RADIO
Dave's late-round fantasy football league-winning draft picks and breakout candidates for 2026. His top draft values and targets for fantasy football, including Kenneth Gainwell and more.
Summer is in full swing. Hopefully you’re making the most of it and have enjoyed a few trips and grilled a few hot dogs along the way. As summer moves along, that means NFL training camps and preseason games are now just a few weeks away. It also means fantasy football drafts will be here before we know it.
Speaking of fantasy football drafts, now is the perfect time to start preparing for the upcoming season. It’s never too early to start planning your draft strategy and scouting players. Nobody wants to be the guy fumbling through his cheat sheets on draft day. One of the best ways to prepare is by identifying potential sleepers available later in the draft. Don’t make the mistake of assuming the later rounds are full of just dart throws. There are some great picks available at this stage of the draft, and hitting on just one sleeper could be all you need to win your league. Today, we will discuss several options available in the latter stages of the draft who could emerge as fantasy difference-makers. For this article, we will focus on players currently selected outside the top 100 picks in Yahoo fantasy football leagues.
Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X and download the RotoBaller app for all your fantasy football needs. Here are five late-round sleepers to target in your 2026 fantasy football draft.
Editor's Note: The FFPC Baby Gorilla Tournament is now open, featuring a $100,000 grand prize and a $675,450 total prize pool! This 12-team, Tight End Premium contest uses a 20-round draft format, with the overall winners determined by total points scored during Weeks 15–17. Get $25 to use toward your first entry by signing up through our link. Grab your team now! Sign Up Now!
J.K. Dobbins - RB, Denver Broncos
Yahoo ADP: 102.5 Overall
2025 was Dobbins' first year with the Broncos, and it was a successful one. He emerged as Denver’s clear lead back and ran for 772 yards, four touchdowns, and averaged 5.0 yards per carry. His advanced stats were also quite strong.
Among 49 running backs with 100+ carries in 2025, Dobbins ranked:
- 3rd in explosive run rate per Fantasy Points Data Suite
- 8th in missed tackles forced per attempt per Fantasy Points Data Suite
- 9th in Next Gen Stats Rush Yards Over Expected
- 15th in rushing success rate per Fantasy Points Data Suite
- 17th in PFF elusive rating
- 18th in PFF rushing grade
J.K. TD!
TENvsDEN on FOXhttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/gqOFRis6ft
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
Unfortunately, once again for Dobbins, injuries cropped up and cut short another solid campaign. He suffered a foot injury in Week 10 and would miss the rest of the year.
RJ Harvey took over as Denver's top rusher in Dobbins' absence, and he would underperform in the role. As a result, the team re-signed Dobbins to a two-year, $16 million contract in free agency. Now that he is fully recovered, Dobbins is expected to resume his role as Denver’s RB1.
Obviously, the main issue with Dobbins is his health/durability. At this point, it would be wise for gamers to plan on Dobbins missing multiple weeks due to some kind of injury. That’s just how his career has gone to date. With a little, well, really a lot of luck, perhaps Dobbins can stay healthy and finally deliver the kind of season we know he's capable of producing.
For whatever it's worth, Dobbins appears motivated to shed the injury-prone label. In a recent interview, he loudly proclaimed he’s “out to be the number one running back in 2026” and “there won’t be any injuries this year.” Whether or not Dobbins makes good on that proclamation remains to be seen.
The one thing we know for sure is that for as long as he’s on the field, Dobbins will be an asset for fantasy gamers. That makes him a fine investment in the latter half of drafts.
Kyler Murray - QB, Minnesota Vikings
Yahoo ADP: 103.2 Overall
Following a seven-year stint with the Arizona Cardinals, Murray signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. He’s expected to battle J.J. McCarthy for the QB1 spot, but given how bad McCarthy was in 2025, Murray should prevail as the team’s starter.
While Murray has his flaws as a passer (he was PFF’s 40th-best passer on throws of 20+ yards last year), he’s not entirely awful, either. Per Fantasy Points Data Suite, among 45 quarterbacks with 100+ dropbacks in 2025, Murray ranked:
- 5th in adjusted completion percentage
- 13th in catchable throw percentage
- 16th in highly accurate throw percentage
- 41st in off-target throw percentage (a lower score is good in this metric)
It’s worth noting that Murray’s 6.3 aDOT (average depth of target) was the fourth lowest in the league based on the criteria above. But still, these stats at least indicate Murray can be a respectable option in the short/intermediate passing game.
With Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, Jauan Jennings, and a top-tier offensive play-caller (head coach Kevin O’Connell) behind him, we might be looking at a massive bounce-back season for Murray. Plus, we haven’t even discussed the rushing upside that he offers to gamers as well.
Murray is not a perfect quarterback. There are some questions about how his skill set fits with what O’Connell likes to do offensively, but there’s also potential top-5 upside here. If you are planning to wait on a quarterback in your draft, then Murray is the perfect player to target. He offers rushing upside, and you can always pair him with a safer option later in the draft.
Ricky Pearsall - WR, San Francisco 49ers
Yahoo ADP: 111.9 Overall
Pearsall enters his third NFL season in 2026. His raw stats won’t blow you away, but he’s shown flashes of upside during his first two years and is one of the more underrated route runners currently in the league.
After review, this play is confirmed a TD! Purdy ➡️ Pearsall for the score.
📺: #DETvsSF on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/MsJmGIFuFM— NFL (@NFL) December 31, 2024
There’s potential for Pearsall to emerge as San Francisco’s top pass-catcher this year. George Kittle is recovering from an Achilles injury and may not be 100% to start the year. The team did sign veteran Mike Evans in free agency, but he is coming off the worst year of his career and dealt with several injuries, too.
