Five Rookies Who are Deep Sleepers in Fantasy Football

Every fantasy football manager knows the big-name rookies: Omarion Hampton, Ashton Jeanty, Tetairoa McMillan, and even Travis Hunter if he plays enough snaps at wideout. Even TreVeyon Henderson, RJ Harvey, Matthew Golden, and Emeka Egbuka can make a real impact on fantasy football rosters if given the opportunity. 

But what about the names that aren’t dominating Twitter timelines or going in the top 100 of redraft leagues? The ones you can scoop in the late rounds or stash on your bench with the hope that opportunity and talent eventually intersect?

Here’s five of those names to be on the lookout for this season. 

Elijah Arroyo (TE)

Rookie tight ends have received plenty of attention in fantasy football circles. But that’s mainly been Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland, and a little bit of Mason Taylor. There’s been zero noise surrounding Arroyo, who was selected with the No. 50 pick by the Seattle Seahawks.

The Miami product recorded 590 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns while catching passes from Cam Ward. The Seahawks have been so impressed with Arroyo that they cut Noah Fant to open up opportunities for him as TE1.

New OC Klint Kubiak comes from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree, a scheme that is known to love tight ends. And with Sam Darnold under center, the 22-year-old will project as a security blanket as a rookie. With an ADP of TE30 according to FantasyPros, he’s worth a pick at the end of drafts.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith (WR)

Going from the NFC West to the AFC West, it’s evident that the fifth-round receiver will see meaningful snaps as a rookie.

In his final season in college, the Auburn standout amassed 981 receiving yards and eight scores on nearly 20 yards per catch. He ran a  4.37 40 -yard dash at the NFL Combine and will add a vertical element to the Chargers’ offense that is desperately needed.

He also scored two touchdowns in Los Angeles’ first practice following the Hall of Fame Game against the Lions, where he posted two receptions for a team-high 43 yards and a touchdown.

Tre Harris might have been drafted earlier and Ladd McConkey and Keenan Allen are still there, but nobody on this team possesses the vertical element that the 23-year-old does. Don’t worry about a 33-year-old Allen or Quentin Johnston, there is an infusion of youth in this WR room.

At WR104 ADP, being drafted below guys like Ray-Ray McCloud, Dionate Johnson, Roman Wilson, and the unsigned Amari Cooper, this guy is a smash draft– especially in deeper leagues.

Don’te Thornton Jr (WR)

Not many receivers can run a 4.3 40-yard dash at nearly 6-foot-5, but that’s exactly what the Tennessee product did. He averaged a staggering 25.4 yards per reception in his final season in Knoxville before being selected in the fourth round by the Raiders.

All eyes are on Jakobi Meyers and rookie Jack Bech in this receiver room, but reports indicate that Thornton Jr has been the more impressive rookie in training camp.

Ashton Jeanty will hog targets through the ground and aside from Brock Bowers, the pass game is a different story. Meyers is being underrated but the 22-year-old speedster is going for pennies on the dollar at WR85 in redraft leagues.

Kyle Monangai (RB)

The Bears waited until the seventh round of the NFL Draft to address their glaring hole in the running back room, just to land a gem in one of the class' most productive players at the position.

Monangai ran for over 2,500 yards and 21 touchdowns across his final two seasons at Rutgers and his downhill style is a perfect fit as the new David Montgomery in Ben Johnson’s system.

D’Andre Swift’s job is still in jeopardy in Chicago, and Roschon Johnson is merely a goal line back. It’s why the 23-year-old has already carved out a role in camp— he’s quickly received first-team reps.

Going as the RB67 behind Miles Sanders, Kendre Miller, Zack Moss, and Brashard Smith— he could become a fantasy football gold mine.

Tory Horton (WR)

The Seahawks dealt an athletic freak in DK Metcalf just to draft his lite version in Tory Horton.

A Day 3 pick out of Colorado State, Horton racked up over 2,100 yards and 19 touchdowns across his final two healthy collegiate seasons. He was on the Biletnikoff watch list before missing most of the 2024 season due to injury.

Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are both gone so Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and the aforementioned Arroyo are his main competition for targets. And he’s been quick to turn heads in Seahawks camp, already beating out Jake Bobo and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to receive first-team reps.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound wideout ran a 4.4 40-yard dash at the combine and possesses route-running polish and dependable hands—a key asset in Seattle’s scheme. And at WR106 ADP, he is more than worth the flier.

The rookie class is deeper than people realize, and all five of these players are one injury—or one breakout game—away from fantasy relevance. Don’t sleep on them come draft day.