Fantasy football draft week is upon us and the majority of managers will be selecting teams this weekend. While you've likely consumed a ton of our sleeper content the past month, you can never have enough options. Today, Yahoo analysts Scott Pianowski, Ray Garvin, Justin Boone and Matt Harmon are here to give you their favorite sleeper at each position for the 2025 NFL season.
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Quarterback
Scott: Liam Coen is starting to look like one of those right-answer play designers, and he coached up Baker Mayfield to a pinball season last year. Maybe he can do the same with Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville. Lawrence has been erratic in his brief career, but he was set up to fail by Urban Meyer and Doug Pederson, his previous coaches. Now he has Coen to scheme the offense, and two dynamic targets to throw to — Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter. Lawrence also could bring some rushing juice — that part of his game sparked Lawrence to a QB7 finish in 2022. There’s plenty of plausible upside here.
Ray: The Vikings didn’t spend a first-round pick on J.J. McCarthy to hand him off into irrelevance. Year 2 in Kevin O’Connell’s system, he walks into an offense stacked with Justin Jefferson, a healthy T.J. Hockenson, one of the league’s best O-lines and a strong rushing attack of Aaron Jones and new addition Jordan Mason. We’ve seen how Kirk Cousins and even Sam Darnold thrived here, so why not McCarthy? He has mobility, weapons and a play-caller willing to put him in spots to win. Do not be shocked if the rookie finishes inside the top-12 quarterbacks right out the gate. The setup screams breakout.
Justin: Geno Smith. Smith was the QB10 in fantasy points per game in 2022, showcasing a strong fantasy ceiling when things go in his favor. After a down year in 2023 due to offensive line injuries, he rebounded last season finishing top-five in passing yards with eight top-12 weekly fantasy performances — including six in the first half of the season before Tyler Lockett’s play dropped off. In Las Vegas, he’s reunited with his former coach Pete Carroll and plays in an uptempo Chip Kelly offense. He also gets 12 indoor games and the eighth easiest slate in my fantasy strength of schedule matrix. Consider Smith a fantasy QB2 with a shot to return low-end QB1 value.
Matt: Bryce Young. The Panthers were a top-12 offense in a variety of efficiency metrics from Week 10 on once Young got rolling again. The wide receiver room is deep with interesting young pieces, the offensive line is quality and the run game is good enough to support a productive offense. Young was also a top-five quarterback in scramble yards in this span. He could be a sneaky QB1 and is an ideal Superflex option.
Running back
Justin: Bhayshul Tuten. Tuten is an explosive playmaker who sits third on the Jaguars’ depth chart behind Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne Jr. ... for now. The 22-year-old was a prospect new general manager James Gladstone coveted long before he joined the team, citing the rookie’s ability to change the pace of a game with his speed. Unsurprisingly, Tuten was productive when he finally got into preseason action after missing some practice time with a hamstring injury. However, barring a last-minute trade, the veterans will likely start the season atop the depth chart. That makes Tuten a player you draft and hold, to see if his talent will eventually force the coaching staff to give him a role. I believe it will. Though he likely won’t be the lead back in the opener, Tuten might be the pick that helps you make the fantasy title run down the stretch.
Matt: Ollie Gordon. The Dolphins are already banged up in the backfield and aren’t generally an ecosystem I’m dying to get exposure to this season. However, their drafting of Gordon back in April was a signal, to me. Gordon is a big back at 6-foot-1 and 226 pounds who runs a 4.61 in the 40-yard dash. In other words, he stands out as a different type of back to Miami’s usual type. He could have a standalone role even when De’Von Achane is back in the mix as the banger back. Gordon had a down 2024 season but won the Doak Walker Award in 2023 after clearing 1,600 yards with 20 touchdowns on the ground.
Ray: This Cowboys backfield looks crowded on paper, but Jaydon Blue is the one with the juice. Miles Sanders is dust, Javonte Williams has volume but no explosiveness and then there’s Blue, the rookie who clocked over 22 MPH at Texas and caught 42 passes last season. He’s already been spotted with first-team reps. Dallas needs big plays with the defense and Micah Parsons contract situation unresolved, so shootouts may become the norm. Explosiveness doesn’t exist anywhere else in this RB room, and rookies tend to rise late in the year. If you’re swinging for upside in drafts, Blue is the one to stash.
Scott: Is Braelon Allen better than Breece Hall? We’re going to find out pretty soon. Allen is a little younger, of course, and he hasn’t had the awful injury runout that Hall has. At minimum, Allen looks like the plausible goal-line back for the Jets, and maybe this quickly becomes a hot-hand situation. It doesn’t seem like Hall is a long-term plan for the Jets, either; why not get the future started right away?
