Here are a few of my favorite dynasty rookie draft sleepers to target in fantasy football leagues based on 2026 NFL Draft landing spots and outlook.
- Superflex Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft
- Dynasty Rookie Draft Simulator
- Dynasty Rookie Rankings: Expert Consensus
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
Fantasy Football Dynasty Rookie Draft Sleepers (2026)
Here are my six favorite dynasty rookie draft sleepers in fantasy football leagues.
Matthew Hibner (TE – BAL)
Hibner has a solid set of mitts. Over the last two years, he has had a 56.2% contested catch rate. He’ll lose a few at the point of contract, but he has the athleticism to continue to grow in the area. Hibner dropped only two of his collegiate targets, and both were of the concentration variety. Hibner has a 9.25 RAS, a 94th percentile vertical jump, a 4.57 40-yard dash time, and a 72nd percentile shuttle. His big-time athleticism shows up on his film. He was 27th and 4th in YAC/reception over the last two years. Hibner isn’t a mauler after the catch, but he has the speed to outrun defenders in the open field and on crossing routes and up the seam. He’s a legit vertical threat down the seam and on deep over routes. I question how high his target earning ceiling is, but he should post nice per-route metrics in the NFL, as he’ll get chunk plays when he is targeted. He’s a linear athlete. You won’t see many players where Hibner is juking someone out, but he can easily burn them to the sideline and scorch them. He has fluid hips and the ability to adjust in the air and to targets outside of his frame. Good initial punch as a blocker. Tenacious. He’ll reestablish his feet during a snap with a good second effort. He will dip his head and lunch at defenders. He’ll get crushed in the NFL if he doesn’t get out of his habit.
Cole Payton (QB – PHI)
Payton’s dual-threat ability jumps off the film immediately. Payton has 4.6 speed and the ability to make defenders miss. Payton is built like an athletic tight end, and he’s a load to bring down in the open field. He’s not the twitchiest rusher, but he can plant his foot and avoid tacklers when needed. His size/speed combo is EXTREMELY interesting. In his final collegiate season, he had 120 rushing attempts, 894 rushing yards, and 13 rushing scores. The North Dakota State passing offense was built around Payton’s mobility with plenty of RPO action and bootlegs. Payton will have a sizable learning curve with an NFL offense, but there are also moments in his collegiate offense that offer hope that the transition won’t be as hard as it seems. He wasn’t asked to regularly make full field reads, but there are moments where he did and quickly moved to his third and fourth option in a progression. Payton is a “see it, throw it” quarterback, but he also has some anticipatory passing moments. The passing offense was also shotgun-based, so under-center work will be a hurdle, but that’s also the case for many college quarterbacks these days. Payton has a cannon for an arm. He has easy flip of the wrist velocity and the strength to drive the ball downfield. He exhibits touch when layering second-level throws and precision when ripping deep outs. He can place the ball accurately to all three levels. Payton has an NFL arm in terms of strength and touch. Payton will have an adjustment with the speed of the NFL game and the throwing lanes. There are plenty of examples of him hanging on his first read and waiting for them to uncover and break wide open. He’ll have to pull the trigger earlier in the NFL or find comfort with more tight windows. Payton has a gunslinger mentality, which can work in his favor, but with the sizable jump in competition, the early days in the NFL for him could be rocky as he adjusts. There are some plays where he flees a clean pocket to make a play with his legs. His margin for error and the ability to pull a rabbit out of his hat in the NFL will be decreased. He’ll have to recalibrate some. Dynasty Outlook: Cole Payton unfortunately fell to the fifth round of the NFL Draft, but he landed in a really nice spot to sit and develop. I won’t dismiss that he could be the eventual successor to Jalen Hurts in Philly. Yes, Payton will be the QB4 on the depth chart to begin the year, but Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee are unrestricted free agents after the 2026 season. That could easily leave Payton as Philly’s QB2 entering the 2027 season. Philly is tied to Hurts for the next two seasons with an out after the 2027 season with a 24.3 million dollar dead cap hit. I loved Payton as a prospect, and with no quarterbacks getting drafted earlier than the third round in this year’s draft, Payton will be my QB3 when it’s all said and done. I’d rather bet on his talent and traits over other flawed quarterback prospects that received middling but better draft capital.
Seth McGowan (RB – IND)
Downhill physical runner. McGowan runs like he’s mad at the ground. McGowan has no issues running through someone. He’s a linear, one-cut runner. Solid feel for how to press the line and access cut-back lanes. McGowan does offer some second-level creativity with his lateral agility and the ability to create more yards in space. McGowan isn’t a burner, but he does have enough raw speed to gain the edge with stretch zone plays consistently. He’s not a home run hitter with only 24 runs of at least 15 yards in his collegiate career (378 carries). I usually don’t discuss off-field issues unless they are extremely noteworthy here, which is the case for McGowan. He was dismissed from Oklahoma after being found guilty of larceny (one year probation). McGowan is a feisty pass protector. His technique needs work to become a solid option in this department in the NFL, but the effort is there. There are numerous reps where he holds his ground and regains his footing against an incoming defender with a strong second effort. He’ll drop his eyes and lunge at defenders at times. McGowan is a decent check-down option in the passing game with 1.56 collegiate yards per route run. Despite his five drops in his final season, he offers a dependable set of soft hands out of the backfield. Dynasty Outlook: Seth McGowan is truly trying to pull off his best Isiah Pacheco impression as a seventh-round selection in the NFL Draft (Colts). Yes, Jonathan Taylor is the bellcow for Indy, and I don’t see that changing, but the RB2 spot is up for grabs in Indy. I loved DJ Giddens as a prospect, but he was a ghost last year and not a shoo-in to be Taylor’s handcuff. McGowan is a free lottery ticket handcuff pick in dynasty rookie drafts. McGowan is an easy late-round rookie pick selection that you can stash on a taxi squad, and if he doesn’t get substantial work in year one, you can cut him loose. He’s 25 years old, so if he doesn’t fire out the gate in the NFL, it’s probably a situation where you’re cutting bait after year one.
