2026 Fantasy Football: Deep-League Sleepers

It’s easy to build a good lineup in 10-12 team leagues. What about those playing in 14+ team leagues, or with bigger starting lineups and deeper benches? Your options start to thin out a lot quicker. If you’re looking for some late round dart throws with upside, look no further. From the mid-rounds to the end of your draft, deep-league fantasy football sleepers at every position.

Deep League Sleepers for 2026 Fantasy Football

Quarterback Sleepers

Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints – QB20

Shough is the one I’ll hang my hat on. This is a 2nd-round pick QB who will be turning 27 in his sophomore year after throwing just 10 TDs in 11 games, yet there is a clear path to a top-10 QB finish.

Although Shough (pronounced “Shuck”) finished as the QB24 in PPG, he was the QB9 from Weeks 10 to 18. In that span, he had seven games of 20+ fantasy points. While Shough only averaged 216.7 passing yards per game, he added 186 yards and 3 TDs on the ground.

The New Orleans Saints are doing their best to surround him with talent, too. Chris Olave is coming off a career year, setting personal bests in targets (156), receptions (100), receiving yards (1,163), and receiving TDs (9). The Saints used the 8th overall pick in the 2026 draft on WR Jordyn Tyson, and they added RB Travis Etienne in free agency. Etienne had nearly 1,400 all-purpose yards and 13 total TDs with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Entering just his 5th season, Etienne will be a much-needed addition to an anemic run game. An elderly Alvin Kamara was the Saints’ leading rusher in 2025, carrying the ball 131 times for 471 yards and 1 TD.

With rushing upside, a good end to his rookie year, and a better surrounding cast, Shough is set for a sophomore bump. He’s being drafted as a QB2 but has the upside to finish in the top-10.

Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals – QB26

The factors that made Jacoby Brissett so good for fantasy last year have not changed. The Arizona Cardinals should repeat as a bottom-5 team with a terrible defense. The team used the 3rd overall pick in the draft to take RB Jeremiyah Love, and the offense still features star TE Trey McBride. Brissett averaged over 40 pass attempts per game in his 12 starts, and he should continue to sling the rock at a high rate.

Starting Week 6, Brissett finished as the QB8 in PPG and QB5 in total points. This was in a season where Marvin Harrison Jr. took a step back, and the team could not put out a half-decent run game. Jeremiyah Love may take away yards on the ground that would usually go to Brissett, but he should help this offense move down the field and generate more scoring. If Marvin Harrison Jr. can improve, that’s just a cherry on top.

The biggest concern is how long the team lets Brissett play until they give 3rd-round rookie Carson Beck a chance. In the meantime, Brissett should be a good QB to start the year. Even in a super deep 1QB league, he’s basically free at the end of drafts. If you want to focus on your RBs and WRs, he is a good late-round pick. Just have a backup plan for when he inevitably gets pulled for Beck.

Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers – QB27

It’s ironic that a new era of Steelers football features a 42-year-old QB. Aaron Rodgers will reunite with HC Mike McCarthy for the first time in nearly a decade. A new HC means an entirely new staff. Former OC Arthur Smith will be replaced by Brian Angelichio, a first-time OC and former TE coach. Mike McCarthy has a similarly conservative play-calling style to Mike Tomlin, but things should improve. McCarthy has undoubtedly benefited from coaching teams with great QBs, but it is undeniable that his passing games always do well. Rodgers is in the twilight of his career, so we can’t expect an MVP-level season. However, we can have hopes for a solid, good year.

The Steelers continue to focus on protecting Rodgers and whichever QB comes along to replace him. The Steelers drafted an OT in the 1st round of the draft and extended behemoth TE Darnell Washington to act as both a receiving threat and extra offensive lineman. WR Michael Pittman Jr. will also be joining the team after a solid career with the Indianapolis Colts. Jaylen Warren is still the feature back, and the Steelers brought in former Panther Rico Dowdle to replace Kenneth Gainwell. Dowdle is a dual-threat with back-to-back 1,000+ yard rushing teams on different teams.

The overall brand of Steelers football will not drastically change, but moving on from Mike Tomlin may benefit Rodgers and the Steelers’ passing attack greatly. Rodgers will not be a league winner, but if you need a solid option who could easily improve from last year late in a draft, Rodgers is your guy. Unless he totally implodes, it’s unlikely that Mason Rudolph, Drew Allar, or Will Howard steal any playtime from him. The price-to-performance ratio is undeniable.