Christian McCaffrey is now 30 and is coming off a 400+ touch season, so there’s a real possibility he misses time due to injury, and that would open up even more opportunities for Pearsall.
Targeting Pearsall was also a high-efficiency play for San Francisco in 2025. Per FTN Fantasy, Pearsall averaged 0.51 EPA (expected points added) per target. This was the 10th-best mark among wide receivers last year, so it would be in San Francisco’s best interest to continue targeting him.
The main issue with Pearsall has been his availability. He’s missed 14 games the last two years while dealing with several ailments, and this has given gamers pause in drafts. However, if Pearsall can find a way to stay healthy, he could be poised for a career year.
Luckily, any injury risk is sufficiently baked into Pearsall’s ADP, so there is very little downside in taking him at this range of drafts. If everything breaks right, Pearsall could force his way into the weekly WR1 conversation as Kyle Shanahan's offenses have traditionally been great for wide receivers.
Kenneth Gainwell - RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Yahoo ADP: 113.2 Overall
Gainwell is coming off a career-best season in 2025 that saw him finish as the PPR RB16.
KENNETH GAINWELL HOW
TD STEELERS 😱
PITvsDET on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/sZg9uFqkMF
— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2025
He will look to build off that performance with a new team in 2026, and Tampa Bay might be the perfect spot for him to do so. Tampa Bay’s incumbent RB1, Bucky Irving, is coming off a disastrous sophomore season where he struggled with injuries and consistent play. He did not resemble the explosive, playmaking back we saw in 2024 and took a real step back in 2025.
The Buccaneers took note and made it a point to sign Gainwell to a two-year, $14 million deal in free agency. Gainwell is a strong pass-catching back and has made improvements as a rusher since entering the league.
Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles has spoken highly of Gainwell and has even said he views Gainwell and Irving as a true 1A/1B type of situation.
That is bad news for Irving. Considering Tampa Bay made it a point to sign Gainwell in free agency, Irving could cede more than a 50/50 split to Gainwell if the former’s 2025 struggles bleed over into 2026.
Gainwell may also hold a huge advantage when it comes to new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson’s rushing scheme. Robinson was the play-caller for the Atlanta Falcons last year, and he relied heavily on a zone blocking scheme.
Per Fantasy Points Data Suite, Atlanta ran a total of 334 zone runs, which accounted for 70% of its total runs. This was the highest rate in the league. Among 49 running backs with 100+ attempts, Gainwell had the seventh-highest success rate on zone runs in 2025. This could be problematic for Irving as he only ranked 28th in zone rushing success rate last year.
A lot is working in Gainwell’s favor entering 2026. While he may not completely push Irving aside, Gainwell should still provide plenty of value at his current ADP, especially in PPR leagues. Of the two Tampa Bay backs, Gainwell looks like the better bet to provide a positive return on investment for fantasy managers.
Malik Willis - QB, Miami Dolphins
Yahoo ADP: 118.4 Overall
Willis has played well in relief the last two years in Green Bay and has looked the part of a legitimate dual-threat quarterback.
Malik Willis delivers a TD strike to Dontayvion Wicks!
📺: #INDvsGB on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/jTbklQpU6e— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
WE FINALLY HAVE A TOUCHDOWN!!!
Malik Willis airs it out to Romeo Doubs 🎯pic.twitter.com/7XYzdNMA0V
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) December 21, 2025
Malik Willis making something out of nothing!
GBvsCHI on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/FceXaFOxh7
— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2025
He would parlay those spot starts into a three-year, $67.5 million deal with the Miami Dolphins to become the team’s new QB1. What makes Willis an intriguing play for some gamers is that he offers tantalizing upside thanks to his rushing ability.
While it’s a small sample size, he also showcased some growth as a passer with Green Bay as opposed to his early days with the Tennessee Titans.
In two seasons with the Packers, Willis completed 78.7% of his passes compared to just 53% when he played for Tennessee. Whether or not those improvements are legitimate or a flash in the pan remains to be seen, but it was still an encouraging development.
Regardless of his potential improvements as a passer, the biggest issue for Willis is the Dolphins' lack of credible pass-catchers. The wide receiver room is currently led by injured rookie wide receiver Chris Bell and veterans Malik Washington and Jalen Tolbert, while journeyman Greg Dulcich leads the tight end room.
This is hardly the 1999-2000 St. Louis Rams receiving corps and could be an issue for Willis.
The reality of Willis' situation, though, is that despite a strong showing in limited action with Green Bay, he still has much to prove. He’s also working with the worst group of pass-catchers in the NFL. Whether or not Willis has actually improved as a passer could be negated for fantasy purposes thanks to the pitiful group of pass-catchers Miami has put in place around him.
However, Willis is a real threat with his legs, and Miami will surely lean into his rushing ability to help keep the offense above water. That alone will keep Willis in the QB1 conversation each week. How long he remains the Dolphins starter is anyone’s best guess. But as long as he is starting games, he’ll be live for a strong fantasy finish.
Target Willis as an upside QB2 play in superflex leagues. If you’re in a single-quarterback league, then draft Willis and pair him with a more stable option (like a Matthew Stafford or Jared Goff type) to help mitigate any risk.
Who Should I Draft Tool
Read more about the Who Should I Draft tool here:
2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - J.K. Dobbins, Kyler Murray, Ricky Pearsall, Malik Willis, Kenneth Gainwell. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy football drafts.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? You may have noticed our Who Should I Draft? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your 2026 fantasy football drafts. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats and projections, ADPs, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their preseason fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research and update it constantly throughout the preseason. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Draft Searches. Curious to see some tough draft decisions for 2026? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Draft? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for J.K. Dobbins, Kyler Murray, Ricky Pearsall, Malik Willis, Kenneth Gainwell:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
