Fantasy Football: 4 Sleepers for Week 3

The word "sleeper" gets thrown around a lot in the world of fantasy football, to the point where an actual definition may vary from person to person. In general, in my eyes, sleepers are players who may be flying relatively under the radar in a particular field.

In any case, we all need to find a sleeper from time to time. Whether you're a season-long fantasy football manager looking to roster a potential breakout player before your league-mates, someone playing NFL DFS on FanDuel who needs a spike week from a low-salaried player, or even just a manager in a pinch due to byes or injuries, we have you covered.

Here are some fantasy sleepers who could have a big week this week.

We'll reference our NFL projections. All NFL odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

Fantasy Football Sleepers: Week 3

Diontae Johnson, WR, Carolina Panthers

FanDuel Salary: $5,300

Working any member of the Carolina Panthers into your DFS (or season-long) lineup sounds atrocious, but we may need to hear this team out -- just a little bit -- given the surprising and potentially impactful change at quarterback.

Earlier this week, the Panthers announced they are benching Bryce Young in favor of Andy Dalton.

Young had thrown for just 245 total yards via an abysmal 55.3% completion rate through two games, helping Carolina get outscored by a massive 60 points. His league-worst -0.59 EPA per dropback was horrendous enough for the Panthers to put him in timeout.

Dalton won't be the savior that lifts this team to fantasy relevancy, but the only way to go is up. This opens the door for Diontae Johnson to potentially get going on his 2024 season.

Johnson notched 717 yards and 5 touchdowns through 14 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers a season ago. While he became infamous for questionable drops early on in his career, he seems to have worked out the kinks, dropping just three passes in 2023.

The Panthers have been trying to get him involved on offense. Johnson has been afforded a team-high 21.8% target share and has logged 60.0% of red zone targets, though that large percentage is taken from a small number of total opportunities.

Even still, his team-high target share and 89.5% route participation rate make him a candidate to see productive work with Dalton under center. The opposing Las Vegas Raiders enter Sunday as 5.5-point home favorites, though a new-look Carolina offense could perhaps keep this one within striking distance. That would put Johnson in a position to see meaningful late-game work under a pass-heavy game script.

Jalen Nailor, WR, Minnesota Vikings

FanDuel Salary: $5,900

Jalen Nailor's salary is a bit of a reach, but I don't want to ignore what he has been doing and what he could do this weekend given how the Minnesota Vikings enter Week 3.

In Week 1, Nailor caught his sole target for a 21-yard touchdown. In Week 2, he brought in three of his four targets for 54 yards and a touchdown. Jordan Addison was out with an ankle injury in that latter game, providing Nailor with more opportunities than usual.

Addison has not practiced this week, and his status for Week 3 looks shaky. Justin Jefferson (quad) and Aaron Jones (hip) are also on Minnesota's injury report, though we can ride with the assumption that both will be good to go for Sunday.

So long as Addison remains out, Nailor becomes a feasible sleeper option this week.

Sam Darnold has posted the league's third-best passer rating and has managed a 0.135 EPA per dropback (per PFF). He mustered 268 yards and two touchdown passes in the face of a tough San Francisco 49ers pass defense last week. Minnesota's offensive line has allowed Darnold the lengthiest pocket time (2.6 seconds; tied) in the league, leaving him in a spot to chuck it against the Houston Texans this Sunday.

The Texans will provide Darnold and company with a tough challenge, but this game sets up as a potential shootout. Houston is favored by 2.5 points in a contest that features a 45.5 over/under.

Cam Akers, RB, Texans

FanDuel Salary: $4,000

It brings me no joy to report that Cam Akers might have to be on our radar this weekend, but he might have to be on our radar this weekend.

Joe Mixon left Sunday night's game with an ankle injury and has yet to practice as of Thursday. Dameon Pierce (hamstring) has also not practiced this week due to his injury.

In the event that Mixon and Pierce can't go on Sunday -- which seems like a very real possibility -- Akers will slide into a starting role. Dare Ogunbowale will also be around. Ogunbowale has caught all three of his targets for 23 yards this season and is pretty much a shoo-in to take on work in the passing game if the Texans ride with an Akers-Ogunbowale committee.

But Akers is the top candidate to see goal-line work, which means something in a game that is projected to be high-scoring. As of this writing, Akers has -120 odds to score a touchdown (54.5% probability) and +550 odds to score two TDs (15.4% probability)

As a realistic candidate to notch a score or two and potentially log double-digit carries, Akers is a clear salary-saving target.

Carson Steele, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: $5,200

Isiah Pacheco will be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks due to a fibula injury, so we'll probably be sifting through value in Kansas City's backfield -- if there is any -- for the better part of the next couple weeks.

Carson Steele is currently drawing the most attention. The undrafted back turned heads enough to grab a roster spot, and he's already been making in impact at the goal line. Steele has handled nine carries for the team, and if his +130 touchdown odds are any indication, we can feel good about him being the guy at the goal line this weekend.

Steele is in no way expected to be a one-for-one replacement for Pacheco, especially with Kareem Hunt set to join the Chiefs shortly. Samaje Perine should step into some kind of role this Sunday, too, but he's yet to log a carry for the team and will likely be utilized more in the passing game.

If we want to get in on Steele, this week might be the best time to do it. Steele's salary is only $5,200, and Hunt's role might grow as the season progresses.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.