18 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.

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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

Tank Bigsby is one of the best handcuffs in the NFL, and he won’t get mentioned at the top of the conversation many times. Last year, among 65 qualifying backs, he ranked fourth in explosive run rate, second in missed tackle rate, and first in yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). In the one game that he played more than 40% of the snaps (Week 18), we got to see what his fantasy value could be if Saquon Barkley missed any time. He logged 17 touches with 106 total yards as the RB9 for the week in PPR scoring. If you’re looking for handcuffs to stash, Bigsby is one of the best.
– Derek Brown

My guy MarShawn Lloyd is making some noise in training camp. He has looked explosive so far and is everything that the Packers thought they were drafting. Yes, the big worry is whether he holds up as the practices and reps pile up. We still have to collectively hold our breath, but Lloyd should be inching closer and closer to the clear handcuff tier of backs for fantasy season if he can continue this charge throughout the preseason. Just to remind everyone about Lloyd’s talent. During his final two collegiate seasons, he was 20th and 16th in yards after contact per attempt, third and 18th in breakaway rate, and fourth and 15th in elusive rating (per PFF, minimum 100 carries). Take a flier on Lloyd late in drafts.
– Derek Brown

Fantasy Football Sleepers: Wide Receivers

Tre’ Harris has to be one of the best WR sleepers to take in 2026. The second-year WR is being grouped into the “elite” Chargers WR conversation alongside Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston by HC John Harbaugh. And even though his rookie year didn’t feature a ton of highlight-reel plays or counting stats, his playing time increased because of his contributions as a run-blocker. That suggests he could see much more playing time (and targets) than his bottom-dwelling ADP would indicate in 2026. Harris can create big plays and is versatile enough to line up all over the formation. He also averaged 5.5 targets in the last two games that QJ missed in the second half of the season. If the Chargers lean into the run game more with their new OC, Mike McDaniel, Harris could be a major benefactor in terms of snaps/routes based on how well he does the dirty work.
– Andrew Erickson

De’Zhaun Stribling has been zooming up draft boards and ADP since the news of Ricky Pearsall’s season-ending PCL news. Many could pump the brakes on that now that San Francisco brought back Deebo Samuel on a one-year deal, but I’ll still be drafting Stribling at cost. Christian Kirk (calf) is also dealing with an injury to open camp. At this point in Kirk’s career, he can’t be counted on to stay healthy or be an effective weekly cog of an NFL passing attack. Stribling had a solid collegiate career, with his skill set fitting what the 49ers want from their receivers. During his final two collegiate seasons, he posted 2.15 and 2.44 yards per route run with 7.3 and 6.7 yards after the catch per reception (17 missed tackles forced across both seasons, per PFF). Stribling offers the 49ers a varied skill set with shades of what they have hoped to get from Pearsall. He can make players miss in space, outrun them with the ball in his hands (4.36 40-yard dash), and create yards after the catch. Stribling is a great late-round selection in fantasy football drafts in 2026.
– Derek Brown