{"id":245231,"date":"2025-09-07T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=245231"},"modified":"2025-09-06T20:17:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T00:17:03","slug":"week-1-fantasy-football-sleepers-mims-thornton-rodriguez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/09\/07\/week-1-fantasy-football-sleepers-mims-thornton-rodriguez\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 1 Sleepers: Marvin Mims, Dont’e Thornton Jr and Chris Rodriguez Jr"},"content":{"rendered":"

Week 1 Fantasy Football Sleepers 2025<\/strong> aren\u2019t necessarily starters. They are players you should stash on your bench, while they could start in ultra-deep leagues. These players slipped past the 8th round<\/strong> in most drafts – perfect high-upside stashes. This Sunday, three names stand out: Marvin Mims<\/strong> (Denver Broncos<\/a>), Donte Thornton Jr.<\/strong> (Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>), and Chris Rodriguez Jr.<\/strong> (Washington Commanders<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Marvin Mims \u2013 WR, Denver Broncos (vs. Tennessee Titans)<\/h2>\n

Marvin Mims has quietly earned the WR2 role, stepping into the void left by departing veterans like Jerry Jeudy. Training camp reports confirm he\u2019s practicing fully and healthy heading into Sunday\u2019s opener against Tennessee. The Titans allowed one of the league’s highest rates of explosive pass plays last season\u2014exactly the type of opportunity Mims thrives on.<\/p>\n

In 2024, he posted an 18% target rate per route over the season\u2019s final stretch and consistently delivered deep-play bursts of 20+ yards. The Broncos’ commitment to vertical passing under Sean Payton, combined with a favorable matchup, makes Mims a strong sleeper facing minimal draft capital tied up. ADP around round 8 (~120\u2013140) leaves him under the radar, yet the role and matchup suggest he could be a flex occasionally.<\/p>\n

Dont’e Thornton Jr. \u2013 WR, Las Vegas Raiders (@ New England Patriots)<\/h2>\n

In Vegas, the sudden retirement of Amari Cooper reshaped the receiver depth chart. Thornton now appears entrenched as a starter after Jakobi Meyers. He saw 68% of first-team snaps in preseason and garnered 22% of red-zone targets\u2014a remarkable share for a late-round rookie.<\/p>\n

This Sunday, the Raiders head to Foxborough to face New England. While the Patriots still boast solid cornerbacks, their red-zone defense against tall targets is exploitable. Thornton\u2019s 6\u20195\u201d frame and target share make him a sneaky stash for deeper formats, going undrafted in most leagues. A single contested catch in the end zone could transform him from stash to star.<\/p>\n

Chris Rodriguez Jr. \u2013 RB, Washington Commanders (vs. New York Giants)<\/h2>\n

Washington\u2019s offseason overhaul has thrust Chris Rodriguez Jr. into the spotlight. After the trade of Brian Robinson Jr., the backfield is now centered around Austin Ekeler, Rodriguez, and rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt. While Merritt generates buzz, coaches have clearly earmarked Rodriguez as the short-yardage and goal-line option<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Coach Dan Quinn said, \u201cI do like knowing that Chris has that tackle-breaking ability, especially in a small space\u2026 that would be one that’s in front of the thinking first.\u201d.<\/em>\u00a0Preseason gave Rodriguez flash moments: he ripped off a 40-yard burst<\/strong> on one carry and averaged 4.9 yards per carry<\/strong>, showing his explosiveness. Analysts note he \u201cstuck with it\u201d through roster swings and impressed coaches with his physicality and consistency.<\/p>\n

This Sunday, the Commanders face the Giants, who were dead last in fantasy points allowed to RBs in 2024. Rodriguez, who might be on most leagues’ waiver wire, might provide goal-line scoring value in a big way.<\/p>\n

Year-Round Fantasy Football Podcast<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

These three players are great examples of Week 1 Sleepers<\/strong>: low-draft-cost stashes with clear roles and appealing matchups. Mims cuts through vertically in Denver, Thornton inherits a real opportunity in Vegas, and Rodriguez carries short-yardage upside for Washington. They\u2019re not must-starts for everyone\u2014but in deep formats or as bench bullets, they might be Week 1 difference-makers.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Looking for late-round stashes for Week 1? Mims, Thornton Jr. and Rodriguez offer upside this Sunday as Week 1 Fantasy Football Sleepers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5619,"featured_media":244524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[33430,9961,33366,10105,9672],"class_list":["post-245231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","tag-2025-fantasy-football","tag-chris-rodriguez-jr","tag-donte-thornton","tag-fantasy-football-sleepers","tag-marvin-mims"],"modified_by":"Mike Kashuba","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5619"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245231"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245381,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245231\/revisions\/245381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}