Andrew Ball's dynasty fantasy football sleepers to target in trades for 2026. His top sneaky sleeper trade targets and values for 2026 fantasy football leagues.
You get a Sleeper notification on your phone. A trade has been made in your dynasty league. As the league page loads, you wonder what it could be. Did someone pull off a blockbuster for Jaxon Smith-Njigba? Did a bottom-feeder commit to a rebuild and part ways with Christian McCaffrey?
Oh, he traded for Chris Rodriguez Jr.? That's a yawner.
It may not be exciting as a third party, but those under-the-radar players can bring upside and optimism to a bench, and that's thrilling in its own right. Here are four sneaky dynasty trade targets for the 2026 offseason.
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Emanuel Wilson - RB, Seattle Seahawks
Initially, when Kenneth Walker III took his Super Bowl MVP trophy to Kansas City, X was abuzz with posts about the fit with the Chiefs and what he could be for fantasy football. The dynasty sickos looked the other way, asking, what is Seattle going to do with its backfield?
Zach Charbonnet, who tore his ACL in mid-January, likely won't be ready for the beginning of the season. He may not even be active by the midway point, unless he pulls a Jayson Tatum-esque comeback and is the Week 1 starter.
The popular belief was that it'd sign one of the second-tier free-agent running backs, a la Tyler Allgeier or Rico Dowdle. The initial wave of contracts came and went without a notable signing in Seattle. So, eyes turned toward the upcoming NFL Draft.
Jeremiyah Love will be long gone by the time Seattle is on the clock, and no other runner profiles as a first-round pick. Who is the second-best running back prospect? It depends on who you ask.
Jadarian Price and Jonah Coleman are the most common names you hear about. Mike Washington Jr. is getting a lot of buzz following his NFL Combine performance. The Penn State guys are interesting. But are any of those guys ready to handle a primary back workload in Week 1?
Just on an early opportunity, Emanuel Wilson seems primed to be a major factor in this backfield, even though the contract salary (a hair over $2 million) doesn't scream "starter." The ex-Packer only has two career starts, both in 2025, and went undrafted after his collegiate career at Johnson C. Smith and Fort Valley State. Never heard of those schools? Me neither.
While the 26-year-old still has plenty to prove and his opportunities, or lack thereof, give us small sample sizes of his efficiency, there's a lot to like: 3.45 yards per touch and the third-best rushing success rate last season.
The move could backfire if the Seahawks invest a Day 2 pick into another running back. However, because of his brief success, he's not an integral part of any dynasty roster and won't cost much to obtain.
Current KeepTradeCut Value:
- QB - Justin Fields (Superflex)
- RB - Alvin Kamara
- WR - Dont'e Thornton Jr./Cedric Tillman
- TE - Pat Freiermuth
- Rookie Pick - 2028 Early Third Round
Keaton Mitchell, Kimani Vidal - RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Look past the big-name free-agency additions like Mike Evans, Kyler Murray, Alec Pierce, and Wan'Dale Robinson.
Now, look past the lesser-known names: Calvin Austin III, Dyami Brown, and even Keaton Mitchell himself.
There were two signings, so far under the fantasy football radar that one singular eye was batted (it was mine), that could actually signal something big. The Chargers spent a combined $31.8 million on fullback Alec Ingold and tight end Charlie Kolar. Kolar wasn't brought west to be a major factor in the passing game. PFF graded him as one of the better run-blockers at the position.
A fullback, a run-blocking tight end, and another $30 million invested in two new offensive linemen tell us that head coach Jim Harbaugh is recommitting to the run game.
Remember, that was the initial concern for Justin Herbert when Harbaugh moved from Michigan to Southern California. Even with the *ahem* dynamic duo of Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins in the backfield, he took the football out of Herbert's hands.
He attempted 26, 20, 18, and 27 passes in the first four games of the season when both backs were healthy. By the end of the year, his numbers were up, but he was still under 30 attempts per game.
Najee Harris and Omarion Hampton were intended to be massive upgrades at the position. Injuries, not just to the running backs but also the offensive line, derailed the season-long plan. Even so, we saw several games where Kimani Vidal, who, let's not forget, was waived as part of final roster cuts last August, got 23-25 carries.
Of course, Hampton is firmly entrenched as the Chargers starter and will cost a dynasty manager a Godfather offer to acquire him. The backups, though, not so much.
Vidal is the known commodity of the backfield reserves. He had games where he looked like one of the best runners in the league. He had others where he wasn't seeing the holes and posted a dismal YPC and fantasy point total.
