It’s been a week since the spectacle of the 2025 NFL Draft happened. Now, instead of choosing who would win in a fight between one hundred men and a gorilla, I’m looking at six sleepers from the 257+ players drafted during the one and only NFL Draft.
Now, let’s get right into it with our top rookie sleepers for the fantasy football season!
2025 NFL Draft Shore Thing Sleepers
Quarterback
Riley Leonard (Indianapolis Colts)
This year’s quarterback class was not the greatest by any means. There are only two quarterbacks that I can borderline guarantee will start by Week 1 this season: Cam Ward and Tyler Shough. So, why did I choose Riley Leonard?
This is almost a dream come true for a backup quarterback like Leonard. He’s in a perfect scheme for his skills, with rushing potential through the roof. Also, if the quarterbacks ahead of him, Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, struggle like they have before, who says they don’t see what they’ve got in the rookie from Notre Dame?
With this Colts quarterback room, the big determination will be who is the most accurate while still having a huge rushing upside. That rushing upside is key for quarterbacks in the NFL right now; last season, there were five quarterbacks with 500+ rushing yards, and all finished in the Top Ten for most fantasy points. Richardson ended up sixth with 499 rushing yards and still averaged 15.9 fantasy PPG (points per game). However, Riley Leonard had 906 rushing yards quarterbacking for Notre Dame last season, which was the sixth most in college football. So, he can potentially win the job by being more accurate and still bringing huge rushing upside.
Running Back
Brashard Smith (Kansas City Chiefs)
I’ll start with a selling point; Brashard Smith ended his only season at SMU with eight straight games with at least 62 rushing yards. The team that drafted him will start the season riding an eight-game streak with no individual running back gaining over 64 rushing yards.
Earlier this offseason, they slightly addressed the issue by re-signing Kareem Hunt and signing Elijah Mitchell. The offseason will also give Isiah Pacheco time to recover from his injury that derailed his stats when he returned. All that considered, youth might be the answer! The 22-year-old rookie is the youngest in that room by three years, or four if you don’t count Keontay Ingram.
They drafted Smith in the seventh round and while you might not consider him because of when he was drafted, I will remind you of two things. First, we’re going back-to-back seasons where Puka Nacua and Bucky Irving were drafted in Day 3, only to go in the first two rounds of fantasy football drafts the following year. And remember Pacheco? Yeah, he was also drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft and look how he was doing pre-injury. Don’t let the draft capital stop you from a rookie steal.
Damien Martinez (Seattle Seahawks)
As people with the up-to-date lingo would say, Damien Martinez is a “dawg.” The former Oregon State Beaver and Miami Hurricane has gone back-to-back seasons with 1,000 rushing yards and nine-plus rushing touchdowns. Don’t believe me? He publicly announced himself in a Seahawks conference call, stating, “You have another Beast Mode 2.0 coming up there.”
Although he was drafted 223rd overall, two things are holding him back. He’s in a stacked Seahawks’ running back room with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. But that may work in his favor; there was a report before the NFL Draft circulating that either Walker or Charbonnet are names on the trade block. If one of them gets traded, he’s instantly secured himself as the team’s RB2 and should be more than ready to fill in for the RB1 spot if something pops up.
Wide Receiver
Pat Bryant (Denver Broncos)
Just listen to what Sean Payton had to say about Pat Bryant after drafting him: Bryant “has just a lot of traits that Mike has… especially at the line of scrimmage.” Now, who is this Mike that Payton was comparing him to? Oh, only the 2016 Offensive Player of the Year, two-time First-Team All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Michael Thomas.
I’m not saying he will put up four straight seasons of WR7 or higher like Thomas did under Payton. However, that comment alone made my ears perk up and pay attention to him. The Broncos’ WR2 was a mystery heading into last season and it turns out, it ultimately still is! Troy Franklin never lived up to the pre-season hype or chemistry with Bo Nix from Oregon. There were hot spots between Devaughn Vele and Marvin Mims, but they ultimately fizzled out and turned into short spurts.
Another thing to address is the Courtland Sutton situation. Yes, that’s right, the Broncos’ WR1 is entering the final year of his contract. There were speculations of a possible trade, however that was shot down. But just because it was shot down does not mean that the idea was at least floated around and can pick up steam as we get closer to the regular season. This means we might have a “Thomas 2.0” for Nix to target.
Savion Williams (Green Bay Packers)
Savion Williams joins a packed but not stacked wide receiver room in Green Bay. He wasn’t even the first wide receiver the Packers picked in the 2025 NFL Draft! The rookie from TCU finished with back-to-back seasons of 635+ scrimmage yards and four-plus scrimmage touchdowns.
However, he is now in a room with Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks and fellow rookie Matthew Golden. I see Savion Williams becoming a potential breakout player in this room and boy, oh boy, do the Packers need one. He has big-play potential whenever the ball is in his hands, and he’ll be inserting himself into a subpar but packed receiving core. The Packers may have done it again with a non-first-round selection at wide receiver who can create memories.
Tight End
Terrance Ferguson (Los Angeles Rams)
It really was not a secret that the Rams were looking to invest in two things in the NFL Draft. First was a backup quarterback with an aging Matthew Stafford. An answer now seems to be on the horizon, with two first-rounders in next year’s Draft for a chance at some amazing quarterback prospects.
The second goal was investing in a tight end to replace Tyler Higbee, who is in the final year of his contract. So, the Rams used the first draft pick that they had this year on Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson. Until Week 15, when Higbee returned, the Rams were missing a tight end, as Colby Parkinson was not cutting it. That’s why they grabbed one who could do so; Ferguson secured at least 390 receiving yards in three straight seasons. That includes an additional five-plus touchdowns in two of those last three seasons. It would not shock me if he surpasses the veteran and becomes the TE1 for the Rams later in the season.
Thanks for reading this version of “Shore Thing Sleepers.” If you’re looking for more fantasy content like this or need help with the last-minute fantasy football start/sit decisions for your roster, you can find me on Facebook at “Fantasy Sports Start or Sit’Em Questions,” Twitter/X @FSSOSEQ or on BlueSky!
*Photo Credit: Kirby Lee – USA TODAY Sports*
