We're kicking off Best Ball Week at DraftKings by identifying eight of the top late-round fantasy sleepers for you to target on DraftKings in 2025.
DraftKings' best ball formats are full PPR and the drafts are 20 rounds long – two details that tend to make its ADP slightly different than most of the best ball world. With its distinct best ball ADP and the 20-round format, DraftKings' format gives drafters more chances for roster variation and rewards teams that draft effectively through all 20 rounds.
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Austin Ekeler, RB, WAS (151.9 DK ADP)
Ekeler is a bit earlier than the others and has been a household name for years, yet his current place in DraftKings' best ball ADP makes Ekeler appear somewhat forgotten. Ekeler was productive for Washington in 2024, and he should have the same role again this year.
That Ekeler suffered two concussions in 2024 is easily his biggest concern, and and it's reasonable to worry about it. The same happened to Tyjae Spears, yet he goes at 122.4 in the ADP. As long as you keep your Ekeler exposure reasonably contained, the concussion concern is already baked into the acquisition cost – maybe twice.
Particularly given the PPR scoring, Ekeler makes for a great glue guy who provides a stabilizing floor at running back for a trivial price in the 13th round. Ekeler averaged 1.69 yards per route in 2024 -- his highest figure since at least 2020 – and his numbers would look significantly better if he had played the whole year. In fact, if you prorate Ekeler's 2024 numbers over 17 games he would project for over 1,000 yards from scrimmage – roughly half rushing, half receiving.
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Dyami Brown, WR, JAX (198.8 DK ADP)
Brown's price might rise slightly in the upcoming weeks, but in the meantime he's one of the best late-round targets at wide receiver in the 16th round or later.
The Jaguars signed Brown to be the starting perimeter receiver opposite Brian Thomas, and while the current best ball ADP doesn't really see it this way, there's a strong chance Brown plays more wide receiver snaps this year than Travis Hunter.
Brown won't be nearly as productive as Thomas or Hunter on a per-play basis, and that's why Brown is rightly well behind those two in the fantasy rankings. Brown will likely get stuck with a good amount of decoy work, running deep to neutralize safeties who might otherwise try to sneak up on Thomas or Hunter.
Brown won't just be a distance runner, though – Brown will catch a few long-range passes, and he otherwise should get some screens on the boundary when defenses show too much cushion.
Jerome Ford, RB, CLE (199.5 DK ADP)
Although his price will doubtlessly rise in light of Quinshon Judkin's arrest and increasingly likely chance of suspension, Ford appears poised to be the cheaper player between himself and rookie fourth-round pick Dylan Sampson. There's a strong chance Ford simply outproduces Sampson.
Sampson definitely has some ability and is worth drafting in his own right, but Sampson is unlikely to play passing downs over Ford, meaning Sampson will likely be a 5-foot-8, 200-pound rushing specialist. That's generally not a great profile for fantasy production.
Ford was Cleveland's likely passing-down back even before the Judkins arrest, and Sampson is less passing-down viable yet. Even with Judkins and Sampson selected in the 2025 draft, Ford is a strong bet to play more than 500 snaps this year.
Darius Slayton, WR, NYG (205.0 DK ADP)
Slayton is basically the Giants version of what Dyami Brown brings to the Jaguars. A downfield-oriented boundary receiver who often plays a decoy role but can make the defense pay the long-range price if they don't take him seriously.
Russell Wilson has probably one remaining strength at this point, and that's still his deep-ball accuracy. It's not just that Wilson is good at throwing to Slayton's region – Wilson can hardly throw it anywhere else!
Even if Slayton has to deal with Jaxson Dart much of the year, it wouldn't be all gloomy. Slayton has remained a productive late-round fantasy wideout even while dealing with quarterbacks worse than Dart.
Blake Corum, RB, LAR (214.1 DK ADP)
Corum's rookie year was not promising, so it's understandable enough that rookie fourth-round pick Jarquez Hunter (205.9) goes ahead of Corum in the best ball ADP. It's probably not the right move, though.
Hunter is a good prospect with a couple clear advantages over Corum – namely, speed and power as a runner – but Hunter is raw in passing situations and Sean McVay is notoriously picky about that aspect of the game in particular.
Disappointing as Corum's rookie numbers might be, they're no worse than Kyren Williams' rookie year in 2022. Corum is a better athlete than Williams and is more passing-down adept than Hunter. Hunter is the one who likely end up third on the Rams depth chart, not Corum.
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Elijah Mitchell, RB, KC (228.0 DK ADP)
Durability is a massive concern with Mitchell, but it's the only concern with Mitchell. We know from his production with the 49ers that Mitchell is a starter-caliber running back in terms of talent.
In fact, if Mitchell is perfectly healthy then he might be an even better running back than Isiah Pacheco, let alone Kareem Hunt. The Chiefs are paying Mitchell slightly more than Hunt on their respective one-year deals, so at the very least Kansas City is hopeful that Mitchell will take Hunt's previous spot on the Chiefs depth chart.
In his 27 active NFL games Mitchell ran for 1,523 yards and nine touchdowns (4.7 YPC) while fumbling zero times over 365 touches from scrimmage. With 40 speed in the low 4.4 region and a well-rounded skill set Mitchell could be a hit with the Chiefs if his health finally cooperates.
Of course, given his extensive injury history you'll want to keep your Mitchell exposure limited to a minority of your teams, but in DraftKings' 20-round format it's also feasible to draft multiple Chiefs runners without compromising the integrity of your broader roster.
Jordan James, RB, SF (229.3 DK ADP)
It's a tough sell to draft a guy like James in a format with fewer than 20 rounds, but on DraftKings the rosters are deep enough to make room for James without reaching.
James can definitely play to some extent and is expected to make the 49ers final roster as a fifth-round pick out of Oregon. James more or less matched the collegiate production of former Ducks teammate Bucky Irving and, like Irving, James is a naturally adept interior runner despite his otherwise light build (5-10, 205) and mediocre athletic testing (4.55-second 40).
Both Christian McCaffrey and Isaac Guerendo have substantial durability concerns. James is absolutely within reach of playing time this year, and his work at Oregon gives reason to think James could thrive with whatever opportunity he gets.
Woody Marks, RB, HOU (229.7 DK ADP)
It's puzzling that Marks goes this late.
The Texans likely targeted Marks in the fourth round specifically for his pass-catching background. Marks is likely one of the best late round fantasy sleepers in the DraftKings ADP as a potential PPR spammer on checkdowns and screens.
Joe Mixon is dealing with ongoing foot/ankle issues, and backup Nick Chubb is trying to return from a broken foot of his own. Even if Chubb is healthy, there's a strong chance he would focus on the ground game, leaving the vast majority of pass-catching opportunities to Marks.
Perhaps Marks won't provide much yardage or touchdowns, but a checkdown merchant can play just fine in full PPR. Even as a third stringer on the Texans depth chart, the durability concerns with Mixon and Chubb have Marks closer to the field than most RB3 types.
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