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2026 Fantasy Football Sleeper Of The Year: Jonathon Brooks And Alec Pierce Are Honorable Mentions

We reveal our 2026 Fantasy Football Sleeper of the Year along with some key honorable mentions.
Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (25) catches the ball during Fanfest at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (25) catches the ball during Fanfest at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One of the biggest keys to winning your fantasy football championship is identifying and selecting league-winning sleepers in your drafts. Here we are disclosing our 2026 Fantasy Football Sleeper of the Year. We will start with some honorable mentions before revealing our top sleeper of the year.

Honorable Mentions

QB Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints

Shough had a surprisingly strong rookie campaign on one of the worst teams in the league. In 10 starts, he threw for 2,384 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions, while throwing five touchdowns and one interception in his final four games of the season.

He was vastly better at the end of his season than the beginning of his season. So, he showed impressive development on a bad team, and this offseason the team drafted Jordyn Tyson and Oscar Delp, and signed Travis Etienne Jr in free agency, while also continuing to build their offensive line. This offense should be much better, as should Shough. We believe there is a good chance he can give you low-end QB1 value at a low-end QB2 price.

RB Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers

The Brooks hype train is chugging down the tracks right now, and there is a chance that his ADP gets too high and drops him off of this list. We don't want to forget the serious risk that comes with his upside, but at his current ADP, he is a great sleeper pick.

Currently, you can still get him as an RB4 despite the hamstring injury that is hindering Chuba Hubbard. His value is too great to pass up at that price.

WR Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts

Many fantasy owners have been spooked by Pierce's ankle injury and rightfully so. We are as well. If not for that injury, Pierce would be our Sleeper of the Year. However, for now he is just an honorable mention.

On the other hand, this injury has suppressed his ADP enough to give him great value. We expected him to shoot up draft boards this offseason after the team traded away Michael Pittman Jr and gave Pierce a $114 million contract extension. Now, you can still get him as a WR4, oftentimes outside of the top 40 fantasy wideouts.

WR Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers

Christian Watson is getting all the hype this offseason, but Reed has been every bit as good as Watson when they have both been healthy during their time in Green Bay, and Reed has a much less extensive injury history.

Still, you can get Reed as the WR48, while Watson is being drafted as the WR29, and we have seen him go as high as a low-end WR2. That is a crazy discrepancy between these two receivers, and it makes no sense to us. We are investing in Reed as often as possible this offseason when we want a part of the Packers' passing attack.

Sleeper of the Year

RB Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks

Our Sleeper of the Year is Jadarian Price. Price was selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft and landed with the defending Super Bowl champions in what is projected to be one of the most run-heavy offenses in the league.

There are some concerns about Zach Charbonnet returning, as it could drive down Price's volume and upside, but Charbonnet tore his ACL in the NFC Championship Game. We aren't going to be scared off Price because of an inferior running back who may be coming back healthy after likely missing the start of the season.

Currently, Price is being drafted as the RB26. He's an absolute steal as an RB3/Flex option for the upcoming fantasy football season.

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Mark Morales-Smith
MARK MORALES-SMITH

Mark Morales-Smith is a father of five, a former college football scout and semi-pro football player. Morales-Smith is a long-time competitive fantasy football player with well over a decade of professional writing experience at multiple high-level sites, including Sports Illustrated, FullTime Fantasy, FantasySP, and more.

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