The 6 Biggest Fantasy Football Steals of the 2026 NFL Draft

The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and once again, the fantasy landscape has shifted in a big way (at least for wide receivers and tight ends). This year’s class was a bit lacking at the running back and quarterback positions, though there were a few big names across those groups, which could shift how we view their respective NFL teams. A staggering 22 tight ends were selected across seven rounds, while only 13 RBs were taken, down from a whopping 25 last year.

Below, we’ll dive into players whose current ADP doesn’t fully reflect their path to opportunity, as rookies who —despite some sliding draft capital or crowded depth charts— have landed in situations that could make them steals for both their NFL teams and our fantasy squads.

More Draft Coverage: Impact Rookies | Round 1 Winners & Losers | Rounds 2 & 3 Winners and Losers

Denzel Boston, WR, Cleveland Browns

NFL Draft Slot: Round 2, Pick 7 (39)

At the exact same position that the Chicago Bears used last year to continue building their pass-catching group with Luther Burden, the Cleveland Browns also double down on early-round pass-catchers with Denzel Boston. As a complement to first-rounder KC Concepcion’s explosivity, Boston presents the 2026 Browns quarterback with a true big-bodied ball-winner who is a short- and long-term upgrade to Cedric Tillman.

A two-year starter and four-year player at Washington, Boston lined up out wide on 84.4% of his career routes, peaking in 2025 with a phenomenal 76.9% contested catch rate and 11 touchdowns. While Concepcion is likely to be moved all over the formation (ala Zay Flowers in Todd Monken’s last stop), Boston will likely play more of a “stagnant” role, though that could allow him to operate on a lot of crossers/digs/intermediate routes; something that he graded very highly on in his Reception Perception profile.

Pre-NFL Draft Underdog ADP: 141.6 (WR58)

Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman are still in town (for now), but there’s no denying that Cleveland needed a massive talent injection outside of tight end Harold Fannin. Browns wide receivers easily ranked dead last in EPA per target last season (-0.14, Titans were 31st at -0.05) while scoring a miserable four touchdowns. Concepcion and Boston combined for 52 touchdowns over their last three college seasons. Boston probably remains in that WR5 range after this selection with all the uncertainty at quarterback, but there’s enough upside here to consider him at the end of your bench.

Chris Bell, WR, Miami Dolphins

NFL Draft Slot: Round 3, Pick 30 (94)

If there was any single team in the NFL right now that should be taking dice rolls on players who may need some time to see the field, it’s the 2026 Miami Dolphins. Currently projected with a 4.5 win total, the Dolphins took a swing at Chris Bell near the end of the third round, knowing full well that he would be recovering from a torn ACL suffered back in November. For their moxie, the team will be getting a player who was once projected as a first-round pick, well on his way to a 1,000+ yard performance in his final year with Louisville.

Bell was an adept run-after-catch weapon for the Cardinals, generating 372 YAC on 72 receptions, with a profile that leans more toward acceleration and long speed than tackle-breaking ability (just nine forced missed tackles). He has the makeup to become the Dolphins’ long-term X receiver, while he and fellow third-round rookie Caleb Douglas should be able to easily box out the rest of this receiver room in terms of target share once they get up to speed.

Pre-NFL Draft Underdog ADP: 228.5 (WR92)

Bell can slice through defenses on shallow crosses and slants as soon as he’s on the field, and has the size/speed combination to turn the corner at the next level. The only issue is, if he misses rookie mini-camp and a big chunk (or all of) training camp, how quickly is a losing team going to want to force him onto the field? Only time will tell, but he’s a name we should absolutely have at the front of mind as we consider in-season waiver wires, and this is the type of no-risk/high-reward option we should be aiming for in the last round(s) of best ball drafts.

Cade Klubnik, QB, New York Jets

NFL Draft Slot: Round 4, Pick 10 (110)

At this time last year, Cade Klubnik was regularly being mocked in the top half of the first round, but then Clemson’s disappointing 2025 season happened. The Tigers won only seven games for the first time since 2008, while Klubnik’s production saw a dramatic drop-off from 3,600 yards, 36 touchdowns to 2,900 yards and 16 touchdowns. With that said, he still put some positive work on tape throughout his career, including a fantasy-friendly 460 yards rushing in 2024 and regular proof that he can make throws off structure or on the run.

