Keon Coleman, Travis Hunter, And 3 More Fantasy Football Sleepers In Week 1

A list of five fantasy sleepers that could have breakout games in Week 1 of the NFL season, including Keon Coleman and Travis Hunter.

Dec 29, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) carries the ball after making a catch in the second quarter against the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

At the start of every fantasy season, almost every fantasy GM will lock in the players they drafted as starters into their lineup for week one. But every season, there are a few bench players that break out way above their suggested projection. Here are five sleepers who could have those big-time performances in week one of the 2025 NFL season.

Travis Hunter

Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Travis Hunter has a good opportunity to put up impressive stats in week one. Hunter and the Jaguars will be playing against the Carolina Panthers, who allowed the most total yards a game in 2024, 404.5 yards per game.

Travis Hunter makes his first catch of the preseason 👀

Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/9IxLyHoJKS

— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2025

The Jaguars also being one of the worst defenses last year, could make this matchup between the two teams one that could set off fantasy football fireworks. It would not be surprising if there were two or more players in the game have top 10 fantasy performances at their positions.

Austin Ekeler

With the lead back of the Washington Commanders, Brian Robinson getting traded to the San Francisco 49ers, Austin Ekeler has an opportunity for a big fantasy output in week one.

Ekeler, after being an auto-first round pick for a number of years, has fallen from that height of play. But he showed last year that he still has something to give. In 2024 in 12 games, he had 367 yards rushing on 77 carries. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry, the highest average he had since 2018. He was used in the passing game as well, racking up 366 yards on 35 catches. With a bunch of unproven backs behind Ekeler on the depth chart—Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jeremy McNichols, and Chris Rodriguez Jr–he should be in store for the majority of snaps at the RB position at least in week one. He and the Commanders  will be going up against a favorable matchup for their run game against the New York Giants. They allowed the 29th most rushing yards in 2024.

Xavier Legette

The second-year Carolina Panthers wide receiver, Xavier Legette, is due for a strong week one performance, and possibly a strong 2025 fantasy season at that. With the recent trade that sent Adam Thielen back to Minnesota, some targets will be up for grabs amongst the Panthers’ pass catchers. Thielen had a 19% target share last season.

Xavier Legette in 11v11 vs Texans #Panthers pic.twitter.com/FDDIzhkZ7p

— Sheena Quick (@Sheena_Marie3) August 14, 2025

Even with the addition of Tetairoa McMillan, Bryce Young might lean on Legette to fill the void left by Thielen, having a season already played with him. Last year, Legette, despite having the second most receiving yards on the team with 497, was targeted the most by nearly 20 targets, getting thrown to a total of 84 times.

The Panthers' week one matchup is against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who ranked as the worst passing defense  in the NFL in 2024. They allowed 257.4 yards per game.

Cedric Tillman

The Cleveland Browns' currently listed wide receiver two, Cedric Tillman, has a favorable week one matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals last year ranked 25th in points allowed per game–25.5. Tillman, last year in a matchup against Cincinnati, had a great game. He was targeted 12 times and had 81 yards receiving on eight receptions. With the former Tennessee Vol entering his third season, this could be the start of a breakout season for him, with it being the highest he has ever been on a receiving depth chart to start an NFL season.

Keon Coleman

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman, whose season was up and down in 2025, could certainly start on a big up against the Baltimore Ravens in week one.

Last day of camp. Keon Coleman signs off with a nice big-body rep for six 🚀6️⃣

Can we call it the summer of Keon? Dude was a highlight machine.

So excited to see his sophomore year.#BillsMafia

pic.twitter.com/qjfHacpzAs

— Justin Siejak 📝 (@justinsiejak) August 21, 2025

Last season, the Ravens allowed the second-most passing yards a game out of any team in the NFL–262.82 yards per game. Coleman last year against Baltimore had three catches, on four targets, for 51 yards. And although his season was filled with games with similar stat lines to this, which do not pop eyes for fantasy, he has a great chance to become an important fantasy player in 2025. Building a year of experience with Bills star quarterback Josh Allen was an important step in that happening.