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Wide receiver
Matt: Cedric Tillman. I’m not trying to find new and creative ways to invest in the Cleveland Browns offense but Tillman does intrigue me as a player. Most drafters have forgotten about his strong stretch after Amari Cooper was traded and before concussions ended his season. Tillman is a big X-receiver who had finished around 70% success rate vs. man coverage in Reception Perception. That doesn’t lock him in as a future star but he could be a quality starter on the perimeter. When he was healthy post-Cooper trade, his production was dead equal, if not slightly better than Jerry Jeudy, who goes many rounds earlier.
Justin: Christian Kirk. The Texans' passing attack is due for a bounce-back after they dropped from fifth in passing yards during C.J. Stroud’s rookie season to 15th last year. One of the issues was a wave of injuries to the receiving corps that caused Nico Collins, Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs to miss a combined 17 contests. Enter Kirk, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. While the rookies are busy working their way up the depth chart, Kirk has already established himself as a starter in both two- and three-receiver sets. He also earned the nickname “slot magician” from Collins and “slot demon” from safety Calen Bullock. Kirk is three years removed from being the WR19 in fppg and was a top-30 option over the first 12 weeks of 2023 before injuries derailed each of his past two campaigns. A healthy Kirk could return fantasy WR3 value from the late rounds.
Scott: Marvin Mims Jr. has been a part-time player in his two NFL seasons, but perhaps it’s time for the Broncos to increase his workload. Denver enjoyed a 127.3 passer rating when Mims was targeted last year, and six of his 39 catches went for touchdowns. It’s telling that Mims picked up his game in the second half, when rookie QB Bo Nix began to cook — Mims posted a 28-434-6 line over the final seven games of the year. The timing feels right for a Year 3 breakout.
You want a bonus sleeper? I like Rashid Shaheed in New Orleans, as he expands his route tree and becomes a more polished receiver. The quarterback room is a mess, of course, but you can draft Shaheed as a bench player who could eventually grow into a reliable WR3.
Ray: Rashod Bateman has teased us for years, but 2025 feels like the season the payoff comes. Baltimore extended him this offseason, and while Zay Flowers and DeAndre Hopkins will draw plenty of attention, Bateman’s the guy who consistently flashes as Lamar Jackson’s most reliable wideout. The Ravens threw for over 40 touchdowns last season, and with TE Isaiah Likely sidelined early, there’s room for Bateman to step up as the chain-mover and red-zone option. Single coverage, no safety help, just 1-on-1 battles that play to his strengths. He’s being drafted like a forgotten man, but everything says sleeper breakout.
Tight end
Ray: This one’s simple: follow the routes. Cade Otton was force-fed opportunity under Liam Coen in Tampa, finishing top-12 in routes run and participation. Now, it’s Brenton Strange’s turn in Jacksonville with an even better athletic profile. Strange possesses a 75th percentile speed, 86th percentile burst and 71st percentile 40 time. He’s walking into an offense with Trevor Lawrence, Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter stretching the field, which means Strange should get favorable matchups every week. If Otton could matter in fantasy, Strange can do the same with even more room for upside. Do not leave your drafts without taking a late swing here. He’s got sleeper written all over him.
Scott: Chig Okonkwo was an exciting downfield player in his rookie year (14.1 YPC); he’s been reduced to underneath work since. But the messy Tennessee quarterback situation has stalled Okonkwo’s growth more than anything. Tennessee now gets an upgrade with rookie QB Cam Ward — I dare him to play worse than the spotty QBs the Titans rolled out last year — and the receiver room is fairly thin after Calvin Ridley. We’ve been spoiled with plenty of quick breakouts from young tight ends in recent years, but maybe Okonkwo is an old-fashioned spike player, ready to pop in Year 4.
Matt: Theo Johnson could be the second target for Russell Wilson/Jaxson Dart in New York and isn’t being drafted in Yahoo leagues. The 6-foot-6, 259-pound Johnson posted a 91st percentile 40-yard dash, 96th percentile vertical jump and 93rd percentile broad jump at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. Closing your eyes and taking athletes has been a profitable strategy at this position in the past. Johnson even put some production into the stat sheet as a rookie before an injury ended his 2024 season. I have a suspicious amount of deeper fantasy teams where Johnson is my TE2.
Justin: Ja’Tavion Sanders. He flashed as a rookie last year, despite dealing with a neck injury which disrupted his season. In the six outings where Sanders played over 70% of the Panthers snaps, the fourth-rounder put up at least 49 yards or a touchdown four times. The 22-year-old has also received praise for reporting to the team 10 pounds lighter this offseason and has been catching a lot of passes in practice while adding yards after the catch, according to Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer. With Adam Thielen gone, there are targets available, so keep Sanders in mind as a deep sleeper or waiver wire add.
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