2026 Fantasy Football Sleepers: 5 Wide Receivers to Target (UPDATED)

Ian Hartitz analyzes undervalued wide receivers in 2026 fantasy football drafts. Check out his updated list of sleeper WRs.
2026 Fantasy Football Sleepers: 5 Wide Receivers to Target (UPDATED)
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This sleeper WR article ran earlier this summer. Training camp, injuries and the draft market changed a lot since then, however. So, we're back with an updated list of sleeper wide receivers to guide users in late-summer drafts. 

There have been 24 wide receivers drafted outside the position's top 50 in preseason ESPN ADP since 2016 who went on to post top-24 numbers in PPR points per game. Aka ... there have been roughly 2.4 AWESOME late-round sleeper wide receivers per season over the last decade.

You know what that means: It's time to identify this year's BEST sleeper wide receivers in an effort to win our fantasy league and own bragging rights over friends, coworkers, family and enemies alike.

As always: It's a great day to be great!

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Sleepers

WR SLEEPERTEAMADP
Jayden ReedPackers50
De'Zhaun Stribling49ers53
KC ConcepcionBrowns54
Rashid ShaheedSeahawks57
Jordyn TysonSaints61

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Jayden Reed, Packers

Ian rank: WR37
ADP: WR50 (pick 137.7)

Jayden Reed is priced as his own team's No. 3 WR despite looking a lot like the offense's best playmaker for portions of the last few seasons. Of course, 2025 was ruined by a September broken collarbone, but before that we saw a man with some quality fantasy upside in 2023 (WR27 in PPR points per game) and to

This sleeper WR article ran earlier this summer. Training camp, injuries and the draft market changed a lot since then, however. So, we're back with an updated list of sleeper wide receivers to guide users in late-summer drafts. 

There have been 24 wide receivers drafted outside the position's top 50 in preseason ESPN ADP since 2016 who went on to post top-24 numbers in PPR points per game. Aka ... there have been roughly 2.4 AWESOME late-round sleeper wide receivers per season over the last decade.

You know what that means: It's time to identify this year's BEST sleeper wide receivers in an effort to win our fantasy league and own bragging rights over friends, coworkers, family and enemies alike.

As always: It's a great day to be great!

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Sleepers

WR SLEEPERTEAMADP
Jayden ReedPackers50
De'Zhaun Stribling49ers53
KC ConcepcionBrowns54
Rashid ShaheedSeahawks57
Jordyn TysonSaints61

Check out all of Ian's rankings and content with a premium RotoWire subscription. Use code "Ian35" for 35% off.

Jayden Reed, Packers

Ian rank: WR37
ADP: WR50 (pick 137.7)

Jayden Reed is priced as his own team's No. 3 WR despite looking a lot like the offense's best playmaker for portions of the last few seasons. Of course, 2025 was ruined by a September broken collarbone, but before that we saw a man with some quality fantasy upside in 2023 (WR27 in PPR points per game) and to a lesser extent 2024 (WR43).

Here's the thing for Reed: It's always just come down to volume. Pretty much nobody has stopped the man when the Packers have decided to give him the ball:

Jayden Reed since 2023:

  • Yards per target: 9.7 (No. 7 among 110 qualified WRs)
  • Yards per rush: 9.1 (No. 1 among 206 qualified players )

Fast forward to 2026 and Reed is benefiting from Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks exiting the picture and bell-cow RB Josh Jacobs winding up on the commissioner's exempt list. This means we'll have a proven baller in a more concentrated (and fantasy-friendly) WR room with an offense that figures to be more pass-happy than ever. Sign me up!

For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, news and everything going on around the NFL, head to RotoWire's NFL Fantasy Football News Today or follow @RotoWireNFL on X.

De'Zhaun Stribling, 49ers

Ian rank: WR38
ADP: WR53 (pick 141.9)

De'Zhaun Stribling has risen in the fantasy ranks as well as the hearts of the American public and 49ers organization during his magical August. I'm only partially exaggerating: The 33rd overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft dominated preseason competition (11-109-0 on just 22 routes) and looks poised to work as a day-one starter inside the ever high-flying Kyle Shanahan-Brock Purdy 49ers offense.

