Every deep league gets won or lost in rounds 10 through 15, and this year’s landscape is stacked with backup running backs stepping into real roles and receivers who quietly climbed their depth charts without anyone outside their own building noticing.
Quick take:
- Top name: Isiah Pacheco
- Why: He’s the clear backup to Jahmyr Gibbs on a Lions offense that runs the ball as well as anyone in football
- The number to watch: $1.81 million fully guaranteed — Detroit’s price tag on locking up Pacheco as Gibbs’ new running mate
None of these names will get you excited on draft day, and that’s exactly the point. Deep league sleepers live in the gap between what a depth chart says on paper and what a coaching staff actually intends to do with a player once the pads come on. This year, that gap is wide at running back and receiver alike, and there are a few names worth circling before your league mates start doing their own homework.
Isiah Pacheco Finally Has a Real Job Again
The Lions moved on from David Montgomery this offseason, trading him to the Houston Texans and immediately turning to Isiah Pacheco as his replacement on a one-year deal worth $1.81 million fully guaranteed. Pacheco slots in as the clear backup to Jahmyr Gibbs, who is ascending into one of the league’s most electric backs and is a near lock for a rich extension at some point. That’s the entire pitch here: Detroit’s offense, coached by Dan Campbell, leans on the run as much as any team in the NFL, and whoever spells Gibbs touches a real workload in a good offense.
Reports out of Lions OTAs in early June pegged Pacheco as the clean No. 2 back behind Gibbs, ahead of Sione Vaki, Jacob Saylors, and Kye Robichaux. He profiles as the short-yardage and power option in that room, which matters in an offense that scores plenty and hands out goal-line work. In deep leagues with flex spots to fill, a handcuff-turned-starter-lite on a top-tier offense is exactly the kind of value that separates a bench from a bye-week life raft.
Ryan Flournoy Has Cemented Himself in Dallas
Ryan Flournoy didn’t even make the Cowboys’ roster out of training camp last year. He worked his way back on, took advantage of injuries ahead of him, and broke out in Week 5 against the Jets — then never gave the WR3 role back. Heading into this training camp, Dallas has him locked in as the clear third option behind CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, a spot that pushed veteran Jalen Tolbert out the door entirely.
What makes Flournoy a legitimate deep league target rather than just camp filler is the offense around him. Reports from this summer’s camp describe him as a primary target for Dak Prescott, and his ability to line up both outside and in the slot gives Brian Schottenheimer’s staff easy ways to get him the ball. He’s also the first receiver up if either Lamb or Pickens misses time, which adds real spike-week upside on top of a steady WR3 role in a pass-heavy Dallas attack.
Flournoy is Dallas’ insurance policy at receiver and its everyday WR3 — a combination that rarely comes this cheap.
In leagues deep enough to roster four or five receivers, that’s a profile worth grabbing in the double-digit rounds rather than hoping he’s still on the waiver wire in Week 3. If you’re testing DFS lineups alongside your season-long roster, a Underdog promo code is worth having in your back pocket for exactly these kinds of value plays.
Jalen Nailor Quietly Became Las Vegas’ Top Receiver
Jalen Nailor spent his first few NFL seasons buried in Minnesota’s receiver room, but he actually out-graded Justin Jefferson’s old running mate Jordan Addison down the stretch before signing with the Raiders. Las Vegas’ offseason approach at receiver was notably light — the team didn’t add a true difference-maker in the draft or free agency — which left the door open for Nailor to step into the lead role. Depth charts entering camp list him ahead of Tre Tucker, Jack Bech, and a rotating cast of Day 3 picks and camp bodies.
He’s not a flashy name, and Las Vegas’ offense carries plenty of question marks of its own heading into the season. But volume is volume, and the best receiver in a middling passing offense still catches enough targets to matter in deep formats — especially with tight end Brock Bowers commanding attention over the middle and opening up space on the perimeter for whoever else is out there running routes.
The Bottom Line
Deep league drafting isn’t about chasing the players everyone already knows — it’s about identifying real roles before the market catches up. Pacheco, Flournoy, and Nailor all share the same trait: a clear, coach-confirmed job in an offense that will generate the volume to make that job matter.
- Isiah Pacheco — locked in as Jahmyr Gibbs’ backup in a run-heavy Lions offense
- Ryan Flournoy — Dallas’ every-down WR3 with spike-week upside if Lamb or Pickens sits
Grab all three late, and don’t be surprised when one of them is starting for you by Week 6.
