After a summer of soccer, the American sports world will soon recenter itself on its favorite sport, football, as the 2026 NFL season approaches.
Fantasy football managers will be among those eagerly awaiting the season opener between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. However, their first focus will be navigating their fantasy drafts and trying to build the perfect roster with which to contend for a championship.
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Naturally, part of that process will be landing some of the blue-chip players atop fantasy drafts, like Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson and Ja’Marr Chase, among others.
But even more important will be identifying quality sleepers and value picks who can emerge as key contributors for top fantasy rosters. These players don’t get a lot of fanfare, but there are often underlying signs that they should be able to outproduce their draft slots – provided that they remain healthy, of course.
There are typically two types of sleepers for fantasy managers to target. Many are younger players who are positioned to earn a larger volume of opportunities than they did the previous season. Others are veterans who have seen their Average Draft Position (ADP) sag to a point at which they can emerge as proven value picks with upside.
In any case, sleepers have one thing in common: a path toward big-time production that could allow them to vastly outproduce their ADP. Here’s a look at some of the best sleepers and value picks to consider for the 2026 fantasy football season.
Top fantasy football draft sleepers and value picks for 2026
All ADP figures via CBS Sports.
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Jeremiyah Love, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Can a player with a top-50 ADP really be considered a sleeper? It’s not common, but Love’s ADP is far lower than it should be considering the No. 3 overall pick from the 2026 NFL Draft’s talent.
Some may be scared off Love after Ashton Jeanty’s rookie-year struggles. The Raiders star was a top-15 pick across most fantasy formats but averaged just 3.7 yards per carry and failed to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards.
It’s understandable that those burned by Jeanty would shy away from Love, but their situations are very different. Jeanty went to a Raiders offensive line that was one of the league’s worst and allowed him to average just 1.6 yards before contact per run, third-lowest in the NFL among 49 qualifiers.
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By comparison, Arizona’s running backs combined to average 2.4 yards before contact per play, which was just about dead average league-wide. That should give Love a better fighting chance of finding running room, especially since the Cardinals added veteran free agent Isaac Seumalo and second-round pick Chase Bisontis to improve their interior blocking.
Add in that Love has an excellent receiving skill set and he should quickly become a three-down threat who gets high-end volume and a boost in PPR formats. That should be enough to make him a clear-cut RB1, even though he is being selected as an RB2.
Rome Odunze, WR, Chicago Bears
Luther Burden is all the rage in fantasy circles. He is, on average, the 21st receiver coming off the board in fantasy drafts with many believing that his late-season breakout coupled with the departure of DJ Moore will pave the way for him to become the team’s No. 1 receiver.
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Overlooked in all this has been Odunze. The 2024 first-round pick led the Bears in targets last season with 90 despite missing five games due to a foot injury and should continue to hoover up plenty of looks from Caleb Williams.
Some may be concerned about Odunze only catching 48.9% of his passes last season, as that could highlight a disconnect with Williams. That said, the 24-year-old wide-out also averaged 15 yards per reception, which ranked 10th-best among qualified NFL players last season.
That combination makes Odunze a rare player who should get a high volume of targets while also being a potential game-breaker. So, while his lacking efficiency and injury history make him a risky selection, it’s easy to imagine a scenario where he emerges as a top-20 – or even top-15 – fantasy receiver.
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, Tennessee Titans
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Robinson seems to be falling victim to a similar trend to Odunze. Many are excited about the presence of Carnell Tate, the No. 4 overall pick from the 2026 NFL Draft, and believe he will immediately be the No. 1 receiver for Cam Ward in Tennessee.
That well may be true, and Tate could emerge as a sleeper himself. Even so, Robinson should be getting more love. The diminutive slot-man won’t be a massive game-breaker or a contested catch threat, but he will rack up a ton of targets and receptions playing for the Titans.
In each of his final two seasons with the Giants, Robinson was targeted 140 times. He caught 93 and 92 passes in 2024 and 205 respectively, though his final campaign was more impressive, as he averaged a career-best 11 yards per reception and posted 1,014 receiving yards.
As Tate acclimates to the NFL, Robinson could emerge as a sure-handed, high-volume security blanket for Ward. That should allow the 25-year-old to outperform his ADP and emerge as a quality WR3 – or even a low-end WR2 in PPR formats.
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Jaxson Dart, QB, New York Giants
There are two ways to find value picks at quarterback in fantasy football. One can either hunt high-volume passers who play for teams with poor defenses – like Dak Prescott last season – or one can look for a signal-caller with excellent rushing upside.
Dart fits into the latter category, as he racked up 487 yards and a whopping nine touchdowns on the ground last season. The 23-year-old showed a proclivity for running, averaging seven carries per game across his 12 starts and posting 21 red-zone rushing attempts, fourth behind only Josh Allen (31), Jalen Hurts (26) and Trevor Lawrence (23).
Will Dart see the same kind of rushing volume in 2026? Maybe not, as he dealt with concussion issues during his rookie season.
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At the same time, John Harbaugh took over as the Giants’ coach during the 2026 offseason. He has typically favored a run-heavy offense across his NFL career, and Lamar Jackson routinely ranked among the league’s rushing leaders during his time with Harbaugh.
Nobody will mistake Dart – a more physical, downhill runner – with Jackson, but Harbaugh’s preferred style should give the 2025 first-round pick plenty of opportunities to carry the ball. That will raise his floor and make him a potential top-tier fantasy quarterback, provided he’s able to stay on the field.
Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Bhayshul Tuten has gotten a lot of the attention as the Jaguars’ potential backfield leader after the offseason departure of Travis Etienne Jr. The second-year back has an ADP of 61.25, making him the RB26 in fantasy drafts at present.
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Comparatively, Rodriguez is going nearly 45 slots later but may have an equal shot to emerge as Jacksonville’s top runner. Rodriguez is familiar with Liam Coen from their time together at Kentucky, and the 25-year-old is coming off a season during which he averaged an impressive 3.46 yards after contact, which ranks eighth-best among 58 NFL running backs to log at least 70 carries, per Pro Football Focus.
Rodriguez’s powerful running style could also help him become the Jaguars’ preferred goal-line back, which should give him a floor as a quality flex play. And if he does beat Tuten for the primary role, Rodriguez could emerge as a solid RB2.
Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens
It’s never easy to find sleepers in the desert that is the tight end position. Andrews could emerge as one, even after the 30-year-old averaged a career-low 8.8 yards per reception last season.
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Andrews may not be as explosive as he once was, but he remains Baltimore’s clear-cut top tight end. In fact, he is the only returning player at the position from last season, as Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar signed with the Giants and Chargers respectively in free agency.
With that in mind, Andrews will only have to compete with journeyman Durham Smythe – who has just 13 receptions over the last two seasons – and Day 3 rookies Matthew Hibner and Joshua Cuevas for receptions in Baltimore’s offense. That should allow Andrews to maintain a high target share among the Ravens tight ends after he saw 70 of the 123 passes intended for members of his position group last season.
So, while Andrews may no longer be a top-five fantasy tight end, he still has the potential to be a volume-based fantasy starter, especially considering his long-time connection with Lamar Jackson.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: These 6 fantasy football sleepers could help you win your league
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