By this point in the season, it can feel like I have said everything I have to say about every player in the NFL at least 10 times. The thing I have to remember is that while I've been talking about the 2024 Fantasy Football season since the Chiefs beat the 49ers in the Super Bowl, many of you are just tuning in. With that in mind, I wanted this edition of the Sleepers article to be more all-inclusive than past versions have. To do that, I'm bringing back an old hit, one sleeper from every NFL team.
In the past, I used to write about a deep sleeper from every team, and I may still do that this year. But this article is just looking for a sleeper from every team, and I'm defining sleeper as a player whose current CBS PPR ADP is in the double-digit rounds, or outside the top 108 picks. I'll give you one for each team, sorted by division, with a short write-up on my favorite in each division. We'll start with my favorite division of sleepers, the NFC North:
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At least three of these sleepers could be the best sleeper in another division, but my favorite is Rome Odunze. The 22-year-old was the ninth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after catching 92 passes for 1640 yards and 13 TDs in his final year at Washington. He's paired with rookie QB Caleb Williams in what could be one of the best duos in the NFL for the next decade. The talent and upside are immense here, but Odunze's ADP is held back by the presence of D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen.
While I don't want to discount the veteran presence, Allen is 32 years old, reportedly 15 pounds heavier than last year, and has not looked particularly good in preseason action. His skill set doesn't fit quite as well with Williams either, because the rookie QB loves to extend the play and hunt downfield shots. When he's done that this preseason, it's often been Odunze he's been looking for. It's so rare you get a shot at a rookie as talented as Odunze this late in the draft, don't miss this shot.
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Jason Smith-Njigba is, of course, the downside for Odunze. He came into the NFL as a Round 1 rookie and couldn't earn enough targets due to the fact that the team had DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. But Seattle changed coaching staffs, and Odunze's former coach Ryan Grubb is not running the offense. I expect that will mean a different role for Smith-Njigba, who is still just 22 years old. Expect more downfield routes this season, which should lead to improved efficiency. It's also possible to play total and pass volume increase. Finally, Tyler Lockett turns 32 in September and has been banged up for most of camp. If he misses time, Smith-Njigba will crush his ADP.
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While Brian Thomas Jr. keeps moving up our redraft rankings, he's going the opposite direction in ADP. He had a rough start to training camp, but in the last couple of weeks, everything seemed to click for him. Thomas profiles as the best downfield threat for Jacksonville and potentially their top red zone threat. Trevor Lawrence was one of the best downfield passers in the NFL last year but lost a bunch of production to drops and pass-interference calls. A lot of those lost opportunities went to Calvin Ridley, which is the role I expect Thomas to play this year. Don't be surprised if the rookie is a top 24 wide receiver in the second half of the season.
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It's hard to imagine a better opportunity than the one that lies before Keon Coleman. He has Josh Allen as his quarterback and there is nothing resembling a number one wide receiver on the roster. His top competition for wide receiver targets looks like Khalil Shakir, a former fifth-round pick, whose career-best is 611 yards receiving. Curtis Samuel could also factor in if he can get healthy, but Samuel is a seven-year vet who has never topped 900 yards receiving. The second level of the depth chart is Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mack Hollins, and KJ Hamler. There is nothing standing in his way from being the number one option for one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
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While Coleman has the potential to be the Bills' number one pass catcher, Sutton is locked into that role. Last year he led the team in targets, catches, yards, and touchdowns with 10 touchdowns being the highlight. Now Jerry Jeudy has been shipped off to Cleveland and Sutton's per-route metrics have always been better when Jeudy is not on the field. There's a very good chance Sutton is a WR3 in Fantasy this season and he could be even better if rookie Bo Nix proves a better fit for Sean Payton's offense than Russell Wilson did.
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Hubbard will be the Panthers' starting running back Week 1 and until Jonathon Brooks is 100%. I would not be surprised if that is at least the first month of the season that Hubbard is a viable RB2 for Fantasy purposes, with potentially another month with flex appeal. He averaged 12 FPPG as a starter last year. He is the perfect target if you go Zero-RB and want to pair him with a bunch of high-upside backups, hoping they become starters before loses his job. Fellow NFC South sleeper Bucky Irving would be a great guy to pair with him.
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Some people prefer Rico Dowdle to Ezekiel Elliott. I may even be one of those people if I got to choose, but I don't and Jerry Jones gets at least some say, so I expect Elliott to touch the ball 15-plus times per game early in the year. He's not as good a value by ADP as Hubbard, but he is in a much better offense with more touchdown upside and he doesn't have Jonathon Brooks coming for his touches. There is not a sleeper I love in this division.
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The good for Pat Freiermuth is that Diontae Johnson is gone and there's a clear path for Freiermuth to rank second on his team in targets. Also, Arthur Smith's Falcons ranked first in the NFL in tight end target share in 2023. But I have cooled on the Steelers as a whole after watching the way their offensive line and quarterbacks performed the first two weeks of the preseason. If I draft Freiermuth I want to draft another tight end as well.
