Everyone has a good idea where the star wideouts should be chosen, but what about the hidden gems at the wide receiver position? Kyle Yates reveals his top WR sleepers ahead of the biggest fantasy football draft weekend of the year.
It seems every year there is a player like Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams who rises up during the early part of the NFL season and changes the fate of fantasy football teams.
As most folks mock draft in preparation for the real thing this weekend, it’s crucial to know which potential impact wide receivers might be worth taking a chance on in the later rounds.
There’s been a flurry of activity that has impacted depth charts during the preseason, and even over the past couple of days. So it’s difficult to know who to focus on – or avoid.
Everyone has a good idea where Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins, Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals and CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys should be chosen, but what about the hidden gems at the wide receiver position?
First, let’s clarify what counts as a sleeper in fantasy football rankings. Different analysts and platforms will have different guidelines for what qualifies a sleeper, but for the purposes of this exercise, we’ll be looking at players outside of the first 10 rounds in 12-team leagues.
We’ll identify several players throughout the data from the latest (ADP) average draft position update, so you’ll be covered whether you play in a standard, PPR or half-PPR league or either a shallow league or a league that goes 17 or more rounds.
Here’s a cheat sheet of my top WR sleepers to target when you’re on the clock.
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills
It’s difficult to understand why the WR that finished with the third-highest average yards after catch last season is being drafted outside of the top 50 at his position (WR64 on fantasypros) going into 2024.
Shakir didn’t see a massive amount of targets in 2023, but Stefon Diggs’ presence was always going to limit the amount of work. However, Diggs is now a member of the Houston Texans and there are plenty of targets up for grabs.
Between Diggs and Gabe Davis – who is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars – there are 241 vacated targets now available and Shakir has an excellent opportunity to step in and soak up plenty of them. Yes, Keon Coleman – the team’s first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft – is a talented player, but he profiles as more of a red zone threat versus a target vacuum.
Additionally, Curtis Samuel was a key offseason addition, but the veteran wideout hasn’t seen over 100 targets in a season since back in 2019 as a member of the Carolina Panthers. Plus, he’s currently battling a turf toe injury and his Week 1 availability is up in the air.
Shakir finished last season with 39 catches for 611 yards and a pair of touchdowns as Josh Allen’s No. 4 target overall and No. 3 wideout. Among those with at least 45 targets, he led the NFL in open percentage (91.1) ahead of WRs like Wan’Dale Robinson of the New York Giants (90.9%) and Rashee Rice of the Kansas City Chiefs (85.3%) and ranked third in the NFL in burn rate (73.3%) behind only Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers (80.8%) and Dontayvion Wicks of the Green Bay Packers (74.1%).
Don’t be surprised if Shakir takes another step forward catching passes from one of the best QBs in the NFL and dramatically outperforms his draft cost.
Our projection model ranks him at WR49, right in the neighborhood of some bigger names like Jayden Reed, Mike Williams, Jerry Jeudy, Tank Dell, Jordan Addison, Xavier Worthy and Christian Watson.
Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints
A solid fantasy football roster is built with different types of players. For example, it’s important to have possession-style WRs who you know are going to present a high floor week in and week out while also mixing in some players with immense upside for fantasy points.
It’s a tough task to find a WR with more upside in the later rounds than Shaheed. In 2023, Shaheed had 10 plays that went for 25 yards or more – the same number as New York Jets WR Garrett Wilson, Philadelphia Eagles WR DeVonta Smith and San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel – to name a few. The shocking part is that Shaheed achieved that on just 46 receptions, while Wilson had 95!
Yes, Shaheed isn’t the most consistent WR and his role in this Saints offense isn’t going to command a high target volume week after week. However, in your Flex spot, it’s important to plug in players that can help push your lineup over the top with a big performance.
As the No. 2 WR in New Orleans, Shaheed should do just that more often than not.
Gabe Davis, Jacksonville Jaguars
As mentioned above with Shaheed, it’s incredibly important to find players that can help push your lineup over the top – especially when your projections don’t exactly match up fairly with the team you’re facing.
We all know by now that Davis is not a consistent option and not likely to provide a high floor from a fantasy standpoint. But he’s no bust either. I firmly believe that Davis has more in him than what he showcased in the role he was asked to occupy in the Buffalo offense the past several years.
With the departures of Calvin Ridley to the Tennessee Titans and Zay Jones to the Arizona Cardinals this offseason, there are now 200 vacated targets in the Jaguars offense that are available. Evan Engram and Christian Kirk should feast – and they’re tremendous values at their ADP – but Brian Thomas Jr. isn’t likely to command a significant amount of those as a rookie.
Davis, who had seven touchdowns last year, is going to be asked to do more than he ever has before and that could lead to value from a fantasy standpoint. We know that Davis can deliver when he’s called upon, but targets were never guaranteed previously on a game-by-game basis.
Last year, he ranked fourth in the league in big-play percentage (43.9), eighth in burn percentage (69.1) and tied for eighth in touchdown burns (eight) among those with at least 45 targets.
Add in the fact that he’s now going off the board 20 spots later at the position than he was being drafted heading into 2023 and I’m putting Davis on my bench and seeing how this situation plays out. The potential payoff is huge.
Ja’Lynn Polk, New England Patriots
Not every solid fantasy football player emerges from the league’s best offenses. Fantasy is a volume game, and teams that are consistently in negative game scripts can produce very relevant players that provide value for a fantasy manager’s roster.
There aren’t many, if any, NFL analysts projecting the Patriots to make the playoffs. New England is in the middle of a rebuild and it’s going to take time for the team to be competitive again. However, that can lead to inflated passing volume and the top WR can often reap the rewards with chunk yards and TDs.
Polk, one of my breakout rookie candidates, is a route-running technician with reliable hands as a receiver, which should instantly put him in good favor with starting QB Jacoby Brissett. His main competition will be players like Tyquan Thornton, DeMario Douglas and K.J. Osborn in terms of target share, and Polk has the talent to rise to the top quickly.
In the final rounds of your fantasy draft, it’s difficult to find players who could see 100+ targets. Polk’s on that short list.
Don’t forget to check out our top sleepers at running back too. And follow us on X, Instagram and Threads for more!