When hunting for sleepers in best ball, I’m generally looking for a combination of two things: 1) Big-play upside, and 2) a path to a fantasy-viable workload.
And if you’re newer to this, just know that best-ball ADP tends to be a lot sharper on rookies and a lot more aggressive when it comes to drafting them, so you won’t hear names of guys like Emeka Egbuka, Luther Burden, and TreVeyon Henderson, who were already being drafted as borderline starters.
One name I thought for sure would make this list was Jalen Milroe, who has the skillset to be a week-winner based solely off rushing upside. Unfortunately, Milroe landed in Seattle rather than a QB-needy team, and it’s not realistic to expect him to start games at the moment.
Without further ado, here are my top three post-draft best-ball sleepers for 2025!
R.J. Harvey, Denver Broncos – Running Back
In Sean Payton’s 17 seasons as an NFL head coach, only three times has his team drafted a running back prior to Day 3: 2006 (Reggie Bush), 2011 (Mark Ingram), and 2017 (Alvin Kamara). All three received at least 12.5 touches per game in Year 1, with Bush (RB9) and Kamara (RB3) each producing top-10 PPR seasons, while Ingram was the RB46 in 10 games but would have cracked the top 30 if extrapolated to 15 games played.
With 2024 backfield snap leader Javonte Williams (52.0%) now in Dallas, expect Harvey to carry on tradition.
Harvey has the top-end speed and acceleration Sean Payton craves for his “Joker” role. The UCF product piled up 2,993 yards and 38 TDs on the ground in his final two collegiate seasons before running a 4.4 flat at the Combine. Last season, he led the Big 12 with 6.8 yards per carry (and posted an equally impressive 13.4 yards per reception to match).
His Underdog ADP already jumped from outside the top 60 RBs to the high 40s upon getting drafted to Denver, so he won’t be a sleeper for much longer.
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Kyle Williams, New England Patriots – Wide Receiver
Williams has 4.4 speed and the ability to run away from and by people. While Stefon Diggs was the headline addition to the skill group around Drake Maye, Diggs is coming off a torn ACL and a career-worst season and could continue to transition into more of a glorified slot receiver while Williams and fellow draftee Trayveon Henderson are the focal points of the offense.
Williams averaged 17.1 yards per catch last season, using his elite start-stop ability to rack up monster YAC (8.4 YAC/Rec, per PFF) and make himself available to his quarterback as a ruthlessly efficient deep threat (14-454-6 on 24 targets 20-plus yards downfield, 58.3% success rate, per PFF).
Williams can play inside-outside and has the talent to siphon snaps from both Demario Douglas and Mack Hollins, so he has the upside to eventually see consistent Xavier Worthy-type usage. But for now, he’s a long TD waiting to happen-someone you want everything to do with in best ball and nothing to do with in re-draft.
Mason Taylor, New York Jets – Tight End
I know, I know: The Jets’ quarterback situation is far from ideal. But Taylor is a strong receiving prospect who caught 129 balls in three years at LSU, and he landed in a spot where he could run away with the starting job, given the rest of the Jets’ tight end depth chart is populated by preseason DFS fodder like Jeremy Ruckert, Stone Smartt, Zach Kuntz, and Neal Johnson. With Josh Reynolds and Allen Lazard penciled in as the starters at wide receiver opposite Garrett Wilson, and with Breece Hall potentially on the outs, Taylor all of a sudden finds himself with better odds of being a top-two target for his team than nearly every pass catcher picked before him.
The Jets passing on a tight end at No. 7 and instead going with the draft’s second-best offensive tackle in Mizzou’s Armand Membou likely results in fewer pass-protection responsibilities and more opportunities to run routes for Taylor.
