Marvin Harrison Jr., Brock Purdy Among Fantasy Football Sleepers in Each Round of Drafts

The best fantasy football managers separate themselves by finding value throughout drafts by rostering players destined to outperform their average draft positions (ADPs).

While star players dominate the headlines, championships are won by managers who identify hidden gems, especially in the middle and late rounds of drafts. Every draft round offers an opportunity to land a sleeper — a player poised to outperform expectations and deliver crucial production at a bargain price.

Below are sleepers to target in each round of a 12-team PPR league, giving fantasy managers a roadmap to maximize value and build a roster with upside from top to bottom. This list only accounts for skill positions (QBs, RBs, TEs).

*ADP is based on consensus PPR rankings, per FantasyPros*

Round 1 - Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants (ADP: 9.8)

Nabers finished the 2024 season as WR6, scoring 273.6 points (18.2 per game). He caught a rookie record 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven TDs in 15 games. He’s currently going off the board as the sixth WR taken despite the Giants’ QB room being upgraded from top to bottom and there being no significant additions to the team’s WR room. With better QB play and a target share that gives him a path to finishing as WR1, Nabers will be a home run pick for fantasy managers at the end of the first round.

Round 2 - Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams (ADP: 25)

Williams clocked a RB7 finish last season by nearly topping 1,300 rushing yards and 16 combined rushing and receiving scores. For whatever reason, he’s now going off the board as RB11 despite entering his fourth season in a high-powered offense. Many are skeptical of the role Blake Corum — who commanded just 58 carries and averaged 3.6 yards per carry (YPC) in 2024 — and Jarquez Hunter — a rookie averaging 3.7 YPC through far through preseason — will have in the offense. However, Williams is the clear-cut RB1 and a great pick late in the second round.

Round 3 - James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills (ADP: 30.8)

A running back that often sneaks into round three, picking Cook is an example of cashing in on a player while others are seemingly out. Cook finished the season as RB8 in 2024, in part because he tied for second in the NFL with 18 total TDs. He’s now being drafted as RB13. While he’s likely to see TD regression, he has room to carry a larger workload in the rushing and receiving game. A team doesn’t sign a RB to a four-year, $48M extension if he’s not going to be a focal point of the offense.

JIMBO‼️

We’ve signed James Cook to a four-year contract extension: https://t.co/DKD1mH8UM0 pic.twitter.com/aDyDXs8E32
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 13, 2025

Round 4 - Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals (ADP: 40.2)

Harrison is a popular pick as a breakout candidate in 2025, and justifiably so. The former No. 4 overall pick is one of the most talented wide receivers to enter the league in recent years. He showed promise in his rookie season, but ultimately disappointed given the lofty expectations placed upon him. Still, Harrison posted a respectable receiving line of 62-885-8 in 2024. Many reports have detailed the wide receiver's offseason body transformation as well as his growing connection with Kyler Murray. All signs point to Harrison being the undisputed No. 1 target in the Cardinals’ offense for 2025, and he’s being drafted as WR18.

Round 5 - D’Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears (ADP: 59.5)

In a revamped Bears offense, Swift will be a viable asset to fantasy managers at a discount. Despite the offensive struggles in 2024, the Swift finished as a top 20 running back and is going off the board as RB24. Ben Johnson helped Jahmyr Gibbs reach new heights last season, and although Swift isn’t the high-caliber talent he is, the veteran is still a very good player in his own right with a comparable skillset.

Round 6 - Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers (ADP: 62.7)

McMillan might be my favorite player to target in ESPN drafts, where his ADP is significantly lower than on other platforms. The guy is a bona fide stud and with legitimate WR1 potential going midway off the board midway through drafts. The Arizona product was taken eighth overall by the Panthers in this year’s draft and will be Bryce Young and the newly hired head coach David Canales’ primary option in the pass game. To me, he’s a smoother Drake London, yet he’s being drafted as WR28. He’s a player I’m looking to come away with in every draft.

Round 7 - Tony Pollard, RB, Tennessee Titans (ADP: 69.3)

Pollard is a top value pick at the RB position. Many expected him to be in a timeshare with Tyjae Spears his first season in Tennessee, but he instead rushed for a career-high 1,079 yards and was top 10 in the NFL in RB touches. He finished as RB21 last season despite playing in an offense that lacked stability. With the addition of QB Cam Ward — the No. 1 overall draft pick — and other pass-catchers, the Titans offense should operate more smoothly in 2025. Spears is also dealing with a high ankle sprain that will keep him out for the rest of the preseason. Pollard is a safe pick with RB2 upside, being drafted as RB26.