Running Back Sleepers

Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams – RB37

Kyren Williams is still the king of the Rams backfield, but Blake Corum had an impressive sophomore year. Corum finished the season tied with Bijan Robinson for the 5th-highest yards per rush attempt amongst players with at least 100 carries.

The Rams ran the ball 465 times last year, and Kyren and Corum accounted for 86.88% of those rushes. There is no question about it; this is their backfield. Corum has standalone value in deep leagues, but he’s also one of the best handcuffs in the league. This list will not feature any pure handcuffs, but there are guys who can carve their own role while also benefiting heavily if the starter goes down. This is one of them.

Corum lacks receiving work, but he’ll be on one of the best offenses and overall teams in football. The opportunities will be there.

Tyrone Tracy, New York Giants – RB43

It didn’t take long for Cam Skattebo to become the lead back in New York. By Week 4, Skattebo became the starter and ran the ball 25 times. Tyrone Tracy didn’t get much work until Skattebo’s knee injury ended his rookie year. Tracy took advantage, averaging 15.47 PPR PPG from Week 10 to Week 18. That stretch included blowup games of 17.9, 24.7, and 28.9 fantasy points. When Skattebo is out, Tracy is a solid deep-league RB2 with upside.

The biggest detriment to Tracy’s value, aside from splitting opportunities with a healthy Skattebo, is his goal-line work. There is none. While four Giants split red zone carries almost equally, Tracy only had a single carry within 5 yards last year. Jaxson Dart, Cam Skattebo, and Devin Singletary each had 7+. In 2024, Tracy had 4 carries in that area but lost a lot of work to Daniel Jones, Devin Singletary, and Eric Gray. It’s unlikely that this changes in 2026.

There’s a reason that Tracy is being drafted as a low-end RB3, but he has a solid floor and RB1 upside if Skattebo has to miss any time. Skattebo has dealt with numerous injuries, including tearing his ACL last season. We can’t predict that those will continue, but he does have a reckless style both on and off the field that could be a cause for concern. Scoring and receiving work may not be ideal, but Tracy can be a solid RB2 on your team or even offer FLEX value even when everyone is healthy.

Isiah Pacheco, Detroit Lions – RB48

This is either the season where Jahmyr Gibbs gets 300+ carries or a continuation of the Lions under HC Dan Campbell. Gibbs cemented himself as one of the league’s elites in his second season, but he always split carries with veteran David Montgomery. “Monty” is now in Houston, but the Lions brought in former Kansas City Chief Isiah Pacheco.

It would be wrong to look at how the Lions split carries between Gibbs and Montgomery and assume that will continue with Pacheco. Montgomery has handled large rushing workloads and drawn significantly more targets per year than even Pacheco’s best year. Despite being smaller than Montgomery, Pacheco does profile as the thunder to Gibbs’ lightning.

A big concern, though, is that Pacheco has failed to record many goal-line carries in Kansas City. In four seasons, Pacheco only had 19 of the team’s 81 goal-line rush attempts. Montgomery has 48 of the Lions’ 87 in just three seasons. The silver lining is that more team red zone trips means more chances for Pacheco to get opportunities there, even if his rate is significantly lower. Sometimes volume covers up those red flags.

The case for Pacheco is that he should lock up the RB2 role in an elite offense. He is not just a typical backup, but a piece of a team that enjoys spreading the workload around. That especially happens late in games when the Lions are up big. You can’t make a pick solely because of garbage time, but the Lions are one of the few teams that you can count on dominating nearly any opponent. Don’t expect David Montgomery-type weeks, but have some optimism. Pacheco is a solid handcuff who may even benefit more when Gibbs is healthy.

Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns – RB51

The Cleveland Browns drafted two rookie RBs in the 2025 draft. Quinshon Judkins was a 2nd-round pick who dominated carries as he did for most of his college career. Dylan Sampson played second fiddle, but he did have less draft capital invested in him as a 4th-round pick.

While Sampson is likely to continue in the backup role, he did well as a receiving back. Despite playing just 26% of offensive snaps to Judkins’ 50%, Sampson was targeted 40 times while Judkins drew 36 targets. Target numbers were solid throughout the year, not just in the final two weeks when Judkins was out after dislocating his ankle. Judkins’ injury could affect his usage in 2026, but he may not even miss time. He will still be the feature back.

