Fantasy Football: 6 Sleepers for Wild Card Weekend

The word "sleeper" gets thrown around a lot in the world of fantasy football, to the point where an actual definition may vary from person to person. In general, sleepers are NFL players that may be flying relatively under the radar in a particular field. That could be an under-rostered player in season-long leagues, a player with an exciting matchup in a given week, or even a potential star just ahead of their true breakout.

In any case, we all need to find a sleeper from time to time. Whether you're a fantasy football hipster looking to roster an exciting new player before your league-mates hear about him, a daily fantasy manager looking for a lower-salary player to fill out a lineup loaded with studs, or even just a manager in a pinch due to byes or injuries, we have you covered. We'll be bringing you six fantasy sleepers each and every week throughout the season.

For this first weekend of playoffs we'll be doing things a little differently. Instead of more generalized sleepers across the league, we'll be brining you one fantasy sleeper from each of this weekend's six Wild Card Round games. That way, you'll have a sleeper option no matter which game or games you enter contests for.

Fantasy Football Wild Card Round Sleepers

Elijah Moore, WR, Cleveland Browns

FanDuel Salary: $6,000

Receiving Prop: 37.5 Yards

Former New York Jets wideout Elijah Moore quietly enjoyed a career year with the Cleveland Browns in 2023, catching 59 passes for 640 yards and 2 touchdowns despite competing for targets with stars like Amari Cooper and David Njoku. He even looked like a potential WR1 the few times he played without Cooper on the field -- he caught 4 of 12 targets for 83 yards back in Week 13 when Cooper exited the game with an injury and hauled in 5 of 6 targets for 61 yards and a touchdown without Cooper in the lineup despite playing just about half of the team's Week 17 game.

Cooper should be in the lineup against the Houston Texans on Saturday but has logged DNP's at each of Cleveland's first two practices of the week. He has been dealing with a heel injury since his explosive outing the last time these two teams squared off and might not be 100% even if he plays, opening the door for Moore to put up production as the healthier of the team's top two options.

It should be mentioned that current Browns quarterback Joe Flacco was also Moore's quarterback for a stretch of the receiver's extremely promising rookie campaign. The duo played just over a full game together but connected for 10 catches, 181 yards, and 2 touchdowns during their brief pairing. That's still within the range of outcomes for Moore with Flacco at QB in Cleveland, even with Cooper and Njoku in the lineup.

Durham Smythe, TE, Miami Dolphins

FanDuel Salary: $4,800

Any Time Touchdown Scorer Odds: +600

Did you know that Durham Smythe played the most snaps of any Miami Dolphins skill-position player other than Tua Tagovailoa this season?

The veteran tight end hasn't been a splashy playmaker, but he has been on the field a ton for the Dolphins. He ran 400 routes on the season, too, meaning he's been putting himself in position to catch passes if needed. While all that playing time resulted in just 35 catches for 366 scoreless yards, he could see a solid amount of work as a receiver this week against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Dolphins notoriously struggled against good defenses this year, but Smythe seemed to emerge more often as a receiver in those outings. Over the last four weeks, a span during which the Dolphins played four of numberFire's top-seven defenses, he averaged 3.8 catches and 43 receiving yards per game. And with both of Miami's top receivers and both of the team's top running backs nursing injuries, he could see similar work against the Chiefs' fourth-ranked defense on Saturday.

Leonard Fournette, RB, Buffalo Bills

FanDuel Salary: $4,800

Any Time Touchdown Scorer Odds: +550

There are few running backs who would qualify for "sleeper" status as the NFL cuts to the postseason -- most of the teams left standing have well-established running back depth charts and pecking orders. That said, Buffalo Bills running back Leonard Fournette might be the closest player we have to a sleeper back for the playoffs. The veteran signed with Buffalo's practice squad partway through the season and began working in for touches behind starter James Cook in recent weeks.

While most of this weekend's games should feature hotly contested battles between teams on near-equal footing, the Bills are heavy favorites over the Pittsburgh Steelers -- numberFire's model gives Buffalo a 73.1% chance of winning, and the Bills are 10.0-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook's Wild Card betting odds. If this game gets out of hand, that could put a lot of work onto the plate of the Bills' RB2.

The game script could skew run-heavy, as well, if the current weather reports hold true -- forecasts are calling for potentially heavy snows with strong winds. The kind of vertical, North-South running you'd expect to see in a snowstorm fits Fournette's playstyle more so than Cook's, which could lead to the veteran seeing his highest touch totals of the season.

Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Green Bay Packers

FanDuel Salary: $5,900

Any Time Touchdown Scorer Odds: +300

The Green Bay Packers entered the year with concerns about their young, unproven group of pass-catchers, but they might now have the deepest group of pass-catchers in the playoffs.

Second-round pick Jayden Reed has lived up to his lofty draft capital, emerging as a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands, but fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks has broken out lately, as well. Since Week 10, Wicks' 2.64 yards per route run is the ninth-best clip in the league.

The Packers have their work cut out for them this weekend against the Dallas Cowboys, but we can expect a high-scoring affair -- this game's 50.5-point over/under is the second-highest of the weekend. Wicks has notched three touchdowns over has past two games, establishing himself as a playmaker in the red zone.

If this game does develop into a shootout, Wicks could have a good chance of finding himself in the end zone again, even against the Cowboys' fearsome defense.

Josh Reynolds, WR, Detroit Lions

FanDuel Salary: $5,300

Receiving Prop: 28.5 Yards

Detroit Lions fans are likely stoked that their team is in the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but they might also be concerned -- the team will likely be missing breakout rookie Sam LaPorta this weekend after the exciting tight end suffered a knee injury in Week 18. Fellow pass-catcher Kalif Raymond also suffered an injury in Week 18, potentially leaving the Lions without two of their top four pass-catchers.

Their absences put WR2 Josh Reynolds in a smash spot as the Lions prepare to take on the Los Angeles Rams, whose defense allowed the seventh-most fantasy points per game to opposing wideouts.

This game features two top-notch offenses and two subpar defenses, opening the door for some serious scoring potential (week-high 51.5-point total). If these teams trade blows in a shootout, Reynolds should rack up receiving yards alongside Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Baker Mayfield, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

FanDuel Salary: $7,200

Passing Touchdowns Prop: 1.5 Passing Touchdowns

Baker Mayfield may not have qualified for "sleeper" status during the regular season, but he fits the bill for the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback has the third-lowest FanDuel salary of any quarterback option for the weekend but could far outproduce expectations against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Only the Washington Commanders' league-worst defense allowed more fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks (21.2) than the Eagles did (21.1) this season, and things have only gotten worse for Philadelphia down the stretch. Their final three games saw them permit 87 combined points to the New York Giants (who they played twice in that time) and the Arizona Cardinals, two of the worst offenses in the league.

The Bucs should be able to move the ball well against this iteration of the Eagles' defense, meaning Mayfield could have an extremely efficient outing for fantasy.

If you're betting on any of Saturday, January 13th's NFL playoff action, you can take advantage of FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL Playoffs No-Sweat Same Game Parlay. Check the promotions page for more information.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.