Before fantasy football became mainstream (shoutout Matthew Berry), sources of advice, analysis, and “taeks” were mainly limited to magazines that had outdated information the second they hit shelves. If you kept up with training camp news and preseason risers, you could legitimately find fantasy gold in players your league mates had never heard of. But with the wealth of information available on the interwebz, Sleepers in a traditional sense no longer exist.
Post-Hype Sleepers are a different story. The definition varies based on who you ask. But for me, a post-hype sleeper is a player who was once highly touted and fell out of favor for whatever reason, who now presents an opportunity to be drafted at a value.
Just as in the “Flag Plants Series” (Which, if you haven’t checked out, do so here, here, here, and here), I’ll go through each position and give you my Post-Hype Sleepers for 2025.
You’ll notice a theme throughout for the three wide receivers I’ve picked. They may not be the most targeted on their respective teams. But they get some of the most valuable opportunities in fantasy. Two “disappointing” ’24 rookies. One grizzled vet. Get Set. Go!
Keon Coleman – Buffalo Bills
(The “Michael Scott” Sleeper)
Keon Coleman is my favorite kind of post-hype sleeper. Those who were in on him last season expected him to slide right in and become the next Stefon Diggs, and because that didn’t happen, they’ve written him off. There is no reason Coleman should be drafted outside of the first 100 picks. His current ADP per FantasyPros has him as pick 112, WR53 off the board.
Keon Coleman grown man catch #Bills #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/ODqL2u72AJ
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) September 8, 2024
No, Coleman wasn’t the most targeted receiver on the Bills. Dalton Kincaid had more targets, too. But he tied for the team lead in receiving touchdowns (4) despite playing in just 13 games. He was also Mr. Hailee Steinfeld’s go-to guy downfield. Coleman led the Bills in deep targets (18) and more than doubled the average depth of the target of Kincaid and nearly tripled that of Khalil Shakir.
2024 Average Depth Of Target (per FTN Data)
Khalil Shakir – 5.5 yards
Dalton Kincaid – 7.6 yards
Keon Coleman – 15.2 yards
Amari Cooper and Mack Hollins were the only other receivers on the team with an aDOT over 10, and neither is on the roster for 2025. Fortunately for Coleman, Josh Allen loves the deep ball.
Allen threw the ball deep at the second-highest clip in the league* (15.5%), completing 26 of them (5th most) on 75 attempts (2nd most). For the life of me, I can not remember I don’t understand why people are fading the deep threat for one of the best offenses in the league with the reigning MVP at the helm. Don’t be one of those people.
*min 300 attempts
Rome Odunze – Chicago Bears
(The “Collecting Bears like Infinity Stones” Sleeper)
Yes, I already wrote up wide receiver DJ Moore as one of my flag plants at the position for 2025. Why would I have his teammate as a post-hype sleeper if I’m so high on Moore? Well, because of the new head coach, Ben Johnson, I want as many shares of the Bears offense as humanly possible.
Moore is the receiver in Chicago that I like the most this season, but far too often, receivers are ignored if they’re not the perceived “top option”.
Yeah…that’s not a great strategy. Especially in a Ben Johnson offense.
Rome Odunze led the Bears receivers in a plethora of categories during his rookie campaign: yards per target (7.3), yards per reception (13.6), deep targets (23), air yards share (30.8%), and average depth of target (13.8), the only Bears receiver that averaged over 10. Despite seeing 20 fewer targets and 16 fewer receptions than Keenan Allen (who is no longer on the team), Odunze finished only 10 yards shy of Allen’s receiving total (744 to 734).
Odunze’s involvement increased as the season progressed, a common trend among rookie receivers. He averaged 5.3 targets per game from Weeks 1-8, with the average jumping to 6.9 from Weeks 9-17. With the risk already baked into his ADP at WR34 (including the additions of rookies Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland), it won’t take much for him to return value. But if Ben Johnson truly turns around the Bears’ offense, Odunze is primed for a tier jump or three in his second season in Chi-town.
Calvin Ridley – Tennessee Titans
(The “Will Levis isn’t his QB anymore” Sleeper)
I prefer to avoid wide receivers 30 or older in fantasy due to their historical tendency to decline in production, but Calvin Ridley is an exception to the rule. It’s not just because he missed nearly two seasons in 2021-22 for non-injury-related reasons. It’s that he showed us last season that he’s still got it, even with sub-par quarterback play.
Say what you want about Will Levis, but the man liked to throw the ball deep. The problem is he wasn’t very good at it. According to FTN Data, Levis had a deep ball completion rate of 35.7%. Ridley had the highest aDOT in the league, nearly two full yards more than the next guy (15.7 – 13.8). He was one of four receivers to average over 100 air yards per game, the others being Malik Nabers, Courtland Sutton, and George Pickens. Yet, less than 50% of his air yards were considered catchable.
That brings me to the number one overall pick, former Miami Hurricane quarterback Cam Ward. You may not know who he is since ESPN was more concerned about fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders while Ward was being drafted. Ward has a strong arm capable of making any throw on the field. He has struggled with his deep ball accuracy at times, but nowhere near the extent of Levis. Ward was tied for the most throws of 20+ yards in the Power Four conferences, throwing 14 touchdowns, zero interceptions, while averaging 15.3 yards per attempt and 46% completion rate.
Granted, you should be very wary of offseason chatter and coach speak, but Ward and Ridley have reportedly already started to develop a rapport with each other. Somehow, despite a quarterback upgrade, Ridley is being drafted below his WR28 finish from last season. I’ll be smashing the draft button if Ridley’s still on the board at his current ADP of WR32 in any of my drafts.
(Data sourced from FTN Fantasy. Qualifying WRs include a minimum of 75 targets unless otherwise stated.)
Be sure to check out my Post-Hype Sleepers for other positions:
Tight End (coming 7/17)
Photo by Jeffrey Brown | Adapted by Parker McDonald (@TheCarbonFox on Twitter/X)