I wrote up Jonathon Brooks in this morning's newsletter. Here's a link, if you missed that. My favorite sleepers this off-season have been Brooks, Josh Downs, and Jayden Reed. Brooks is no longer a sleeper. Downs and Reed still are! I write about them all of the time, though. You can read about those two here. So let's transition to three players the Fantasy Football community and more importantly your home league drafts are still probably sleeping on!
Sleeper #1 - Jaylin Noel, WR, Houston Texans
Jaylin Noel was a very good prospect. In my opinion, he was one of the biggest steals of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Texans landed him in Round 4.
His game translated right away as a rookie. He was a great returner. Noel also won down the field, and he won as a pre-snap motion threat on out-breaking routes. He is great tracking the ball, has reliable hands, and is a springy athlete who can create separation.
According to Matt Harmon's Reception Perception charting, Noel fell in exclusive company in terms of grading out 70th percentile or better vs. man, press, and zone coverage in 2025. He's free in drafts. The Texans traded for Kayshon Boutte, but a late-August add leads to a ramp-up period to learn the scheme and get on the same page as C.J. Stroud in the passing game.
Sleeper #2 - Jonah Coleman, RB, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos rookie Jonah Coleman is not free in drafts, but I do believe he is underrated. He's the Denver Broncos RB who I have ranked the highest. The opening schedule for the Broncos is pretty rough. The second half of the season looks nice, on paper.
I expect Coleman to play a role on passing downs (and potentially in short-yardage situations) right away for the Broncos. I was extremely impressed with his college film, particularly in pass protection. The Broncos felt the same way. Sean Payton said, "That was a strong suit when you were looking at his tape -- different than the rest of the class," in reference to Coleman's pass protection.
If there's an injury in the backfield, Coleman has a three-down skill set. He's ready to step into a bell-cow role in a top-half-of-the-league offense. And I really do think there's a lot to like about his tape as a runner. His rushing efficiency was up-and-down in college, and many view him as a plodder because he's a little buff boi. There were flashes of tempo, block-setting, and decent burst early in the 2025 season from Coleman, before he got banged-up and his offensive line struggled to close out the season. If he's a better rusher than many expect, Coleman might not need an injury to carve out a Fantasy-friendly role for himself in this backfield.
He's a bit more expensive than some of my favorite upside bench stashes -- Demond Claiborne, Emmett Johnson, Kaelon Black, and Adam Randall -- but I do view Coleman as worth a Round 10 draft pick if in need of bench RB upside.
Sleeper #3 - Cyrus Allen, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
I'm buying the Cyrus Allen hype. Why wouldn't we? He was productive in college, and his film backed it up. The ways he won feel sustainable. It wasn't schemed-up college nonsense. It wasn't picking on poor competition. He was winning routes. He was winning at the catch point. He has a good feel for space and was consistently presenting an open target vs. zone coverage.
The drumbeat coming out of Chiefs training camp has been loud and consistent. Allen looked great in the first preseason game. Everything points towards this being a talented player who was overlooked in the NFL Draft. It happens every year.
Allen feels a bit buried on the depth chart (no surprise, we're talking about a rookie WR in August), but let's not pretend as if this Chiefs receiver room has any stalwarts on it. This is as inconsistent of a WR room as we are going to find in the NFL (Dolphins always excluded from this type of discussion). Any or all three of the Chiefs top receivers could miss time. Or Allen could just prove to be the best one. Check out the Rashee Rice Reception Perception profile. The Chiefs don't have a consistent separator. Or, they have not had one. Maybe they do now!
