2026 Fantasy Football ADP: Using High-Stakes ADPs to Find Steals on Sleeper

August is the migratory season for fantasy analysts, high-stakes drafters and best-ball junkies, all now descending on "home leagues" after spending most of the year in the colder climes of Underdog, NFFC, FPPC, etc.

The so-called experts aren't always right — I'm proof enough of that — but it's still instructive to see what's happening in drafts with money on the line and fantasy football ADP data that's updated frequently.

On Sleeper App, the listed ADPs seem to be refreshed just once or twice per month, with numbers that also include mock drafts and other non-money leagues. It almost goes without saying that the ADPs aren't sharp.

How to Exploit Sleeper ADPs

Where some see an annoyance, others see an opportunity. The thing about default ranks — and this is true in any fantasy format — is that they impact how we draft even if we know the numbers are kind of wonky.

Take the example of Emeka Egbuka, who is listed on Sleeper with an ADP of 45.8, about 18 picks later than where he's going for high stakes and best ball these days.

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The same people who eagerly take Egbuka in the middle of the third round on Underdog or NFFC may hesitate to do so on Sleeper for one simple reason: the perception that he may still be available when the draft snakes back to them in Round 4. 

This may sound like getting too cute, but it's probably smart if there's potential for a tier drop-off at another position and we think our draft room is one where some of the people will be heavily influenced by the order in which players are listed. 

The irony here is that it's sometimes nothing more than a self-fulfilling prophecy. The expectation of default ranks having an impact influences how multiple people are drafting, including in relatively sharp rooms where everyone knows that the listed ADPs are a poor guide.

This is where it helps to know our league-mates and how they think about fantasy football. Unfortunately, I can't help you with that, unless you happen to be in one of my leagues.

What I can do is provide a comprehensive ADP analysis, comparing the defaults on Sleeper against the averages of three other PPR measures: Drafters (best ball), NFFC (high stakes), and my Top 200 PPR Rankings.

For what it's worth, my personal rankings lean vanilla, so they shouldn't have too much impact here (they're pretty similar to the high-stakes and best-ball numbers).

Sleeper App Considerations

Sleeper nudges us toward more customization than the other redraft platforms, but it does still have default settings that end up impacting what's most popular on the site (and thus what's feeding into the ADP data).

Here are the defaults on Sleeper:

• Full-PPR Scoring
  • Thus why we'll use data from Drafters and NFFC for the ADP comparisons below.
• 1QB / 2RB / 2WR / 1 TE / 2 FLEX / K / DST
  • Most leagues that I've seen only do one FLEX spot, but the default is two spots when creating a new league.
• 25/10 Yardage, 6/4 TDs
  • Note: NFFC uses 20/10 yardage and 6/6 TDs, which boosts pocket passers.

The most important thing here is that many leagues on Sleeper only require two starting WRs. For best ball or high stakes, it's essentially industry standard to start three WRs and one FLEX.

It thus makes sense that wide receivers — and especially WR3/4 types — tend to be a lot cheaper on Sleeper. This doesn't mean they're bad picks, but it does mean we should have a larger standard for what constitutes a meaningful value gap.

It's not especially helpful to point out how every mid-round WR for best ball can be had a round or two cheaper on Sleeper. There's a good reason for that, and we can't draft a team entirely comprised of WR3s in any case. What we need to look for is relative value, and the massive ADP gaps.

Now, let's go position by position to see all of the best values on Sleeper and start building a rock-solid draft strategy:

Quarterbacks

Quarterbacks tend to go early on Sleeper App, relative to best ball and high stakes. This may be frustrating if you have your eye on Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow, but we still see pockets of value at other parts of the board:

(Full ADP chart is at the bottom of this article).

Best Buys 👍

• QB Josh Allen (Sleeper ADP 28.2,  -1.1)

I'm definitely not the first fantasy analyst to point out how Josh Allen and Brock Bowers become more attractive in environments where the QB and TE prices are higher. For whatever reason, the price boost often skips the top of the position, making those guys the relative values. In fact, Allen and Bowers have Sleeper ADPs that are very similar to the high-stakes and best-ball numbers.

I also happen to be a huge fan of premium QBs and premium TEs in fantasy formats that are relatively shallow or offer soft competition. 

In a 10-team league with a 14-round draft, I know I'll be able to find useful RBs as the year progresses. Reduced anxiety about filling those RB2 and FLEX spots makes it more appealing to take Bowers (who can lap the field at his position) and less appealing to take a low-end RB1 (who has almost no chance to outscore a healty Gibbs/Bijan/CMC).

• QB Caleb Williams (ADP 82.9, +5.3)
• QB Dak Prescott (ADP 90.3, +3.9)
• QB Trevor Lawrence (ADP 92.3, +11.0)

Good things come to those who wait, and in this case we don't even need to wait long. There's a pocket of potential value before pick No. 100, with Lawrence being my personal favorite of the bunch. Prescott and Williams are also good picks at these prices.

• QB Jared Goff (ADP 122.0, +10.9)

Goff is one of those guys — Jakobi Meyers being another — who annually "outscores" his ADP but never sniffs elite range at his position. It's correct to rank these guys lower than where they project due to the limited ceilings, but Goff's ceiling might not be so limited within the context of a platoon play with an ADP in the double-digit rounds.

He also might be less of a platoon guy this year, as the Lions have a highly favorable schedule in terms of both opponent strength and location (12 indoor games). Plus, David Montgomery's departure could lead to more passing and less running, including near the goal line.

