Ricky Pearsall Jr, Diontae Johnson Headline Must-Draft Fantasy Football WR Sleepers
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Every single season, the late rounds of your fantasy football draft have provided a league-winner. There is always a player off of your radar, but they find an opportunity and they sieze it. Let's look at past years of players rated outside the Top 100 that become fantasy commodities:
2024: Chase Brown (ADP: 108 | Result: 19), Bucky Irving (ADP: 181 | Result: 25)
2023: Puka Nacua (ADP: 293 | Result: 5), Kyren Williams (ADP: 296 | Result: 19)
2022: Rhamondre Stevenson (ADP: 99 | Result: 17), Christian Kirk (ADP: 100, Result: 22)
It proves that, despite focus on the Top-2 rounds of your draft, you should pay more attention to the late rounds. If you find just one player that outperforms ADP by 50+ spots, you may just win your league. This is why I preach upside in just about anything I write about. Only players with big upside can achieve feats such as this one, thus meaning you need to make some gambles. Low-rounds are low-risk, so shoot for the moon. Most likely, half of your deep-picks will be waived within a month.
Here are some of my top must-draft WR sleepers:
Ricky Pearsall Jr
Current ADP: WR45 | 99th Overall
I look to players deep in the ADP rankings that provide upside usage that competes with the Top-15 WRs in the NFL. This can be aided through injuries, contracts, and trades. Ricky Pearsall Jr possesses this upside in each aspect.
The 49ers are currently dealing with Brandon Aiyuk still being sidelined due to his right knee injury. In fact, it has been discussed that he could get dealt should the right deal come across the desk of John Lynch. However, if this happened it would likely hurt Pearsall (McLaurin most likely option), so let's not hope for that.
Should Aiyuk remain out awhile, the offense will be thrown to between Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, and Demarcus Robinson. This situation here is key to Pearsall's upside.
Jauan Jennings is looking for a new contract and he may very well not be with this team long if a deal is not met. Demarcus Robinson has never been a WR1 in the NFL, and it will not happen here. Even at running back, Christian McCaffrey, demands targets. Given McCaffrey's injury history, he may miss time at some point. This opens up a clear path for a high-volume share of targets for Pearsall.
Ricky Pearsall has looked like "the best 49ers wide receiver" during the time he's been on the field, per @MaioccoNBCS.
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) August 2, 2025
Pearsall's fantasy stock 📈 pic.twitter.com/jXPZpFIust
Diontae Johnson
Current ADP: WR92 | 315th Overall
Diontae Johnson is surely a gamble. He became a locker room issue last season and this lead to a derailed season where the Panthers traded him to the Ravens. This trade became one of zero value, and Diontae did not play much, if any role. That aside, Johnson is very good, and I stand by that.
The hype that Diontae Johnson commanded last year was no coincidence. People think he is good, and they are correct. Even though the Panthers traded him away, Diontae Johnson had 58 targets in just seven games. This included three games with over 19 PPR fantasy points. The talent is there, he just needs a new home.
Joe Flacco is the starter in Cleveland and he has done well at feeding WRs in his time. If you need proof, look at Michael Pittman Jr in 2023 — 156 targets in 16 games. As for this Cleveland offense, Jerry Jeudy even found his way to a breakout Top-10 WR season last year.
Value is found by leveraging situations. The situation here is that the Browns have weak QB play and questions surround Diontae Johnson. If Flacco stays steady feeding, and Johnson commands playing time (He is WR2 on the depth chart), the numbers can be very big.
Not that long ago, Diontae Johnson was one of the game’s truly explosive, consistently reliable pass-catchers. He got (way) off track, is now clawing his way back and #Browns GM Andrew Berry says he’s working like an UFA and been a great teammate. @Juiceup__3 and I talked pic.twitter.com/87eKnniZu2
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) August 5, 2025
Josh Palmer
Current ADP: WR72 | 226th Overall
Do you want value? Look at Josh Allen to find it. If an elite QB loves a receiver, they will get the ball. The jury is out on the chemistry between the new-Bills WR and Josh Allen, but Josh Palmer is a great football player.
In limited playing time, Palmer did rank as one of the best separation artists and has had a very quality PFF grade in his first four season. The Chargers offense has been up and down of recent years, but I sense a breakout year in Buffalo.
Josh Allen has helped make guys relevant. Look at Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins, and even Gabe Davis. If he made those guys top fantasy commodities, why not Josh Palmer?
Palmer sits alongside Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir. Josh Allen did not gel as expected with Keon Coleman and now, Khalil Shakir is out 4-6 weeks. If we want to leverage any situation, this is one to look at. Targets may be for the taking, and Palmer can easily grab them.
A little inside look of Josh Allen and Joshua Palmer’s relationship growing on the field in a sneak peak of Hard Knocks that premieres tonight!#BillsMafia #Bills pic.twitter.com/K6gkBhYUSE
— Ajay Cybulski (@AjayCybulski) August 5, 2025
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.