The so-called fantasy dead zone can actually yield hidden gems. While others coast through these rounds, you can find league-changing value. I’ll break down 6 players between rounds 5–9 who could win your fantasy league.
Mid-Round Fantasy League Winners
Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers’ wide receiver room is very depleted. They traded away Deebo Samuel. Jauan Jennings & Brandon Aiyuk are hurt. Additionally, DeMarcus Robinson is suspended for the first three games. This all paves the way for Ricky Pearsall to the WR1 position. A position that the 49ers might not have expected him to take on so soon. However, when you draft someone in the 1st round, you certainly have those expectations for the future.
With George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey being the only other two relevant options on the team for at least the first month, Pearsall is in store for a very high target share. I think he’ll do enough to retain the WR1 role even when Jennings returns and Aiyuk, if he makes his way back this year as well. Pearsall was targeted heavily over the last two weeks of the season when both he and Jennings played. Pearsall ended up with better stat lines than Jennings during that time and had 210 yards on 14 catches. The previous weeks before then, Pearsall was still recovering from literally being shot.
When Jennings & Aiyuk are back, it’s going to take a while for them to ease back in, and Pearsall’s targets will continue to increase throughout the year with the connection he’ll build with Brock Purdy. Pearsall enters the season as the 49ers’ WR1, yet isn’t being drafted until rounds 8 and 9, which baffles me. I love him at his ADP and going to be competing for 2025’s fantasy breakout player of the year.
Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Similar to Ricky Pearsall’s situation, Emeka Egbuka is another player who has risen on the draft boards. Chris Godwin’s timetable keeps looking bleaker, and Jalen McMillan landed himself on the IR as well. Egbuka’s only real competition is Mike Evans, who is entering his age-32 season and still kicking. The Buccaneers clearly saw something in him to draft him as early as they did. Egbuka is the future WR1 of this team, and I expect him to overtake that role from Evans after this season.
Even if we saw Godwin back in action at some point, Godwin will be the primary slot receiver for the team. Also, coming off an injury, it’s hard not to put up the stats you previously put up. Egbuka isn’t someone I love early in the year, so if you don’t draft him, that’s okay. Someone who drafts him is likely going to be disappointed after he has a slow start to the year as he learns this offense and what it’s like to be a professional player. I expect Egbuka to see more and more volume as the year goes on, but a quiet start to the year. He’s someone I’m going to try to make a trade with the owner who drafted him, if I wasn’t fortunate enough to get him myself.
George Pickens, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Going from the WR1 on a team to a WR2 does not scream as someone I’d want to take in my fantasy leagues. But George Pickens is currently going in the 5th/6th rounds in the draft and could be the best WR2 in football. He should be drafted before guys like Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, Xavier Worthy, and Jameson Williams.
Pickens has finished the last 3 years as WR42, WR30, and WR39 in PPR formats. All of this was done in a run-heavy offense with a carousel of quarterbacks, including Kenny Pickett & Mason Rudolph. Pickens is now in an offense with Dak Prescott, someone who has put up over 4,000 yards in a season 3 times in his career. The Cowboys also had the 6th highest pass percentage last season, compared to the Steelers with the 5th lowest pass percentage. The Cowboys don’t have a running game, so I expect that number to be even higher this year. I’m not worried about CeeDee Lamb dampening his target share as there will be plenty of targets to go around.
Tet McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers
Tet McMillan is currently being ranked as the WR24 off the board, 7 spots ahead of fellow rookie Travis Hunter. I don’t love Carolina, but I love Tet McMillan. The Panthers drafted Tet for a reason, and in training camp, Bryce Young has already made an instant connection with Tet. Last year’s #1 receiver on the team was Adam Thielen, and the Panthers traded him away just a couple of weeks before the season began. Tet is the only option in this receiving room and is in line for a monster season. I’m all-in on Tet and see him finishing well above his ADP in the 5th round. Next year, Tet is going to be drafted in the first 3 rounds in all fantasy drafts.
Calvin Ridley & Tony Pollard, WR & RB, Tennessee Titans
I am lumping both the Tennessee Titans veterans, Calvin Ridley & Tony Pollard, together for this one. Last year with Will Levis & Mason Rudolph under center, Ridley finished as WR28 and Pollard finished as RB21. This was both of their first years in Tennessee, and they dealt with two of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. Ridley’s stats didn’t particularly look great when he only caught 64 of the 120 passes thrown his way. But when you look at those passes, a fair amount were uncatchable as neither quarterback can throw the deep ball. Ridley was targeted 120 times in 2024, which was the 8th highest in the league. Unfortunately, due to quarterback play, only 71 of those targets were considered catchable, 97th highest in the league. He had 64 receptions, meaning he had a 90% catch rate on catchable targets.
This is where Cam Ward comes into play, and he is going to elevate Ridley and this offense to the next level. He’s an immediate upgrade, and Ridley should see more catchable passes thrown his way. I don’t expect his targets to necessarily go up, but his production will. Pollard’s production will also go up with the offense simply being better. Pollard put up over 1,000 yards on the ground last year, but only managed 5 touchdowns. With a better quarterback, this means more red zone drives for the Titans. With more red zone drives, Pollard’s goal-line touches will go up, and in turn, more touchdowns. Both Pollard & Ridley are going around round 7-8 in fantasy drafts, when they should be going as early as round 5 instead.