Winning a fantasy football championship is no easy feat. Hitting on your earlier picks can ensure you have a solid squad, but if you select a player late in the draft who ends up breaking out, that could be the difference between simply reaching the playoffs and capturing a title.
With that in mind, I identified six high-upside players, including three rookie wide receivers, who could be available in the final stretch of your drafts (based on their average draft positions in 12-team PPR leagues, per Fantasy Pros). I believe these sleepers will greatly outperform expectations.
DRAFT HIM IN: Round 12 or later
This essentially will be the rookie season for the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, who missed all of last year after suffering a knee injury in the preseason opener. McCarthy is in a great situation, getting to play with the best wide receiver in the NFL (Justin Jefferson) and one of the best play-callers in the league (Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell).
O'Connell has proven time and time again that he is a quarterback whisperer. With the masterful schemer guiding him in 2024, Sam Darnold had 35 passing touchdowns, topping his previous single-season high by 16, and finished as the QB9 in fantasy points, breaking into the top 25 for the first time in his career. Under O'Connell in 2023, Kirk Cousins was the QB8 in average points per game through Week 8, putting him well on his way to a career year at age 35 until a torn Achilles abruptly ended his season. And in 2021, Matthew Stafford recorded the second-best fantasy season of his career (behind only his 2011 campaign with the Lions) with O'Connell as the Rams' offensive coordinator.
Instead of taking Bo Nix in the sixth round of fantasy football drafts, wait and grab McCarthy six rounds later. I do not expect their production to be all that different, either passing or rushing, in 2025.
DRAFT HIM IN: Round 10
Though Dobbins was recently listed atop the running back group on the Broncos' unofficial depth chart, he is being selected four to five rounds later in fantasy drafts than his rookie teammate, second-round pick RJ Harvey. Dobbins' main issue has been health (thanks to a series of injuries, he's appeared in just 37 games over five NFL seasons), not production (his career yards-per-carry mark is 5.2). Dobbins shocked fantasy managers last season, proving he could still be an efficient rusher by finishing as the RB18 in average scoring while serving as the Chargers' lead back.
Now, though, he is being drafted as the RB38 on average. Sure, he joined a crowded backfield in Denver, which also currently rosters Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estimé Tyler Badie and Blake Watson. But Dobbins should easily win the goal-line job there. Don't forget that he scored nine rushing touchdowns in just 13 games in 2024. And at 5-foot-10 and 215 pounds, he has a larger frame than Harvey (5-8, 205 pounds), which should better position him for the physical workload that comes with snaps around the end zone.
DRAFT HIM IN: Rounds 10-11
Egbuka is a do-it-all, polished receiver who was drafted 19th overall out of Ohio State to join one of the best offenses in the NFL -- and you can probably snag him in the double-digit rounds of your fantasy drafts.
With veteran teammate Chris Godwin's Week 1 availability in doubt as he continues to recover from a 2024 ankle injury, Egbuka will have an immediate opportunity to grab a significant role in the Buccaneers' attack. If that doesn't move you, consider the recent declaration by Baker Mayfield that Egbuka is "the real deal." Mike Evans will, of course, get his annual 1,000 receiving yards and dominate near the goal line, but I will not be surprised if Egbuka leads the team in targets in his rookie season.
DRAFT HIM IN: Round 12
With Stefon Diggs departing in free agency this offseason and no concrete return date in sight for Tank Dell following last December's devastating knee injury, there is a huge opportunity for Higgins -- selected 34th overall in April -- to earn a significant workload in the Texans' offense as a rookie. And yet, it appears the 6-4, 215-pound receiver is being overlooked in fantasy drafts.
Higgins was listed as a starter on the Texans' first unofficial depth chart, and the impressive ability to track the football and adjust on the fly that he showed at Iowa State should translate well to the NFL. Plus, he will get the advantage of playing across from Nico Collins, who will put the fear in opposing defenses following a second straight 1,000-yard season, which will allow Higgins to have more space to record big plays.
DRAFT HIM IN: Round 15 or later
The Patriots have mostly failed miserably at drafting impactful wide receivers going back to the beginning of the Bill Belichick era in 2000, but I think they finally got a good one in Williams, selected near the top of the third round in the 2025 NFL Draft. Williams has a smaller frame (5-11, 190 pounds), but that didn't stop him from balling out at Washington State, where he put up 1,198 receiving yards -- 33.4% of the team's total -- and scored 14 touchdowns in 2024.
Williams can play all over the field, is great after the catch and averaged 17.1 yards per reception in 2024. He has impressed early in Patriots training camp and has a realistic shot at winning a starting gig, with his competition being Kayshon Boutte and/or Demario Douglas. This offense is desperate for someone to step up and be a difference-maker, and Williams has what it takes to fill that role if he's given the shot.
DRAFT HIM IN: Round 15 or later
Strange already posted the second-most receiving yards (411) on the Jaguars last season, despite tallying just 53 targets. Evan Engram, on the other hand, finished No. 2 on the team in targets (64) while appearing in just nine games. The offseason release of Engram means Strange enters Year 3 of his career as a starter in new coach Liam Coen's offense.
The former second-round pick recorded four-plus targets in seven games in 2024 -- three of which came in the final four weeks of the campaign -- averaging 10.4 fantasy points in those contests. If Strange had averaged 10.4 fantasy points for the season, he would have been tied for TE10 -- and yet, he's currently sitting all the way down at TE23 in average fantasy draft position. If you prefer to "punt" the tight end position and take a flier late in the draft, Strange is a good bet to be the next young TE to break out, especially considering he's now working with a bright offensive mind in Coen.