DraftKings Best Ball: Sleepers for 2025 (Fantasy Football)
In massive tournaments like the Best Ball Milly Maker, low ownership creates leverage. When a lesser-drafted player hits, it separates your lineup from thousands of others built around more popular plays and amplifies the impact of a stack. These are often the pieces that turn solid builds into first-place threats.
With 882,144 entries, identifying low-owned players can be a key edge that separates good rosters from great ones. This article explores under-the-radar players who check multiple boxes. Don’t think of these as breakout candidates per se, but as valuable depth pieces that won’t give you a zero.
Player Selection Metrics
- Ownership: This is based on DraftKings’ June 10 pick-by-pick data. We focused on players rostered in fewer than 75% of drafts.
- PPG (Projected Points Per Game): From a blended average of all three Fantasy Footballers’ projections.
- Best Ball Rank: Borg + Betz Best Ball Rankings.
- Contract Situation Grade (A–F): This indicates how committed a team is to the player financially. Players with stronger contracts (Grade A) are more likely to make the roster. Players with weak deals (Grade F) have a higher risk of being cut.
- Backdoor Stack Grade: This assesses the ease of pairing with QB. The higher the QB’s draft cost, the lower the grade. We’re looking for players who can complete stacks after the QB is selected. Use this to identify late-round stacks if your primary ones get sniped.
1. Dyami Brown | WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Ownership: 64.4%
PPG: 6.07
Best Ball Rank: 200
Contract Situation Grade: A
Backdoor Stack Grade: B
Brown turned it on last year during Washington’s playoff run, showing real competency for the first time thanks to stable QB play. Now in Jacksonville, he joins an offense led by new Head Coach Liam Coen, who helped scheme up depth receivers in Tampa Bay last year. With Evan Engram gone and Travis Hunter‘s role still unknown, Brown has a clear opportunity to carve out snaps and contribute early. The market is catching up, though, as his ADP is rising on all sites.
The Jags are paying Brown nearly $10 million this season, with over $9.5 million in dead cap attached. The level of financial commitment gives him one of the strongest contract profiles in this range of the draft, along with Tutu Atwell. Trevor Lawrence‘s 132 ADP makes for an inexpensive, B-Grade stack to add late. Additional bonus: RB’s Tuten (141) and Bigsby (160) are in this range for a possible tri-stack monster.
2. Noah Gray | TE, Kansas City Chiefs
Ownership: 71.0%
PPG: 6.1
Best Ball Rank: 242
Contract Situation Grade: A
Backdoor Stack Grade: D
Travis Kelce‘s ADP is down six spots since the start of summer, but Noah Gray still hides under the radar. Gray quietly posted 40 receptions for 437 yards and five TDs in 2024. Add these nuggets to multiple games where he played 65% or more of the offensive snaps. The Mahomes/Kelce stack ownership comes in at 25.69% while Mahomes/Gray is 13.56%. In Week 17 against the Broncos, the second combo may be more potent, based on the recent season-long statistical trajectory of each TE.
Kansas City has over $7 million invested in Gray this season, giving our second sleeper a secure contract profile. Mahomes holds an ADP of 71, landing him in the 6th round. If Mahomes falls past ADP, you can grab him naked and backdoor him with Marquise Brown (Round 13) and Noah Gray (Round 19). Remember, value is king. Every pick you save by landing production later in the draft gives you more firepower from earlier selections.
3. Ray-Ray McCloud | WR, Atlanta Falcons
Ownership: 60.4%
PPG: 6.8
Best Ball Rank: 221
Contract Situation Grade: C
Backdoor Stack Grade: B
Ray-Ray McCloud delivered a career-best season in 2024, finishing with 87 targets, 62 receptions, and 686 yards while starting 13 games in Atlanta. With Michael Penix at QB, Drake London commanding coverage, and Darnell Mooney stretching the field, McCloud is in a position to keep his WR3 role. Through five games, Penix has posted per-game passing numbers surprisingly close to Jameis Winston. Please, fantasy overlords, can we get a consistent version of Jameis for the Falcons? Double coverage, triple coverage, AT&T Nationwide coverage – it doesn’t matter – let Penix chuck that ball up to Ray-Ray.
