Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 1 of the 2023 NFL Season

Week 1 of the new fantasy football season is finally upon us. As usual, the injury bug, among other things, has cast some uncertainty on the first slate of games. It hasn’t just been injuries, though. Contract holdouts and hold-ins have cast a shadow in places like Indianapolis and Kansas City. Notably, one Travis Kelce.

If you drafted too early, there’s a good chance the Jonathan Taylor holdout has thrown you for a loop. Even if you drafted more recently, there’s a good chance the Kelce injury has managers scrambling.

So, what to do? You can scour the waiver wire and roll the dice on undrafted players, or you can try to swing a pre-season trade. Or you can follow our advice and take a good, hard look at the sleepers in this column. Most of these players should be available on waivers, and all have the potential to play meaningful roles as early as Week 1.

Here are five players at various positions with good, low-key sleeper options for Week 1.

5. Evan Hull (RB) Indianapolis Colts

The Taylor saga has been quite the buzzkill in Indianapolis. The team’s refusal to extend the talented player and his subsequent inability to find a trade partner has led the team to put Taylor on the PUP list. Ultimately, rendering him inactive for the first four weeks of the 2023 NFL season.

To cloudy matters further, Zack Moss, the defacto next man up, is still recovering from a pre-season injury. That leaves the team with rookie fifth-round pick Evan Hull and veteran Deon Jackson. The team has indicated they will go with a “hot hand” approach, so why are we going with Hull over Jackson?

Hull is currently owned in 5% of Yahoo leagues and 13% on ESPN, per FantasyPros. This makes Hull virtually free, and free is always good. As a cheap DFS play or a short-term, free dart throw, Hull is good value. If he gets hot, he could seize a sizable share in the backfield until the Taylor mess shakes out.

4. Puka Nacua (WR) Los Angeles Rams

While I don’t usually get excited about fifth-round receivers, Puka Nacua may be a notable exception. The BYU product has already gained the trust of coach Sean McVay, and with the Cooper Kupp injury, a clear path is available for Nacua to contribute as soon as Week 1.

Nacua is virtually unrostered across ESPN and Yahoo leagues and is the very definition of a sleeper. Opportunity often trumps talent, but when you have both, as well as the trust of the head coach, good things can happen. Nacua is another deep dive that can be plugged into a DFS lineup for cheap and started as a Flex or WR3 option.

Certainly, a wide receiver corp of Van Jefferson, Nacua, and Tutu Atwell isn’t ideal, but if you are already scouring waivers then you could do worse than Nacua.

3. Jaleel McLaughlin (RB) Denver Broncos

The Broncos brought in former Bengal Samaje Perine to be the third down back. Additionally, he could even be an early season starter until incumbent Javonte Williams is fully ready following his ACL injury.

What the Broncos didn’t expect was Jaleel McLaughlin to be ready to contribute at the NFL level. Yet, here we are. The Youngstown State star impressed in camp with his elite-level speed and inside/outside ability, despite his smallish frame. More importantly, new coach Sean Payton seems enamored with McLaughlin and appears ready to give him work in Week 1.

Considering McLaughlin is only owned in 1% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues, savvy and desperate owners should snag him in case Williams is eased in more slowly than expected.

2. Irv Smith (TE) Cincinnati Bengals

Is it finally time for Irv Smith Jr. to deliver on his second-round potential? It’s now or never for the 25-year-old Smith, as Cincinnati brought him in on a “prove it” deal to replace the departed Hayden Hurst.

Smith has always had a tantalizing upside for fantasy purposes. He can run and has shown good hands. However, the problem has been availability. With Minnesota, Smith missed 2021 with a torn meniscus and was hampered by a high ankle sprain for most of 2022.

If Smith can stay on the field, Bengal quarterback Joe Burrow has shown a willingness to feed his tight end, albeit in small bites. However, if you are trying to find a last-minute replacement for Week 1 for Kelce, small bites might be enough to get you by.

Smith is only owned in 12% of Yahoo leagues and 7% of ESPN leagues, so if you find yourself in dire straights at the position this week, he could bail you out short-term.

1. Salvon Ahmed (RB) Miami Dolphins

Talk about sleeper city! Salvon Ahmed has been mostly forgotten about in Miami with the three-ring circus of Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., and rookie De’Von Achane, but reports indicate that Ahmed is currently set to serve as the RB 2 Week 1 for the Dolphins.

While this could mean nothing, and the game could turn into a full-blown quagmire of a timeshare, would anyone be surprised if Mostert sustained an injury? After all, the dude is on the wrong side of 30 and has a rather lengthy history. Not to mention, it’s worth stashing Ahmed in your dynasty fantasy football leagues.

It usually isn’t good business to count on an injury. However, with Achane still nursing a shoulder and Mostert likely to see moderate volume, at best, Ahmed could be in for a double-digit touch game.

He has never been flashy, but when the 24-year-old has been given opportunities, he has delivered. Ahmed is a whopping zero percent owned on Yahoo, and 1% on ESPN, so he can be gotten for essentially no FAAB. As a bargain basement DFS play and a Flex fill in, Ahmed embodies exactly what a sleeper is. If you need a deep play, pick up Ahmed and hope to weather Week 1.

There you have five very deep sleepers for Week 1. Hopefully, if you need to pick any of these players up for a cheap DFS play or a desperation Week 1 lineup filler, they will hit for you! If not, then take your loss, lick your wounds, and relax, knowing you didn’t spend much FAAB for any of these guys, and move on to Week 2!

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