There's a lot to like about Stribling as a football player (strong hands, big dude, sub-4.4 speed), but this is also simply a situation where we have a cheap full-time option inside an offense that has produced a TON of rather random big-time wide receiver fantasy performances over the years. What if Stribling just a little bit better than some of these guys?

Stribling might not be someone we start out of the gates when Mike Evans, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey are healthy, but he's one injury to pretty much any of them away from potentially vying for upside WR2 status. His ESPN ADP is a screaming smash; I have Stribling in the same tier as guys like Jayden Reed and Josh Downs

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KC Concepcion, Browns

Ian rank: WR42
ADP: WR54 (pick 147)

Coach Todd Monken clearly has a plan for KC Concepcion: He took a reverse to the house and also received a designed touch on a pop pass. The rookie also *almost* got loose on a punt return. Of everything I watched this preseason, Concepcion's lightning-in-a-bottle play was my favorite.

We're looking at a first-round talent with the potential to be force-fed the football in a wide-open offense. Will said offense likely be bad because of the associated QB play? Yes. Could we still see Concepcion best this cheap WR5 price by virtue of triple-digit targets (many designed) and a few handfuls of rush attempts? Also yes.

My upside comp for Concepcion's rookie season: 2021 Jaylen Waddle. Those pre-Tyreek/McDaniel Dolphins essentially flowed the offense through Waddle with screens and short targets that allowed him to work as the WR15 in PPR points per game despite existing in the league's 22nd-ranked scoring offense. Moral of the story: Don't be afraid to draft cheap first-round rookie receivers in offenses without a clear No. 1 WR

Check out our fantasy football ADP report for a comprehensive tool with live-updated ADP data for multiple league formats and sites.

Jordyn Tyson, Saints

Ian rank: WR51
ADP: WR61 (pick 168)

Speaking of talented first-round receivers: Jordyn Tyson was my highest-graded pass-catcher in this class before the draft and was someone I loved drafting as an upside WR3 ... until the 22-year-old sadly suffered yet another hamstring injury that has landed him on the injured reserve list.

Here's the thing: This now makes Tyson one of the best picks possible in re-draft leagues that have:

  1. Injured reserve slots
  2. Keepers

Ideally, Tyson will be ready to work as the 1B WR in a high-paced, potentially solid Saints offense. But even if the injury lingers? He won't cost you a bench spot thanks to the IR designation, and the keeper value could look awesome this time next year.

Rashid Shaheed, Seahawks

Ian rank: WR52
ADP: WR57 (pick 159)

Here's the five-pronged case for Rashid Shaheed:

  • The Seahawks have 51 million reasons to get Shaheed more involved as their No. 2 WR.
  • He's now had a full offseason to acclimate to his new offense.
  • Sam Darnold joins Jared Goff as the only two QBs with at least 4,000 passing yards in each of the last two seasons.
  • Wouldn't it make sense if the Seahawks consider passing the ball a bit more often considering they're starting the season without either of last season's top-two RBs?
  • Shaheed is good! The ex-Saint ranks 17th in yards per target (9.3) among 129 wide receivers with triple-digit targets since 2022.

Shaheed's downfield-oriented, big-play-minded role will always make him a bit more boom-bust than fantasy managers would prefer, but hey, not many players available after the top-150 picks have big-time booms in their weekly potential range of outcomes anyway!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ian played linebacker at the University of Chicago and graduated with a fancy finance degree that he has pretty much never used because he understands ball is life. From the Action Network, to RotoWorld, to PFF and most recently Matthew Berry's Fantasy Life, Ian has spent more than 10 years grinding fantasy football edges as a full-time gig, winning plenty of high-stakes leagues and having all sorts of fun along the way. More than 220,000 people follow "The Mayor of NFL Twitter" @ihartitz for his deep film analysis, usage trends, "Sheesh" beyond-the-box-score stats and general good vibes. Ian believes every day is a great day to be great and consistently provides uniquely entertaining, yet actionable, prowess to the fantasy football and gambling worlds. Outside of football Ian enjoys golfing (badly) and spending time with his wife and dumb dachshunds.
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