• QB Baker Mayfield (ADP 140.9, +12.7)
• QB Kyler Murray (ADP 142.2, +19.2)
• QB Tyler Shough (ADP 144.4, +11.1)

Running Backs

(Full ADP chart is at the bottom of this article).

Best Buys 👍

• RB Ashton Jeanty (ADP 15.4, +6.3)
• RB Omarion Hampton (ADP 18.8, +5.8)
• RB Chase Brown (ADP 19.0, + 3.6)
• RB Kenneth Walker (ADP 22.9, +4.8)
• RB Derrick Henry (ADP 24.6, +4.1)

Given all the WR value that tends to be available later on, it makes a ton of sense to draft a running back (or else Brock Bowers) in the second round. 

The RBs in Rounds 3-4 tend to be pricey on Sleeper, with WRs falling at their expense. There are always exceptions, but this usually isn't the place to mess around with a zero-RB build. We want at least one RB through the first two rounds in most cases.

• RB David Montgomery (ADP 56.3, +8.8)
• RB D'Andre Swift (ADP 65.1, +16.5)

This might be my favorite value pocket. Montgomery and Swift can confidently be started in September, unlike some of the other RBs in their ADP range. There's some question about how much work Woody Marks and Kyle Monangai steal, but there's no doubt about who will be the starter and lead runner in either backfield.

• RB Jadarian Price (ADP 80.3, + 16.2)

I know a good Price when I see one.

• RB Jonathon Brooks (ADP 138.0, +55.6)

You shouldn't actually expect to get Brooks at pick 138, but you might be able to get him in the early 100s, which doesn't happen on best-ball or high-stakes sites anymore.

Wide Receivers

(Full ADP chart is at the bottom of this article).

Wide receiver is where we annually see the largest discrepancies when comparing home-league ADPs to data from high stakes and best ball.

Of course, the catch is a big one: default settings on most home-league platforms only have two starting WRs. For high stakes and best ball, it's near-universal to have three WRs and a FLEX spot.

It's not for nothing that WR3s and WR4s tend to be cheap on Sleeper. Still, there are many cases where it's exaggerated and we do indeed want to be targeting wide receivers in the middle rounds.

Best Buys 👍

• WR Nico Collins (ADP 25.2, +4.2)

I mostly want running backs or Bowers in the teens and early 20s, but I'll eagerly draft Collins if he falls toward the mid-20s. I've got him 16th in my personal PPR rankings.

• WR Ladd McConkey (ADP 41.9, +8.5)
• WR Zay Flowers (ADP 43.8, +15.5)
• WR DeVonta Smith (ADP 44.9, +17.8)
• WR Emeka Egbuka (ADP 45.8, +15.4)

These guys probably won't be available in the 40s in a highly competitive league, but they might still be around in the mid-to-late 30s, rather than going in the mid-to-late 20s like in best ball.

If I'm drafting 12th, for example, I might look to take two RBs at the 1-2 turn and then two of these WRs at the 3-4 turn. If they aren't available by then, we might be able to pivot to Garrett Wilson, Tetairoa McMillan, etc. There's no shortage of WR breakout candidates in Rounds 3-4 this year, and not just because people want "the next JSN".

• WR Christian Watson (ADP 68.4, +14.9)

Watson is everyone's favorite 'cheaper in your home league' player. Call me a sheep if you must, but I kind of agree. His low-floor, high-ceiling profile works best in a format where misses cost less because there's decent stuff available on waivers. At this price, Watson can be drafted as a FLEX, or even as the first guy off our bench. Look for him in the sixth round of 12-team leagues or the seventh round of 10-teamers on Sleeper.

• WR Parker Washington (ADP 83.2, +28.0)

Washington is a potential league-winner who can sometimes be had in the seventh round. I wouldn't wait that long to draft him, but there's still plenty of value to be had in Round 6. He's more of a fifth-round guy for best ball and high stakes these days.

• WR Quentin Johnston (ADP 102.6, +28.2)
• WR Jayden Reed (ADP 116.0, +30.8)
• WR Josh Downs (ADP 125.1, + 44.1)
• WR Matthew Golden (ADP 134.1, +33.8)

Tight Ends

(Full ADP chart is at the bottom of this article).

Best Buys

• TE Brock Bowers (ADP 20.2, +2.5)
• TE Colston Loveland (ADP 41.2, +1.1)

When the middle class of the position is overpriced, there are usually two ways to go. In this case, however, there's also a third option that works...

• TE Sam LaPorta (ADP 76.4, -0.8)

LaPorta stands out as an exception to the overpricing epidemic among non-elite TE1s. He's undervalued across all formats, and his price on Sleeper isn't too much different from the cost on best ball platforms. He's the best TE target for any team that didn't take Bowers or Loveland earlier on.

• TE Isaiah Likely (ADP 117.3, -5.9)
• TE Chig Okonkwo (ADP 146.2, -4.4)

You should've drafted Bowers/Loveland/LaPorta. If you didn't, Likely and Okonkwo are reasonable breakout candidates at reasonable prices. But really, you should've just drafted Bowers, Loveland or LaPorta.

Putting it All Together

Here's a quick look at how I want to approach Sleeper drafts from early position (1-4), middle position (5-8) and late position (9-12). Things won't necessarily play out this way in reality, but it's what I have in mind ahead of time:

Jerry's Sleeper App Strategy by Draft Position

Full ADP Chart (Top 150)