11 Lottery Ticket Stashes for 2026 Fantasy Football

Aug 28, 2026

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As much as we strive to win our leagues with pure skill, academic research, and daily effort, luck plays a major role in the game of fantasy football. It's not quite as bad as the actual lottery — where your odds of hitting are roughly 1-in-300-million — but it's no sure thing.

This is most evident in the hunt for late-round sleepers. The guys worth stashing in your last bench spot, on the infinitesimal chance that they turn into the next Puka Nacua. Most of them are typically found at the center of chaotic waiver wire battles in Week 2 ... but if you have the wherewithal to tuck them away during the draft, you gain a massive leg up.

So let's search for that wherewithal. These are my 11 favorite lottery ticket stashes at the end of drafts — roughly in ADP order — who could sneakily win you a week, or two ... or the championship come Week 17.

NOTE: For housekeeping purposes, all these players are going outside the first 14 rounds in 4for4's multi-site ADP as of late August.

WR Ja'Kobi Lane, Baltimore Ravens

Rookie Ravens wideout Ja'Kobi Lane has been catching eyes and building fantasy hype all offseason, thanks to quotes like "I'm not sure I've seen a rookie have a training camp quite like [him]" from Jamison Hensley and "he's probably had the best training camp of anybody on the team" from cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Lane is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound monster with a massive catch radius and elite contested catch ability. Translation? Red zone weapon for Lamar Jackson, one of the most effective touchdown throwers in the game. Lane provides a perfect complement to Zay Flowers and could thrive as Jackson's go-to guy in the end zone.

WR Cyrus Allen, Kansas City Chiefs

Speaking of highly hyped rookies in training camp, Chiefs' fifth-round pick Cyrus Allen has also been turning heads over the past couple of months. With catches like this leaping snag against the Rams in the preseason and nearly every grab in this training camp highlight reel, it's not hard to see why. More than one noteworthy source has tabbed Allen as the eventual WR1 in Kansas City. With Rashee Rice often injured or embattled in off-the-field issues (and somewhat limited in his skill set) and Xavier Worthy a clear WR2 (or WR3) at just 165 pounds, that's a tale I'm starting to believe. Don't be surprised if Allen is Patrick Mahomes' favorite target and the top fantasy option in KC by October.