Everyone wants to draft a sleeper. Sure, it’s fun to pick a slam-dunk player in the first round, but there’s nothing like the thrill of finding a late-round, diamond in the rough who emerges as a contributor and perhaps even a league-winner.
My colleagues and I have planted our flags on sleepers at different positions throughout the summer, but with draft season in full swing I wanted to check back in with two more wide receivers and one receiver room at large that fit the sleeper archetype. The best part? All of these players are currently available outside the top 100, according to average draft position (ADP) data.
Romeo Doubs, Packers
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Did you know Doubs saw more targets and recorded more catches than Christian Watson in one fewer game last year? Okay, to be exact Doubs saw one more pass come his way and he had one more reception than his fellow first-year receiver. The difference between the two was that Watson, a big-play threat, did more with less and went on a ludicrous touchdown tear halfway through the season.
That four-week stretch when Watson went nuclear (he was the WR3 and scored all eight of his touchdowns between Weeks 10-13) happened while Doubs was sidelined with an ankle injury. However, in the 10 weeks that Watson and Doubs shared the field (1-2, 4-5, 8-9, 15-18), the latter outscored the former 74.2 to 64.9 in PPR.
This isn’t a case against Watson, who’s going in the fifth round; it is a case for Doubs being underdrafted at WR60 -- outside the top 150 picks. Quarterback Jordan Love has shown an affinity for Doubs through two preseason games. The two have connected four times for 73 yards, including a nine-yard contested catch in the end zone and a 42-yard deep shot down the sideline. There’s a world where Doubs ends up leading Green Bay in receiving. That’s certainly worth a dart throw.
Donovan Peoples-Jones, Browns
Peoples-Jones quietly set a career-high with 839 receiving yards in 2022. That was more than George Pickens, Allen Lazard and Adam Thielen, all of whom are being drafted several rounds ahead of DPJ. The former sixth-round pick finished as the WR38 in PPR a season ago — now he’s being drafted as the WR70. What gives?
Peoples-Jones is heading into a contract year and he had the best game of his career after Deshaun Watson returned from suspension. DPJ caught eight of 12 targets for 114 yards in Week 13 against the Bengals, which was good enough for a WR12 finish, his highest of the year. After the Browns’ Week 9 bye, DPJ was a top-30 wide receiver in total points and he had as many top-30 finishes in six weeks with Watson as he did in 11 with Jacoby Brissett under center.
There is more competition for targets in Cleveland with the arrival of Elijah Moore via trade and the addition of third-round pick Cedric Tillman, a potential successor to Peoples-Jones. However, DPJ showed last season that he doesn’t need many opportunities to make an impact as he had the second-most receiving yards in the league among players with fewer than 100 targets behind only Mike Williams. Peoples-Jones has demonstrated upside and he’s practically free in drafts.
Any Chiefs Wide Receiver
Seriously. Take your pick of Kadarius Toney (WR46), Skyy Moore (WR49), Rashee Rice (WR66), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (WR67), Justyn Ross (WR73) or Richie James (WR87). One of these pass-catchers, if not more, will prove to be an extreme value in drafts because, as the old adage goes, someone has to catch passes! If Patrick Mahomes is going to throw for 4,800 or so yards and Travis Kelce accounts for about 1,300 of those. there’s still roughly 3,500 yards to go around that will be distributed among the receivers and running backs.
JuJu Smith-Schuster was the WR1 in Kansas City in 2022 and his WR27 finish was viewed by some as a disappointment. There was optimism about what Smith-Schuster could do in Andy Reid’s offense, evidenced by his WR31 ADP that he barely lived up to.
Compare that to the price of any of these receivers. Smith-Schuster was a top-75 pick this time last year. Toney, who has the highest ADP of this group, is available outside the top 100. You might be better off casting your lot with Moore or Rice — second-round picks in 2022 and 2023, respectively — considering Toney’s injury history and current knee injury (he’s expected to be back for Week 1). MVS is the veteran in the room, but he’s a bit boom-or-bust week-to-week given his style of play. Ross is a true wild card who didn’t play at all as a rookie but put together quite the resume at Clemson. James is coming off a career year in which he finished second on the Giants in receiving (he was also the WR17 from Weeks 11-16, for what it’s worth).
You’re going to want a piece of this offense, so if you don’t land Kelce in the first, consider spending one of your final picks on a different Chiefs pass-catcher.