Eli Heidenreich (RB – PIT)
Heidenreich was a Swiss army knife weapon for Navy. He finishes his collegiate career with 1,157 rushing yards (no more than 77 carries or 499 rushing yards in any season). In 2025, he also had 79 targets, 18.5 yards per reception, and 941 receiving yards. In 2025, Heidenreich spent 44.3% of his snaps in the backfield, 14.7% of them in the slot, and 32.9% as a perimeter wide receiver. His eventual home in the NFL is likely as a slot receiver. When utilized as a backfield/rushing option, it was as a motion player or getting him to the perimeter with toss plays. He didn’t operate with a heavy dose of traditional running back usage in the rushing department. As a receiver, he has legit route-running chops, and he can win from the perimeter. He has a serviceable release package, but he’ll need to continue to add to that tool belt and refine his footwork to work on the boundary. As a slot option, Heidenreich can already win against zone. He has a decent understanding of pacing against zone coverage and leverage. Dynasty Outlook: The Navy standout and Pittsburgh native was selected by his hometown team in the seventh round of the NFL Draft. Heidenreich has the raw athletic upside and versatility to squint and see a potential starting NFL slot receiver a few years down the road if everything works out in his favor. The chances of it coming to fruition are slim, so don’t overspend in any rookie draft. He’s a third or fourth round dart throw/taxi squad option only.
Prepare for your dynasty rookie draft using our FREE mock draft simulator and check out our latest dynasty rookie draft rankings
Seydou Traore (TE – MIA)
Traore is a top-shelf athlete. He had a 9.42 RAS while running a 4.59 40-yard dash. He also managed a 40″ vertical jump (99th percentile), a 10’7″ broad jump (98th percentile), and a 4.25 shuttle (89th percentile). He was utilized in the slot with 49.9-51% of his snaps in his final two seasons in college. Traore’s speed immediately jumps off the page. He has wonderful burst off the line (93rd percentile 10-yard split) as he moves like a big wide receiver. His fluidity during his routes is quite nice, with subtle changes of direction without losing much speed (if any). Traore has the raw speed and second gear to be a field-stretching option at tight end up the seam. The quarterback play he had to deal with in 2025 left so many big plays on the field with poor ball placement and accuracy. Traore was open on plenty of seam routes and slot fades, and the quarterback would brain-fart and air-mail him. His play strength issues crop up at the catch point. He can get bullied at the catch point by linebackers and corners. He has the play strength to improve (25 bench reps) in this area, but right now it’s subpar. He finished college with a 40% contested catch rate across his final two seasons. He can easily add another ten pounds to his frame in the NFL to help alleviate the play strength concerns. Blocking is an adventure for Traore at this juncture. He’ll drop his eyes and pad level at times and lunge at defenders at the attack point. He’s late to diagnose free rushers at times, especially interior pressure. He can get easily turned around and redirected by power/speed off the edge. He’s a better run blocker at this juncture. In that realm, he has solid leg drive and sustain as a puller or edge setter. Dynasty Outlook: The Dolphins drafted Traore in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. Greg Dulcich is a free agent after this season. Traore could be the heir apparent to the receiving/move tight end role in this passing offense for the 2027 season. Traore is a solid fourth-round rookie draft dart.
Dae’Quan Wright (TE – PHI)
Wright has nice buildup speed, likely in the 4.5/4.6 40-yard dash range. He displays a nice second gear that he can hit in the open field. He has the speed and ball tracking to be a consistent seam threat in the NFL. His hips are a little tight, so we won’t see a ton of twitch with the ball in his hands, but he is a linearly explosive athlete. His athletic limitations pop up at the catch point with his body control and adjusting to targets outside of his frame at times or with contested situations (26.7% contested catch rate in college). He has a thick, muscular frame that can break some tackles in the open field. He has a wonderful combination of speed, play strength, and nastiness. He’s a tank in the open field. Wright has ranked in the top 16 in YAC per reception in three of the last four collegiate seasons. In 2023, he was seventh among tight ends in missed tackles forced. Wright is a nice dump-and-run option to churn out easy yards in the passing game. He also had a varied route tree, hitting 14% or higher marks of his overall route tree with go routes (14.7%), out routes (14%), hitch routes (17.3%), and crossing routes (25%). Wright needs to improve his hip sink with comebacks and curls if he’s going to expand his route tree further. Wright shouldn’t be counted on as a league-average blocker entering the NFL. He’ll duck his head at times. He can get rag-dolled at times in pass pro. He is passable in chipping or combo block situations in the run game. Dynasty Outlook: Wright went undrafted, but he signed a UDFA deal with the Eagles. He’ll start as the TE4 or TE5 on the depth chart if he can make the team. If he can make the roster, though, he could climb it to become the TE2 behind Eli Stowers. Grant Calcaterra, Dallas Goedert, and Johnny Mundt are free agents after the 2026 season.
Dynasty Rookie Draft Rankings
Check out my full top 100 superflex dynasty rookie draft rankings.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS | YouTube