Have skills, need opportunity: 10 fantasy football picks who just need a chance to shine

Draft skills, not opportunities.

We repeat the mantra frequently in our columns and videos at ESPN Fantasy, as the most skilled players usually have a way of working themselves into prominent positions. These fast risers often play significant parts in deciding fantasy football leagues, thanks to their combination of sky-high upside and low acquisition cost.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson is a prime example from last season. He was at best the team's No. 3 option at the onset of the season, behind a pair of target magnets in Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. He was an almost complete nonfactor in fantasy drafts, selected in fewer than 10% of ESPN leagues. Then, because of an injury to Harrison in Week 10 as well as Jacoby Brissett's emergence as the team's quarterback, Wilson scored the second-most fantasy points among wide receivers over the season's final nine weeks (169.5), Wilson was also one of the most-rostered players among ESPN Fantasy championship teams.

As you make your lists of late-round sleepers or early-season pickup candidates, including a few players in similar situations to Wilson's can prove wise.

This isn't to say that a fantasy football manager should entirely construct a team, or even merely its bench, around upside plays lacking in opportunity. After all, players who don't play can't help your team. For example, we've all been waiting for three years for Denver Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. to pop, and to date he has only seven games with 10 or more fantasy points and just eight with five or more targets. Mims now enters this season in a receivers room that's as cluttered as ever.

To help guide these picks, Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft have selected their favorite candidates to turn their intriguing skill sets into prominent roles for their NFL teams. None of the 10 names that follow are being selected among the top 100 picks in fantasy football drafts, but every one has the upside to make a major difference for your team at some point.

Elijah Arroyo, TE, Seattle Seahawks

AJ Barner is the No. 1 tight end in Seattle, and veteran Eric Saubert is in the mix, too. That isn't surprising given the NFL's move toward more two- and three-tight-end personnel groupings. It's Arroyo, however, who has the receiving skills to elevate to the top spot if Barner were to miss significant time.

Arroyo had a quiet rookie season, catching 15 of 25 targets for 175 yards and a score, but if he does see his role expand in Year 2, Arroyo has the skills to be a multiple-level route runner in the Seahawks' offense. I remember watching Arroyo during the 2025 Senior Bowl week down in Mobile, Alabama. He was an easy mover on the field, a matchup player in the pass game. He looked like a pro, and if he does find that opportunity this season, Arroyo would fit as a top streaming option (and maybe even more). -- Bowen

Jaydon Blue, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Blue played in only five games as a rookie, seeing his most action in Week 18 versus the New York Giants, with both teams just playing out the schedule. Blue rushed 16 times for 64 yards with a touchdown in that one, finishing the season with 38 carries (3.4 yards per carry) and one reception.

So, why are we writing about him here? Because I see pro traits with Blue, and he has a path to win the No. 2 role behind Javonte Williams in a Dallas offense that scores points.

Remember, Blue clocked a 4.38 40-yard dash at the combine. He can roll. Despite his limited usage as a receiver last season, Blue showed on his college tape at Texas that he can create matchup issues versus linebackers on backfield releases. Let's see how it shakes out in Cowboys camp with Blue, because he could be worth a late-round pick in PPR formats. -- Bowen

Jonathon Brooks, RB, Carolina Panthers

Perhaps "needs better injury luck" is a better descriptor for Brooks, who through two seasons has appeared in three games, bookended by a pair of ACL reconstruction surgeries. In those games, he played 22 offensive snaps, not even half a starter's typical workload, and scored 7.5 fantasy points. It didn't scrape the surface of the three-down ability he flashed while totaling 1,425 yards and 11 touchdowns in his final college season.

Brooks entered training camp this year completely healthy for the first time, and his early first-team reps are a signal that the Panthers still think highly of him. Emerging ahead of Chuba Hubbard, who mostly took a back seat to Rico Dowdle during the second half of 2025, is a realistic outcome. -- Cockcroft

Pat Bryant, WR, Denver Broncos

I wrote about Bryant multiple times last season because I really like the player and the offensive fit in Denver. But the Broncos traded for Jaylen Waddle to play opposite Courtland Sutton, so that's a crowded wide receivers room for new playcaller Davis Webb.

