Fantasy Football: From Kyler Murray to Isaiah Likely, we present the 2026 All-Sleeper Team

· Yahoo Sports

After putting together the All-Breakout Team in late August, it's time to dig another level deeper. They're a little harder to find, but sleepers are a cornerstone of fantasy football. There's nothing quite like your Round 12 pick suddenly becoming a top-12 player and carrying your stars to the playoffs.

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So who are these sneaky, under-the-radar values for 2026? May I present the 2026 All-Sleeper Team.

(Note: The definition of "sleeper" can change depending on the context, but for this column, I'm sticking with players in the double-digit rounds according to Yahoo ADP.)

Thank goodness Kyler Murray is going in the 10th Round and is officially sleeper-eligible, because it gets messy at QB soon afterwards. But this is an ADP I can't really comprehend. Every single year that Murray has played at least eight games, he's been a QB1 in points per game. The last time he played a full season and had a Pro Bowl wide receiver — all the way back in 2020 with DeAndre Hopkins — he was the third-highest scorer in all of fantasy. But even in the roller-coaster seasons since, he was the PPG QB4 (2021), QB7 (2022), QB9 (2023), and QB12 (2024). With his dual-threat skill set, it's hard to imagine his floor is much lower than QB12 ... maybe as low as QB15.

But it's his ceiling that matters in fantasy drafts, especially at his price. The powerful duo of Kevin O'Connell and Justin Jefferson turned both Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold into fantasy mainstays in Minnesota. Murray has the upside to put them both to shame. Back in 2020, he was just 29 passing yards from joining the exclusive 4,000-500 club — passing and rushing yards in a season — and that's legitimately possible again in his new digs. The five other guys to make that club all finished as top-six fantasy QBs every year they did it. If that's Murray's ceiling, and his floor is his draft cost, he's the definition of a slam-dunk sleeper. And you can even pair him with a "safe" play like Jared Goff (at around the same ADP) if you want to run a streaming duo strategy.

After Travis Etienne Jr. signed with the Saints, second-year backup Bhayshul Tuten became one of the hottest players in fantasy. I'm not entirely sure why, as Jacksonville immediately signed Chris Rodriguez Jr. to a two-year, $10 million contract with the Jaguars. Rodriguez was better than Tuten in several metrics last year, including yards after contact per carry, where he ranked second among qualified RBs, behind only De'Von Achane. Check out the company Rodriguez keeps on this list put together by Kyle Menton over at Fantasy Points. C-Rod is legitimately good at football.

But perhaps more important than the analytics, Rodriguez has very clearly established himself in an important role alongside Tuten in the Jaguars backfield, not behind him. All the reports out of camp — and the unofficial depth chart — suggest the two are in something of a committee, and one where Rodriguez has an alleged edge in the red zone and on critical passing downs. He's one of very few running backs going anywhere near this range that doesn't need an injury ahead of him to have a major fantasy impact. Tuck him away as your RB4 or RB5, and you could have a weekly starter at a major discount

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The guy going right behind Rodriguez in Yahoo ADP is also an intriguing talent in a somewhat ambiguous backfield. Jonah Coleman was Denver's fourth-round pick out of Washington, where he topped 1,100 scrimmage yards and double-digit touchdowns each of his last two seasons. He has a three-down skill set and an excellent frame at 5-foot-8, 220 pounds, and is the kind of player who "does everything right," even if he doesn't have a ton of flash or sizzle. Rich Hribar recently highlighted his potential as the Broncos' best three-down option (over J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey) on the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast, and Eric Froton took him ahead of ADP in the Yahoo experts draft under the expectation that he would eventually take the job in Denver.

Keep in mind, Harvey couldn't win that job as a rookie when Dobbins was healthy, and Dobbins has one of the most checkered injury histories in the league. Based on the two-year, $16 million contract Denver handed the latter back this offseason, I think they want him to be the guy (and actually like him as a draft value in the eighth round), but if something goes awry, Coleman's sleeper potential three rounds later is hard to ignore. This should be a productive offense (with an excellent defense), and Sean Payton has historically churned out RB value for fantasy — particularly from Mark Ingram, who was named as a Coleman comp more than once in the draft process. Similar to Rodriguez, he's an easy stash as a bench running back with fantasy starter upside.

