Every year, ESPN posts the list of the most commonly rostered players on championship teams. And, as you would expect, there are a lot of highly drafted players on there, like first-round picks Puka Nacua or Bijan Robinson. But there are also always some fantasy football value picks on there every year. And, a few of those picks are often wide receivers.

Why Late-Round WRs Win Fantasy Championships

For instance, when you exclude kickers and defenses who often go late by default, there were only two players drafted outside the top 100 in ADP to crack the top 10 of their list. There was Drake Maye at pick 125 on average and Michael Wilson, who was undrafted. Not just a “late round WR sleeper” but an actual guy you could have gotten off the wire. Also on the list of their top 50 were Emeka Egbuka at pick 90, Chris Olave at pick 97, and Wan’Dale Robinson at pick 164. These are players that anyone could have had.

So that’s what we are dedicating a full article to today. We are looking at the late-round wide receiver sleepers that could win you your league. To cater to the shallower leagues, we’ll start with fantasy football value picks by using Fantasy Alarm Composite ADP to identify players that you can potentially get around pick 100 (the 9th or 10th round in a 10 or 12 team league), and we’ll continue to draft deeper into the late draft WR targets for folks that play in more advanced leagues. That way, you guys will know all the wide receiver sleeper names, whether you are drafting them or putting them on your waiver wire watch list!

 

 


 

What Makes A WR Sleeper?

This year, I did a full write-up on How to Identify Breakout Fantasy Football Players. That article might be the most important one to read in this entire draft guide because it could make you a better player for years to come. That’s far more valuable than any list or article just giving you names.

The short and sweet of that article is that we are looking for the convergence of three things: talent, scheme, and opportunity. Players where those three things are well established, like Ja'Marr Chase, usually go in the early rounds. So we are looking for those sneaky picks later on where these three aspects are coming together under the radar.

Middle Round Wide Receiver Values

The definition of a “value” or “sleeper” wide receiver really depends on how deep your league is. But every wide receiver in this section can be had around pick ~100 or later, so, even if you need to reach a little bit, they can easily be had in your leagues, considering it will be at least 8-9 rounds in.

Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Depending on the platform, Chris Godwin is going right around the 100 overall ADP mark as the ~WR40 off the board. And he’s a player that we are so passionate about that he already got his own full write-up. That article breaks down the talent, scheme, and opportunity for Chris Godwin into its own sections and is a good example of the process we use to find the convergence of the three.

The cliff notes here are that Chris Godwin was the WR2 behind only Ja'Marr Chase before last in 2024 before he got hurt. Liam Coen was the coach then and was primarily using Godwin out of the slot. That was also the best year for Baker Mayfield. With Liam Coen moving on to Jacksonville, the Buccaneers brought in Zac Robinson, who worked with Coen and Sean McVay with the Rams in 2023. Robinson was the pass game coordinator that year when Cooper Kupp had the top fantasy football season of all time, primarily operating out of the slot. With Mike Evans gone, both Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin could thrive, but Godwin is a very easy pick for us at his ADP.

Michael Pittman, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

This has been one of “my guys” for a while now. I truly believe in the talent, which is the hardest part of the equation to come by. It’s much easier for good players to eventually get the right scheme and opportunity than it is for bad players to get better. In this case, I believe that Pittman is a good player and the situation in 2026 could be better for him than folks realize.

Last year, in the games before Daniel Jones got hurt, Michael Pittman was the WR10 in half PPR and the WR13 in full PPR. That was despite being the WR47 off the board on average. The Colts needed money to pay both Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce, so they made the bold move to trade their former captain to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In this offense, the 6’4”, 230-pound DK Metcalf is likely to be playing the split end (X) receiver on the outside. He’ll be the one with his foot tethered to the line, facing the top corner. That leaves Pittman free to move around the formation, playing flanker and slot alongside rookie Germie Bernard. You are betting on Aaron Rodgers to stay healthy, but I would not be surprised to see Rodgers come out this year with new playcalling and better weapons and have a little bit of a resurgence passing the football. 