Round 8 - Evan Engram, TE, Denver Broncos (ADP: 85)

Engram is coming off a 2024 campaign where he played in just nine games due to a torn labrum. However, he earned Pro Bowl honors in 2023 after setting career highs in catches (114) and yards (963). He was released in early March by the Jacksonville Jaguars and signed a two-year, $23 million deal with the Broncos a week later. Engram will be a key target for Bo Nix in Sean Payton’s offense, where he will likely assume the “big slot” role that Marques Colston dominated during his decade-long career.

Round 9 - Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers (ADP: 99.8)

Purdy tallied a top 15 QB finish in 2024 despite the 49ers' offense being plagued by injuries. He had six games as a top-six QB and seven in which he scored over 20 fantasy points. Purdy projects as a low-end QB1 in 2025 in a talented offense being engineered by one of the top offensive-minded head coaches. Fantasy managers can get Purdy past the midway point of drafts, and he’s a more than solid option at QB.

Brock & Ricky back at it!

📺: KPIX
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/EEecl0V7a6
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 16, 2025

Round 10 - J.K. Dobbins, RB, Denver Broncos (ADP: 110.3)

As long as Dobbins can stay healthy, he will lead Denver’s backfield and outperform his ADP. The running back stayed healthy for the most part in 2024, as he played 13 games and rushed for a career-high 905 yards and nine TDs. Dobbins also had a 5.1% explosive run rate last season, ranking 12th out of 31 running backs with at least 150 rushing attempts. His breakout was good for an RB24 finish, yet he’s going off the board as RB36 in 2025. Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram both finished as top-30 running backs on a points-per-game basis from 2017-18 when Sean Payton was the New Orleans Saints’ head coach. Therefore, the drafting and buzz surrounding RJ Harvey shouldn’t push managers away from drafting Dobbins.

Round 11 - Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts (ADP: 121.2)

Pittman disappointed in 2024, recording his fewest catches, yards and TDs since his rookie season in 2020. He was a byproduct of poor quarterback play, and although Daniel Jones doesn’t have the best track record as a starting quarterback, he has shown the ability to elevate wide receiver play. He peppered Malik Nabers with targets last season and helped him reach a WR6 finish. With a WR48 price tag, Pittman has the potential to net value late in drafts.

Round 12 - Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills (ADP: 131.2)

People forget the third-year tight end is a former No. 25 overall pick with great route running for a person his size. Kincaid flashed his talent as a rookie in 2023, but disappointed in 2024 while being hampered by injuries. In an offense led by the reigning MVP with plenty of targets to go around, Kincaid could be on the receiving end of a career year in 2025.

Round 13 - Darnell Mooney, WR, Atlanta Falcons (ADP: 138.7)

Mooney nearly put together his second 1,000-yard receiving season in 2024, finishing respectable as WR31. He’s being drafted as WR52 in 2025 despite potentially playing in a more sustainable offense led by Michael Penix Jr. Mooney isn’t a glorious pick, but he can still return value in late rounds of drafts.

Darnell Mooney appreciation post

🌕 64 catches, 992 yards, 5 TDs

He missed a game so he didn’t get the 1k PR but he balled out pic.twitter.com/yVSUytEWbr
— Not Bijan (@InBijanWeTrust) May 6, 2025

Round 14 - Nick Chubb, RB, Houston Texans (ADP: 155)

Chubb is more than worthy of a 14th-round flyer. If he’s able to replicate half the success he had before his two recent injuries, he would net great value. Chubb can potentially lead the Texans' backfield in week one, as Joe Mixon continues to deal with a lingering foot-ankle injury. Chubb is a low-risk, high-reward draft pick at RB48.

Round 15 - Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears (ADP: 171.7)

Burden has looked the part thus far through the preseason, and those who watched him at Missouri know the talent he has. The Bears’ pass-catcher room may be crowded, but he has a similar build and intangibles to one of the focal points of Ben Johnson’s offense the last few years — Amon-Ra St. Brown. Burden is available at a bargain with potential to boom, going as WR59 in drafts.

Round 16 - Sam Darnold, QB, Seattle Seahawks (ADP: 199)

I’ll be the first to admit that I would be otherwise cautious about drafting a player like Darnold, who’s seemingly coming off a statistical outlier of a season in 2024. However, what if I told you that the QB9 from last season can be picked up as a free agent in the vast majority of leagues? The veteran QB is rostered in less than 10% of leagues and has a consensus ranking of QB27. Darnold passed for a career-high 4,319 yards and 35 TDs, finishing top five in the NFL in both categories in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings. If he can find a way to replicate similar success with the Seahawks, he will return immense value to fantasy managers.