Atlanta is paying McCloud $4.1 million, with only $ 500,000 in dead cap. The C-grade contract score projects for a role this year, but not enough to guarantee if the depth chart shifts (Keenan Allen? Amari Cooper?). Penix goes in the 12th, while Ray-Ray is chilling in the 19th for a B stack grade.
4. Malik Washington | WR, Miami Dolphins
Ownership: 8.4%
PPG: 6.63
Best Ball Rank: 257
Contract Grade: F
Backdoor Stack Grade: B
Washington showed flashes as a rookie with 26 catches for 223 yards and added five carries for 25 more, finishing with 248 yards on just 31 touches. His 8.0 yards per touch outpaced several starters, and the Dolphins routinely schemed ways to get the ball in his hands through screens, jet sweeps, and end-arounds.
There are concerns here as he is on a close-to-league minimum salary, with only $149,670 in dead cap due to him falling to the 6th round in the 2024 draft. Additionally, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine secured a two-year deal, providing extra competition. Tua has an ADP of 141 in the 12th round, while Washington goes in the 19th. RB Bonus: Jaylen Wright is sandwiched at pick 171, and Ollie Gordon goes 227. You can get a three-player stack after pick 140 with the Dolphins if you are in a pinch.
MALIK WASHINGTON'S FIRST NFL TD‼️#MIAvsLAR pic.twitter.com/Lkn2XetqAV
— ESPN (@espn) November 12, 2024
5. Noah Brown | WR, Washington Commanders
Ownership: 22.2%
PPG: N/A*
Best Ball Rank: 260
Contract Situation Grade: B
Backdoor Stack Grade: F
Brown enters 2025 as a relatively unknown name, coming off a solid PPG season in which he caught 35 receptions for 453 yards in nine games. While the arrival of Deebo Samuel raises concerns, he should be in the mix when the Commanders are in three-WR sets. He is not flashy, but efficient when called upon and has shown success across multiple systems (DAL, HOU, and WAS).
Washington is paying Brown $3 million this season with $2.47 million in dead cap, which earns him a B-grade contract and puts him firmly on the 53-man roster. Jayden Daniels holds an ADP of 38.4, making Brown a poor fit for backdoor stacking due to the gap in cost. He profiles more as a standalone value piece.
*We have not established who the Commanders’ WR3 is, which is why there are no PPG.
6. Tre Tucker | WR, Las Vegas Raiders
Ownership: 15.7%
PPG: 6.7
Best Ball Rank: 261
Contract Grade: C
Backdoor Stack Grade: A
Tucker put together a decent second year in Las Vegas, posting a 47-539-3 line on 81 targets plus 10.4 yards per touch thanks to his rushing prowess. He did this with awful QB play. Enter Geno Smith. Geno was the most accurate QB in 2024, so there is room for these numbers to increase with better looks. While everyone else argues over the “What’s Behind Door #1” of Jack Bech and D’onte Thornton Jr., let’s take the known production of a guy that can rip off a 50+ yard TD.
Las Vegas is carrying just $428,765 in dead cap for Tucker, which earns him a C-grade contract. They spent a second-round and fourth-round pick on the WR position (Bech, Thornton), so his role is flexible, but not guaranteed. His A Stack score is what makes this pick so easy. Geno doesn’t go until Round 13, making it easy to add an LV stack that plays indoors in Week 17 against the NYG defense. It could be fruitful.
7. Jalen Nailor | WR, Minnesota Vikings
Ownership: 24.2%
PPG: 6.03
Best Ball Rank: 271
Contract Grade: D
Backdoor Stack Grade: C
Nailor enters the season with a real opportunity to lock down the WR3 role in a Minnesota offense projected for 3,850 passing yards and 24 TDs. He brings proven production behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, scoring six TDs on just 28 catches last year.
REGRESSION ALERT, but consider this:
- Divisional rival Green Bay projects for similar yardage and only five more scores, yet six Packers pass catchers have an ADP of 225 or better: Reed, Golden, Kraft, Doubs, Wicks, and Watson. They play outside against Baltimore in Week 17.
- Meanwhile, Minnesota plays indoors, carries the highest implied game point total of Week 17 against Detroit, and has just three pass catchers drafted inside pick 225: Jefferson, Addison, and Hockenson. There is a significant value gap in Minnesota in the pass-catching department, and Nailor could be the beneficiary.