Wan'Dale Robinson, WR, Tennessee Titans

Look, raw stats are never something we strive to chase. It’s the underlying stats that really matter. But there is a reason that a lot of the best players end up having the best stats. And this is a really interesting one when it comes to Wan'Dale Robinson. Here are the NFL reception leaders over the last two years combined per Pro Football Reference.

That list is literally the first seven wide receivers off the board in 2026 - and Wan’Dale Robinson, who comes off on average as the WR43. He just signed a massive contract with the Titans to follow Brian Daboll, the coach who fed him those targets over the last two years. If his job is to help make life easier on Cam Ward, doesn’t that sound appealing in fantasy? He’ll be competing with Calvin Ridley, who is coming off a brutal ankle injury, and a rookie in Carnell Tate. He feels like a pretty decent value here, especially in full PPR.

Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts

I wrote an article in June of 2024 discussing some dynasty wide receivers we liked who just needed a bigger role to break out. The three players in the article were Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jayden Reed, and Josh Downs. JSN already got his bigger role and broke out in a way we did not even imagine. Jayden Reed MIGHT get a shot at a bigger role this year, though Christian Watson and Matthew Golden could still take those full-time, outside roles. Josh Downs, however, looks poised to potentially make that leap here.

We’ve been off Downs in redraft over the last two years because Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce have been the clear every-down outside guys. With Michael Pittman now gone, the door is open for more work. And Downs has been moving all around the formation in early practices, per Colts beat writers. He still has to deal with Alec Pierce and Tyler Warren, but we are talking about a higher aDot wide receiver and a tight end - some of these WRs/TEs out here that guys are competing with garner 150+ targets. So Downs is finally a guy we are in on for redraft. 

 

 

 

Late Round Wide Receiver Values

In this range, we are talking about guys who might end up being the very last player you draft. Someone with a glimmer of upside, where we want to take a look in the early weeks to see what their role is like. If it’s there, great. If not, drop them. If you need deeper players than this, I’d consult our Best Ball Cheat Sheet or Fantasy Football Rankings that rank guys out to ~240 players or 20-round drafts. 

Jayden Higgins, WR, Houston Texans

Jayden Higgins got an interesting rollout as a rookie. Usually, rookies start in three WR sets but come off the field for two WR sets. Higgins actually learned the two WR sets first and played a lot of those while not playing much in three WR sets until later in the season. That led to some frustrating fantasy football days as he never quite established himself opposite Nico Collins. But there was enough good there to intrigue us.

Historically, it’s much harder to find a role in two WR sets than it is in three WR sets - and the fact that he picked up more of those down the stretch is hopefully for him being a full-time guy next year. He’s a big target at 6’4”, which is partially why he pulled down six touchdowns as a rookie. He also played 88% of the snaps in the final playoff game that Nico Collins missed, so, at the very least, there is some contingent upside there. Jaylen Noel is likely taking over for Christian Kirk in the slot, so the main competition for Higgins would be veteran Xavier Hutchinson and a returning Tank Dell. 

Jerry Jeudy, WR, Cleveland Browns

There is a lot of evidence that this isn’t a great draft class. Not only was there a discussion about COVID and the NIL affecting it, but we also saw the decreased trade values in the early rounds. So there is a world where the Browns' rookie picks KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston either start slow or don’t factor in much in 2026. There’s really only room for one of them to be a full-time player in this scheme as is. And Jerry Jeudy is likely still their top wide receiver going into the season.

But you don’t have to believe me on that. Browns GM Andrew Berry straight up said Jerry Jeudy is still their bell cow wide receiver AFTER picking two receivers in the draft. This is a player who is 27 years old, smack in the age apex for the position, and only a year released from a season with over 1,200 years. I’m one of the crazy folks who thinks Deshaun Watson might not just disappear like folks want him to, and, with that, Jeudy could prove to be a deep value in drafts. 

Malik Washington, WR, Miami Dolphins

We’ll be the first to admit that we don’t truly know how talented Malik Washington is. The sample size on him so far has been pretty small, as he was largely behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. But those two are gone now. And there are some beat writers surrounding the team that suggest that Washington is quickly becoming the favorite wide receiver of new quarterback Malik Willis in early practices. 

