This article identifies six fantasy football sleepers who are past their prime but whose prices are low enough to make them plus values for fantasy investors.
Older Fantasy Football Sleepers
Aging players are often overlooked, as the hottest breakout candidates and rookie stars get much of the attention this time of year. But the following veterans can offer upside value at their current draft prices.
Players are listed are listed from most expensive to least expensive PPR ADP.
| PLAYER | POSITION | TEAM | ADP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Andrews | TE | Ravens | TE14 |
| Stefon Diggs | WR | Free Agent | WR52 |
| Alvin Kamara | RB | Saints | RB50 |
| T.J. Hockenson | TE | Vikings | TE24 |
| Geno Smith | QB | Jets | QB31 |
| James Conner | RB | Cardinals | RB54 |
Mark Andrews, TE, Ravens, ADP: 14
With age 31 approaching in September, it's safe to say the Mark Andrews that caught 107 receptions for 1,361 yards and nine touchdowns on 153 targets in 2021 is not coming back. The one from 2024 might come back, though.
Andrews caught 11 touchdowns that year, making him a strong bet to rebound from last year's total of five touchdowns if quarterback Lamar Jackson similarly bounces back from an injury-plagued 2025.
New offensive coordinator Declan Doyle brought blocking-specialist tight end Durham Smythe over from Chicago, which should spare Andrews some blocking reps and free him up to specialize more as a pass catcher. The dynamic was sometimes the opposite for Andrews and his TE2 in recent years, when Isaiah Likely's playing time as a receiving specialist was subsidized by taking opportunities from Andrews.
Likely is with the Giants now, where he'll poach target opportunities from Theo Johnson. Smythe will stay out of Andrews' way in the target rotation.
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Stefon Diggs, WR, Free Agent, ADP: 52
If Stefon Diggs signs with a team his ADP will jump. We know that. The chance that Diggs doesn't sign with a team is basically zero.
Whereas the other players on this list have shown clear decline at this point in their careers, Diggs has yet to show any effects of age, even with age 33 coming in November. Diggs drew targets at a blistering pace in 2025, even as he returned from an in-season ACL tear the year prior. Diggs drew 102 targets on 596 snaps last year.
Not only did Diggs draw targets at a high frequency, he dominated on those targets, catching 83.3 percent of his targets at 9.9 yards per target. Diggs is clearly still at least an average starting NFL receiver.
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Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints, ADP: 50
Alvin Kamara is locked onto the Saints final roster after restructuring his contract, making him the heavy favorite to play as the RB2 behind Travis Etienne.
As much as Etienne is the clear RB1 in New Orleans, it would be hasty to assume there's no room for Kamara in the Saints' offense. Etienne is not built for big volume and is poorly built for power running in general, meaning there should be between 20 and 30 snaps available for Kamara most weeks, even if Etienne stays healthy all year.
T.J. Hockenson, TE, Vikings, ADP: 24
Injuries have taken a toll on T.J. Hockenson by now, and despite his standout initial talent it's possible that Hockenson is largely toast at this point. It's not a given, though.
Hockenson is still only 29, and his otherwise poor 2025 production was doubtlessly informed by the remarkably bad play of J.J. McCarthy. You don't need to believe Kyler Murray is especially good to still conclude that he's a major upgrade over McCarthy.
If Hockenson's struggles in 2025 were due to McCarthy and McCarthy is no longer starting in Minnesota, then it's obvious how Hockenson might bounce back in 2026. Murray made consistent use of the tight end in the passing game during his tenure in Arizona, making productive fantasy producers out of Zach Ertz and Trey McBride.
Geno Smith, QB, Jets, ADP: 31
Ugly as Geno Smith's one season was in Las Vegas, you can only blame the guy so much with an offensive line as abysmal as the one the Raiders fielded in 2025. The Raiders were also a mess as an organization, with personal tension complicating matters further between coaches.
The Jets might be a bit of a mess themselves, but at least the offensive line should be good and Smith will have a quality group of pass catchers with which to work. Whereas the Raiders only had Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers as useful on-paper pass catchers, the Jets should have at least three quality wide receivers and two quality tight ends. Bowers (injury) and Meyers (trade) barely played for the Raiders last year, moreover.
Smith is cheap enough in drafts and has a clearly superior enough offense around him compared to 2025 that he offers considerable fantasy upside in 2026, even with age 36 coming in October.
James Conner, RB, Cardinals, ADP: 54
Now 31, James Conner heads into training camp as the likely RB3 on the Arizona depth chart after missing all but three games in 2025 with a season-ending ankle injury. If offeason acquisitions Jeremiyah Love (draft) and Tyler Allgeier (free agency) stay healthy throughout training camp, then there would likely be no meaningful role for Conner in the Cardinals' offense.
Conner is overqualified as an RB3 and the Cardinals are clearly overcrowded at the position, especially when you account for 2024 third-round pick Trey Benson. While Conner is unlikely to play much or at all for the Cardinals while Love and Allgeier are healthy, he's a prime candidate to get traded to another team, both in general and especially in the event of another team suffering a training camp injury at running back.
The Packers are conspicuously weak at running back behind Josh Jacobs, who is still not fully in the clear from legal or league-discipline repercussions following an offseason domestic violence arrest. The Lions would be silly to expect Isiah Pacheco to come through if Jahmyr Gibbs were to miss any time. The Texans can do a lot better than Woody Marks. The Colts have no one at all behind Jonathan Taylor. The Raiders can't count on rookie fourth-round pick Mike Washington if Ashton Jeanty were to get nicked up. These teams are all reasonable candidates to acquire Conner, and an unexpected injury anywhere could add that team to the list, too.
If Conner could just escape Arizona then he would instantly become a coveted handcuff-type target at running back. Not many power backs offer the pass-catching ability Conner does, so as long as he gets snaps somewhere he'll project reasonably well for goal-line touches and target potential.
