The default positions in Yahoo! fantasy football leagues include one quarterback, two wide receivers, two running backs, one tight end, one flex (running back/wide receiver/tight end), one kicker, one defense, six bench spots and two injured reserve (IR) slots. The default is also 10-team leagues and half-PPR scoring. However, this article aims to look at deeper-league stashes. Thus, the suggestions are with 14-team leagues using those positions and half-PPR scoring in mind. Players must have an average draft position (ADP) after 154 to qualify for inclusion in this piece.
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Deep League Fantasy Football Draft Targets
Khalil Shakir (WR – BUF) | ADP: 158 (WR54)
Khalil Shakir might seem like a boring selection, bereft of upside and pinched for targets with the addition of DJ Moore to Buffalo’s pass-catching corps. However, that’s not necessarily the case. Shakir is already demonstrably a weapon with the ball in his hands.
According to the Fantasy Points Data Suite, among 91 wide receivers with at least 250 routes in the 2025 regular season and postseason, Shakir ranked:
- Third in yards after the catch per reception (7.24 YAC/REC)
- First in yards after contact per reception (3.29 YACO/REC)
- Tied for third in missed tackles forced (20)
- Tied for 10th in missed tackles forced per reception (0.22)
- Second in yards after the catch (659)
Of course, part of the reason Shakir was able to pile up so many yards after the catch was that he ranked dead last out of 91 qualifying wide receivers in average depth of target with a 3.5-yard aDOT.
Suppose Shakir is used downfield a bit more this season, now that Joe Brady has taken over as the team’s head coach and Moore adds a vertical dimension to the passing attack that’s been lacking in recent years. The YAC-monster caught a long touchdown on a vertical shot from the slot in Buffalo’s Return of the Blue & Red Scrimmage in front of fans at Highmark Stadium on Saturday.
Love the route nuance by Shakir here, some of the best work I have seen by him tbh. Stems wide to get inside leverage on the slot defender and pretty much does the same thing on the Stutter to get to the post….Pretty stuff.
We can also appreciate the Bills using Shakir at the… https://t.co/d398YGn23Z
— Cover 1 (@Cover1) August 9, 2026
Shakir also spoke with former Bills center Eric Wood about his offseason focus.
Shakir mentioned working on “exploding off the ball” and “opening up his stride.” Those offseason goals sound like they’d align with more intermediate and vertical usage.
Shakir is also a candidate for unique usage because of his YAC ability, such as aligning in the backfield to generate mismatches, which he did 1.7% of the time last season, per the Fantasy Points Data Suite. Curtis Samuel previously received some backfield alignment during his forgettable and injury-plagued stint with the Bills, which Shakir could absorb. To that point, Shakir had a touchdown reception in practice when aligned in the backfield.
Josh Allen finds Khalil Shakir out of the backfield, escapes for a big gain
Shakir has consistently produced throughout camp. Flown under the radar pic.twitter.com/7LGbPWJbgQ
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) August 7, 2026
I also recently discussed my expectation for the Bills to pass at a higher rate in 2026 when highlighting my most-rostered best ball players. In addition, Buffalo’s defense is a question mark, and if it’s a below-average unit, that could force the Bills to pass more often.
The Bills have a nightmare matchup against the Texans in Week 1 in Houston, but they have a likely fantasy-friendly matchup against the Lions for Buffalo’s home opener on Thursday Night Football in Week 2. Shakir is a worthy bench stash to see if his usage changes this season.
De’Zhaun Stribling (WR – SF) | ADP: 158 (WR66)
De’Zhaun Stribling doesn’t have a listed ADP at Yahoo!, which is why his draft cost is identical to Shakir’s, but his wide receiver ranking by ADP is lower. Still, he qualifies for this piece, and it’s time for gamers to stop clinging to their pre-NFL Draft priors.
The 49ers picked Stribling with the first pick of the second round, making him the sixth wide receiver selected. He received meaningful draft capital. Additionally, Ricky Pearsall will miss the entire 2026 season to undergo knee surgery for his troublesome PCL. The 49ers responded to that unfortunate news by bringing back Deebo Samuel after his 2025 season with the Commanders. Regardless, Stribling has a path to a sizable role in San Francisco’s offense.
Kyle Shanahan has crafted fantasy-friendly offenses. Moreover, Brock Purdy is a fantasy-friendly quarterback for his pass-catching weapons. Per StatHead, among 41 quarterbacks with at least 10 starts in the regular season and playoffs since 2024, Purdy is sixth in passing yards per game (247.4) and 11th in passing touchdown rate (5.3%).
Stribling wasn’t unproductive in his final collegiate season, either. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), 71 FBS wide receivers in this year’s NFL Draft class had at least 70 targets, and Stribling ranked:
- Tied for 47th in receptions (55)
- Tied for 29th in receiving yards (811)
- Tied for 31st in yards per route run (2.15)
- Seventh in yards after the catch per reception (7.3)
- 23rd in PFF receiving grade (78.8)
Shanahan has gotten significant productivity out of YAC-monster wideouts, and it’s worth stashing Stribling on the bench to see if he’s Shanahan’s latest success story.
Keaton Mitchell (RB – LAC) | ADP: 174 (RB53)
I’m not ready to stop pounding the table for Keaton Mitchell. His explosiveness and efficiency as a runner are jaw-dropping. According to StatHead, among 84 running backs with at least 120 rush attempts in the regular season and postseason since 2023, Mitchell is second in yards per rush attempt (6.3), sandwiched between Emari Demercado (6.5) and De’Von Achane (5.6).
The new Chargers back also ranked third in success rate (57.9%), behind a two-way tie between Emanuel Wilson and Chris Rodriguez Jr. (58.1%) for first. Mitchell is also tied for fourth in yards after contact per attempt (2.5), behind Demercado (3.0), Rodriguez (2.9) and Achane (2.7).
It’s easy to see why offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel printed out wanted posters for Mitchell.
#Chargers OC Mike McDaniel printed out wanted posters for Keaton Mitchell and Alec Ingold, and put the posters up on GM Joe Hortiz’s wall pic.twitter.com/6e1HdV05eY
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) April 17, 2026
Unfortunately, Mitchell hasn’t added much value through the air. According to Pro-Football-Reference, he has only 19 receptions (0.7 per game), 184 receiving yards (7.1 per game) and zero receiving touchdowns in the regular season in his career. Per PFF, he has 0.21 targets per route run (TPRR) in his career, which is encouraging, albeit on only 108 routes.
Camp hype for running backs seeing more receiving work should always be taken with a spoonful of salt instead of a grain of salt, but McDaniel essentially mentioned untapped receiving upside.
OC McDaniel on Keaton Mitchell, via @DanGrazianoESPN:
“He’s a matchup issue for every defense. I think he has a lot of pass-game value that he hasn’t been able to really represent in his career, but it’s showing so far in camp.” pic.twitter.com/6I6D4LSbzh
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) August 4, 2026
Interestingly, Achane had untapped receiving potential in college, unlocked by McDaniel in Miami. Below is a table with the collegiate receiving numbers for Achane and Mitchell.
I’m not saying McDaniel can turn Mitchell into Achane’s equivalent in the passing attack. I’m not a film guy, so it may be that Achane’s underutilized receiving upside in college was apparent, and Mitchell’s mediocre receiving production in college and the pros has been warranted. Nevertheless, it’s worth throwing a dart in Mitchell’s direction late in fantasy football drafts to see if he can carve out 8-12 opportunities (carries plus targets) a week behind Omarion Hampton, which would be more valuable if a handful of his opportunities were targets that led to receptions.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
