Top 5 Dynasty Fantasy Football Wide Receivers to Stash: WR Sleepers and Draft Targets (2025)

John's backup wide receivers to target and draft in dynasty fantasy football. His top NFL stashes, sleepers, and draft values for 2025: Kyle Williams, Josh Downs, and Pat Bryant.

It's a pretty fantastic feeling to draft a backup wide receiver in dynasty fantasy football, stash him on your bench for whatever time needed, and see him break out and eventually have a great career in the NFL. It's not always easy to get players like this on your roster, though.

It's even better when that player breaks out in their first season and immediately becomes an impact player for your team. Of course, it's even harder to find players like this. In this article, though, I'll break down at least one player that I think will immediately be a must-start, even in redraft leagues.

Obviously, after a few years in the league, we generally get a good idea of what players are like. Big breakouts in the fourth seasons and beyond are much less common than they are in the first three seasons, so we'll primarily be focusing on young players here. Let's dive in!

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Kyle Williams, New England Patriots

Well, I wouldn't say that Williams will be a stash for long. For now, he might feel that way to a lot of fantasy managers, because of the presence of Stefon Diggs (knee) -- who the Patriots shelled out a lot of cash for. But according to my analysis, Williams will quickly emerge as the team's primary wide receiver.

He's extremely talented and highly underrated right now. Going to "smaller" schools like Washington State University and suffering from terrible quarterback play tends to do that to receivers, though. Williams is a fantastic athlete with a polished and outstanding skill set as a WR.

Patriots WR Kyle Williams will THRIVE in the NFL for 3 main reasons:

1. Release Package
2. Route-Running/Separation
3. YAC Ability

See what I mean in the video below… https://t.co/y0fcfIKZX1 pic.twitter.com/Dichgdi3cP

— SCOUTD (@scoutdnfl) May 19, 2025

Diggs is 31 and will turn 32 years old in November, and he tore his ACL last season. It's not yet known if he'll be ready for Week 1, and even if he is, he'll probably be quite far from his old self. Williams will have an immediate chance to build rapport with quarterback Drake Maye.

He can do so with his excellent route-running abilities and release package, highlighted in the above video. He should start earning significant targets pretty much immediately, and will have plenty of time to polish his game even further.

The last point is essential. Williams is a demon with the ball in his hands, so he should earn targets as the Patriots' best screen pass threat. Josh McDaniels, New England's offensive coordinator, will surely be scheming up plays to get him into space.

This Kyle Williams rep at the Senior Bowl is just filthy man

Cooks the defender TWICE on the same route..

1,196 Yards and 14 TD’s this year btw

92nd Percentile 40 Time (4.40) ain’t bad

..and now he gets paired with Drake Maye

Kyle Williams is coming for that WR1 role in NE pic.twitter.com/N8RIlp3jZX

— Austin Abbott (@AustinAbbottFF) May 9, 2025

But an underrated aspect of his game, and one that makes his landing spot even better, is his ability to beat defenders down the field and haul in deep passes. Maye excels with the deep ball and even tricked a lot of fantasy managers into thinking Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte was breaking out toward the end of 2024.

kyle williams game speed is very real pic.twitter.com/gCy4EbjqvC

— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) April 4, 2025

Of particular note is how he excelled at adjusting to underthrown passes, which are a commonplace thing in the NFL. He does a great job of tracking both underthrows and accurate passes, and when the balls are a bit short, he generally gets a head start in working back to it and boxing out the defensive back covering him.

To me, his tape shows that he's the best Patriots WR at basically everything right now. Gaining quick separation and maintaining it downfield, having a good release package, being great after the catch, and having the speed to win downfield tend to do that to a guy.

Jaylin Noel, Houston Texans

I don't love the landing spot for Noel, but I absolutely love the player. Drafting based on talent, despite a situation that might limit their production early on in their careers, is a much better choice in dynasty leagues than betting on a subpar talent in a good situation.

Noel is an elite athlete -- he ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash and had the highest vertical jump of all offensive players in the draft at a ridiculous 41.5 inches. These athletic traits show up all over his tape, where he dominated in his final season and improved every year of college.

Jaylin Noel, Travis Hunter, and Tre Harris are my three favorite "ball attackers" from this draft. Drake London-esque. This is what you want to see from a jump-ball winner pic.twitter.com/OR62dtYyUf

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 20, 2025

Noel's game is built around attacking. Attacking leverage angles in coverage, attacking the ball in the air, and attacking defenders with his elite strength to get open. Noel pairs fantastic strength with his athleticism. He logged 23 bench press reps at the combine, which was four more than the next-best wide receiver.

