6 Third-Year Fantasy Football Sleepers: Breakout Candidates to Draft (2026)

June 26, 2026

Joey's 6 fantasy football third-year breakout candidates for 2026. His breakout candidates include Marvin Harrison Jr., Rome Odunze, Jonathon Brooks, and more.

It's never too early to start researching for your upcoming fantasy football drafts. With training camp officially starting in one month, football will be back on our screens before we know it. Knowing where certain players are going now and which players might be undervalued in fantasy drafts could give you a leg up over your league mates come draft time.

In this article, we will look at six third-year sleepers in 2026 fantasy football drafts. The term sleeper means a lot of different things in the fantasy landscape, but in this instance, it's a player going too late in drafts who will exceed their average draft position.

So, let's dive into potential sleeper candidates for fantasy drafts this summer.

Bo Nix, QB, Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix has an extremely generous ADP in fantasy football drafts this season despite finishing as a QB1 in each of his first two NFL seasons. Nix averaged 19.4 fantasy points behind a QB7 fantasy finish in his rookie campaign in 2024 and then averaged 18.6 fantasy points behind another QB7 fantasy finish in 2025.

Somehow, though, Nix finds himself going as the QB16 (96.5 ADP overall) in current NFFC leagues. That makes him the ultimate sleeper in fantasy football drafts this season. He's a strong bet to finish as a QB1 for the third year in a row, and fantasy managers can snag him outside the first seven rounds.

2025 Bo Nix Passing. pic.twitter.com/cn0EFFHm9N

— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) June 19, 2026

Last year, Nix was a solid all-around fantasy quarterback. He provided a solid fantasy floor each week due to his rushing upside. The former Oregon star rushed for at least 20 yards in eight of 17 games and ended the year with 356 yards and four touchdowns. He has now rushed for over 350 yards in back-to-back seasons to begin his NFL season.

Not only does Nix's sneaky rushing upside make him a nice target in the middle rounds, but the Broncos also upgraded his weapons in the passing game. He now has newly acquired wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and veteran Courtland Sutton to throw to in the passing game. The addition of Waddle could really help his passing numbers as well, considering Nix had the third-most dropped passes in 2025.

Nix is an easy target at his 96.5 ADP. He has ranked in the top 10 among all quarterbacks in designed runs per game in his first two NFL seasons, and Waddle finally gives this offense another big-time playmaker.

Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has been a fantasy bust in each of his first two seasons. He finished as the WR30 in PPR formats in 2024 after having a late first-round/early second-round ADP and finished as the WR49 in PPR formats in 2025 after having a fourth-round ADP. This year, the fantasy community appears to be out on the former fourth-overall pick.

Harrison has a WR31 (73.4 ADP) in NFFC leagues right now. He's going as a WR3 in these drafts and even has a later ADP in Sleeper leagues at 91.9. But the third time is the charm for the Ohio State product.

For starters, Harrison's situation has vastly improved. The Cardinals hired offensive guru Mike LaFleur to be their next head coach in the offseason. LaFleur comes from the Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan coaching trees and has helped wide receivers like Puka Nacua and Garrett Wilson blossom into NFL superstar playmakers. Harrison has the potential to be the next.

LaFleur has already said that Harrison will take the X-receiver role in this Arizona offense this season. That's the same role that Davante Adams held with the Rams last year when LaFleur was the offensive coordinator. Being in this role could help Harrison be more involved in the red zone and further down the field, as Adams ranked top-10 in both unrealized air yards and touchdowns (14) last year.

Additionally, Jacoby Brissett being the likely starter heading into Week 1 is great news for Harrison's fantasy value. Brissett helped Michael Wilson emerge as a WR1 in this offense last year when Harrison was sidelined. But when Harrison was healthy, he was the go-to target in this offense. He had two double-digit target games in Week 9 and Week 10 before being in and out of the lineup over the final eight weeks due to injuries.

The talent and situation are both there for Harrison to explode in 2026. He finally has a top play caller calling the shots, and Brissett isn't afraid to let it fly through the air. That all makes the 23-year-old a must-target at his 73.4 ADP.

Rome Odunze, WR, Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze was looking like one of the best value picks in fantasy football drafts last year. He averaged 19.9 PPR fantasy points in the first four weeks and averaged a solid 14.3 PPR fantasy points in his first nine games. Then, Odunze suffered a foot injury that really limited him down the stretch.

But with the 24-year-old fully past that foot injury now, he has breakout written all over him in Year 3.

Rome Odunze has a TD in each of the Bears' first four games this season 🐻

CHIvsLV on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/58d8yaLaqZ

— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025

While he does have a higher ADP in NFFC leagues at 61.1, Odunze is a wide receiver who carries immense fantasy upside in 2026. The Bears just traded away one of their top wide receivers in D.J. Moore this offseason, and Odunze was clearly Caleb Williams' favorite target in the passing game when he was healthy.

