Everyone knows the most exciting part of fantasy football is the draft. But the draft is only the first step when it comes to building a championship roster. Managing your roster during the season via trades and waivers is crucial. With that in mind, it's never too early to get a jump on thinking through who our fantasy football sleepers who could be early-season waiver targets.

To qualify for this list, the player must have an ADP of 168 or later (12 teams x 14 roster spots = 168 drafted players) in the current ESPN ADP list. Of course, with the season just under two months away, these ADPs will shift as more drafts occur. Some players on this list may not qualify once we get closer to the season, but the good news is that we'll still have you covered with everything you'll need to crush waivers this season.

Before we dive in, I want to highlight two of the most important tools for my waiver process. The first, of course, is our waiver wire tool, which is super helpful for figuring out which players to bid on and how much to bid (which is something I always struggle with). If you want to get the most out of the waiver wire tool, you can sync your league to get personalized advice. 

The other tool  I use all the time when evaluating waiver wire targets is the Utilization Report data, particularly the game log section. Being able to see game-by-game usage trends for every player on every team is incredibly valuable when trying to stay one step ahead of your league mates and add a player before they truly break out and require a huge FAAB bid. 

Chuba Hubbard - RB, Panthers

It's difficult to get too excited about the Panthers offense in 2024, but there are reasons to at least keep an eye on their backfield early in the season. I do expect Jonathon Brooks to be the feature back by the end of the year, but he is still recovering from a November ACL tear, and Carolina has no reason to rush him back. 

New HC Dave Canales has also made it clear that the Panthers will be a run-first offense in 2024. With significant additions to their offensive line, Carolina has a shot to be a much more functional offense this season, which would bode well for their RB production. Even though they gave Miles Sanders a decent contract last offseason, he was an unmitigated disaster in 2023 and Chuba Hubbard emerged as the most effective back and handled most of the work from Week 8 on. 

It's not a guarantee but I expect Hubbard to remain the primary ball carrier early this season so any signs of life from the Panthers offense will make him a waiver wire priority for me. Brooks may very well take over this backfield during the second half of the season but if I can get 8+ weeks of a starting RB off of waivers that will be a big boost, particularly with the WR-heavy rosters I generally advocate for drafting.

Kimani Vidal - RB, Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers are one of the most ambiguous backfield situations entering 2024. Gus Edwards is nominally the starter, but he has always been in a committee — his 198 carries last season marked a career high by a wide margin. J.K. Dobbins is the most talented RB on the roster, but there are serious doubts that he will ever return to his former self after multiple devastating injuries. Dobbins also only got $50,000 in guaranteed money on his deal, so he isn't even a lock to make the roster. That makes sixth-round rookie Kimani Vidal one of the most intriguing Day 3 picks from the NFL Draft because he actually has a path to early-season production. 

Vidal will be a player to keep an eye on all season — any upward trend in his snap share and rush attempt share will make him a coveted waiver wire add. He is one of the players I will be checking Utilization Report data for on a weekly basis because I want to be a week or two early on adding him to my rosters.

Don't be surprised if positive training camp reports make Vidal ineligible for this list in a few weeks, in which case he will become one of my favorite late-round sleeper targets. 

Dontayvion Wicks - WR, Packers

One of the most discussed players on fantasy football Twitter (X?) this offseason, Dontayvion Wicks flashed real upside during his rookie season. Although he didn't run a ton of routes, his 2.04 YPRR and 5.6 yards after catch per reception were very strong efficiency numbers. He also showed legit route running skills that have him poised to take a big leap in his second season.

The Packers WR room is crowded, and it is very difficult to project the pecking order for targets in this offense, but I firmly believe that the ADP gap between Wicks and the higher drafted Packers WRs is too wide. His 20% targets per route run in 2023 was second-best on the team, and his 30% target rate on play-action passes was best among Green Bay WRs. 

I do have some concern that the Packers WR room will be a full blown committee with very spread out target shares, but there is so much upside in this offense that any WR who emerges at the top of the target pecking order could be a true league winner. 

Keep an eye on the snap shares for Green Bay WRs in the early weeks and if we see Wicks anywhere near 70% he should be a high priority waiver add.

Ja'Lynn Polk - WR, Patriots

The New England WR room is wide open for someone to emerge as the top target. Veterans like Kendrick Bourne and K.J. Osborn provide a certain floor but don't have an exciting ceiling in their range of outcomes. Younger players like DeMario Douglas and rookies Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker offer much more upside. For my money, I think Polk is the most talented of this group and should establish himself as the top target rather quickly.

The nice thing is that the general pessimism about the Patriots offense: You shouldn't need to spend draft capital on any of them. Just wait to see who is on the field the most and commanding targets through the first couple weeks of the regular season. 

Despite being most excited about Polk, I would be willing to be aggressive in acquiring any of Polk, Baker or Douglas if they appear to be the favorite target for whichever QB is under center in New England. If the Patriots begin the season with Jacoby Brissett as their starter, keep an eye on how the target distribution changes when Drake Maye gets his shot — we could see the rookie elevate a different pass catcher, which could make him a valuable waiver wire addition whenever that time comes.

Noah Fant - TE, Seahawks

If you've been playing fantasy football for a few years, chances are you've been burned by Noah Fant at least once. Despite never having the breakout season many expected, he has still been decently productive, averaging 561 receiving yards per season so far in his career.

The reason Fant is largely off of the fantasy radar this year is because he didn't score a single receiving TD in 2023. However, he scored three or four TDs in every season prior to that. Entering 2024, there are multiple reasons to be excited about Fant's prospects for fantasy football. Seattle cleared out his competition by letting Colby Parkinson leave in free agency and releasing Will Dissly. They also gave Fant a meaningful contract to be their starter.

These moves should ensure that Fant is the clear top TE in Seattle's passing game, but he will still have a good amount of target competition in the form of DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The good news is that the Seahawks should have a more dynamic passing game in 2024 thanks to new OC Ryan Grubb.

I want to be in on all aspects of this Seattle offense because the combination of talent and new scheme could help them make a big leap this season. Fant is the cheapest of their weapons and should be on the radar for fantasy managers in the early weeks, especially if you aren't able to land an elite TE on draft day.