8 Fantasy Football Sleepers and Late-Round Steals - Undervalued WRs, RBs, QBs

June 30, 2026

Joey's favorite fantasy football sleepers, breakouts and league-winners to target as late-round steals in 2026 drafts including Tyler Shough, Chuba Hubbard, Jayden Reed, more.

Every season, some players go so late in fantasy football drafts and eventually emerge as league winners. Players like Drake Maye, Javonte Williams, Alec Pierce, and Harold Fannin Jr. were some of the late-round steals in fantasy drafts last summer. This year, more late-round steals will emerge.

In this article, we'll dive into the eight biggest sleepers currently in 2026 fantasy football drafts. All eight of these players are going outside the top 80 and could be reliable fantasy options throughout the year. This list will feature three quarterbacks, two running backs, and three wide receivers who will exceed their average draft position.

So, let's dive into the eight fantasy football sleepers to target in upcoming fantasy drafts.

QB Fantasy Football Sleepers and Draft Values

Tyler Shough, QB, New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough came on strongly toward the end of his rookie season. He averaged 18.6 fantasy points per game in his final eight games. During this stretch, Shough scored above 18 fantasy points in six of those contests and scored above 20 fantasy points in three of his last five contests.

The Louisville product also displayed some sneaky rushing upside once he officially took over as the Saints quarterback, rushing at least six times in four of the final seven weeks and rushing for over 30 yards in three of his last five games. His best rushing day of the season came in a Week 14 game against the Buccaneers in which he ran for 55 yards and two touchdowns.

Tyler Shough called his own number for the game-winning TD 🙌 @visa pic.twitter.com/3a749oxzLU

— NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2025

After showing some encouraging things down the stretch, Shough now has the potential to take off in his second NFL season. Kellen Moore remains his play-caller, he has a dominant WR1 in Chris Olave to throw to, and the Saints added another big-time weapon on the outside by selecting Jordyn Tyson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Shough is currently one of the best value picks at the QB position in fantasy drafts. He has a 106.1 ADP in NFFC leagues and should only improve as a passer in Year 2 with a better supporting cast.

Malik Willis, QB, Miami Dolphins

Many fantasy managers are hesitant to take Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis in drafts this year. Willis has made only three starts since the beginning of the 2024 season and joins a Dolphins team with a 4.5 over/under win total. His top pass-catchers on offense also include Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert, Chris Bell, and Jalen Reagor.

However, Willis' rushing upside alone could carry him this upcoming season. In his three starts since 2024, Willis has run 41 yards (Week 2, 2024), 73 yards and one touchdown (Week 3, 2024), and 60 yards and two touchdowns (Week 17, 2025). Those rushing numbers helped him score 12.98 fantasy points, 25.38 fantasy points, and 31.52 fantasy points in those three contests, respectively.

The Dolphins will be trailing in many games in 2026, which could lead to more fantasy points for Willis. He is a massive threat on the ground and could earn a solid amount of fantasy points by dumping it to De'Von Achane, who ranked second in yards per touch last year. The 27-year-old will be a better fantasy option than some think due to his massive rushing upside.

Even in one game where he relieved an injured Jordan Love, he ran for 44 yards while playing 64% of the team's snaps. That makes him a fantastic sleeper pick at his 129.7 ADP in current NFFC leagues.

Kyler Murray, QB, Minnesota Vikings

Many fantasy managers might have forgotten just how good a fantasy quarterback Kyler Murray is when he's healthy. The 28-year-old signal-caller has finished as a top-10 fantasy quarterback in every season he has played at least 14 games.

He finished as the overall QB6 in 2019, QB3 in 2020, QB10 in 2021, and QB10 in 2024. In every other season (2022, 2023, 2025), injuries held him back from reaching that QB1 status. As long as Murray stays healthy, he's a strong bet to finish as a top-10 fantasy quarterback this season.

The former Pro Bowler landed in one of the best offensive situations this past offseason. He has the luxury of having two elite wide receivers in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison on the outside, and the last time he had a wide receiver of Jefferson's caliber to throw to was DeAndre Hopkins. Murray finished as the overall QB3 and overall QB10 in his first two seasons with Hopkins as his top playmaker (2020 and 2021).

The Oklahoma product will also continue to have massive rushing upside. He has rushed for over 400 yards in every season he has played at least 10 games, and averaged 34.6 rushing yards in his five contests last year. While the Vikings have yet to name Murray the starter for the 2026 season, he is the favorite to win the job out of training camp over J.J. McCarthy.

If he does, he's a strong QB1 selection at his 111.9 ADP in NFFC leagues.

RB Fantasy Football Sleepers and Draft Values

Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard will want to quickly forget about the 2025 season. Hubbard lost his starting job to Rico Dowdle in the second half of last season and was not a viable fantasy option down the stretch. The 27-year-old averaged just 5.8 PPR fantasy points over the final 10 weeks (nine games) in 2025.

However, things are much different for Hubbard entering the 2026 campaign. Dowdle signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency, and his biggest competition for touches is Jonathon Brooks, who is fresh off two consecutive ACL tears. Although Brooks will get his fair share of opportunities, it's unlikely that he will come in and immediately take over this RB1 job from Hubbard.

That's why Hubbard is such a value pick at his 97.8 ADP in current Sleeper leagues. He should see a large chunk of opportunities in this Carolina backfield, especially at the start of the season with Brooks still ramping up.