Odunze saw at least eight targets in six of his 12 games in 2025. In those six contests, he averaged a whopping 17.2 PPR fantasy points per game. The Bears will need a wide receiver to step up in this evolving offense this upcoming season, and there's a good chance that wide receiver will be the former Washington playmaker.

He ranked top-20 among all wide receivers in target share (23.7%), air yards share (36%), average target distance (13.9 yards), deep targets (23), red zone target rate (25%), expected fantasy points per game (13.9), and first read target rate versus man (36%) in 2025. Those metrics show just how important Odunze was to this offense when he was on the field.

If this Chicago offense takes another step forward with Williams and Ben Johnson in their second season together, Odunze could be in for a massive fantasy season. He has the potential to finish as a WR1 in 2026.

Jonathon Brooks, RB, Carolina Panthers

It has been a long road back for Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks. He missed the first 11 weeks of his rookie season while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered back in his final college season at Texas. Unfortunately, Brooks tore his ACL in the same knee just three games into his professional career. This second ACL tear forced him to miss the entire 2025 season.

There's no doubt that selecting Brooks is a bit risky in fantasy drafts. He has totaled only nine career carries since being drafted in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and back-to-back ACL tears are never easy to come back from. But his upside easily outweighs the risk, especially since he is going outside the top 130 in current NFFC leagues.

Fantasy managers are paying nothing for a running back that the Panthers were so high on just two years ago. He rushed for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in his last college season with the Longhorns in 2025, and the potential is there for him to eventually take over as the RB1 in this Carolina offense in the second half.

Chuba Hubbard is coming off one of the most inefficient rushing seasons in his career. He rushed for just 511 yards (3.81 yards per carry) with one touchdown. If Brooks comes in and immediately turns heads in his first full season, head coach Dave Canales won't be afraid to demote Hubbard to the backup role like he did last year when Rico Dowdle came on strongly.

Yes, there is some risk with Brooks, and he likely will be very limited to start the season. At this point in drafts, though, fantasy managers should shoot for upside.

Jalen McMillan, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The 2025 season was a lost year for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan. He suffered a severe neck injury during the preseason and missed the first 14 weeks of the season while recovering from that injury. Even when he suited up for the final four weeks, he faced significant target competition with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Emeka Egbuka.

However, the departure of Evans this offseason will open up more targets in this Tampa Bay offense. McMillan should now find his way onto the field in three wide receiver sets and should see consistent snaps since he can play all three wide receiver spots (X, Z, slot). Fantasy managers all saw what he can do when he actually gets consistent snaps back in his rookie season in 2024.

That season, McMillan averaged 19.8 PPR fantasy points from Week 14 to Week 18. He scored above 16 PPR fantasy points in each of those five contests and totaled 24 catches for 316 yards and seven touchdowns during this stretch. Although this might be a small sample size from two seasons ago, it's clear that he has the potential to be a key part of this Buccaneers offense with Baker Mayfield under center in 2026.

McMillan even had a monster seven-catch, 114-yard game against the Dolphins in Week 17 last year. More performances like this could be on the horizon this season with Evans now on another team, so take a chance on him at his 168.8 ADP.

Baker moves in the pocket and delivers a dot to Jalen McMillan for the TD!

📺: #TBvsDAL on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/bMUjTBpSYr

— NFL (@NFL) December 23, 2024

Braelon Allen, RB, New York Jets

New York Jets running back Braelon Allen is another player on this list coming off an injury-riddled 2025 campaign. Allen missed the final 14 weeks of the season after injuring his MCL in a Week 4 game against the Dolphins. Despite only playing in three full games in his second season, there is some sleeper appeal here with Allen in the later rounds.

Allen did significantly eat into Breece Hall's workload when both running backs were healthy. He played 20 snaps (31%) to Hall's 37 snaps (58%) in Week 1, played nine snaps (19%) to Hall's 30 snaps (64%) in Week 2, and played a season-high 23 snaps (33%) to Hall's 38 snaps (55%) in Week 3. In two of those three contests, the former Wisconsin running back had a major role in the offense.

With Allen now back to full strength, there is a chance he continues to see consistent run in this New York offense. If he does, he could provide low-end flex numbers in deeper leagues. The 22-year-old looked solid in his limited opportunities last year, and the Jets might not want to run Hall into the ground with the team just locking him up for the foreseeable future.

Allen is likely only a target in deeper leagues since he's going outside the top 200 in NFFC leagues. But he could also be a solid handcuff target in all leagues if you manage to scoop up Hall earlier in drafts.

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