Bryant did show flashes as a rookie by catching 31 passes and positing two games with 12 or more fantasy points. He can play as a power slot, plus at 6-foot-2, Bryant will make plays in tight quarters on the boundary. Simply put, he has the traits to be a productive player in deeper formats if he can find an opening to jump into the wide receiver rotation on a consistent basis this season. -- Bowen

Ryan Flournoy, WR, Dallas Cowboys

It might seem like a fool's errand to expect fantasy production from anyone down a depth chart headed by CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens (and in an offense with a productive, pass-catching tight end in Jake Ferguson), but such is our exercise. Flournoy is a plenty talented receiver in his own right, and one who could seamlessly step into one of the game's more well-rounded offenses if injuries arise.

The evidence is already there: Flournoy averaged 12.0 fantasy points behind 64% route participation and a 19% target share in the six games last season in which Lamb played fewer than half the snaps or sat entirely. -- Cockcroft

Keaton Mitchell, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

I'm all-in on the Chargers' run game under new coordinator Mike McDaniel. It'll feature more two-back sets, motion, movement and blocking angles to gain leverage for the runner. That's why I have the Chargers' top back, Omarion Hampton, listed as a breakout candidate. But this also creates opportunity for Mitchell, if he can earn the No. 2 role in the backfield.

At 5-foot-8 and 191 pounds, Mitchell lacks the frame to hammer the ball between the tackles at a consistent rate. However, as a change-of-pace runner with dual-threat ability who could see a bump in volume if Hampton went down with an injury? There's no doubt he can be productive.

Mitchell is an explosive runner (18.6% of his career carries have gone for 10 or more yards) and he averaged 6.3 yards per carry over his first three years in the league with Baltimore. Plus, he gives the Chargers some juice as a receiver in McDaniel's running back route tree. Mitchell is a name to monitor during camp as he competes with Kimani Vidal for that backup role. -- Bowen

Jaylin Noel, WR, Houston Texans

Noel had a forgettable rookie campaign, as he had a 6.3% target share, was outperformed in fantasy points by 91 other wide receivers and took a back seat in passing-game focus to Jayden Higgins, who was selected a round earlier than him in the 2025 NFL draft. While the Texans' depth chart order remains the same, Noel's quickness and run-after-the-catch ability could earn him an eventual space in the starting lineup or perhaps regular work out of the slot.

Noel totaled 23.0 fantasy points as a fill-in while Nico Collins was injured in Weeks 6 and 7, and he caught a 43-yard touchdown pass in Week 17. That the Texans didn't bulk up at wide receiver speaks well of their regard for Noel's future, and while the finger injury that landed him on the active/non-football injury list at the onset of training camp might seem worrisome, it's not expected to cost him significant time. -- Cockcroft

Isaac TeSlaa, WR, Detroit Lions

TeSlaa will need either Amon-Ra St. Brown or Jameson Williams to miss time for a steady opportunity to arise in the Lions' pass game. But think about this: In limited work as a rookie last season, TeSlaa caught 16 of 27 targets for 239 yards with six touchdowns.

TeSlaa can go up and get the ball with his 6-foot-4 frame in scoring situations, as he caught all six of his touchdowns on end zone targets. Sure, he is more of a linear route runner, but you can scheme for that out of perimeter and slot alignments. TeSlaa can stretch the seams, uncover deep, work the intermediate areas and continue to develop on slants and unders to provide a quick outlet for quarterback Jared Goff.

Want a player comp for TeSlaa? I think his game is very similar to Indianapolis' Alec Pierce. So, let's keep the second-year wide receiver on the radar. There's potential upside here in one of the league's most explosive offenses. -- Bowen

Sean Tucker, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

He'll play an important role in what will likely be a committee-oriented backfield, but let's face it, Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell are the ones everyone regards as the Buccaneers' go-to backs. That said, Tucker has a potentially critical advantage over either as the best fit to be a power back.

Tucker also had the best single-game score of any of the three last season, with 34.0 fantasy points as a Week 11 injury fill-in for Irving. While I do believe in an Irving rebound, this is one of those backfields where anything goes, and it's one from which it's worth drafting three deep. -- Cockcroft

Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Often overlooked as a member of the Green Bay Packers' spread-it-around receiver room over three NFL seasons, Wicks now moves to Philadelphia, where opportunity -- and a prospective path to prominence -- is clearer. Makai Lemon is projected to start alongside DeVonta Smith, but in the event the rookie struggles to pick up the playbook, or should the hamstring issues that cost Smith time in 2024 resurface, Wicks is a plenty useful plug-in.

In 10 games in which he ran at least 20 routes the past two seasons, Wicks averaged 9.8 fantasy points with a 19% target share, including a 28.0-point outburst in Week 13 of last season while both Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed were sidelined. -- Cockcroft