Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Sleepers: Late-Round Picks to Target in Rookie Drafts

January 26, 2026

John's late-round dynasty fantasy football sleepers for 2026 rookie drafts. His undervalued 2026 rookie breakout candidates for dynasty include Nyck Harbor, Malachi Fields, more.

It's never too early for dynasty fantasy football managers to start looking toward next year for good values late in their rookie drafts. While the first-round prospects are pretty well-known at this point, you can't build a team just off first-round picks, for the most part.

Instead, finding good players after the first round is crucial to having sustainable success in dynasty. Players like Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, though clearly an outlier, illustrate just how much the NFL can whiff on elite players in the draft, leading to them having low ADPs in fantasy football.

Of course, we're a long way away from the 2026 NFL Draft. A huge part of the battle is selecting players who landed in good offensive environments, as that's more important than ever. But who should you have your eye on this early in the process among late-round rookies? Let's dive in.

Nyck Harbor, WR, South Carolina

Harbor has an astounding combination of size and athleticism at his position. He's listed at around 6-foot-5 and around 240 pounds, yet is a track star at that height and weight. Harbor ran a 10.11 in the 100-yard dash and a 20.20 in the 200-meter dash.

Numbers like this shouldn't be possible at his size, so the athleticism alone is a reason to pay attention to Harbor's landing spot. Of course, we've seen other extremely athletic players at WR fail in the NFL due to a combination of factors, and Harbor's production hasn't been great in college.

SOUTH CAROLINA! LaNorris Sellers dime ➡️ Nyck Harbor for the 53 yard TD! pic.twitter.com/zX26Ri6kzI

— 🜲 🜲 🜲 (@fsh733) November 29, 2025

It's yet unclear whether he'll declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, though that's the indication now. If he lands on a good team that can properly develop him and adjust its scheme to his strengths, he could be a contributor. But he's a project.

What he possesses in physical talent, he lacks in route-running nuance. He seems to be multiple years away from developing into a good NFL receiver in those aspects, if he ever gets there at all. So, it will be a hard sell to draft him if he lands on a directionless NFL franchise like the Las Vegas Raiders.

Nyck Harbor acceleration pic.twitter.com/ErGSkuGN3V

— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) November 18, 2025

Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III (quad) has made great strides in his route running and separation abilities in his first year in the NFL. That's often the case with players on well-run franchises -- when the finer details of their game aren't elite, they need to be in good situations to develop properly.

Harbor is a player I'll be drafting some of if he lands on a good offense, or at least a team with good offensive coaching.

Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State

Singleton was seen as one of the top running backs in the 2025 NFL Draft class before he decided to return to school for another season. But, yet again, he played second fiddle to RB Kaytron Allen. Singleton has plenty of athletic talent, but he hasn't been able to take over his RB1 job.

Thus, it's hard to see him in a workhorse role at the next level immediately. There are plenty of deficiencies in his game. One of his big weaknesses is his elusiveness, as his hips can be quite stiff, which makes him struggle to make defenders miss with jukes and jump cuts at times.

Nicholas Singleton in pass pro >>> pic.twitter.com/ZMvBHZ5YpI

— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) December 30, 2025

Still, he's a good pass-protecting back, and sometimes that's all it takes for an RB to earn significant time, when combined with good size, speed, and durability. Getting on to the field as much as possible is the first challenge, as is making sure you're not on the sidelines during passing downs because your team has a much better pass-protecting RB on the roster.

Singleton's landing spot will be important, of course. We'd prefer him to land on a good offense that has a clear need at RB and doesn't already have a top-tier pass-protecting RB. The Kansas City Chiefs come to mind, as they have an aging and slow bruiser RB, a rookie-converted-WR who can't block, and a starting RB who's fast, but not much else.

“Hi, didn’t you used to be Nick Singleton?” pic.twitter.com/ZcdyyBtqHx

— Powers_Of_PSU (@powers_of_psu) October 22, 2025

Some of the best athletes at the RB position just don't get on the field a lot, as they're hamstrung by their lack of pass-pro abilities. Meanwhile, RBs like Travis Etienne Jr. of the Jacksonville Jaguars are good pass-blockers and solid all-around RBs, and in a good offense, which is what matters.