Should Judkins miss any time, Sampson is the clear backup and handled a large workload at Tennessee, though playing with a bad Browns offense would be different. A real concern is how the Browns offense will look with two new receivers, Todd Monken returning as OC, and a perennial QB controversy. Monken’s rushing offenses with the Baltimore Ravens were phenomenal, but he had Lamar Jackson at QB and Derrick Henry for two of his three seasons. It’s hard to truly gauge how much of that success was on Monken.

Sampson probably won’t get enough receiving work to surprise us as a consistent starter, but he has decent standalone value in very deep leagues. He also gets a bump should Judkins miss any time. Raheim Sanders and Ahmani Marshall are unlikely to steal much work from either RB. This deep into a draft, it’s hard to find a clear backup with RB4

MarShawn Lloyd, Green Bay Packers – RB62

MarShawn Lloyd was a day two pick in the 2024 draft who has barely seen the field due to injuries. Entering his third season, Lloyd only has a single game under his belt. Even worse, he doesn’t stand a chance of becoming the lead back. Josh Jacobs has touched the ball 607 times in his two years with the Packers, and that won’t change barring an injury.

While Josh Jacobs is the clear starter in Green Bay, there are still touches to go around. Last season, Emanuel Wilson – now in Seattle – ran 125 times and drew 17 targets. Chris Brooks had a handful of opportunities as well. Even if Lloyd is the RB2, he won’t take over all of that work. However, he could become a low-end FLEX. His main value is as a handcuff, but he’s not here just for that reason.

Lloyd only touched the ball 129 times in his final year of college as a Junior at USC. However, he converted those touches into 820 rushing yards (7.1 yards per attempt), 232 receiving yards (17.8 yards per reception), and 9 TDs. He was extremely efficient with his touches in his sophomore year at South Carolina as well, but he never had monster volume. Lloyd is a human wrecking ball who can break tackles and break off a big run to compensate for his low volume.

While Jacobs handles the heavy workload, Lloyd can find his niche. In the event that Jacobs goes down, he’ll get even more opportunities. He likely won’t see the same workload as Jacobs, but a steady stream of double-digit rushing attempts and some goal-line work is good enough. Injury concerns will plague him until he proves us otherwise, but that’s a risk you can afford to take in the late rounds.

Wide Receiver Sleepers

Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – WR38

Injuries have been a thorn in Godwin’s side for a few years now. Godwin’s 2024 campaign started strong, only for him to go down in Week 7. He would end the season with 62 targets, 50 receptions, 576 yards, and 5 TDs. From Week 1 to Week 7, Godwin was the PPR WR6 on a PPG basis, and the WR2 in total points. Had he kept his pace up, he would have finished the year with nearly 1,400 receiving yards and smashing his season-highs in nearly every category.

2025 was much of the same story, though time may be catching up to him. Godwin averaged nearly 6 targets per game but failed to find consistency. His occasional blowup game helped to salvage the season. This year, he’ll get a healthier Baker Mayfield and play alongside sophomore WR Emeka Egbuka. Mike Evans is gone, so the only other competition in the receiving room is Jalen McMillan.

Baker Mayfield reportedly played through multiple injuries last year,

We likely won’t see the 2024 version of Chris Godwin at this point in his career, but he could produce at a WR2 level. His current ADP makes him a rare veteran who can still offer great upside.

Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers – WR47

The Packers went from an uncomfortably crowded WR room to a lean trio for 2026. Dontayvion Wicks is in Philadelphia and Romeo Doubs is in New England. That leaves Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Matthew Golden.

Watson has been a lower volume deep threat who has been consistent, but never elite. Golden profiles as the bigger target hog. He’ll take over the role that Doubs left and likely contend with TE Tucker Kraft (when he’s healthy) for the most receiving work in this offense.

Volume is not Reed’s game. Like Dontayvion Wicks, Reed has been a medium aDOT and high YAC type of player. In 2023, Wicks and Reed ranked 26th and 28th in yards per route run, respectively, per Sumer Sports. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Reed was tied for 7th in expected YAC per reception in 2023 and 5th in 2024. His efficiency is not in question. It’s about whether he takes over enough of the leftover receiving work. Vacated targets will not translate over perfectly but we should expect Reed to get more opportunities that would have gone to someone like Wicks.

. Players with more opportunities and targets will generally score more, but Reed had 14 receiving TDs in his first two seasons. Reed only recorded a single TD last year but he missed a lot of time. The dynamic receiver also has 3 career rushing TDs and 310 rushing yards on 34 attempts. When he’s healthy, he can hit defenses through the air and on the ground.