So, it'll be an interesting competition between him and the new Charger Mitchell, who showed flashes of his own in Baltimore. He was more impressive during his rookie season before his ACL tear, but bounced back with consecutive games of 75+ rushing yards last December.
56-YARD RUN BY @_KeatonMitchell!!!!
Tune in on CBS! pic.twitter.com/M1Tlf4ZMi2
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 7, 2025
If there's one thing we know for certain about a Mike McDaniel offense, it's that he loves speed at the running back position, and that's Mitchell's best attribute. If Hampton misses time again, one of these running backs should be successful in this system. Mitchell may cost managers a bit more to acquire, but neither will break the bank.
Current KeepTradeCut Value: (Mitchell)
- QB - Anthony Richardson Sr. (Superflex)
- RB - Sean Tucker
- WR - Marvin Mims Jr./Deebo Samuel Sr.
- TE -- Gunnar Helm
- Rookie Pick - 2027 Mid Third Round
Current KeepTradeCut Value: (Vidal)
- QB - Jalen Milroe (Superflex)
- RB - Tank Bigsby
- WR - Jack Bech
- TE - Theo Johnson
- Rookie Pick - 2027 Mid Third Round
Pat Bryant - WR, Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos just traded for their new No. 1 receiver, Jaylen Waddle, to go all in for a Super Bowl. Bo Nix is playing on his rookie contract, they field one of the best defenses in football, and were likely one injury away from competing in San Francisco in February. The trade makes perfect sense.
TUA TO WADDLE. Dolphins tie it with 1:38 left!
📺: #MIAvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/Py2r2Lt9zi— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
While that takes some of the luster off Pat Bryant's potential Year 2 breakout, it also creates an opportunity to buy even lower. Believe in the talent and not the situation. The situation will work itself out, like, say, 30-year-old Courtland Sutton is a cap casualty next offseason (when his dead cap drops from $39 to $15 million) if Bryant is a player in this league.
21 of Bryant's 31 regular-season catches came in his final five games. From his best game in Week 11 (five catches for 82 yards) through the end of the season, the third-round pick was targeted on 22 percent of his routes and was the first read on nearly 20 percent. He led the team in yards per route run for receivers lined up out wide.
In that time frame, 44 percent of Bryant's routes were horizontally breaking, some of the most valuable for fantasy football. For reference, Chris Godwin Jr. led qualified receivers at 53.2%. Ladd McConkey (50.7%), Puka Nacua (48.1%), and Keenan Allen (47.6%) were the only receivers to top Bryant in that metric.
Remember, shortly after Bryant became a member of the Broncos, head coach Sean Payton compared him to a wide receiver who set records operating over the middle of the field, Michael Thomas. It was high praise at the time, and, well, it still is. Bryant is nowhere near Thomas' caliber yet, but we can see Payton use him similarly.
Overshadowed by Nix's playoff injury, Bryant's early game departures may have prevented him from making a name for himself on the national stage. Bryant played a total of 12 snaps across two Denver playoff games. He caught passes on four of them.
Current KeepTradeCut Value:
- QB - J.J. McCarthy (Superflex)
- RB - Braelon Allen
- WR - Elic Ayomanor/Isaac TeSlaa
- TE - AJ Barner
- Rookie Pick - 2028 Mid Second Round
Jalen McMillan - WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There weren't many receivers with better fantasy football efficiency than Jalen McMillan in 2024. The then-rookie scored 2.33 fantasy points per target. That number dropped to 1.99 in 2025 -- which is still a solid number, especially with the rare and dangerous circumstances that befell him.
McMillan fractured three vertebrae during the preseason, an injury that he says doctors feared would cause paralysis. Upon his return in Week 15, the former Washington Huskies star wasn't operating as the team's No. 2 receiver, as he was when he scored seven touchdowns in five games to end his rookie season.
Godwin was back in the fold, and the Buccaneers drafted Emeka Egbuka in the first round. Still, he picked up a 7-144 stat line in one of his four chances.
Now, Mike Evans is a 49er, and Godwin is on the wrong side of 30 and has a pair of devastating injuries. Egbuka and McMillan are the succession plan. Egbuka has the draft capital and made a bigger splash, but McMillan outproduced him on 20 fewer snaps.
McMillan is the forgotten name because of Egbuka's initial boom and the fact that he wasn't ranked as a starting-caliber fantasy receiver at all in 2025. The target share is going to balance out now that some of the crowd has left the Tampa Bay wide receiver room.
Current KeepTradeCut Value:
- QB - Michael Penix Jr. (Superflex)
- RB - J.K. Dobbins
- WR - Jalen Coker
- TE - Brenton Strange
- Rookie Pick - 2027 Late Second Round
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