3 Fantasy Football Rookies to Target: Breakout Candidates and Draft Sleepers for FFPC Leagues (2026)

July 2, 2026

Corbin Young examines three fantasy football rookie sleepers and draft targets for 2026 FFPC best ball leagues. His top rookie targets, sleepers, and breakouts to draft.

The first rule of fantasy football is understanding your league format. When playing in Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC) best ball leagues, it's 28 rounds and 12 teams, with one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, and two flex spots. That's 336 players being drafted in best ball leagues, making for deeper rosters.

That said, we'll identify draft sleepers using an arbitrary cutoff of rookies past pick 200. Beyond the typical point-per-reception scoring format, they award tight ends 1.5 points per reception. That automatically pushes tight end value up higher, but be cautious on overvaluing the position in some cases. Kenyon Sadiq and Eli Stowers remain two of the top fantasy-relevant rookies drafted at the position.

These three rookie sleepers to target in best ball leagues happen to be running backs. Can these rookies make an impact via some splash games in FFPC best ball leagues? Let's dive into their rookie profiles and team contexts to see why we should be targeting them in drafts.

Demond Claiborne, RB, Vikings

FFPC Best Ball ADP: 201.9

NFL Draft Pick: 6th Round (Day 3)

Demond Claiborne lacks the ideal size at running back, listed at 5-foot-8 and under 190 pounds. He ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash, which translated to an above-average Speed Score (64th percentile). Claiborne dominated the team production with a 68% Running Back Dominator in 2025, higher than his career average (59%).

He has shown his ability to be a pass catcher, too, with 51 receptions over his final two collegiate seasons and a career 5% market share of receiving yards.

As a smaller running back, he teased us with his breakaway speed. That's evident in Claiborne's 42.5% breakaway rush percentage, which indicates that over 42% of his carries went for 15 or more rushing yards. Though Claiborne can be a pass-catching option out of the backfield, he struggles to pass block at times, which can limit his playing time.

The Vikings ranked 12th in neutral script rush percentage (46%) last season. That shows they probably want to be a balanced offense. The Vikings ranked 11th in adjusted yards before contact per attempt and finished 22nd in pressure rate allowed. They added five interior offensive linemen in free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, including a first-round pick and a seventh-round pick.

Let's dig deeper into the team context. In some regards, J.J. McCarthy hasn't met expectations, though we might want to be patient, given his draft capital and injury. That said, the Vikings signed Kyler Murray to a one-year contract in March, muddying the waters for the starting quarterback job.

McCarthy and Murray have been known to use their legs as mobile quarterbacks. The historical data indicate that mobile quarterbacks don't often pass to their running backs. When we filter by the Cardinals and Vikings offenses over the past five seasons (2021-2025), we notice that the Cardinals had a massive spike in running back expected fantasy points (11) and targets (7.3) last season.

That's mainly because Jacoby Brissett started in 14 games during the 2025 season. For context, the Cardinals ranked first in neutral script pass rate (64%) in 2025. They ranked ninth in 2024, 25th in 2023, and 8th in 2022. With Murray and McCarthy battling for quarterback reps, there's a good chance that the running back targets will be limited.

That will impact Claiborne's running back targets, though he could be an explosive rusher on limited touches, similar to Keaton Mitchell. Claiborne will be fighting for the Vikings' RB3 spot behind Aaron Jones Sr. and Jordan Mason. Jones has shown to be a proficient pass catcher, but Mason profiled more as an early-down rusher.

This is a situation where FFPC best ball drafters may be leaning into the uncertainty for Claiborne, as a potential third-down back with explosive rushing upside.

Kaelon Black, RB, 49ers

FFPC Best Ball ADP: 247.1 

NFL Draft Pick: Third Round (Day 2)

Kaelon Black shared the backfield with the former Maryland sleeper Roman Hemby at Indiana during their National Championship run. Black was a third-round pick, while Hemby was undrafted, underscoring how NFL teams valued both running backs. With Christian McCaffrey as the lead running back, Black could be the second RB on this 49ers team.

Black peaked in his final collegiate season at Indiana in Year 4. He was primarily deployed as a rusher with over 1,039 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Black was more of a pass catcher at James Madison (42 receptions), though he only caught eight passes in two seasons at Indiana. In the instance that McCaffrey misses time, Black could serve in an early-down role.

The top closest comparisons for Black are seen below. Black's most notable comparisons include Qadree Ollison, Jase McClellan, Damien Harris, and Zamir White.

Black showed he can fight for yards after contact, averaging 3.47 yards per attempt (YAC/Att). He also showed he can break off chunk plays, with a 41.6% breakaway rush percentage. Jordan James and Isaac Guerendo will be competing for backup reps with Black. Guerendo is recovering from a torn pectoral muscle, with James lacking any production in his brief NFL career.

Black fits into the Zero RB category, taking a chance on upside backups. However, there's a downside scenario in which another backup running back becomes relevant instead of Black if McCaffrey misses time.

Adam Randall, RB, Ravens

FFPC Best Ball ADP: 307.5

NFL Draft Pick: Fifth Round (Day 3)

Like Black's scenario with the 49ers, Adam Randall is a contingent upside pick as a rookie. However, it's worth noting that Randall is the third Ravens' running back in this offense behind Derrick Henry (23.7 ADP) and Justice Hill (194.3 ADP). Hill is entering his seventh season with the Ravens, so there's a good chance he garners more reps initially as a backup.

Randall entices me with his linebacker-type build at the running back position. He was listed at 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, with juicy athletic measures. That's evident by Randall's 91st percentile Speed Score, 95th percentile Freak Score, and 82nd percentile Explosion Score. Based on Randall's size and athleticism, he compares closely to Derrick Coleman, Henry, Toby Gerhart, and Latavius Murray.

As a former wide receiver, Randall lacked the career production as a running back. However, Randall closed his career with an 82% Running Back Dominator at Clemson, the highest among the 2026 NFL Draft Prospects. He flashed his receiving skills at running back with a 7-8% receiving yardage market share in his final two collegiate seasons.

Though Randall lacked the YAC/Att (3.20) and missed tackles forced (19.2% in his career), Clemson often deployed him as a power-style running back, who runs between the tackles, which makes him tough to bring down in short yardage plays. Clemson used him on special teams to return kicks, so there's a chance he earns a spot on the roster, with a chance to fight for a backup running back role.

The Ravens ranked second in 2025 and third in 2024 in neutral script rush percentage. That's a product of Lamar Jackson and Henry playing together over the past two seasons. Over the past two seasons, Hill played 41% of the team's snaps with 9% of the team's rush attempts and a 12% target share. The Ravens also like to use fullback Patrick Ricard on 40% of snaps.

Randall projects as the RB3 behind Hill, but there's enough upside to dream upon as one of the final picks in FFPC Best Ball drafts. Don't be surprised if Randall makes several splash plays during the preseason and regular season.

Who Should I Draft Tool

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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft

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