The talent may be a question mark, but the scheme and opportunity here are promising. Bobby Slowik comes from the same Kyle Shanahan tree as Mike McDaniel, so we expect him to continue running a similar scheme with a fullback and multiple tight ends. That can highly consolidate the targets among the top couple of WRs. And, since the group is a bunch of retreads in Tutu Atwell, Jalen Tolbert, and Terrace Marshall, along with a couple of round three rookies (one of which is coming off a torn ACL), the competition level isn’t high. If ANYONE can pop in the early weeks, we will add them off the wire, but Washington is the guy we’d consider drafting super late. 

Rashod Bateman, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Rashod Bateman hasn’t had a perfect career so far. Injuries have plagued him for a large part of it. At other times, the organization has simply leaned away from multiple WR sets in favor of formations with tight ends and fullbacks. But after a great run, head coach John Harbaugh has moved on to the New York Giants. And he’s taken his fullback, Patrick Ricard, and his second tight end, Isaiah Likely, with him.

In comes wonderkid Declan Doyle, a 30-year-old who’s only offensive coordinator experience came under Ben Johnson. We’ve seen multiple iterations of this scheme featuring a slot/flanker, a pass-catching tight end, and one featured wide receiver on the outside (the past two were Jameson Williams with the Lions and Rome Odunze with the Bears). We expect Flowers to operate as that slot/flanker, Mark Andrews to be the featured TE, and then it’s between Rashod Bateman and rookies Jakobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt for that outside role. Bateman just scored nine touchdowns the year before last, so I don’t think it’s crazy for him to win that job and give us something.

Rookie WR Sleepers

Makai Lemon, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

We do expect the ADP on Makai Lemon to get steamed up as the summer rolls on here. But we’re not sure he will reach where Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson go - and he probably will never surpass them. Though we believe the upside is just as high for him now that AJ Brown has been traded, if not higher.

The Eagles clearly wanted Lemon as they made a BIG move to trade right in front of the Pittsburgh Steelers to take him. As we all know, the Steelers were actually on the phone with Lemon, telling him they were taking him at pick 21 before the trade happened. Lemon has seen some comparisons to fellow USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and he offers a short to intermediate target that Jalen Hurts hasn’t really had in past seasons. So he is intriguing, but he might not hang around pick ~100 or so for much longer. 

Antonio Williams, WR, Washington Commanders

We’ve seen it time and time again - opportunity is often more important than raw talent for rookies. Even great players like CeeDee Lamb and Jaxon Smith-Njigba were limited to part-time roles as rookies. We need some sort of path to snaps for these guys first and foremost. So the best on Antonio Williams is pretty simple. If they can manage to acquire one of Brandon Aiyuk, Stefon Diggs, Deebo Samuel, or Keenan Allen, we are likely out. Otherwise, it’s a name you should definitely know.

Zachariah Branch, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Another name you need to know is Zachariah Branch. I’ll admit, I wasn’t super high on Branch pre-draft because he’s a smaller player at 5’9”, 177 pounds. Run blocking alone can keep those guys off the field. But after Drake London and Kyle Pitts, the Falcons don’t really have massive obstacles in the way. Journeyman Jahan Dotson is probably the biggest threat to snaps for Branch. If he can take the WR2 role and run with it, he could pop a little bit for fantasy. 

Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, Baltimore Ravens

We’re willing to give Rashod Bateman a shot. But we are also watching the battle between Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt. There were some interesting comments from head coach Jesse Minter earlier this month talking about the rookie wide receivers, where he told reporters, "I do think there will be major opportunities for at least one of them when you look at the number of guys that we have”. Does that mean one of them will be operating ahead of Rashod Bateman or as the WR3 after him? Training camp will help us sort that out. 

 

 

 

Fantasy Alarm Dynamic Tier WR Rankings

This article gives you a little bit about the who and the why for wide receivers. But, if you want our full color-coded rankings on who we like or dislike, make sure to check out the Fantasy Alarm Dynamic Tier Wide Receiver Rankings! Those will not only guide you vs. ADP but also help you build a balanced roster with startable players and upside on your bench. That’s been our top secret weapon to dominating fantasy football drafts and becoming a smarter fantasy gamer along the way!