You’ve used Fantasy Points — notably our 2025 League-Winners, Targets, and Values — to build a competitive roster before you get to the end of your draft. The last pick or two of your fantasy drafts are never irrelevant. You can win leagues by finding the right sleeper picks. Hence “Mr. Relevant.”
When you get to the conclusion of your draft, that’s the time to consider swinging for the fences. “Boring” players, those capable of providing you 8 to 10 PPR fantasy points in a pinch, are constantly available on the Waiver Wire throughout the season. These are not the kinds of players we want to recommend in this article. Consider those players “singles,” to borrow a baseball term.
We’re trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark with our favorite late picks. This article will have far more strikeouts than home runs, but that’s the point — we’re trying to predict who the hot Waiver Wire pickups will be before they become hot Waiver Wire pickups.
Speaking of home runs, last year’s Mr. Relevant article was another great one. We highlighted league-altering players like Bucky Irving, Tyrone Tracy, Jordan Mason, Bo Nix, Sam Darnold, Darnell Mooney, Josh Downs, and Zach Ertz. Let’s get to the late-round dart throws who we’re targeting 150 or more picks into fantasy drafts, who we believe feature that kind of upside.
This article will be constantly updated throughout the preseason. ADP in this article is based on our ADP tool’s PPR setting, which pulls from NFFC drafts over the last 14 days.
Players added since August 14
J.J. McCarthy (QB, Min) — We moved McCarthy to Mr. Relevant from our League-winners, Targets, and Values article since he’s moved outside the top 150 picks.
Jerome Ford and Dylan Sampson (RBs, Cle) — We’ve added these RBs back to the article. The misdemeanor domestic battery charges against Quinshon Judkins have been dropped, but the two sides have yet to agree to a contract.
Ollie Gordon (RB, Mia) — It could be a moot point if the Dolphins trade for Brian Robinson, but the momentum is building for Gordon to be ahead of Jaylen Wright for the #2 RB job in Miami.
Players removed since August 14
Anthony Richardson (QB, Ind) — The Colts announced Daniel Jones as the team’s starting quarterback after a camp battle with Richardson during training camp.
Devaughn Vele (WR, NO) — The Broncos traded Vele to the Saints, where he’ll have a more stable role but a much worse offensive environment.
Juwan Johnson (TE, NO) — The Saints paid a steep price to acquire slot WR Devaughn Vele, who will take targets away from Johnson in the middle of the field.
Quarterbacks
TARGET: J.J. McCarthy (Min, ADP 151 QB19, PROJ QB13)
McCarthy is a must-draft player for Fantasy Points subscribers this summer, much like Jayden Daniels was last summer, who went on to finish as the QB6 (21.5 FPG). Kevin O’Connell’s offenses have ranked in the top six in passing yards and pass rate over expectation in each of his first three seasons as head coach. The system propelled Sam Darnold to have a career revival as Minnesota’s quarterback last season, averaging 7.9 YPA and 254.1 passing YPG. He finished as the QB11 with 19.1 FPG, but he added just 1.6 FPG as a runner with 67/212/1 rushing. McCarthy didn’t run too much for the Wolverines — he averaged 17.5 rushing YPG in 2022-23 — but he’s capable of bringing more to the table as a runner than he’s previously shown.
McCarthy will throw to one of the league’s best receiving corps, led by Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson, and this offensive line is expected to be strong after Kwesi Adofo-Mensah bolstered the interior of the unit. There’s some risk backing basically a rookie quarterback, but that risk is also keeping McCarthy’s ADP in check. As we saw with Daniels last season, it’s worth embracing McCarthy’s wide range of outcomes just in case he hits his ceiling, which would put him in the second tier of fantasy QBs.
Trevor Lawrence (Jax, ADP 180 QB21, PROJ QB16)
Entering his fifth season, it’s time for Lawrence to fish or cut bait. Jacksonville fired Doug Pederson and hired Liam Coen to try his hand at getting the most out of the 2021 first overall pick. Coen guided Baker Mayfield to career-bests in yards (4500), TDs (41), YPA (7.9), completion percentage (71.4%), passer rating (106.8), and FPG (22.6) in his first season as NFL playcaller. His next mission is to fully unlock the talented Lawrence. T-Law owns a 3.4% TD rate, a 6.8 YPA average, and an 85.0 passer rating through his first four seasons. Lawrence averaged a respectable 16.9 FPG in his nine full contests last season, which would’ve placed him as the QB15 over the full season. He missed two games for a non-throwing shoulder injury before suffering a season-ending concussion on an illegal hit from Azeez Al-Shaair in Week 13.
The Jaguars are fully committed to his success after signing him to a five-year contract extension last season. Lawrence has one of the most promising young WRs to throw to in Brian Thomas, and they added to his weaponry by moving up to select two-way threat Travis Hunter second overall. Lawrence averages a solid 3.9 attempts and 18.1 rushing YPG with 14 rushing TDs to start his career. He led the league in first-read throw rate in each of the last three seasons, sitting between 75% and 77.3% in those campaigns. Coen wants Lawrence to get comfortable running more when his reads are taken away, much like how Mayfield ran more under Coen last season. Mayfield more than doubled his career-best rushing mark with 378 yards, averaging 2.5 scrambles per game. Lawrence averaged 1.3 scrambles per game last season, turning in a career-low 11.9 rushing YPG. He has the physical tools, the receivers, and now the coaching to finish as a top-10 fantasy QB for the first time in his fifth season if he can finally raise his game to the next level.
Bryce Young (Car, ADP 188 QB23, PROJ QB23)
Young and the Panthers got off to a rough start in Dave Canales’ first season as head coach, but the offense trended up in the back half of 2024. Young threw for TDs in 10 straight games once he was inserted back into the starting lineup in Week 8, tossing 15 total TDs with a 4.7% TD rate during that span. He previously threw for TDs in 8 of his first 18 NFL starts, tossing just 11 TDs with a 1.9% TD rate to begin his career. Young ranked first in hero throw rate (7.8%), fourth in scrambles (30), and eighth in deep throw rate (14.1%) in the final 10 weeks, throwing to the likes of Adam Thielen, Xavier Legette, and Jalen Coker.
Young has a chance to maintain or improve his 4.7% TD rate from the end of last season after the Panthers selected Tetairoa McMillan eighth overall. He scored 18 TDs in his final 25 games at Arizona, and he could become Canales’ new Mike Evans near the end zone at 6’4”, 219 pounds. Young finished the season strong as the QB1 (36.4) in Week 18 and as the QB2 (27.1) in Week 16. He has more rushing upside than expected after running for 6 scores last season, and he’s averaging 2.9 attempts and 17.6 rushing YPG in his first 28 starts. His rushing production took off in the final eight games last season, averaging 3.8 attempts and 26.0 rushing YPG with 5 rushing TDs. Young played with confidence and anticipation at the end of last season, and it carried over into the first preseason game. Young has an outside shot to finish as a top-12 QB if he continues to scramble like he did at the end of last season, and if McMillan can significantly elevate this passing attack as a rookie.