Reed’s role will not make him a consistent WR1, but he should get more opportunity to shine. As long as he can stay healthy, his fourth season is set to be his best. Reed offers immense upside as a middle-to-late-round pick.

De’Zhaun Stribling, San Francisco 49ers – WR59

Who do the 49ers have at WR? Deebo Samuel Jr. still has something left in the tank, but he’s not a target hog. Mike Evans is a consistent producer, but he’ll be 33 before the season begins. Christian Kirk has not been able to reach his early 2020s highs, and Ricky Pearsall is out for the year.

Enter De’Zhaun Stribling. The 33rd overall pick in the draft, Stribling has been a point of contention in the fantasy space. Just because he’s young and in an old, depleted receiving room doesn’t mean he will succeed. However, that is all baked into his ADP. Stribling

Stribling played 5 years in college, which is rarely a positive, though NIL money has changed things in recent years. Stribling didn’t have to face the toughest competition for targets in college but failed to record 60 receptions, 900 yards, or more than 6 TDs in a single season. However, he is a great athlete. Stribling ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at 6’2 and 207 pounds. He can add burst that the rest of the WR room may lack.

There are red flags, but he’s a rookie WR with an opportunity to beat out the old guard. When you get this far into a draft, you can’t only take the veteran with a solid floor. You need some lottery tickets who can take your team to the promised land. Take a shot on a great athlete in Stribling. On a creative offense, he may be in the perfect place to cover up any blemishes.

Malik Washington, Miami Dolphins – WR66

The Dolphins are going to be bad, and they’re going to run a lot. Malik Willis may be good, but he is not in a great situation. Can Malik Washington survive here? Even if he can’t, there’s almost no risk in taking a shot on him.

Washington is the only WR left on the team from last year to record more than 10 targets. Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill, and Darren Waller are the biggest departures, and it’s clear that the Dolphins are in a heavy rebuild. Washington drew 65 targets in 2025, 3rd on the team. Tyreek Hill would have likely passed him had he played more than 4 games. Regardless, competition is looking grim.

Miami drafted three WRs in the 2026 NFL draft, including two in the 3rd round. Jalen Tolbert also joins from the Dallas Cowboys. It’s unlikely that anyone emerges from this offense, but Washington has some experience in Miami even if he’ll have a new QB. Along with his solid reception numbers, he tied with Jaylen Waddle for the team lead in red zone targets with 11. He turned those into 3 TDs. His yards per reception is low, though, but he can carve a role as a possession receiver with solid TD numbers.

Washington will not benefit from a great offense, and he may eventually be outplayed. He’s not going to light the world on fire but he could be a solid contributor going late in drafts. You aren’t going to find many other players this late with the chance to lead their team in targets.

For more great fantasy football rankings and analysis, make sure to check out the 2026 FantraxHQ Fantasy Football Draft Kit!

Tight End Sleepers

Isaiah Likely – New York Giants TE13

As a low-end TE1, Likely is not exactly a sleeper. Regardless, he deserved some quick recognition. Once you get away from the first few tiers of TEs, there are still good upside options out there.

The New York Giants aren’t fielding the greatest receiving group. Even when you look at their two best options – Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo – injury concerns immediately come to mind. In the long term, it’s unlikely that the team keeps losing their best players. However, it may take some time for them to return to form, which opens the door for Likely to benefit. Even when they are fully back, there aren’t any ball hogs left. Darius Slayton has had 7 years of being solid but nothing more. Calvin Austin III is a speedster who can excel in the right offense but plays a different role than Likely. Then it’s just a lot of washed-up stars and filler.

Likely is getting paid the 5th most per year at the position now, but it is a short-term contract with an out after just two years. This is his time to step up and show out on a team that desperately needs another receiving option.

Chigoziem Okonkwo – Washington Commanders TE19

“Chig” saw his target share rise from just 10.55% as a rookie to 16.11% in his sophomore year. He has yet to beat that mark. What Okonkwo has offered is consistency. In his last three years with the Tennessee Titans, the Maryland product has drawn at least 70 targets, but he hasn’t done much with them. Okonkwo averaged 522.33 yards and just under two TDs across those seasons. He now joins a Washington Commanders offense with a lot of question marks.

The WR room consists of aging talent and raw youngsters. Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs are both over 30 years old, Luke McCaffrey improved but is still a middling option, and the team drafted Antonio Williams in the 3rd round of this year’s draft. Luckily for Chig, the TE room is barren outside of him, though RBs Rachaad White and Jeremy McNichols should get their fair share of targets.

