10 Fantasy Football Sleepers You Need to Draft

We’ve evaluated each position on players that are undervalued, but collectively we wanted to look at who are the top 10 players you need to look out for in your fantasy drafts. These are players that should be drafted much higher than their ESPN average draft position and we recommend picking them before they slip too far. 

Russell Gage – Arguably the best sleeper in all of fantasy football this year, Russell Gage is going to be the steal of the draft for those lucky enough to grab him in their leagues. With Julio Jones and Todd Gurley both out of the picture, the Atlanta Falcons will have new faces in rookie Kyle Pitts and Mike Davis. Both options are not nearly as good as their predecessors were. Russell Gage even had a very respectable season last year when Julio played and didn’t play. Gage is stepping into a bigger role behind Calvin Ridley and Gage along with Olamide Zacchaeus are going to be sleepers to watch out for (we recommend Zacchaeus in deeper/dynasty leagues). 

Tyler Higbee – The Rams might finally break their playoff woes and have a chance at winning the big game. The Rams added a key player that could help them with this in Matthew Stafford via trade. Moving on from Goff will boost the value for everyone on the Rams offense. They finally will have a quarterback with real arm strength and not choke in the 4th quarter. Tyler Higbee will be one of the biggest benefactors from the Stafford trade as Stafford loved his tight end connections with Eric Ebron originally and then TJ Hockenson. We expect Higbee to be the next undervalued tight end for Stafford. 

Daniel Jones – The young quarterback has been faced with many challenges in his short time being in the league as the Giants have been awful the last few seasons. Barkley has dealt with injuries, Engram is inconsistent, and the Giants haven’t had a wide receiver since the Odell Beckham days. With Kenny Golladay joining the Giants and a healthy Saquon, this might allow Daniel Jones to prove what he has and that he isn’t a bust. We don’t think Jones will be a top quarterback in fantasy, but worth selecting as a safe backup.

Corey Davis – Davis signed with the Jets in the offseason where he went from being the 2nd best option on a run first offense to the #1 option on a team we have no idea what they will look like. The Jets offense looks very different this year with several new fresh faces in acquisitions and via draft that are on the team. Davis is the standout and will be a strong veteran presence for rookie quarterback Zach Wilson.

Irv Smith Jr. – Another tight end who is being way undervalued. The Vikings parted ways with Kyle Rudolph this offseason as he begins the 2nd half of his career with the New York Giants. This leaves a huge gap for Irv Smith Jr. to make up and even if he doesn’t fill the shoes that Rudolph left, his fantasy value is being way underlooked as someone who is on a pass-heavy offense. 

Malcolm Brown – Malcolm Brown might not be the starter on his own team, but he shouldn’t be counted out of fantasy leagues. Brown was in a crowded backfield with Akers and Henderson on a pass heavy offense when he was with the Rams. Now in Miami, the Dolphins signed Brown to help boost their running game and give Myles Gaskin competition. There is a very real possibility that Brown overtakes Gaskin for the starting position at some point in the season. Early on in preseason, we have seen Brown seeing action with the starters and getting a significant amount of touches where he has looked promising. 

Parris Campbell – Carson Wentz is looking closer to being back in the swing of things each and every day. Wentz is having a remarkable recovery from his injury which some expected could be out for the majority of the season. Another player on the Colts who doesn’t look like they came off a season ending injury in 2020 is wide receiver Parris Campbell. Campbell is entering his 3rd season in the NFL with his first two being shut down early with injuries. Campbell has looked like one of the top options in training camp so far and looks healthy. If both Wentz and Campbell remain healthy, Campbell could prove himself to be a late round steal as Campbell is one of the most athletic slot receivers in the NFL and Wentz loves targeting receivers out of the slot. 

Baker Mayfield – Baker has quietly been in the middle of the pack of quarterbacks in the league inching his way up over the last few seasons. The Browns will now have Hunt and Chubb for the full season which will help give Baker and the receivers needed relief. Baker isn’t going to be a weekly starter, but in certain games, he’s worth streaming as the Browns do have their fair share of pass-friendly matchups this season.

Marquez Callaway – Callaway steps into the top overall wide receiver spot with Michael Thomas and Tre’Quan Smith missing significant time with injuries. The wide receiver is currently being slept on as the Saints quarterback situation is not ideal. Callaway should end up as the #1 receiver on the Saints which almost any #1 receiver on a team has some fantasy value. Callaway would be a good streamer for your flex or at WR #3. 

James Conner – Chase Edmonds is still primed to be the lead back to start the season for the Cardinals, but that could easily change as James Conner has overcome tougher starters to overtake in his early years with the Steelers. The back has struggled over the last two seasons, but to his defense, he had one of the league’s lower end offensive line units protecting him. Arizona has better wide receiver weapons, a better back to split carries with in Chase Edmonds allowing Conner to not be the workhorse, and a younger quarterback who can also get the job done on the ground. We believe the change in scenery will be a good thing for James Conner and expect him to turn his career around similar to what Ryan Tannehill did with the Tennessee Titans.