Singleton's inability to be the workhorse back for his offense can likely be forgiven if he develops further as a pass-blocker, as he's a good enough pure runner with the requisite size and speed to be used in short-yardage situations, too.

Eric Singleton Jr., WR, Auburn

Leaning heavily into the "he can fix him" mentality here, our next player is Singleton, another great athlete who we hope finds a good landing spot in the NFL. Sometimes it takes a village to raise a player, metaphorically speaking, of course.

Where Singleton lacks in his game is in route-running nuance. He has a lot of work to do in that area of his game. While his releases look explosive, the stems of his routes are less so.

Eric Singleton Jr. All Auburn needed was a QB to chuck it pic.twitter.com/03BFGi2V2y

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) October 25, 2025

His smaller frame for his size also presents barriers when trying to fight off contact at the line of scrimmage and physically fight for passes. That doesn't stop every receiver from being good, but he's 5-foot-10 and just 180 pounds. Size isn't one of his assets.

But he shows willingness as a blocker and in contested catch situations despite his lack of strength. And he's quite good in the open field, where he's able to juke defenders with effectiveness and run after the catch. His 40-yard dash time is purportedly a 4.34, though we'll have to see how he does at the combine.

In the later rounds, he seems like a good player to take a chance on.

Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame

A more explosive Keon Coleman isn't the most glowing comparison you could have as a college football player, but Fields' size and hops alone make him an excellent jump-ball catcher. Many of his highlight-reel-worthy plays in his senior season show him doing a good job of high-pointing the ball.

A lot of Coleman's struggles in the NFL come down to effort as well. He simply doesn't try that hard when on the field, and has been seen jogging on a lot of his routes on tape, as well as having other problems in the building. So, the comp isn't too awful from that perspective.

HE DID IT AGAIN 👀🤯

Malachi Fields=human highlight film #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/vzw0ERXBIg

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 15, 2025

Coleman severely lacks athleticism, whereas Fields has a bit more speed and burst to his game, which should help him have defenders a bit more off track when the ball reaches him on downfield shots. And he could develop nicely into a good red-zone weapon.

Not every WR needs to have an explosive first step and be able to bound off the line of scrimmage to be useful. Fields' feel for zone coverages combined with his size and catch radius can also help him outside of short-yardage situations and in the end zone, making him more than just a situational contributor.

We'd like to see him go to a team that lacks size at the WR position, perhaps even one that doesn't have great production from their tight ends. The New York Giants might be a good landing spot, as they lack a big-bodied target who can hang onto passes well. Tight end Theo Johnson has drop struggles.

Deep Sleeper: Desmond Reid, RB, Pittsburgh

Reid is quite the athlete in the open field. When he can find space, he's able to break off long plays thanks to his raw speed, acceleration, and elusiveness in space. But the red flags of his draft profile are quite massive -- he weighs just 175 pounds, has a long injury history, and is just 5-foot-8.

Hoping that every small speedster RB turns into the next De'Von Achane is a fool's errand. And even Baltimore Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell is 15 pounds heavier at around the same height. But if he lands on a good offense, there's a chance he turns into a flex-worthy player in dynasty.

HOT start for Desmond Reid @StoolPitt pic.twitter.com/XGZjIMt6iA

— Barstool U (@BarstoolU) August 31, 2024

If you're in a dynasty league that counts return yards, he's also a player you might want to keep your eye on. Kick and punt returners can thrive without having the size or strength to break tackles, as they can rely more on raw elusiveness and speed. They often start their returns with a ton of space between them and the nearest defender.

Reid would be the most landing spot-sensitive player on this list, and the most likely scenario is that his NFL career doesn't go far. But dynasty leagues are about finding value in unexpected places, and he has the athletic tools to have some upside in the NFL.

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