Fantasy Football: Analytical sleepers from the 2025 rookie wide receiver class

College & Draft Fantasy Sports

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• Tez Johnson, as small as he is, offers one of the most intriguing production profiles in this class: A team will have to be willing to overlook the size concerns, but Johnson’s speed and ability to win in various ways could prove valuable at the next level.
• Tre Harris isn’t a deep sleeper but he might still be getting overlooked: As a fringe Day 2/Day 3 pick, the Ole Miss offense undoubtedly helped Harris produce, but that doesn’t mean he won’t translate to the NFL.
• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF’s best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

After going over some of the standout analytical data from the top-five wide receivers in this year’s class, we’ll now shift our focus to potential sleepers who rank outside of the top five on the PFF big board and could be deserving of more love heading into the draft.

A few notes before diving into these receivers:

• These “sleepers” will be players who are projected to go outside of the first round of the NFL draft, highlighting options on both Day 2 and Day 3.
• These sleepers will also be standouts in the wide receiver prospect model, which was covered in detail here.
• That model includes all 259 wide receiver prospects since 2019, highlighting percentile ranks for each player’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Strengths are considered production data points where a particular wide receiver scored the highest in comparison to the prospect pool dating back to 2019.
• Weaknesses are the areas where a particular wide receiver scored below the 50th percentile in that particular production category compared to the prospect pool since 2019.

Click here for more draft tools:

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2025 PFF Draft Guide | Mock Draft Hub | Prospect Data Profiles
Draft Position Rankings

DAY 2 TARGET

TRE HARRIS, OLE MISS

Harris’ career college analytics strengths:

Harris is currently projected to go late in Round 2 or early Round 3 in this year’s NFL Draft, coming out of Ole Miss’ deep passing attack. Harris was the prime beneficiary of that offense, as he excelled at winning those downfield one-on-ones, even if he wasn’t overly fast or a high-end separator. Harris’ ability to win at the line of scrimmage and against single coverage is among the best in this class, which could allow him to make an impact early in his NFL career whilst developing the rest of his game. 

Harris’ career college analytics weaknesses:

Harris comes out on the low end in terms of speed, which translates to his downfield separation rates as well, which could be a problem in the NFL against bigger and faster cornerbacks. With a more polished route tree, Harris could develop into a consistent WR2 at the next level, though he may begin his career in more of a specific downfield role until that happens, which isn’t always valuable for season-long fantasy formats.

DAY 3 TARGETS

XAVIER RESTREPO, MIAMI (FL)

Restrepo’s career college analytics strengths:

Restrepo has been one of college football’s most productive slot receivers over the past two seasons, exceeding 1,100 receiving yards in both 2023 and 2024. He is suited for exactly that role in the NFL, as he doesn’t necessarily offer the size or length to be anything more than a slot receiver at the next level. However, that can still be a positive, considering he plays that role really well, even earning one of the best career receiving grades out of the slot in recent years.

Restrepo’s career college analytics weaknesses:

To highlight again how Restrepo would very likely be limited to a slot-only role in the NFL, his numbers when lined up wide are even more discouraging, especially when paired with his size concerns. Restrepo does lack overall speed and after-the-catch ability as well, which could make him more of a chain-mover at the next level, though there can be value in that role, especially if he continues to develop into a consistent and reliable passing game option wherever he lands come draft day.

TEZ JOHNSON, OREGON

Johnson’s career college analytics strengths:

Johnson’s size is more than likely going to limit him to a slot-only role in the NFL, but based on his production in that role throughout his college career, he’s proved that he can be as productive as anyone in that role, it’s now just going to be a matter of it translating to the next level. There’s plenty to like about Johnson’s game, especially as a separator and shifty route runner working in the middle of the field, so if he can overcome the size concerns, not unlike Tank Dell (when healthy), there’s reason to believe he can become an effective weapon in the right offense.

Johnson’s career college analytics weaknesses:

Johnson does have above-average speed for the position, though that didn’t necessarily translate into a ton of explosive plays. Weighing in at just 154 pounds puts him in unprecedented territory for a wide receiver prospect and is likely going to hurt his stock in the NFL draft. While it only takes one team to like his game enough where those concerns can be overlooked, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Johnson fall even further than his currently projected 109th overall pick, which will continue to sink his fantasy potential.

TORY HORTON, COLORADO STATE

Horton’s career college analytics strengths:

Horton is coming off a knee injury in 2024 that shortened his season to just five games, however, he did participate at the NFL combine, registering a strong 9.79 relative athletic score, which has helped eliminate a lot of concern regarding his health. Prior to his injury-shortened season in 2024, Horton posted back-to-back seasons with over 1,100 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. As a lankier outside wide receiver, Horton’s encouraging numbers versus single coverage and overall efficiency metrics point to a player who can serve as an outside option in the NFL with the possibility of developing into a consistent WR2 in the right offense.

Horton’s career college analytics weaknesses:

Horton lacks an ability to separate downfield, which happens when getting “moved off of his routes easier”, as highlighted in the PFF Draft Guide, and that shows up in his data as well. There are still ways he can win downfield in the NFL because he has strong hands and good route-running ability, which will help him win in different ways to overcome that lack of size. He also ran a 4.41-second 40-yard dash, which is an excellent mark in helping encourage his NFL potential when combined with the rest of his profile.

DEEP SLEEPER TARGET

RICKY WHITE, UNLV

White’s career college analytics strengths:

White is a favorite deep sleeper for this class, potentially going late Day 3 averaged 93.3 receiving yards per game over the past two seasons while totaling 19 total touchdown catches. White’s production dropped off slightly from 2023 to 2024, though he still ranked top-25 in the entire FBS in receiving yards, receiving grade and yards per route run. This allowed him to post strong career marks in comparison to past wide receiver prospects, which allowed him to score the highest prospect score of any FBS wide receiver that could be drafted beyond the top-200 picks.

White’s career college analytics weaknesses:

White ran just a 4.61-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, which explains his average explosive play rate despite the high-end production. White isn’t adding a ton after the catch, and as a smaller wide receiver who spent the majority of his snaps on the outside, he may have to move to the slot in the NFL where he could be asked to add a bit more in that regard should he become a lower ADoT option in his new offense compared to his role at UNLV.

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