Full disclosure—the Godfather hates the word “sleeper.” It is without question the single most overused word in fantasy football. Every year thousands of articles are written talking up this player or that as a “sleeper” who will blow up in the season to come. Many of those articles will mention the same players.
When 567 fantasy pundits all mention a player as a “sleeper,” that dude is awake.
What those pundits are really saying is simply that those players are undervalued—that they should be coming off draft boards before they are. While the term “sleeper” may have been beaten to death, resurrected, and then beaten to death again, knowing which late-round targets have a good shot at outproducing their draft-day asking price is valuable information.
Each and every one of these sleepers fits that bill.
What? I said I hated the word. Didn’t say I wouldn’t use it.
IDP Sleeper: EDGE Jonathon Cooper, Denver
Cooper had something of a coming-out party in 2023—the 26-year-old topped 70 total tackles, set a career-high with 8.5 sacks (four more than in his first two seasons combined), and finished as DL11 in fantasy points. It was a breakout that impressed Footballguys’ own resident IDP guru.
“On the field,” John Norton wrote, “Cooper is a good three-down edge who holds up pretty well versus the run and makes a lot of tackles. At 45-25-8.5 with 4 turnovers, 2 batted passes, and a score, Cooper quietly made his way into a lot of IDP lineups last year. The strong tackle totals helped him be rather consistent, posting at least nine points in twelve games while averaging almost twelve per. He was not very productive in his first two seasons, so there is at least some concern that Cooper could be a one-year wonder. This one just doesn’t feel like that, though. I like him as a dependable Edge2 or an excellent number three with upside. Cooper is not going to win a sack title, but double-digits in that column would not be a surprise.”
That Cooper is falling as far as he is in drafts indicates two things. The first is the skepticism that Norton mentioned about Cooper backing up last year’s big numbers. The second is additional depth along the defensive line that the advent of True Position has created in IDP leagues. Take advantage of both.
IDP Sleeper: EDGE Byron Young, LA Rams
Young was one of the more surprising rookie pass-rushers in the game last year, compiling 61 tackles, eight sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. This season, Young showed up to training camp with an extra 10 pounds of muscle on his frame, and he told reporters he expects that to make a difference in Year 2.
"It's good to be bigger and fast," Young said. "They wanted me to see if I get to this weight and see if I could play with that, see if I could sustain that, and that's what I'm doing right now. It feels great. Getting close to up to 260, so it's good, and I don't look bad. That's one thing that I would worry about – I didn't want to get the weight and then not look great. But it's definitely something that helps me with the run game, pass game, setting the edge, and all of that, for sure."
Young actually had more tackles, sacks, and fantasy points last year than 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr. of the Houston Texans. But while Anderson is being drafted as a top-12 lineman in some leagues, Young is all but an afterthought. I’ve been saying all summer that doesn’t make sense—and I’m going to keep on saying it.
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