The Vikings only carry a $45,165 dead cap number, which gives him a D-grade contract and little security after subpar production in his first three years. The stacking is nice because McCarthy carries an ADP of 119 in Round 10, while you can get Nailor in Round 20. Take the value of free exposure to an indoor offense with an excellent passing attack.
SAM DARNOLD FINDS A WIDE OPEN JALEN NAILOR FOR THE TOUCHDOWN! VIKINGS TAKE THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/kt9kZu8Q0U
— vikesinsider (@vikesinsider) December 29, 2024
8. Tory Horton | WR, Seattle Seahawks
Ownership: 8.4%
PPG: 6.73
Best Ball Rank: 233
Contract Grade: C
Backdoor Stack Grade: A
Horton is the first rookie that popped in our Draft Gap Model (see the article about Landmines here for more information). The main reason is that we have him as the WR3 for Seattle. The debate is whether Horton or MVS is a better late-round target. MVS had his moments last year as the de facto WR1 in the Big Easy, where the Saints were starting receivers that Madden hadn’t even rendered. If Horton can utilize his youth to outdo MVS, this one is closer than people think.
Horton gets an A Stack score because Darnold’s ADP is 164. This combo is the proverbial SOS, backdoor stack with upside (compared to Cleveland or New Orleans, where we don’t even know who the QBs are). Remove the names, and you have a Round 14 QB and a Round 20 WR stacked at Carolina in Week 17. Bryce Young is also easy to stack, with an ADP of 149. Options like Theilen (145), Legette (159), Coker (214), and Ja’Tavion Sanders (219) all make a run back doable with minimal draft capital.
9. Brandin Cooks | WR, New Orleans Saints
Ownership: 12.7%
PPG: 6.03
Best Ball Rank: 250
Contract Grade: A
Backdoor Stack Grade: A+
Cooks enters 2025 having been punted off a bridge by many fantasy players after a rough season, both statistically and medically. But in New Orleans, he steps into a receiver room that remains unsettled behind Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. If Cooks stays healthy, he brings veteran stability and red zone upside to an offense that plays indoors in Weeks 15 and 16, and at Tennessee in Week 17.
NOLA is paying Cooks $3.15 million this season with $7.75 million in dead cap. That is one of the most substantial contract commitments you will find among late-round WRs. That backing should give us confidence that he is a part of new head coach Kellen Moore‘s plan. With presumed starter Tyler Shough‘s 198 ADP, this is a free stack if you’re willing to get freaky and see if the Saints play decent football.
10. Tyler Conklin | TE, Los Angeles Chargers
Ownership: 16.1%
PPG: 6.7
Best Ball Rank: 231
Contract Grade: B
Backdoor Stack Grade: C
Conklin ranks last on our sleeper list, not because of his talent, but because his role is the toughest to predict. He’s in a murky competition with Will Dissly and rookie Oronde Gadsden II, though Gadsden’s late-round draft capital makes him unlikely to pose a serious threat. This competition appears to be a two-person battle, and while Conklin has been reliable in the past, his weekly usage remains uncertain until the depth chart is confirmed.
Conk Conk carries $2.83 million in dead cap, earning him a B-grade contract and solid roster security. Herbert’s ADP of 116.7 pushes Conklin’s stacking grade to C, but he’s a viable last-round flier if you’re thin at TE. Will Dissly nearly made this list after posting a 50-481-2 line in 2024. The Chargers ran 56.2% of their plays in 11 personnel and just 9.1 % in 12, so whichever TE wins this job could offer sneaky value in the final rounds.
Recommended Tools/Sites
- Fantasy.vip – 0000ftw put together a great tool with updated data from June 27th.
enter two players and you'll see the data just for that specific combo…
try it out here➡️https://t.co/hx4EXjXKhv pic.twitter.com/EO4ETxlxfR
— michael (@ooooftw) July 4, 2025
- Best Ball Explorer – A great tool to help monitor your portfolio for player exposure across DraftKings, Underdog, and Drafters.
- Over the Cap – Player contract information. Before roster cuts, it can help forecast who will be on the team in Week 1.
Feel free to send me a message on X (@chricscashmusic), and I will send over a copy of my Stack Finder and Ownership document with the DK data sorted.