When a team without anything close to a WR1 takes a receiver in the first round, you take notice. When that receiver proceeds to torch everyone in training camp and the preseason, alarm bells start ringing. Come on down, KC Concepcion! The Browns' pick at 24th overall is a quick, elusive route-running menace out of Texas A&M, who charted extremely well in Matt Harmon's Reception Perception and drew comparisons to Jaylen Waddle and Zay Flowers from Hayden Winks. He has an extremely easy path to volume, nay, to WR1 volume, in Cleveland, as his competition is tight end Harold Fannin Jr., the ghost of Jerry Jeudy and another rookie, Denzel Boston, whom the Browns drafted 15 picks later.

Recent wide receivers drafted in the same range as Concepcion include Justin Jefferson, Brian Thomas Jr., Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison, who all finished with more than 150 half-PPR fantasy points as rookies. Yes, there are question marks, particularly at the quarterback position, but those are comfortably baked into Concepcion's draft cost. There are very few other receivers in his range that have triple-digit target potential and/or his draft capital. In conjunction, those assets make for an excellent sleeper in the double-digit rounds.

Over the last three seasons, in a confusing and inconsistent Packers receiver room, Romeo Doubs has averaged 1.55 fantasy points per target. That's good for 19th out of 56 wideouts with 200+ targets over that span, ahead of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb, among others. He's also tied for seventh among WRs in red-zone receiving touchdowns over that span, with Nico Collins and Tee Higgins. And while he never claimed a reliable role in Green Bay, the Patriots just handed him a four-year, $68 million contract to be their WR2 behind A.J. Brown. They even traded away Kayshon Boutte last month, cementing their confidence in Doubs.

As Joel Smyth summarized just a few days ago, Doubs is the clear No. 2 in a top-tier passing offense, but is being drafted aeons past most of the other names in that category: George Pickens, Tee Higgins, Davante Adams, etc. I'm not projecting him to be Higgins — though there are a number of similarities — but with Drake Maye at quarterback and the state of the offense around him, Doubs has a legitimate shot at a career high in yards and another season with eight touchdowns (or more). He should probably be going near or ahead of Makai Lemon, Jordan Addison and former teammate Jayden Reed multiple rounds earlier. Since he's not, snap him up as a dart throw with easy WR3 upside.

If Isaiah Likely were still in Baltimore, and Mark Andrews had retired this offseason, I feel like he'd be a fantasy darling going somewhere in the middle rounds. Instead, he signed with the Giants — clearly following head coach John Harbaugh — to be the primary receiving tight end in a young and rising offense. Hayden Winks spotlighted Likely as essentially a slot receiver in New York's offense, and most projections have him as the No. 2 target behind Malik Nabers.

But he's sitting in the double-digit rounds. This feels like a mistake. 

It might be concern over the Giants offense in general — passing volume, efficiency or both — it might be "sleeper fatigue" with Likely after years behind Mark Andrews ... or it might just be that fantasy drafters have lost Likely in the sauce a little bit. To me, it feels like the latter. Over the past three years, among tight ends with 100+ targets, Likely ranks fourth in fantasy points per target (1.77). The list goes George Kittle, Tucker Kraft (who I love), Mark Andrews and then Isaiah Likely. He is a talented tight end who we've seen thrive in the "solo role" in small spurts, in an offense a little light on pass-catchers. If you wait past the elite few at tight end, and past my favorite mid-round target Dalton Kincaid, Likely is the top sleeper at the position and a legitimate candidate to finish top five by year's end.

As you may have noticed over the last several players, I really like sleepers with a very short journey to a focal role in their offense. Based on everything we've seen and heard this offseason, Ravens rookie receiver Ja'Kobi Lane might already be at the destination. After going 80th overall to Baltimore, the USC product has been a training camp star, scored a highlight TD in the preseason and has made a major case to be the WR2 behind Zay Flowers. And importantly, Lane offers a skill set Flowers does not, with his 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame and 40-inch vertical. In the red zone, where targets matter most for fantasy, Lamar Jackson is likely to be looking for Mark Andrews and for Lane.

And besides the fact that Jackson has the highest career touchdown rate (6.5%) in modern NFL history, new OC Declan Doyle is a Ben Johnson disciple and the guy allegedly ahead of Lane, Rashod Bateman, has never put it all together as a true No. 2 in Baltimore.

The rookie could have a very early opportunity to cement his spot atop the depth chart in what might be the pass-happiest version of a Lamar Jackson offense we've ever seen. With what will essentially be the last pick in your draft, consider taking a chance on a receiver with talent, opportunity and an elite passer under center — that's a pretty rare combination after pick 150.

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