X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Must-Have Late-Round Picks

christian kirk fantasy football rankings news NFL DFS lineup picks

Justin Carter's late-round fantasy football sleeper picks that are must-haves in fantasy football drafts. These sleepers could break out and be league winners.

The 2021 NFL season is just around the corner and fantasy drafts are in full swing at this point.

Everyone knows who to pick in the first round, but what about in the last round? Or the last couple of rounds? Who are the players that you need to be looking out for as you make your final position player picks?

Below are five players who you should be trying to walk away with in the late rounds of your fantasy drafts.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Marquez Callaway, New Orleans Saints

RotoBaller Draft Rank: 100

This article is wide receiver heavy, mainly because I just think there's a lot of depth at that position, which is pushing valuable players down the draft board.

One guy who is a big riser right now and might end up with an ADP that would make him ineligible for this list before I even finish writing this article is Saints receiver Marquez Callaway. In fact, I probably shouldn't be writing about him, because anyone reading this who is in the fantasy industry has him way up on their draft boards. But if you're a fan and you're in a league without a bunch of people who spend 20 hours per day focusing on fantasy football, you might still be able to get an edge here over people who forget about Callaway.

I thought Callaway was an interesting sleeper last year, but things never really developed for him, as he was targeted just 27 times. He caught 21 of those for 213 yards.

But the Saints were a mess, using Taysom Hill at quarterback for way too many games, and the depth chart at wideout was crowded. But this year, those things (might) be changing.

At quarterback, the Saints are set to start Jameis Winston. Winston is actually a quarterback, which makes him an upgrade over Hill. And with Michael Thomas injured and out for [probably longer than they're saying], Callaway is going to wind up starting at receiver for a Saints team that's suddenly really thin at wideout.

Assuming Winston looks anything like Tampa Winston, there's going to be a lot of receiving yards up for grabs this year. Plenty of those will go to Callaway, who could wind up as a fantasy WR2/3 play if things pan out.

 

Christian Kirk, Arizona Cardinals

RotoBaller Draft Rank: 200

It seems like everyone forgot about Christian Kirk this year.

Last year, Kirk had 48 catches for 621 yards and six touchdowns. In his third NFL season, Kirk saw a huge drop in targets, from 108 in 2019 to just 79 last year. He doubled his touchdowns, but touchdowns are such a funky stat on a year-to-year basis.

Still, I'm high on Kirk having a bit of a bounceback campaign and getting back to being the promising guy that we used to think he was.

Last year, Kirk has the highest aDOT of his career at 11.8. He only had a 16.29 percent target share, but that was still second-highest on the team, and the guy who was third on the Cardinals in target share, Larry Fitzgerald, is gone now. Fitz has been replaed by A.J. Green, but can we really believe that Green is going to play enough to make a material difference here when it comes to impacting other players? Nah. Kirk's going to see his target share rise this year and will be Kyler Murray's second option. Sure, this offense might not pass enough to make Kirk a league winner, but he'll be a WR3/4 option with upside, especially in weeks where Green is sidelined.

 

Nico Collins, Houston Texans

RotoBaller Draft Rank: 240

Should we really trust a rookie receiver on a bad offense?

Usually, I'd say no, but Houston and receiver Nico Collins might be an exception, just because of necessity.

Entering this offseason, Collins was competing with a handful of players for opportunities in Houston, but then those other players just kept vanishing from the roster. Randall Cobb is gone. Keke Coutee is gone. Anthony Miller is hurt right now. Will Fuller and Kenny Stills were on last year's team, but both are gone for 2021. Last year, wideout was a position of strength for Houston. This year, a third-round rookie is going to be starting on the outside.

Houston is starting Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, who isn't a high-volume passer. But he does have a pair of 3,000-yard seasons and he's been fairly accurate. Someone has to catch passes here: Brandin Cooks will be one of those players, but there's room for Collins to end up with 700 yards and four touchdowns just by virtue of being on the football field. And hey -- a midseason move to rookie quarterback Davis Mills can increase passing volume.

Also: passing volume increases when a team is bad and is playing a lot of second-half catch up. Houston will be doing a ton of garbage time. That matters for fantasy.

 

Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots

RotoBaller Draft Rank: 208

Finally, someone who is not a wide receiver!

Stevenson had a really good preseason. Sure, it happened against third stringers, but Stevenson had 217 yards and five touchdowns on 30 carries. He showed he could dominate against weak defenders; now, the question is if he'll get that same chance against better defenders.

The Patriots have a messy backfield, with Damien Harris appearing to be the starter and James White being the passing-down back. But New England did clear something up by trading Sony Michel, moving Stevenson a step closer to having a role.

No one in this Patriots running back room has the position locked down. Stevenson should see some goal line work, and that can develop into something bigger. Or it couldn't, because Bill Belichick running backs are notorious for being inconsistent when it comes to fantasy. We'll see.

