive college receiver with pretty good athletic testing, so this could be just the opportunity he needs to break out.
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I didn't love Herbert as a prospect, but I love his landing spot. Tyrod Taylor will almost certainly start Week 1, and he's competent enough to hold onto that role — and his running ability makes him a viable Fantasy option as long as he has it. But, if Herbert pushes him for the job, it will be because he's ready, and with Austin Ekeler, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Hunter Henry to throw to, Herbert could be a legitimate difference maker in Fantasy.
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The Raiders have a pretty weird running back room. They have Josh Jacobs, a would-be high-volume rusher who missed time as a rookie in his first opportunity to prove he can actually be a high-volume rusher. And behind Josh Jacobs they have Jalen Richard, an elite pass-catching back who has never had 100 carries in a season; Lynn Bowden, a converted wide receiver who played quarterback in 2019 in college; and Devontae Booker, who hasn't had more than 79 carries in a season since 2016. So, who is going to be the lead back in the event Jacobs goes down? Richard probably won't ever be a 20-carry-per-game guy, but with his receiving chops, even 10 carries would be enough to make him a must-start option in a James White role. He's going too late.
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A big reason why Calvin Ridley is a unanimous breakout candidate for 2020 is because of the significant increase in opportunities he saw after the Mohamed Sanu trade, but we shouldn't ignore the opportunity Gage could have too. He'll need to improve over where he was in 2020 to be Fantasy relevant, but Gage is still just 24, and there's room for 100 targets in this offense. With the kind of attention Julio Jones and Ridley will draw, Gage could surprise as a third option here.
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Coming off two seasons complete ruined by knee injuries, McKinnon is a serious long shot, and at 28, my expectations aren't high. However, there has been some talk of him emerging as the third-down back in San Francisco, and that ain't nothing. The 49ers threw 15.5% of their passes to running backs in 2019, and if the defense isn't quite as dominant and the running game can't keep churning out first downs, there should be more room for pass attempts. If McKinnon proves effective, you can see a world in which he gets close to 100 carries and 45 receptions, and 800 yards and a few touchdowns aren't out of the realm of possibility. Which is to say, you could end up with a streaming starter for essentially free.
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