Pre-NFL Draft Underdog ADP: N/A

In what turned out to be quite the weak quarterback class, it was difficult to find exactly who should be a “steal” out of this group. With that said, Klubnik has only Geno Smith and UDFA Brady Cook to climb if he’s going to see some late-season snaps. If Smith begins the first half of the year playing the way he looked in Las Vegas (4.4 adjusted yards per attempt, 3.8% interception rate), there’s a real possibility that a desperate Aaron Glenn takes a look at his other options. That would set up Klubnik to try to take advantage of his fellow rookie classmates, Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper Jr.

While he’s an obvious Dynasty SuperFlex stash, we’re not likely to have much clarity on his potential to log snaps in 2026 by the time the season kicks off, so it’s a stretch to consider him in best ball drafts or redraft leagues come August.

Elijah Sarratt, WR, Baltimore Ravens

NFL Draft Slot: Round 4, Pick 15 (115)

As a mostly outside receiver through his four collegiate seasons, Elijah Sarratt was the back-shoulder go-to for No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, and it helped him rack up 1,700+ yards and 23 touchdowns over his two seasons with the most recent National Champions. Sarratt doesn’t exhibit a ton of burst or separation ability (a whopping 30 of his 87 targets last year were of the “contested catch” variety), but that has provoked talks of him moving inside more often to operate as more of a “power slot”.

Pre-NFL Draft Underdog ADP: 209.6 (WR83)

Sarratt will join Ja'Kobi Lane (third round) as two larger-bodied options to supplement Zay Flowers. After losing two tight ends through free agency, it seems that the Ravens have decided to replace their services in a unique way that will still offer Lamar Jackson some help at the catch point and in the red zone. That’s likely to be where Sarratt enjoys a majority of his fantasy success after 73.5% of his ‘25 targets either went for a first down or touchdown.

Maybe there’s a chance this selection works as an Isaiah Likely replacement, but if the Ravens decide to keep him on the outside, we could see Sarratt start to eat into Rashod Bateman’s snaps as well. In either (or both) role(s), we know that the ultimate ceiling here is capped in Baltimore, but there’s a clear opportunity for usable fantasy weeks, and he should be an obvious late-round target for Ravens stacks in best ball environments.

Justin Joly, TE, Denver Broncos

NFL Draft Slot: Round 5, Pick 12 (152)

The more tight ends that came off the board in Day 2 and Day 3, the more I thought my interest in Justin Joly may have been misplaced. Heading into the Draft, I thought he could have been the fourth tight end taken, potentially even in the second or third round, but I also didn’t anticipate the historical run on blocking tight ends that we saw in that area. It took until the fifth round for the former NC State product to come off the board, but we probably couldn't have asked for a better landing spot. After catching 92 passes over his last two collegiate seasons, we’ll see how he’ll fit in a Sean Payton offense.

Pre-NFL Draft Underdog ADP: 239.8 (TE49)

Despite a moderate athletic profile, Justin Joly had a 49-489-7 stat line last season, second-best among FBS tight ends. Joly can operate up the seam to provide Bo Nix with some intermediate-to-deep mismatches, which could further lower Evan Engram's ceiling following a mediocre Year 1 in Denver. Joly has the opportunity to become a blip on the TE streaming radar this season, but we’ll need to keep an eye on his progress to make sure he’s not hovering around the 25% snap range. Will this be the “Joker” role that we’ve been hearing so much about in Denver?

Emmett Johnson, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

NFL Draft Slot: Round 5, Pick 21 (161)

Though Emmett Johnson ranked 22nd among eligible running backs in this draft class with a 27.9% breakaway rate, he ranked second in this subsect with 0.27 missed tackles forced per rush attempt. The man is simply very consistent. He doesn’t do this with any type of elite athleticism that separates him from the rest of the class, but he’s very patient, and his 85 receptions over his last two seasons of college give a team a solid, dependable option to rotate in at the next level.

Pre-NFL Draft Underdog ADP: 167.9 (RB52)

The Kansas City Chiefs signed Kenneth Walker in free agency, so there’s not a ton of room for a consistent fantasy profile behind him, but it’s not as if we didn’t see plenty of Zach Charbonnet during his time in Seattle. There is some elbow room here for Johnson to pick up some usage, particularly if the team leaves Kareem Hunt on the free agent heap. Beating out Emari Demercado and wide receiver convert Brashard Smith is very much in the cards, and spelling Walker’s home run ability on an offense looking to return to its recent glory days should be looked at as a good thing.

This far down draft boards, Johnson is in a very good handcuff situation.