Jayden Daniels is coming off of an injury, and it could require more quick, short passes, which would benefit Okonkwo. Amongst TEs, Okonkwo’s 6.1 aDOT ranked 7th last year. We also have no idea how new OC and former QB David Blough will run this offense. Chig could rise to the top and have a career year. Tied to a high-end QB and with questionable receiving competition, he’s worth a shot in deep leagues.

AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks – TE24

While everyone focused on Seattle’s championship year and Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s OPOY season, TE AJ Barner was lost in the shuffle. In his second year, Barner turned 68 targets into 52 receptions for 519 yards and 6 TDs. Barner finished as the TE21 in PPR PPG, not too far from his current ADP.

Some will look at Barner’s low college receiving numbers, but Indiana often had below-average pass attempts in the Big 10 while he was there. In his final year of college, he played on a Michigan team that only had 361 pass attempts to 550 rushes. Even worse for Barner, he was playing alongside future 1st-round pick Colston Loveland. That all makes what Barner has achieved in just two seasons even more impressive.

Being a solid TE is not enough to be a sleeper, though. Once you get away from the top tier or two of TEs, they’re all mostly the same. They need something to separate themselves, and that’s usually TDs. Barner’s 6 TDs in 2025 ties him for the 8th most amongst TEs. Seattle loved throwing to him, too. Barner tied WR Cooper Kupp with 12 red zone targets, second-best on the team behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and tied for 13th amongst TEs.

Volume will continue to be an issue for Barner’s upside. Seattle finished near the bottom of the league in pass attempts. Barner will also contend with TE Elijah Arroyo, a 2nd-round pick for Seattle in 2025 who had his fair share of targets. However, his role on the team is on the rise, and Seattle really only added Rashid Shaheed, a much deeper threat than Barner, in the off-season. More mouths to feed is never great, but the TD opportunities will be there. It’s just a matter of converting them.

Jake Tonges, San Francisco 49ers – TE34

There aren’t many true TE handcuffs, but Jake Tonges fits the mould. Tonges only recorded a single target in his first three seasons, but exploded in 2025.

In the first 6 weeks of the season, Tonges averaged 10.9 PPR points per game, good for the TE12 in PPG and TE9 in total points. That was in relief of George Kittle, turning 33-years old this year and coming off a season where he only played 11 games.

Kittle is a top TE when healthy, but he will be returning from an Achilles tear. He’s also not getting any younger. Along with possibly missing time to start the season, Kittle may not immediately take over where he left off. That opens the door for a young Tonges to continue to show off. The real concern with Tonges is that he may not offer any value once Kittle actually hits the field. There’s a reason that it took so long for him to get an opportunity, and it’s because Kittle is so good.

There are a lot of question marks with this aging 49ers offense, making a lot of their younger players very exciting in the late rounds. Tonges has a clear path to relevancy if Kittle misses time, and there is a tiny chance that he can find value splitting time as the season progresses.

Max Klare, Los Angeles Rams – Undrafted

Max Klare is such a sleeper that he doesn’t even have an ADP on Fantrax. What gives? At Ohio State, Klare finished 3rd in receptions behind phenom WR Jeremiah Smith and 2026 4th overall pick WR Carnell Tate. Klare himself was a 2nd-round pick in the 2026 draft and joins an elite Rams offense but a crowded TE room.

Puka Nacua and Davante Adams highlight the receivers, and nobody is going to pass them when healthy. It’s a different story with the tight ends. Colby Parkinson peaked with 408 receiving yards in his 6th season last year, and 33-year-old Tyler Higbee is past his prime. Terrance Ferguson is an athletic freak who had a solid rookie year, but it is strange that the team spent consecutive second-round picks on TEs. That may not be an indictment of Ferguson, though. The Rams ran 13 personnel (3 TEs, 1 WR) 30.48% of the time last year, the highest in the league according to Sumer Sports. Even if Ferguson continues to produce, it may not push down Klare’s snap counts for very long.

Klare is as free as a pick gets, but he’s a lottery ticket and not a priority. There is no downside to stashing him on your bench, especially in a deep league where the waiver wire is usually barren. While we have seen an influx of TEs performing well in their first season, that is still not the norm. Klare may take a while to break out, if he ever does. The talent is there, though, and the TE room isn’t the most impressive in the league. With the Rams expected to run 3 TE sets at a high rate again, Klare should have the opportunities in a booming offense.