We polled over 75 fantasy football experts to get their top mid-to-late round sleepers ahead of the 2022 NFL season. Check out the top sleepers they’re targeting in fantasy football drafts.
- Consensus Tight End Sleepers
Note: All ADP and ECR values are as of August 15
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Consensus Wide Receiver Sleepers
Who is the player you expect to be this year’s biggest fantasy sleeper and why?
JuJu Smith-Schuster (KC)
“It’s rare to find a former 1,400-yard wide receiver playing with one of the best quarterbacks in the league in the eighth round of your fantasy draft, but here we are with Smith-Schuster. Of course, that happened in 2018, but don’t let a few years of injuries and poor QB play deter you from drafting him. The Chiefs have vacated over 53% of their target share from last year, and aside from JuJu, the only players they brought in to replace it are a rookie and MVS, who has never hit 40 receptions in any season despite playing with Aaron Rodgers for his entire career. JuJu and Kansas City are a match made in heaven.”
– Nick Spencer (Fantasy Six Pack)
“2018 may feel like a distant memory, but we have seen a dominant season from JuJu Smith-Schuster before. (110 receptions, 8 TD, 1,400 yards). JuJu enters one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL, paired with Patrick Mahomes. With Tyreek Hill traded in the off-season, ample targets are available in the Chiefs’ offense. JuJu will have to compete with Skyy Moore and MVS, but he remains a screaming value after the top 25 receivers are off the board.”
– Matt MacCoy (Fantasy Team Advice)
Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET)
“Jared Goff was eighth in ADJ% last year and is perfectly capable of supporting multiple fantasy WRs. Matt Harmon’s new collaborated study confirmed that beating man coverage is obviously the single greatest indicator of future success, but the study also pointed toward the ability to crush zone as one of the most important factors for slot wide receivers. Enter Amon-Ra St. Brown, and his 65th percentile win rate against zone as a rookie. None of Detroit’s offseason additions are even close to threatening St. Brown’s slot work, which I typically don’t love in terms of a ceiling play, but Amon-Ra is being drafted as a high-end WR3. I’m on board with that price and would be comfortable rolling him out as my WR2.”
– Seth Miller (Crossroads Fantasy Football)
Allen Lazard (GB)
“Vacated targets don’t automatically go to any one player, but the departure of Davante Adams opens the door to almost 170 targets. Will Allen Lazard get all of that volume? No, but he already got 60 targets last year, turning them into 40 catches and eight scores in just 13 starts. Lazard has the size and athleticism to blossom in a larger role — one that Aaron Rodgers has publicly backed him for. This is a “don’t get cute” situation. Nobody is saying Lazard can replace Adams by himself, but he’s currently the 41st WR off the board in 12-team PPR drafts. Given his solid production and potential role, he’s easily one of the top sleepers to target for 2022 (and without much risk).”
– Kevin Roberts (Breaking Football)
“Davante Adams (169 targets) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (55 targets) are no longer in Green Bay. That makes for 224 targets, or about 40% of the team’s total targets vacant. With Allen Lazard being in his fifth season catching passes from Rodgers, and having already drawn praise from the future Hall of Fame quarterback, Lazard is in line to be the go-to guy and No. 1 receiver. It seems crazy that Lazard is still being drafted as a WR4, with an ADP in the eighth round, which is close to where he finished the 2021 season with both Adams and MVS there. There is potentially great value in drafting Lazard at his ADP.”
– Rich Piazza (Fantasy Shed)
Nico Collins (HOU)
“Collins’ rookie season a year ago could be considered underwhelming as he ranked very low across the board in key metrics like snap share (61.9%) and target share (17.8%). Coming into his sophom*ore season, there have positive reports coming out of camp about his progression through the offseason training programs. If these progressions are any indication, Collins could be in line to provide fantasy managers with solid production that can be found late in drafts (ADP: 152 overall). The big-bodied receiver could see plenty of scoring opportunities on a Texans offense that will be in passing situations quite often.”
– Brandon Murchison (RotoBaller)
Christian Watson (GB)
“If you watched Green Bay’s first preseason game, you’d know Romeo Doubs was the standout. However, that’s only because Christian Watson (my WR11 on the year) didn’t play. Watson is the 6-4 rookie who was 97th percentile in his draft class for catch radius, 96th percentile for speed (running a 4.36 40-yard dash) and averaged about 19 yards per reception in college. Imagine a taller Ja’Marr Chase, with Aaron Rodgers throwing to him. You’ll want to be early in the hype train, not late.”
– Bradlee Kilgore (Fantrax)
Robert Woods (TEN)
“The situation may not look ideal for Woods on paper. He’s 30, coming off an ACL tear and learning a new system. However, I’m not ready to give up on this crafty veteran. Since 2017, Woods has averaged 13 or more PPR points per game (15 or more from 2018-2021). With A.J. Brown out of the picture and rookie Treylon Burks still adjusting to the NFL, Woods is in a position to be Ryan Tannehill‘s go-to wideout. If this is the case, he will undoubtedly crush his current ADP.”
– Lee Wehry (FantasyPros)
Brandon Aiyuk (SF)
“Brandon Aiyuk had a rough start to the 2021 season, ranking WR68 weeks one through nine. The remainder of the season was a different story, where Aiyuk ranked WR14 weeks 10 through 17. Now he has a quarterback in Trey Lance who is willing to push the ball downfield, raising Aiyuk’s profile and making him a strong candidate for a top-20 finish, well above his ADP of WR40.”
– Austin Amandolia (Club Fantasy FFL)
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Wide Receivers
| PLAYER | TEAM | VOTES | ECR | ADP |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC | 11 | WR32 | WR32 |
| Kadarius Toney | NYG | 7 | WR45 | WR46 |
| Allen Lazard | GB | 6 | WR40 | WR42 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | SF | 6 | WR36 | WR39 |
| K.J. Osborn | MIN | 4 | WR71 | WR72 |
| Chris Olave | NO | 4 | WR47 | WR47 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET | 3 | WR33 | WR29 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling | KC | 3 | WR53 | WR52 |
| Robert Woods | TEN | 3 | WR43 | WR40 |
Wide receivers who received votes were: Romeo Doubs (2), Wan’Dale Robinson (2), Treylon Burks (2), George Pickens (2), Jalen Tolbert (2), Julio Jones (2), James Proche (1), Chase Claypool (1), Rondale Moore (1), Skyy Moore (1), Nico Collins (1), Rashod Bateman (1), Jakobi Meyers (1), K.J. Hamler (1), Isaiah McKenzie (1), Laviska Shenault (1), DeVante Parker (1), Mecole Hardman (1), Tyler Lockett (1), Elijah Moore (1), Russell Gage (1), Christian Kirk (1), Christian Watson (1)
Thank you to all the experts for naming their consensus sleepers. You can view each expert’s picks above and be sure to give them a follow on Twitter for more great advice. Also, please check out our latest podcast episode below.
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