10 late-round sleepers to target in your fantasy football drafts

There are many ways to win your fantasy league, but none are quite as sweet as hitting on that late round pick that turns into a fantasy stud. I’m approaching my 50th draft of the 2019 #DRAFTSZN and there are a number of guys I’m seeing available in the double digit rounds that you should be stacking the back end of your rosters with for the new season.

(Note: All ADPs taken from fantasyfootballcalculator.com’s PPR rankings)

Tyrell Williams, Oakland Raiders, Current ADP 11.10

Williams was on my target list before any of the Antonio Brown madness kicked off this offseason. He’s locked into the number 2 receiver position for the Raiders and poised to face softer coverages as opposing defenses key in on Brown. Big and fast, Williams is a weapon all over the field and should see a good uptick in receptions (just 41 last season) that will get him back close to being the 1000 yard receiver he was in 2016 with the Chargers.

Jamison Crowder, New York Jets, Current ADP 12.01

Every young quarterback needs a safety valve and the Jets signing Jamison Crowder from Washington is the perfect foil for Sam Darnold. In his first 3 seasons, Crowder averaged 64 catches, 750 yards and 4 touchdowns before an injury hit 2018 campaign but he’s already shown chemistry with Darnold, connecting for a touchdown in the Jets’ opening pre-season game. I’m projecting a conservative 80/900/6 season for Crowder, which would land him around the top-20 receivers in PPR leagues. A nice late round pick up.

Darwin Thompson, Kansas City Chiefs, Current ADP 12.02

The 6^th round rookie landed in the most explosive offense in the NFL and a strong showing so far in the pre-season for the Chiefs, could find himself getting consistent work week to week, especially in the passing game. Though Damien Williams is locked in as the starter, he has little experience as a primary back and Thompson is in line for a least a share of the backup work and his college production shows that he is a playmaker with the ball in his hands. The x round ADP is fair based on current projected workloads, but if thing break right, you could be looking at a fantasy bargain in the late rounds.

Minnesota Vikings Defense, Current ADP 12.08

Yes, I am including a defense here. With recency bias so prevalent when it comes to fantasy defenses, it’s no surprise the Bears’ defense is the standout pick as the first defense going off the board. As much as regression is inevitable for the Bears, I believe the opposite is true for a Vikings defense which is loaded with talent at all three levels and will bounce back big time in 2019 as the offensive side of the ball should no longer be hamstrung by incompetent offensive line play. I’m not saying you should be taking them in the 8th round as the Bears’ current ADP is suggesting, but if you need a defense and the Vikings are there in the 12th round, have confidence you didn’t waste an earlier pick on your defense.

Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens, Current ADP 13.06

After being in a tight end committee in 2018, Andrews has become the primary pass catching option, garnering rave reviews from Ravens camp. The good news is its yet to transfer into fantasy drafts so if you believe the hype, then Andrews offers superb value at the end of drafts, currently going as the TE15. He averaged 9.4 fantasy points over the last 6 weeks of the season and has shown great rapport with Lamar Jackson in their short careers so far.

John Brown, Buffalo Bills, Current ADP 13.07

Brown heads to the Bills and will be their number one receiver in 2019. After an injury plagued 2017 season, Brown was fully fit in 2018 but suffered as the Ravens moved to Lamar Jackson and became one of the most run heavy teams in the NFL. Now part of a revamped receiver corps in Buffalo, Brown brings a veteran presence and his speedy, big-pay ability to support a quarterback in Josh Allen who can throw it as fare as anyone could see him push for a 1,000 yard season.

Trey Burton, Chicago Bears, Current ADP 13.12

Burton was the TE8 in PPR leagues in 2018 and is somewhat unbelievably currently going as the TE19, though this could be due to his recovery from sports hernia surgery but he is on course to make Week 1. With little competition to be the Bears’ top tight end option, Burton should easily match his 54/569/6 season from 2018, especially with Mitchell Trubisky with another off season under his belt.

Nyheim Hynes, Indianapolis Colts, Current ADP 14.01

There’s been a lot of buzz about expanding Marlon Mack’s work in the passing game in Indy, but Nyheim Hines sneakily caught 63 balls as a rookie, 8^th among all running backs and will remain the Colts’ primary passing back this season. This gives him some serious PPR upside as he averaged 10.0 points per game in 2018 and for an 14th round ADP, that is a massive steal. In one of the pass heaviest offenses in the league, Hines is a flex play every week in PPR leagues and should be rostered everywhere. Get your shares where you can.

Ito Smith, Atlanta Falcons, Current ADP 14.02

Ito Smith enters his second season locked in as the number 2 back behind Devonta Freeman, who though a true RB1 when healthy, will enter 2018 as a potential injury liability. As a rookie behind Freeman and Tevin Coleman, Smith totaled 117 touches, including 27 catches and an average of 7.5 PPR points per game. With a clearer backfield, Smith is at worst a great handcuff for Devonta Freeman and could easily provide solid RB2 numbers if he gets a heavier workload.

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills, Current ADP 14.04

One of the Fake Teams favorites for this season, Josh Allen was the QB1 in fantasy over the last six weeks of the 2018 season, averaging 80 rush yards per game and 8 total rushing touchdowns. That can easily be his floor in 2019 and even a slight improvement in his passing, which has been aided by an upgraded receiving corps ,will see Allen be a stud QB1. If you like to draft a quarterback late, Allen is the perfect candidate.

Sam Darnold, New York Jets, Current ADP 14.09

Another second year quarterback who is going so late he’s basically undrafted in most leagues. Darnold has been getting rave reviews in camp and is another young quarterback having an offense build around him with new weapons being added to the Jets roster. He’s more of a projection as Darnold only averaged 13 fantasy points per game as a rookie, but he was my number one prospect coming out last year and at just 22, has massive upside in 2019.