Heath's 2026 Fantasy Football Sleepers 1.0: Raiders, Dolphins young pass catchers offer breakout upside
Heath Cummings highlights late-round targets who could pay big dividends in 2026
We are still a long way from training camp and the position battles that come with it. But if you are looking for sleepers in mid-May, one of the best places to find them is in ambiguous depth charts. Often, we find that at running back, because we just don't know who is going to lead a backfield. It is rare that we have completely ambiguous receiver rooms going into a season. That is exactly what we have in Las Vegas and Miami, a pair of teams with new coaches, new quarterbacks, and plenty of opportunity in the passing game.
The Raiders situation is the more familiar of the two. Tre Tucker led the team in targets last season and is still on the team. They also brought in Jalen Nailor on a bigger-than-expected contract and have Jack Bech moving into Year 2 after the Raiders selected him in Round 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft. All of these guys figure to be behind Brock Bowers when it comes to target share, but there is still plenty of opportunity for a team that figures to be in several pass-friendly game scripts in their first season under Klint Kubiak. The team has at least 104 targets to replace from 2025.
Looking at our 2026 Wide Receiver Rankings, the uncertainty is obvious. Tucker is the highest-ranked Raiders wide receiver in our consensus rankings at WR57, but he doesn't crack Dave Richard's top 60. Nailor is right behind Tucker at WR59, but he is not in my top 60. Bech is not in anyone's top 60. At least one of these guys is going to smash their ranking, but we do not have a strong consensus as to who it will be.
Tucker is my favorite bet after he led the team with 57 catches for 696 yards and five touchdowns last year. He scored three of those touchdowns in a massive Week 3 performance against the Commanders. He only had four other games all season with double-digit fantasy points. But that was on a team that ranked 28th in net passing yards and 25th in passing touchdowns. We anticipate that the combination of Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza will improve upon those numbers in 2026.
Nailor and Bech are even more of a dart throw, but I would rather bet on the second-year player over the 27-year-old who has never had a 500-yard season in the NFL. Who your favorite is does not matter as much as recognizing the opportunity here for one of these guys to be the top receiver in what should be an improving pass offense.
While there is some opportunity in Vegas, there is nothing but opportunity in Miami. They will be replacing 163 targets that went to Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill, and Darren Waller last year. Again, there are at least three potential options in Malik Washington, Chris Bell, and Caleb Douglas. Bell is the one with the most upside later in the season. He may have been a first-round pick had he not torn his ACL last year, and he is reportedly making good progress. If he starts the year on the PUP, that actually makes it easier to draft him and stash him in leagues that have IR spots. Bell accounted for 23.7% of Louisville's receiving yards last year despite missing the last two games of the season. He has the profile of a guy who could eventually be a team's No. 1 wide receiver, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if he is the Dolphins top receiver in the second half of the season.
All of the Dolphins and Raiders wide receivers will be available after Round 10 in redraft, and there is a very good chance at least one of them is a viable flex play or WR3 this season. We may just have to wait until September (or later for Bell) to see which one it is. While we're at it, the Dolphins' new QB, Malik Willis, could absolutely be a great sleeper if any of his pass catchers step up. Willis will be a threat with his legs at the very least, and that lowers the bar for what passing production a QB needs to be Fantasy relevant. Here are six more early sleepers who won't be drafted before Round 10 in 2026:
One day, people will stop doubting Brock Purdy as a top 12 Fantasy QB. Today is not that day, as I am the only one at CBS with Purdy ranked as a top 12 option. I am not sure what is not to like. Since Purdy came into the NFL in 2022, there have been 30 QBs to throw at least 1,000 passes. Purdy's 8.6 yards per pass attempt leads the field by a half-yard. His 6.2% pass touchdown rate is second only to Lamar Jackson. He's also added 19.6 rushing yards per game over the past two seasons. He's been over 20 FPPG in three straight seasons, including last year when he averaged 23.9. The team added Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, and De'Zhaun Stribling in the offseason, adding depth at a position they desperately needed it. Unless disaster strikes in San Francisco, I think it is more likely that Purdy is a top six QB than it is that he falls outside of the top 12.
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Goff is another perpetually underrated signal caller. I have him at QB9 for this year, while Dave and Jamey have him outside the top 15. Goff has been remarkably reliable in Detroit, playing all 17 games in each of the last four seasons. He's thrown for at least 4,400 yards and 29 touchdowns in every one of those seasons. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, and Jameson Williams are all still there. Goff looks like one of the safest low-end QB1s available, which makes him an excellent choice to draft late with someone like Malik Willis or Kyler Murray, who have more upside.
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If you are looking for a true sleeper at running back, you need to find someone who has obstacles to overcome. For Woody Marks, that obstacle is new addition, David Montgomery. The veteran has played the 1B role in Detroit last three seasons and hasn't had more than 235 touches in a season since 2021. I certainly think Montgomery will handle the short yardage role, but I think this could be more of a committee than others do, at least outside of the red zone. The Texans gave their running backs 457 touches last year, so there is plenty of room for Marks to make an impact, along with Montgomery, on the field. And Montgomery is turning 29 before the season, so there is also a chance he loses a step or misses time, and Marks once again becomes a great late-round value.
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If you draft Ashton Jeanty in the first two rounds this year, you are really hoping Mike Washington doesn't matter. Of course, people who drafted Kenneth Walker were really hoping Zach Charbonnet didn't matter last year. The connection? Klint Kubiak left the Seahawks for the Raiders and has affirmed this offseason that he prefers to split the load at running back. Washington had an incredible combine and has the type of big-play ability that could pop on 10 to 12 touches per game. Charbonnet averaged 12.7 touches per game last year in Kubiak's offense. Washington could be a boom/bust flex in tandem with Jeanty and could be a league winner if Jeanty misses time.
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Shakir became an afterthought to most drafters after the Bills acquired DJ Moore. I expect Moore to lead the team in targets, but I am not sure there is as big a gap between the two in targets as most people seem to think. And that loss of target share for Shakir could be made up for by the fact that the Bills have nowhere to go but up in terms of pass attempts, after throwing just 495 times last season. Shakir has been awesome after the catch, averaging 7.6 YAC/R in his Buffalo career. Shakir has the trust of Joe Brady and Josh Allen, while Moore has to build a connection with Allen this offseason. If Allen's passing stats rebound, they could both be startable in a three-receiver league. Right now, Moore is the only one being ranked with that potential.
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I understand if you did a spit take seeing a future Hall of Famer on a sleeper list. But Travis Kelce falls to the double-digit rounds in almost every mock we do, and he is ranked no higher than TE10 in our tight end rankings. The Chiefs made no significant additions to the passing game this season, and Kelce was a top-five tight end in 2025 before Patrick Mahomes got hurt, and it wasn't just because of volume. His YAC/R was his best since 2022. Kelce still has plenty left in the tank based on last year, and he may very well be a top-five tight end again if Mahomes is healthy. Whether he is a sleeper or not, people are certainly sleeping on that reality.
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