Sketches still play a meaningful role in the early stages of a project

With all the advanced design tools available today that allow rapid prototyping, auto-layouts, and real-time collaboration, do UX sketches still play a meaningful role in the early stages of a project? I’m curious how people balance low-fidelity sketching with jumping straight into digital tools, especially when working in teams where speed and clarity matter. Do sketches genuinely help uncover problems earlier, or do they sometimes slow things down compared to modern workflows?