Fantasy football drafts are getting into full swing! But why read about players that you know you’ll spend an earlier draft pick on, when you can read about some who deserve some love in the later rounds? Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about them! These are my “Shore Thing Sleepers” that have an Average Draft Position (ADP) of 150 or later.
Let’s give these players some love, and you’ll end up loving them more once they are on your team!
2025 Fantasy Football Draft Shore Thing Sleepers
Quarterback
Cameron Ward (Tennessee Titans)
With the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans select Cameron Ward, quarterback from Miami (FL). We first heard those words on April 24, 2025. We knew that, though, why did it need repeating? Because this has to be the least-hyped first overall pick, especially for a quarterback. Personally, I see that as a good thing that we are not putting all this media pressure on a quarterback who’s the first pick, as compared to others in the past. Some players can crumble under that pressure!
It’s not just the media pressure, though, or lack thereof. Looking at the stats, the NFL had two straight years where a rookie quarterback finished in the top 11. The Titans have some sneaky weapons in Calvin Ridley and Tony Pollard. They also gave Ward plenty of rookie weapons by drafting Chimere Dike, Gunnar Helm and Elic Ayomanor. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rookie QB success trend continues for a third straight year, and I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see Cam Ward do it.
Running Back
Nick Chubb (Houston Texans)
There are too many questions about Joe Mixon’s foot injury to feel comfortable. So, I’m looking at the other current 29-year-old running back on the Texans, Nick Chubb. Now, injuries have derailed Chubb’s career, and that’s the main reason why he’s not on the Browns anymore.
However, he’s still got something left in the tank. The Texans wouldn’t have signed him if they didn’t think so. Particularly with Mixon injured and without a clear timetable, Chubb has two solid possibilities of value here. He can slot in as the team’s RB1, a role in which Mixon finished in the top 15 for attempts and rushing yards among running backs last year. More importantly, he was top ten in rushing touchdowns and fantasy points per game. I’d think they’ll just transition the workload expected of Mixon to Chubb. They also have a good rookie in Woody Marks. If Marks were to take over, I can see Nick Chubb being a goal-line or third-down back and hogging touchdowns, which would be a boon, especially in high-scoring touchdown leagues.
Dylan Sampson (Cleveland Browns)
Quinshon Judkins’ case has settled, but there are even more issues. He will also be the last rookie to sign, missing valuable time while dealing with the case and signing his contract. Insert the other Browns rookie running back, Dylan Sampson.
The former Tennessee Volunteer had 1,491 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns last season in college. While that may not entirely translate to the NFL, I already think he’s locked down the RB2 spot in Cleveland. If Sampson were to get hot while Judkins is getting NFL-ready, they could easily move into a Running Back By Committee (RBBC) approach, where it’ll get harder to take Sampson off the field. I also envision the Browns’ passing game struggling from time to time, which would increase the focus on their running game!
Jacory Croskey-Merritt (Washington Commanders)
I usually only place two running backs on these lists, but the facts and the hype for Jacory Croskey-Merritt outruled that decision. You may call him “Bill” or “JCM”. It won’t matter; we’re calling Jacory Croskey-Merritt the Commanders’ RB1. The “JCM Hive” is the trending fanbase to be a part of. Why? The Commanders are reportedly shopping running back Brian Robinson Jr., which would pave the way for Croskey-Merritt.
The hype for him has been through the roof just based on training camp videos alone. He is currently stuck behind Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler, so he’ll need to explode with limited carries. But if they’re shopping one of them, then it’s pretty obvious that they’re going to be using JCM more and more. He’s going to see a lot more touches than we anticipated, so the hype is warranted. Who knows, maybe Jacory Croskey-Merritt can break the three-year streak of no Commanders running back finishing in the top 20 for fantasy points or having over 800+ rushing yards? The hype says he can!
Wide Receiver
Wan’Dale Robinson (New York Giants)
Look closely at the stat sheets for this one. There was only one wide receiver duo to finish in the top ten for both receptions and targets, and believe it or not, it was the duo of Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson. And that was with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, and Tommy DeVito playing quarterback. The quarterback room has since been upgraded with Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart.
He’s an absolute monster in Points Per Reception (PPR) formats, which is why I nicknamed him “PPR’Dale.” Did you know that in the past two seasons, Robinson tied for the 18th-most receptions of all wide receivers in that span? That’s not all! He is one of 25 wide receivers to have 60+ receptions and 75+ targets in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The only issue is that he doesn’t get the receiving yards, as he’s the only one on that list to have under 700 receiving yards in both seasons.
Wan’Dale Robinson is a PPR machine! Let’s just hope that his yards per game go up from averaging only 41.1 yards last year. However, he ended on a three-game streak of over 41 receiving yards per game playing alongside Nabers, and that was with Drew Lock at quarterback. So with any better QB now at the helm, he can start improving on that!
Cedric Tillman (Cleveland Browns)
Are we still doing fun facts about WR2s? How about this one! In the four-game stretch from Weeks 7-11, after the Browns shipped Amari Cooper off to Buffalo, Cedric Tillman averaged more than Jerry Jeudy in every fantasy football and receiving category except receiving yards. Yes, it was mostly with Jameis Winston, and while that average of six receptions, 75.5 receiving yards, 0.7 touchdowns and 17.8 fantasy points might be Tillman’s peak, he was still WR10 in that span. Meanwhile, Jeudy was WR25.
The quarterback is still the problem in Cleveland. If Joe Flacco keeps the quarterback job, he still can hopefully sling the ball like he did with the Browns in 2023 when Cooper had back-to-back 109+ receiving yards, one-touchdown games. If not, it’s down to Kenny Pickett or rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Either way, the quarterbacking and offense will still disgust anyone. There will be some competition in Jerry Jeudy, but three of the four games where Jeudy had 94+ receiving yards last year happened when Tillman was out with a concussion. A healthy Cedric Tillman this year will provide healthy competition, making him a solid sleeper.
Tight End
Hunter Henry (New England Patriots)
Hunter Henry quietly finished as TE12 last year. There were nine games last year where Henry played at least 60% of the snaps, with Drake Maye quarterbacking the majority of the game. Henry finished in the top ten for tight ends in five of those weeks. He was able to get that done by averaging five receptions on 7.1 targets for 49.8 receiving yards, 0.2 touchdowns and 11.3 fantasy points in those games.
Now, the Patriots upgraded the running back room and the wide receiver corps this offseason, but one position they didn’t touch is the tight ends. I’m expecting big things for almost everyone in this Patriots offense with Maye at the helm. That’s going to include Hunter Henry, too!
Thanks for reading “2025 Fantasy Football Draft 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: Amber Searls — USA TODAY Sports*
