12 Fantasy Football Sleepers Experts Love to Draft (2026)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and others to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Let’s dive into a few notable fantasy football sleepers below. And check out all of the fantasy football sleepers experts love in our consensus sleeper rankings.

Fantasy Football Sleepers Experts Draft

Here are fantasy football sleepers the experts love to target in drafts.

Who are Fantasy Football Sleepers?

Fantasy football sleepers are players who have a strong chance to exceed expectations and become surprise difference-makers for fantasy managers.

Fantasy Football Sleepers: Running Backs

Rank	Tier	Running Backs	Team	Bye	Num Experts	ECR	ADP
1		Jonah Coleman	DEN	10	5	47	49
2		Isiah Pacheco	DET	6	3	46	46
3		Demond Claiborne	MIN	6	2	68	68

Jonah Coleman walks into the Denver depth chart as the RB3 with the ability to climb the depth chart. If J.K. Dobbins is unable to stay healthy this year, Coleman could assume the early down duties opposite R.J. Harvey. If Harvey can’t continue to grow and improve after his rookie season, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Coleman hop Harvey on the depth chart and become the passing-down option for Denver. Over his last three collegiate seasons, Coleman ranked 54th, 13th, and 1st in yards after contact per attempt and 61st, sixth, and fourth in elusive rating (per PFF). In two of those three seasons, he was also top 24 in yards per route run. Coleman is a wonderful late-round dart to toss in fantasy drafts in 2026.
– Derek Brown

Fantasy Football Sleepers: Wide Receivers

Rank	Tier	Wide Receivers	Team	Bye	Num Experts	ECR	ADP
1		Denzel Boston	CLE	11	4	57	62
2		Jalen McMillan	TB	10	4	65	59
3		Ryan Flournoy	DAL	14	3	75	70

Denzel Boston lands in Cleveland with intriguing draft capital and a skill set that fills a clear need in the Browns offense. The 6-foot-4 receiver brings size, physicality, and contested-catch ability to a WR room lacking true boundary presence. However, Boston faces an uphill battle for immediate fantasy relevance while competing with first-round pick KC Concepcion and tight end Harold Fannin Jr. for targets in an offense with lingering quarterback concerns. His profile suggests more boom-or-bust production early in his career, relying heavily on downfield plays and red-zone opportunities.
– Andrew Erickson

Fantasy Football Sleepers: Quarterbacks

Rank	Tier	Quarterbacks	Team	Bye	Num Experts	ECR	ADP
1		Kyler Murray	MIN	6	5	19	17
2		Malik Willis	MIA	6	5	17	21
3		Tyler Shough	NO	8	2	20	20

Second-round draft pick Tyler Shough was a pleasant surprise for New Orleans as a rookie. He now enters the 2026 season as the Saints’ undisputed starter, with an opportunity to prove that he can be the team’s long-term answer at quarterback. Spencer Rattler started the Saints’ first eight games in 2025, but Shough took over as the starter in Week 9 and guided the team to a 5-4 record down the stretch. Shough was QB12 in fantasy points per game from Week 9 through the end of the regular season, and he produced at least 17.1 fantasy points in each of his last six starts. The 26-year-old Shough completed 67.6% of his throws, averaged 7.3 yards per pass attempt, and had 10 TD passes and six interceptions. He also averaged 16.9 rushing yards per game and had three TD runs. It should be noted that only one of the teams Shough faced in his nine starts last season, the Rams, ranked inside the top 10 in DVOA against the pass. Still, it was an impressive half-season for Shough, and the Saints should have an easy schedule again in 2026. The Saints feathered Shough’s nest in this year’s NFL Draft by drafting WR Jordyn Tyson No. 8 overall. With Tyson and veteran Chris Olave, Shough has more than adequate pass-catching weaponry.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

Fantasy Football Sleepers: Tight Ends

Rank	Tier	Tight Ends	Team	Bye	Num Experts	ECR	ADP
1		Chig Okonkwo	WAS	7	4	20	16
2		Greg Dulcich	MIA	6	3	29	24
3		Brenton Strange	JAC	7	3	18	18

Greg Dulcich could be THE late-round tight end to draft in 2026. Last year, he was absolutely awesome when on the field. Among 59 qualifying tight ends, he was fifth in target-per-route-run rate (24%), second in yards per route run (2.64) and yards after the catch per reception (7.69), fifth in first downs per route run (0.110), and sixth in fantasy points per route run (0.50, per Fantasy Points Data). Miami is starved for capable pass catchers for Malik Willis, and with only Will Kacmarek, Seydou Traore, and Ben Sims behind him on the tight end depth chart, Dulcich should be the Dolphins’ every-down tight end. I won’t be surprised if he finishes the season as a TE1.
– Derek Brown