Each year, we try to quench your thirst for fantasy football sleepers and cheat sheets to get you ready for your drafts. For the past several years, we have given you direct access to Adam Schefter's personal list of early-, mid- and late-round targets. Before being published by ESPN Fantasy, this list was one he would share only with friends and family. Now it has become an annual tradition exclusively for ESPN+ subscribers -- because any friend of fantasy is a friend of Adam's.
Below are some players I feel pretty strongly about this season. Obviously, these aren't the only ones I think will excel in 2023, but I believe these players have a real chance to outperform their current draft value. If given a choice at certain junctures in the draft, or in a tiebreaker situation, these are players who will receive strong consideration.
I am in one 12-team league, in which some of these players will not need to be drafted, and one 16-team league, in which some of them might be more valuable. But again, these are players I believe hold strong value relative to their ADPs (as of Aug. 27) and are poised to have productive seasons.
I hope this list proves helpful. Good luck this season!
Quarterback
Early rounds
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (14.1 ADP, QB1)
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (20.8, QB2)
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (22.8, QB3)
Middle rounds
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (32.7, QB4)
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (46.6, QB6)
Justin Fields, Chicago Bears (50.3, QB7)
Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns (77.6, QB9)
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (100.2, QB11)
Late rounds
Daniel Jones, New York Giants (120.6, QB14)
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks(129.9, QB15)
Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos (144.6, QB17)
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (162.7, QB22)
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (167.2, QB24)
Sam Howell, Washington Commanders (169.5, QB28)
Running back
Early rounds
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers (4.4, RB1)
Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers (4.9, RB2)
Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns (14.5, RB6)
Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys (15.5, RB7)
Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers (35.7, RB13)
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions (36.8, RB14)
Middle rounds
Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks (58.6, RB18)
Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (62.6, RB20)
James Cook, Buffalo Bills (76.0, RB24)
Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears (104.7, RB32)
Brian Robinson Jr., Washington Commanders (111.6, RB34)
Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks (145.0, RB42)
Late rounds
Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers (157.2, RB45)
Raheem Mostert, Miami Dolphins (157.7, RB46)
Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars (166.9, RB48)
Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles (168.6, RB52)
Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams (Undrafted)
Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns (Undrafted)
Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys (Undrafted)
Tyrion Davis-Price, San Francisco 49ers (Undrafted)
Wide receiver
Early rounds
Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals (3.0, WR2)
CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys (16.8, WR7)
Garrett Wilson, New York Jets (18.6, WR8)
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions (21.8, WR10)
Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins (27.1, WR11)
Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints (30.7, WR14)
DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles (32.5, WR15)
Middle rounds
Calvin Ridley, Jacksonville Jaguars (40.9, WR17)
Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers (54.8, WR21)
DJ Moore, Chicago Bears (65.4, WR24)
Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers (85.6, WR30)
George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers (87.5, WR31)
Brandin Cooks, Dallas Cowboys (100.3, WR36)
Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos (106.4, WR37)
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks (106.6, WR38)
Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders (108.5, WR39)
Late rounds
Skyy Moore, Kansas City Chiefs (116.4, WR43)
Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings (116.9, WR44)
JuJu Smith-Schuster, New England Patriots (120.7, WR45)
Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens (121.1, WR46)
Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders (125.5, WR48)
Elijah Moore, Cleveland Browns (149.0, WR55)
Kadarius Toney, Kansas City Chiefs (156.0, WR58)
Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers (Undrafted)
Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals (Undrafted)
Tight end
Early rounds
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (5.6, TE1)
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens (33.5, TE2)
Middle rounds
Darren Waller, New York Giants (50.8, TE4)
Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles (70.2, TE7)
Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars (86.4, TE8)
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers (89.0, TE9)
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans (124.5, TE12)
Late rounds
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams (128.7, TE13)
Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills (142.6, TE15)
Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans (159.1, TE16)
Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos (164.4, TE18)
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints (168.7, TE22)
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots (169.7, TE29)
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals (Undrafted)