 

Anthony Firkser, Tennessee Titans

RotoBaller Draft Rank: 169

Yes, the addition of Julio Jones means that the tight end position won't be targeted nearly as heavily this season as it was for the Titans in 2020, but that doesn't mean we can just ignore it.

Firkser split time at tight end with Jonnu Smith last year, with Firkser playing just 32 percent of the team's offensive snaps. Even with that low playing time, he saw 53 targets, catching 39 passes for 387 yards.

Per Sharp Football Stats, the Titans used 12 personnel (two tight ends, two receivers, one back) on 35 percent of their plays last year, tied for the highest percentage in the league. They ran a total of eight plays with zero tight ends on the field.

Basically, the starting tight end for Tennessee will be on the field a bunch. And because the team still doesn't have a great option as the third receiver, the tight end position will still be used plenty. Smith last year played 69 percent of the snaps; in that time, he caught 41 passes for 448 yards and eight touchdowns.

There's not a ton of depth at tight end beyond the obvious top guys. With that in mind, why not take a swing on someone who should see a lot of red zone usage?



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Griffin Conine

To Have Shoulder Surgery On Tuesday
Luke Keaschall

Twins Prospect Luke Keaschall Suffers Broken Forearm
Logan Gilbert

Leaves Friday's Start With Forearm Tightness

Vikings Select Tai Felton To Finish Day 2

Seahawks Select Quarterback Jalen Milroe With The 92nd Pick Overall

Browns Select Dillon Gabriel 94th Overall

Packers Pick Savion Williams At No. 87 overall

Steelers Snag Kaleb Johnson In Round 3

Broncos Select Wide Receiver Pat Bryant With The 74th Overall Pick

Texans Select Jaylin Noel With 79th Pick

Lions Select Wide Receiver Isaac TeSlaa With The 70th Overall Pick
Jack Leiter

To Start On Sunday

Patriots Add Wide Receiver Kyle Williams In Round 3

Browns Draft Harold Fannin Jr. With 67th Pick
Garrett Mitchell

Makes Early Exit
Luke Keaschall

Removed Early On Friday
Blake Snell

Likely Avoids Major Injury
Cole Ragans

Dealing With Mild Groin Strain

Broncos Add RJ Harvey To Backfield With 60th Pick

Raiders Select Jack Bech With 58th Pick

Chargers Add Wide Receiver Tre Harris In Round 2
Detroit Lions

Lions Acquire 57th Pick From Broncos

Seahawks Draft Elijah Arroyo 50th Overall
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Acquire 51st Pick From Broncos
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Snag Will Johnson At No. 47

Jets Add A Pass-Catcher With Mason Taylor At No. 42

Rams Select Terrance Ferguson With 46th Pick
Houston Texans

Texans Acquire 48th Pick From Raiders, Draft Aireontae Ersery

Saints Snag Tyler Shough At No. 40
Brenton Doyle

Out For Personal Reasons On Friday
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
Jimmy Butler III

Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
Jae'Sean Tate

To Remain Out Saturday
Jock Landale

Unavailable For Game 3
Terry Rozier

Out On Saturday
Jrue Holiday

Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
Kevin Love

To Miss Saturday's Game
Jaylen Brown

Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
Gary Payton II

Iffy For Saturday's Action
Jayson Tatum

Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
Will Smith

Back From Injury On Friday
Luke Kennard

Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
Darius Garland

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Ja Morant

To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
Rui Hachimura

Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
Aaron Ekblad

Available To Return Saturday
Erik Swanson

Ryan Burr Progressing
Daulton Varsho

To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
Max Scherzer

Takes Positive Step On Friday
Aleksander Barkov

Questionable For Saturday
Gabriel Landeskog

Set For Larger Role In Game 4
Calvin Pickard

To Start Game 3 For Oilers
Randy Arozarena

Resting For First Time This Year
Jonas Siegenthaler

To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
MLB

Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
MLB

Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
Patrik Laine

A Game-Time Decision Friday
Yainer Diaz

Out On Friday Against Royals
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
Salvador Perez

Sitting Out For First Time This Season
Jaylen Brown

Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
Brendan Donovan

Back In Action On Friday
Jimmy Butler III

Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
Coby Mayo

Getting On A Roll At Triple-A
Carlos Prates

Looks To Remain Undefeated In The UFC
Ian Machado Garry

Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
Cade Cunningham

Collects Double-Double In Loss
Jalen Brunson

Drops 30 Points In Game 3
Karl-Anthony Towns

Leads All Scorers In Game 3 Victory
Zhang Mingyang

Scheduled For Co-Main Event
Anthony Smith

Set For His Final UFC Bout
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Nicolas Dalby

An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
Randy Brown

A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
Ikram Aliskerov

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Sergei Bobrovsky

Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
Cam Fowler

Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
Robert Thomas

Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
Pavel Buchnevich

Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
Dylan DeMelo

Battling An Illness
Marcus Johansson

Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF