The options remaining in the final round of your fantasy draft are likely slim pickings, with the preferred late-round fantasy football sleepers likely long gone.
This is the part of the draft where you're drafting the players you're most likely to cut once you make an in-season pickup, but every once in a while it's possible to land a real asset in the final round and snag for free a player who might prove to be a major waiver wire pickup in season.
In this case we'll define 'final round' as any player whose ADP registers in the 17th round or later, meaning an ADP of 192.0 or more.
(Players listed in order of ADP, ADP from NFFC RotoWire Online Championship drafts in August)
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Sean Tucker, RB, TB (206.45 NFFC)
The Buccaneers have Bucky Irving locked in as starter, yet at 195 pounds there's likely a limit to the number of touches Irving can withstand from scrimmage before his durability is put at risk. Normally, Rachaad White would be the assumed complementary piece, especially on passing downs.
It's not clear how much the Buccaneers value White as a runner specifically, though, and Tucker has always produced at a high level, be it with his NFL usage or during his excellent career at Syracuse. Indeed, if not for an undisclosed health issue that
The options remaining in the final round of your fantasy draft are likely slim pickings, with the preferred late-round fantasy football sleepers likely long gone.
This is the part of the draft where you're drafting the players you're most likely to cut once you make an in-season pickup, but every once in a while it's possible to land a real asset in the final round and snag for free a player who might prove to be a major waiver wire pickup in season.
In this case we'll define 'final round' as any player whose ADP registers in the 17th round or later, meaning an ADP of 192.0 or more.
(Players listed in order of ADP, ADP from NFFC RotoWire Online Championship drafts in August)
Check out the industry-leading fantasy football live draft assistant to get custom rankings for your league and follow along with a live draft on most major platforms!
Sean Tucker, RB, TB (206.45 NFFC)
The Buccaneers have Bucky Irving locked in as starter, yet at 195 pounds there's likely a limit to the number of touches Irving can withstand from scrimmage before his durability is put at risk. Normally, Rachaad White would be the assumed complementary piece, especially on passing downs.
It's not clear how much the Buccaneers value White as a runner specifically, though, and Tucker has always produced at a high level, be it with his NFL usage or during his excellent career at Syracuse. Indeed, if not for an undisclosed health issue that kept him out of the combine, Tucker may well have been viewed as a similar tier of prospect as Irving. Tucker was generally regarded as the better college running back of the two.
Tucker was also generally regarded as the better collegiate back between himself and White, who is currently day-to-day with a groin injury. There's a chance Tucker displaces White as the RB2 in Tampa Bay, but even if not, in the event of an Irving absence there's reason to believe Tucker would more or less plug into Irving's prior role.
Chig Okonkwo, TE, TEN (211.14)
Okonkwo is something a post-hype sleeper at this point, but any optimism that ever applied to Okonkwo is only more valid now that they have Cam Ward on the roster. Nothing could have grown in the Will Levis/Mason Rudolph offenses, so we would be wise to recall the flashes Okonkwo has shown over the years despite his inability to break out conclusively.
The Titans do not have many useful pass catchers. Calvin Ridley is locked in as the WR1 as a player better suited to a WR2 role, and Tyler Lockett might be the WR2 as a player who should probably be a backup at this point instead. There is slack in the target volume of this offense, begging for production that Okonkwo might be the best candidate to provide.
Okonkwo was known as a toolsy but raw player out of Maryland, where he stood out for his athleticism in an otherwise barely functional passing game. Okonkwo confirmed his uncommon athleticism at the combine, logging a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at 238 pounds. With speed like that, Okonkwo might actually be Tennessee's fastest starting player on offense.
The rawness detail might not apply anymore with Okonkwo heading into his fourth season, and his production as a pass catcher corroborates that suggestion. Okonkwo drew the second-most targets for the Titans last year -- 70 in 17 games -- and by clearing the team's catch-rate baseline (66.3) by a full eight points (74.3) Okonkwo showed he could handle more targets yet. The deal was similar in 2023 -- Okonkwo drew 77 targets and cleared the team catch-rate baseline by 6.5 points (70.1 to 63.6).
Okonkwo's production to this point already implies he can/should take on more targets than he already has, yet there's reason to think he'll be the best version of himself yet as a fourth-year player. That Ward arrives to hopefully provide a drastic increase in target quality means it's all shaping up for Okonkwo to fully break out.
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Chris Rodriguez, RB, WAS (230.97)
Jacory Croskey-Merritt has all the hype at the moment, but there's a strong if not likely chance Rodriguez is the better player. At 224 pounds Rodriguez is a true bruiser, whereas at 206 pounds Croskey-Merritt is built more like a pass-catching back...who can't really catch passes.
Granted, Rodriguez has no history of catching passes either, but Rodriguez is unquestionably the more talented pure runner between himself and JCM. If Austin Ekeler and even Jeremy McNichols rank first for pass-catching opportunities at running back, then it leaves the remaining snaps up to the criterion of pure rushing ability.
Coach Dan Quinn said that Rodriguez will likely be the short-yardage and goal-line running back for Washington, in which case Rodriguez is clearly the preferable fantasy back between himself and JCM because Rodriguez blocks JCM for touchdown production while Ekeler hoards all the pass-catching opportunities. If you don't catch and you don't score touchdowns you probably aren't useful in fantasy football.
Devin Neal, RB, NO (231.24)
Neal's spot on the Saints depth chart is not guaranteed, especially after he missed time with a hamstring injury in training camp, but as long as Neal hangs around New Orleans he should have a good shot as emerging as a valuable waiver wire/FAAB pickup in the regular season.
Alvin Kamara is an aging workhorse with an established history of getting nicked up, and former third-round pick Kendre Miller has not decisively won the RB2 role behind him. As much as Miller is likely to head into the year as the by-default backup to Kamara, Miller's hold would be tenuous.
If Neal heads into the season as RB3 then he'll always be within striking distance for reps any time Kamara is unavailable. Given his dominant career at Kansas and totally decent athletic testing at the combine, it would be a disappointment if Neal saw an opportunity and failed to capitalize.
Neal's 40-yard dash time of 4.58 seconds was more than fine for his 213-pound frame, and Neal otherwise posted strong numbers in the jumps (124-inch broad jump, 37.5-inch vertical). Given those more than acceptable numbers it's surprising that Neal fell to sixth round after running for 4,343 yards and 49 touchdowns in four years at 5.7 yards per carry. Guys who produce and test as well as Neal almost never burn out in the NFL.
Darren Waller, TE, MIA (238.78)
The vibes out of Miami are horrendous and even Waller only just got into practices on a limited basis Wednesday, but even if the entire season is garbage time for Miami (it might be) there could be cheap fantasy production to be had here.
Jonnu Smith posted enormous numbers in 2024, so particularly if Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle doesn't bounce back in 2025 there should be slack for Waller to exploit as a pass-catching specialist tight end on a team that should be losing almost constantly.
Waller is very risky, yet you can get him for free and he poses realistic top-12 upside at tight end, making him one of the better late-round fantasy football sleepers at the moment. Any auction value drafters can practically get him for free.
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