Fantasy Football 2025 Latest ADP for Top Sleepers and Tips to Strategize

We're in the thick of the 2025 NFL preseason, which means fantasy managers are getting a good look at some potential late-round values in game situations. While the best fantasy options don't tend to see extensive action in the preseason, championship squads aren't built with early-round picks alone.

The best teams are constructed by finding value throughout all stages of a fantasy draft. This usually requires identifying top bench options and successfully uncovering a few late-round sleepers who can contribute. Even when managers experience good injury fortune, they need spot starters for those pesky bye weeks.

With this in mind, let's examine a few tips for finding sleepers in the draft and a few players who have higher ceilings than their current average draft positions (ADP) might suggest.

Sleeper Strategies and Tips

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There are a few strategies that managers can employ to find value in the middle-to-late rounds. Most of them, however, start with learning teams' rosters, watching a little preseason football and absorbing the offseason buzz.

This can lead managers directly to potential sleepers, who tend to come in four distinct flavors.

Rookies taken outside of the first round tend to fall in the middle-round range. Los Angeles Chargers second-round pick Tre Harris, for example, currently has an ADP of 188.3. Naturally, though, rookies don't have to be taken in Round 1 to have an immediate impact.

Last year, Chargers second-round pick Ladd McConkey became an immediate sensation as the headliner of an otherwise underwhelming passing attack. He finished the year with 82 catches for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns. The Georgia product fit into the second sleeper category as well—high-volume running backs and receivers on overlooked teams.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy was another example of this second category in 2024. The Browns offense was a disaster, but Jeudy still caught 90 balls for 1,229 yards and four touchdowns.

The third category involves players stepping into more prominent roles. Running back Chase Brown is a terrific example from last season. The second-year back became Cincinnati's new starter following the trade of Joe Mixon and went on to have a phenomenal campaign. He tallied 1,350 scrimmage yards with 54 receptions and 11 touchdowns.

The last category involves handcuffs, who are massive risk-reward options but worth late-round fliers. Anyone who took San Francisco 49ers backup Jordan Mason as a handcuff to Christian McCaffrey last season knows how the payoff can look. Mason went on to appear in 12 games and rush for 789 yards. Those might not be jaw-dropping numbers, but they're impressive for a player who was likely available in the final rounds or as a post-draft flier.

It's important to remember that roster construction doesn't end with the final round. It's great to target players from these four categories during the draft, but it's smart to examine the free-agent landscape afterward. Notable players and legitimate starters do often slip through the cracks, and it's often worth swapping out that backup tight end or deep bench player to secure them.

Kyle Williams, WR, New England Patriots

AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper

ADP: 198

As previously noted, managers can find value in rookies and in top players on overlooked teams. New England Patriots receiver Kyle Williams has the potential to be both.

While the third-round pick out of Washington State isn't expected to start the season as Drake Maye's top target—free-agent addition Stefon Diggs is expected to take that role—he could become a favorite sooner than later. He's certainly grabbed the attention of head coach Mike Vrabel.

"Kyle Williams is working extremely hard," Vrabel said, per Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sports Hub. "The ball hasn't really found him, but he's been open. There's been separation."

Maye, who is a sleeper in his own right, has the potential to make a massive second-year jump. With an improved supporting cast and an experienced play-caller in Josh McDaniels, he could be a bona fide fantasy star by season's end. If he is, Williams should be a viable flex option at worst.

Brenton Strange, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

ADP: 201.2

It often pays to draft a tight end late because only a few are worth taking toward the top of the draft. Managers who don't jump on the likes of Brock Bowers, Trey McBride and George Kittle in the first few rounds can still find viable starters in the middle-to-late rounds.

Brenton Strange is a potential late-round target who may fall into the good-starter category. He had a promising season last year and is set to step into a full-time starting role.

In 2024, Strange made 10 starts and finished with 40 catches for 411 yards and two touchdowns. However, he opened the season as the No. 2 tight end behind Evan Engram and spent a chunk of the season without quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Engram is now a Denver Bronco, and Lawrence is healthy and back in the starting lineup.

The Jags also have a new head coach in Liam Coen, who should help boost Strange's production. Coen was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator last season and helped Cade Otton produce 59 catches for 600 yards and four touchdowns.

Joshua Palmer, WR, Buffalo Bolls

AP Photo/Adrian Kraus

ADP: 200

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is the reigning NFL MVP and is regularly valued as a top fantasy quarterback. However, since Stefon Diggs' 2024 departure, Bills receivers haven't been high-end fantasy targets.

Free-agent addition Joshua Palmer isn't likely to replicate Diggs' past fantasy success. However, he could emerge as Allen's top perimeter target, which would make him, at worst, a high-end spot starter.

"His separation with his feet. His body language. His catch radius is one of the best I’ve ever been around," Allen told reporters.

The former Chargers standout was listed as a starter alongside Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir on Buffalo's first unofficial depth chart. With such a low ADP, Palmer is being considerably undervalued.

*ADP for PPR scoring, from FantasyPros as of 8/16