7 Fantasy Football Post-Hype Sleepers

Fantasy managers can have very short memories, especially when it comes to players who underperform compared to their draft slots. Taking advantage of value opportunities that arise due to negative public perception is a beneficial aspect of the fantasy draft season.

This article highlights some of those players experiencing a dip in perceived value in drafts, in part thanks to recency bias from their 2024 campaigns.

*Last year’s ADP is courtesy of FantasyPros, while 2025 ADP is found in 4for4’s Multi-Site ADP Tool.

Quarterback

C.J. Stroud, Texans

• 2024 ADP: QB5, 5.03
• 2025 ADP: QB18, 10.12

Coming off a QB9 campaign in fantasy points per game as a rookie, C.J. Stroud was the fifth signal caller drafted last year. Due to a perfect storm of bad, he ended 2024 as the QB28, averaging just 13.0 fantasy points per contest.

Stroud’s o-line was putrid, and he lost Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell to season-ending injuries, with Nico Collins on and off the shelf. This season, he gets a revamped line with new weaponry in the form of both rookies and veterans, as the Texans drafted two WRs, Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, and added Christian Kirk and Nick Chubb to the mix.

Stroud has fantasy QB1 potential in 2025, but is being drafted as a mid-range QB2.

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Running Backs

Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs

• 2024 ADP: RB12, 2.12
• 2025 ADP: RB29, 7.07

Let’s toss last season aside, shall we? Isiah Pacheco missed Weeks 3-12 plus Week 18 with a broken fibula and rib injury, and when he returned in Week 14, his usage suggested that he wasn’t fully healed, as he was not on the field for more than 46% of the snaps in any game for the remainder of 2025 which includes the post season. Before his injury, Pop saw a 72% snap share with 41 touches, which he translated to 189 combined yards and one TD.

While Kareem Hunt is still there and they did bring in Elijah Mitchell, Pacheco should see the first snaps even if there ends up being some sort of committee. If the start of last year is any indication of his usage, Pacheco is a solid value in the RB “Dead Zone”. Plus, Andy Reid did say that he “looks tremendous,” so there’s that.

Rico Dowdle, Panthers

• 2024 ADP: RB44, 12.08
• 2025 ADP: RB52, 140.3

An RB23 finish wasn’t too shabby for Rico Dowdle last year, but he got tossed aside by Dallas and signed with the Panthers this offseason. He broke 1,000 rushing yards with an additional 249 through the air and five total TDs, while averaging 17.1 touches per contest.

While his move to Carolina won’t be in a lead-back capacity, Dowdle is in a good spot for contingency value. He’s a strong north-south runner with passing game chops and could see RB2 volume if anything were to happen to Chuba Hubbard.

Jaylen Wright, Dolphins

• 2024 ADP: RB48, 12.08
• 2025 ADP: RB53, 14.04

There was considerable hype surrounding Jaylen Wright coming into the NFL last year, and he didn’t produce as desired with just 249 scoreless yards while buried behind Raheem Mostert and even Jeff Wilson as De'Von Achane’s backup in Miami.

He’s coming into 2025 in better shape, with Mostert no longer in town to murk up his usage. The Dolphins brought in Alexander Mattison and sixth-rounder Ollie Gordon, so there’s no guarantee of that RB2 role, but Wright should have the inside track and makes for a nice late-round piece as part of a Dolphin stack in best ball, or a handcuff back with upside in redraft leagues.

Wide Receivers

Rome Odunze, Bears

• 2024 ADP: WR40, 8.05
• 2025 ADP: WR34, 7.02

While he may be a tad more expensive than he was last year which doesn’t necessarily fit the post-hype sleeper prototype, Rome Odunze is coming off a disappointing rookie season primed for a breakout, so I’m including him.

Last year, he was part of a dysfunctional Bears' offense and ended as the WR65 in half-PPR scoring on a per-game basis. It’s a new day in Chicago as OC Shane Waldron and veteran WR Keenan Allen are gone, and HC Ben Johnson should boost their overall offensive situation. While the target competition is real with rookies Colston Loveland and Luther Burden now in the mix as well as D.J. Moore, Odunze does have a path to becoming Caleb Williams' go-to WR, and he could put up fantasy WR2 numbers for the price of a low-end WR3.

Keon Coleman, Bills

• 2024 ADP: WR46, 9.12
• 2025 ADP: WR51, 11.12

Another rookie who didn’t live up to expectations, Keon Coleman, did show us some big-time potential at times last season, with four double-digit contests in half-PPR scoring, three of those coming before a mid-season wrist injury.

He’s healthy, and the Bills WR room doesn’t appear too different in 2025, as they just swapped out Mack Hollins for Joshua Palmer, so Coleman should see plenty of looks. If he can take a step forward in his separation (he had the lowest among WRs in 2024), considering he was already on the field the most of any Bill WR last season (73%), there’s potential for a big breakout coming for the sophomore.

His fantasy WR5 price tag seems low based on the possibilities in a Josh Allen-led offense.

Tight Ends

Jake Ferguson, Cowboys

• 2024 ADP: TE9, 7.11
• 2025 ADP: TE16, 12.05

Coming off a TE9 campaign in 2023, Jake Ferguson struggled to produce last season as a whole (TE31), but in Weeks 1-9 with Dak Prescott, the 26-year-old was the TE13. With a healthy Prescott and defenders likely keying in on CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens leaving Ferguson unchallenged underneath and on check-downs, there’s potential for fantasy TE1 output for the current price of a TE2.