The 2025 NFL preseason is wrapping up and that means fantasy football draft season is underway. We finally made it people.
The key to assembling a roster that could carry you to your league’s championship game in January is hitting on the sleeper picks that you make in August and there’s no better feeling than one of your later selections paying immediate dividends. That especially rings true at tight end. Considering that the average fantasy football league consists of 10-12 teams, one should be able to find both their starter and potentially a good backup option within the top 20 or so TE’s. In deeper leagues, however, you might find yourself scrambling for options as the draft rolls on.
Below, I’ll give you three deep sleeper quarterbacks for you to consider ahead of your respective drafts. For this exercise, I’ll define a deep sleeper as someone currently falling No. 21 or below in ADP (average draft position) according to FantasyPros. We’ll use PPR rankings for further clarity. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville’s 2024 season was a total disaster, but the emergence of Strange as a viable pass-catcher ended up being one of the few positive developments for the team. With starter Evan Engram dealing with injuries throughout the year, the 2023 second-rounder stepped up and delivered decent numbers in his place, catching 40 targets for 411 yards and two touchdowns.
With Engram being released in the offseason, Strange now enters his third season as TE1 in Duval County and stands to benefit from the massive coaching overhaul in the offseason. Liam Coen is now in charge as head coach after a one-year stint as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator and he’s already indicated that the young tight end will be a valuable piece of the Jags’ offense moving forward. Within Coen’s offense last season, Bucs tight end Cade Otton earned the second-most targets on the team and was close to finishing the year as a top 10 fantasy TE. If things go according to plan, you could see Strange make a major jump this season.
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Speaking of Otton, the Bucs tight end remains a viable option for fantasy managers as he comes off a career year with the organization. The Washington product was targeted 87 times throughout the 2024 campaign, reeling in 59 of them for 600 yards and four trips to the end zone. He notably had the seventh-most red-zone targets among tight ends last year with 16 and all four of his touchdowns came from those trips inside the 20.
Even with Coen heading three hours north to Jacksonville, there will be a level of continuity in Tampa’s offense with passing-game coordinator Josh Grizzard being promoted to OC. And even with the presence of big-play receivers like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and rookie Emeka Egbuka, Otton should still get enough looks to be a viable sleeper tight end in your fantasy league. Be on the lookout for him in later rounds.
Ja’Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers
There is slight buzz about the Panthers possibly taking a step forward this season and Sanders is an under-the-radar weapon that could end up playing a big role for the offense. As a rookie last year, the former Texas tight end did well for himself in place of an injured Tommy Tremble, posting 33 receptions for 342 yards and a touchdowns. Those numbers could’ve been higher had a neck injury he suffered against the Kansas City Chiefs in November not limited him in action for the next several weeks.
Something to note as Reid of Panthers Stats pointed out is that Sanders actually led the team in average yards after catch at 5.6. That ability to take full advantage of his targets and help the team move the ball down the field makes him a potential X-factor for the offense, especially with Tremble rehabbing from offseason back surgery. Whether you scoop him up towards the end of your draft or off waivers, there’s a chance you could be getting an absolute steal by adding Sanders to your roster.