Jaylin Noel with a slot role is a league-winner in year 1. He's too strong, too quick, too elusive, and too fast for slot corners to cover. Good luck throwing him off his routes. Slot fade monster. pic.twitter.com/ANZjADKbXO

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 20, 2025

Despite mostly playing in the slot, he has the skills to win on the outside. He's able to beat press coverage pretty handily. He's the fastest receiver on the team right now, and is pretty underrated picking up yards after the catch, so I wouldn't be surprised if Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley schemes up designed touches for him.

Jaylin Noel 🌪️

Perfect compliment to Xavier Legette & Jalen Coker pic.twitter.com/3EDl2njCqo

— Keep Purring Podcast (Ben) (@KeepPurringBen) April 19, 2025

There are shades of Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua to his game -- he sometimes makes absurd adjustments to passes in the air to make what should be incompletions into catches.

Jaylin Noel vertical targets pic.twitter.com/F72rZXKW5v

— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) April 5, 2025

I'm not particularly fond of the landing spot. Nico Collins, Jayden Higgins, and Christian Kirk, along with Noel, make for a very crowded WR room. But extreme talent tends to earn prominent roles, so I love drafting Noel and stashing him for now.

Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts

Who knows how long it will take for the Colts' quarterback situation to work itself out? It's obvious right now, for those who haven't fully buried their heads in the sand, that QB Anthony Richardson is not the answer. He is an inaccurate quarterback on what should be the easiest throws in the game.

Anthony Richardson was unrivaled for worst short accuracy from a clean pocket in the NFL in 2024 https://t.co/HK6sLFo14T pic.twitter.com/RD7cQBqbjI

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) May 19, 2025

Even with clean pockets, Richardson couldn't hit the broad side of a barn on many of his short pass attempts. Downs languished as a result -- while he had a few big games, the film showed far too many misses, and he performed much better with a 39-year-old Joe Flacco throwing him passes.

Downs should get an immediate upgrade if Daniel Jones wins the QB1 job. With Richardson dealing with yet another injury to his throwing shoulder, that could happen as soon as Week 1 in 2025. Downs will almost certainly have better and more consistent performances as a result.

josh downs. very good at football pic.twitter.com/oqivYFnM5y

— Football Fan (@J_rich_10) June 18, 2025

The data and film indicate that Downs is a very good separator on short and intermediate routes. He's a fluid mover with a good release package that can be a great safety blanket and chain-mover for a quarterback that doesn't somehow miss five-yard routes by five yards.

At some point, perhaps the Colts can land a better quarterback. But even if they don't, Downs is an excellent value at his current price -- ranked as the WR40 overall, he could easily finish as a WR2 this season with competent quarterback play.

Pat Bryant, Denver Broncos

It's pretty clear that Bryant will take a back seat to WR Courtland Sutton in 2025, and likely beyond. Even though he was somewhat of a surprise pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, he's a big, physical receiver on a team that won't have much target competition outside of Sutton.

The Marvin Mims Jr., truthers won't like it, but Mims has had three seasons now to become a featured player in that offense, and doesn't have much more than a few long reception plays, many against busted coverages, to show for it. He's been inefficient.

People are drafting Pat Bryant at the end of the 4th round... Target him in your rookie drafts! pic.twitter.com/3UsJrK1dTw

— Dynasty Nerds (@DynastyNerds) May 17, 2025

On film, Bryant compares decently well with Carolina Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan. Both are slower than average, but have good size and solid movement skills, and can high-point passes. For Bryant, the situation is a bit better.

I know I preached about taking talent over situation in the Noel section, but having quarterback Bo Nix and head coach Sean Payton likely tied to the team for significant time is a huge, huge plus. Bryant might take time to come along, as he's still a bit raw as a prospect, but given time, stashing him should pay off.

Deep Stash: Dont'e Thornton Jr., Las Vegas Raiders

The two biggest reasons you should stash Thornton are his size and athleticism combo, and the fact that he played with a bad quarterback in 2024. He's 6-foot-5, one inch taller than McMillan, and ran a ridiculous 4.30-second 40-yard dash. While he's not as skilled a player as Brian Thomas Jr., the upside argument is similar.

Thomas was seen as a raw prospect coming out of college, but his absurd combination of size, length, acceleration, and top speed made him a great upside player to draft. That paid off very quickly.

Thornton seems to be heading for a prominent role in the Raiders' offense in his rookie year.

3 players in NFL history to be 6’5” and run a 4.3

Calvin Johnson
Randy Moss
Donte Thornton Jr

End of list https://t.co/s3wybEpll7 pic.twitter.com/D23NM24HVQ

— ShifftttyyyQB1🏴‍☠️ (@raiders1022) June 10, 2025

Even if Thornton never develops as a great route-runner or separator, he will have value as long as a solid quarterback is throwing him the ball. He seems set to step into a prototypical "X" receiver role -- the Raiders are lacking in such a player this season.

Taking tall, obscenely fast receivers at very low prices is a good strategy.

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