Fantasy Football Sleepers: WRs to target in the late rounds of drafts

If you only started playing fantasy football within the past decade, then you have never known a time when rookies weren't routinely among the top scorers at wide receiver.

It falls upon me, as an elder, to inform you that this was not always the way of things.

We actually used to produce an annual feature on third-year breakout receivers, because no sensible person expected fantasy relevance from an unseasoned, inexperienced wideout. It was considered a slow-developing position with a steep learning curve, like pretty much every roster spot except running back. Randy Moss was a revelation in 1998, but he was entirely unique in the history of the league.

And then 2014 happened.

Odell Beckham Jr. was an instant superstar, a target magnet, almost cartoonishly gifted. Mike Evans and Kelvin Benjamin each topped 1,000 yards as rookies as well, and Sammy Watkins finished with 982. First-year receivers were suddenly all over the fantasy leaderboard, where they've remained ever since.

Today, we're not even remotely surprised to see Garrett Wilson catch 83 balls for 1,103 yards in his first pro season. If you were out on Wilson last year — or Chris Olave, or Christian Watson — because of some lingering mistrust of rookies, all it accomplished was a reduction in your odds to win your leagues.

With this fact in mind, we can't very well provide you with a list of sleeper wide receivers that doesn't include a rookie or two. Each of the recommended fliers below are currently available in at least two-thirds of Yahoo leagues. All have found their way to a few of my rosters, too.

Jalin Hyatt, New York Giants (8% rostered)

The 2022 Biletnikoff winner has been arguably the buzziest player in Giants camp, showcasing his blazing 4.3 speed and big-play ability on a daily basis. New York's receiving hierarchy is basically Darren Waller at the top followed by a collection of sketchy vets, so there's a clear path for playmakers to see the field.

Just in case you'd forgotten, Hyatt delivered a five-touchdown, 207-yard performance against Alabama last season, getting deep on everyone:

New York traded up to snag Hyatt in the third round of the 2023 draft and his summer connection with Daniel Jones has been well-documented. He's a dynasty priority and a preferred flier in redraft.

Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers (27%)

Yup, we're doing this again.

Doubs has been a huge camp story for Green Bay, a player who clearly has summer chemistry with all quarterbacks, Jordan Love included:

This year's Doubs hype is at least as loud as last year's, which of course didn't lead to much of anything when the regular season began. But let's remember that various defections to the Jets have left over 150 receiver targets up for grabs. Doubs has been outrageously cheap in drafts to this point, considering that he's a locked-in starter drawing favorable camp reviews. He also caught a nifty touchdown in the Packers' preseason win over the Bengals.

Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys (28%)

Gallup actually has a season with 1,100-plus yards on his NFL résumé, so perhaps "sleeper" is the wrong term. But fantasy managers don't seem interested in him after Dallas added Brandin Cooks to the mix. I'd just like to remind you that Gallup is still only 27, not yet past his prime, and he's now over a year and a half removed from the ACL injury that ended his 2021 season (and clearly affected him last year).

He's a very strong candidate to have the sort of boom/bust season that results in a few notable week-winning performances and a WR3 fantasy finish.

Marvin Mims Jr, Denver Broncos (6%)

Mims was the first draft pick of the Sean Payton era in Denver and the team traded up to get him in the second round. He had elite combine numbers, including 4.38 speed, and he was a big-play machine at Oklahoma who averaged 19.5 yards per catch over his three collegiate seasons. He also made one of the wildest grabs you are ever gonna see from a college player:

The Broncos receiving corps can be generously described as "unproven" and less generously (but still fairly) described as "underwhelming." It's not difficult to imagine a world in which Mims is regarded as the team's top wideout in 2024.

Justyn Ross, Kansas City Chiefs (5%)

As a freshman at Clemson way back in 2018, the 6-foot-4 Ross was the leading receiver on a national championship team that also featured Tee Higgins, Hunter Renfrow and Amari Rodgers. He's traveled a winding road to the NFL, involving significant medical concerns, but his talent was never really in doubt. Ross landed on a team with an unsettled receiving room and Earth's best quarterback behind center. He's made some noise in camp, too.

Kansas City's receiving corps is full of upside, given the dominance of the team's offense overall. If you don't land Ross, consider taking a flier on Richie James or rookie Rashee Rice. Or land the 60% rostered Skyy Moore at his earlier-but-still-reasonable ADP (127.8). It's hard to imagine the Chiefs failing to deliver at least a fantasy WR3 (or two) while Patrick Mahomes is at the controls of the offense.