Let's not forget that just two years ago, Hubbard had a career fantasy season. He finished as the RB14 in PPR formats behind a 1,195-yard, 10-touchdown season in 2024.

Those numbers might not be possible if Brooks winds up being the real deal, but Hubbard still has the potential to be a solid fantasy RB2. He will be Carolina's starting running back to begin the season and could see upward of 15 touches each week.

Chuba Hubbard breaks away for a Panthers touchdown! 🔥 @fedex pic.twitter.com/Gg6UelJCQ5

— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024

Rachaad White, RB, Washington Commanders

It's unclear how the Washington Commanders backfield will shake out this season. Jacory Croskey-Merritt saw most of the running back carries in this offense last year, but he never took over as that clear RB1. Rachaad White is now added to the backfield mix after signing a one-year, $2 million deal with the Commanders in mid-March.

While this backfield figures to be a committee between Croskey-Merritt and White, the latter's usage in the receiving game makes him a sleeper to target in the later rounds in PPR formats. White has caught at least 50 passes in three of his first four NFL seasons and totaled a career-high 549 receiving yards back in 2023.

White could be used very similarly to how the Commanders used Austin Ekeler in the receiving game. Ekeler had 35 catches for 366 yards across 12 games during the 2024 campaign. That season also saw Jayden Daniels target his running backs 16.1% of the time, which ranked around league average.

White has the potential to be a very sneaky RB2 option in PPR formats this year. He is Washington's best pass-catching back and should be involved in the running back game as well. The 27-year-old has totaled over 4.2 yards per carry in back-to-back seasons. That's enough to take a chance on him at his 127.8 ADP in NFFC leagues. White is a high-floor selection in drafts.

WR Fantasy Football Sleepers and Draft Values

Parker Washington, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

This Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver room is crowded entering the 2026 season. Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington, and Jakobi Meyers are expected to lead a balanced passing attack, and Travis Hunter should still see some opportunities on offense. With these four wide receivers, it could be hard to predict which one will go off in any given week.

However, it was clear which one of these wide receivers was Trevor Lawrence's favorite target down the stretch last season. Washington was Lawrence's go-to option in the final few weeks. He averaged 14.9 PPR fantasy points in his final nine games.

If we don't include the game against the Titans in Week 13, where he left early in the second quarter, he averaged 16.3 PPR fantasy points in his final eight full games of the season.

Lawrence has always been known for targeting his playmakers in the slot. He had a 36% slot target rate from 2022 to 2024 (second among all QBs during this span) and had a 28.4% slot target rate in 2025. Assuming those trends continue into 2026, Washington could be in for a strong fantasy season.

He already ranked 15th among all WRs in fantasy points per route run and was Lawrence's No. 1 target against man coverage last season. Washington ranked inside the top 25 among all playmakers in yards per route run versus man, target rate versus man, and points per route run versus man. His 86.3 ADP in NFFC leagues makes him a sleeper.

Jayden Reed, WR, Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers finally solved their crowded wide receiver room by trading away Dontayvion Wicks and letting Romeo Doubs walk in free agency. Those two departures now leave the Packers with Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden, and Christian Watson as the primary wide receivers in this offense in 2026.

Those vacated targets will open up more opportunities for both Reed and Watson in the passing game. Both are fantastic targets in fantasy drafts this summer, but Reed might be the better value pick, considering he is going almost 60 picks later than Watson. In current NFFC leagues, Reed has a 117.8 ADP, while Watson has a 61.2 ADP.

Even though Watson was the most impactful wide receiver in Green Bay's offense last year, the potential is there for Reed to explode in 2026. He is finally past the two injuries that sidelined him for multiple months last season, and the 26-year-old will finally be incorporated more into this offense with both Wicks and Doubs gone.

Still scoring TDs... Jayden Reed takes it 34 yards to the house! @Packers

📺: #GBvsPHI on Peacock pic.twitter.com/rDhTef9Jm7

— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2024

The biggest concern with Reed in fantasy over the years was the fact that there were just too many targets to go around. He saw 94 targets in his rookie season and only 75 targets in his second season in 2024. His metrics, though, always supported that if more targets opened up in this offense, he could be a really consistent fantasy option.

In 2023, Reed ranked eighth among all wide receivers in fantasy points per route run and fifth in fantasy points per target. In 2024, Reed ranked 12th in fantasy points per route run and first in fantasy points per target. The departures of both Wicks and Doubs this past offseason should help him be a strong fantasy WR2 option.

Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs hasn't necessarily been a consistent fantasy option in his first three NFL seasons. He averaged 9.2 PPR fantasy points across 17 games in 2023, averaged 13.1 PPR fantasy points across 14 games in 2024, and averaged 8.6 PPR fantasy points across 16 games in 2025. This year, Downs could have his best all-around season yet.

Michael Pittman Jr. was traded to the Steelers in mid-March, and Downs will now move up the depth chart as the No. 2 pass-catching option in this Indianapolis offense in 2026. Pittman's 111 vacated targets could result in 20 or even 30 more targets his way this upcoming season.

That could put him right around the 110-target mark, which is where he was at in his career-best season in 2024. Downs saw 107 targets that season to go with 72 catches for 803 yards and five touchdowns. He posted WR3 fantasy numbers during that year and could be a consistent fantasy WR3 this year with Pittman now gone.

Downs is currently going off the board as the WR50 in current NFFC leagues. That feels too low for a wide receiver who should see more opportunities in the passing game on a Colts offense that was one of the best with Daniel Jones under center a season ago.

More Fantasy Football Analysis