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 8

Jalen McMillan, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

FanDuel Salary: $4,900

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took some major hits this week, including the loss of both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.

Baker Mayfield and company will storm into an NFC South date with the Atlanta Falcons, and this game still carries plenty of fantasy relevance despite the injuries. The Falcons are favored by 2.5 points in a game that's showing a 45.5-point over/under.

Who will Mayfield throw the ball to this week? Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer, and Cade Otton outline his top options. Otton figures to be popular at his modest $5,200 salary, and he should be -- considering his ability to serve as a target monster and the overall landscape at the TE position in DFS. Our Skyler Carlin lists Trey Palmer as a top deep sleeper pick for Week 8. But McMillan is an intriguing option, too, and he could draw a lower rostership rate than Palmer if the masses flock to the latter's $4,000 salary.

McMillan has earned a 20.4% air yards share and 10.0% red zone target share through five games, so he's been getting some action even with Evans and Godwin in the fold. In Week 1, he was targeted three times for 32 yards and one touchdown.

This past Monday, McMillan (eight) out-targeted Palmer (three) and Sterling Shepard (one), which could be a good sign for what's to come. FanDuel Sportsbook currently has McMillan's receiving line set at a team-high 47.5 yards, another positive indicator for his Week 8 outlook.

Jerry Jeudy, WR, Cleveland Browns

FanDuel Salary: $6,000

Deshaun Watson is out and Jameis Winston is in. With this switch, we can start looking for some DFS juice from the Cleveland Browns.

They'll take on the Baltimore Ravens this weekend and come in as 8.5-point home 'dogs. Baltimore struggles against the pass, sporting numberFire's 29th-ranked schedule-adjusted pass defense, and has surrendered 25.7 points per game (sixth-most in NFL) this season. Add in the high likelihood of Cleveland being entrenched in a negative game script, and it's easy to see some potential in their wideout room this week.

Let's look for Jerry Jeudy to make something happen.

Jeudy has earned a 16.9% target share, 31.1% air yards share, 27.3% red zone target share, and 38.5% end zone target share this campaign. Those are awesome market shares, and although it has amounted to just 266 yards and one touchdown, we've gotta keep a few things in mind.

Amari Cooper is gone, and so is his 27.3% target share, 46.9% air yards share, and 18.8% red zone target share. Watson posted -0.19 Net Expected Points added per pass attempt, the worst mark among QBs who have thrown for at least 200 attempts this season. Winston is no savior, but we can trust him to sling it considering the circumstances heading into this one.

Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers

FanDuel Salary: $5,200

The San Francisco 49ers are another team that hasn't been spared from the injury bug. Brandon Aiyuk is out for the season after tearing his ACL and MCL. In addition, Jordan Mason, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Jauan Jennings are all on San Francisco's injury report, and none of them practiced on Wednesday, save for Mason, who was limited.

Kittle will likely be good to go, but if either of Samuel or Jennings is out, we might need to be on Ricky Pearsall.

The Niners selected Pearsall with the 31st pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He sustained an unfortunate gunshot wound in the offseason but made his rookie debut for the team this past Sunday. He was targeted five times last week, amounting to a 16.1% target share and a 20.0% share if we remove Aiyuk's looks.

San Francisco will host the Dallas Cowboys this weekend. Even with Aiyuk out and Samuel's and Jennings' statuses up in the air, the Niners still have a hearty 25.5-point implied team total.

The Cowboys own a 25th-ranked schedule-adjusted pass defense. They've let up 149.5 yards (10th-most) and 18.50 targets (11th-most) per game to opposing wide receivers. To add, Dallas is ceding the fifth-most yards per pass attempt (7.9) and will be missing key defensive players this week, including Demarcus Lawrence and potentially Micah Parsons (ankle).

Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos

FanDuel Salary: $6,000

Perhaps Javonte Williams will draw some popularity after going for a season-high 24.6 FanDuel points in Week 7. We've also got some great salary-saving sleeper options at WR, so the masses may have the salary for the top RBs this week..

However, Williams could explode this Sunday, and his potential to go overlooked in comparison to his high ceiling should put him on our sleeper radar.

The Denver Broncos will meet up with the Carolina Panthers, who are starting Bryce Young. In turn, the Broncos are favored by a massive 10.5 points on their home field.

Carolina struggles on D and has numberFire's second-worst schedule-adjusted rush defense. They've let up 133.29 rushing yards (most), 1.86 rushing touchdowns (most), and 4.71 yards per carry (12th-most) to opposing running backs this season.

That puts Williams in a good spot to achieve yardage and scores. On top of that, the Broncos are expected to be in a positive game script, something that would likely favor Williams.

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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.