- Christian Watson enters 2026 as the Packers‘ top receiver: The team has expressed continued faith in Watson, who enjoyed a career season last year.
- Denzel Boston could have a huge rookie year: The second-round pick has received rave reviews in training camp.
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It’s fantasy football draft season for many who participate. With training camp and preseason in full swing, ADPs are now beginning to fluctuate more than at any other point in the offseason, but there are still many players who fantasy general managers are attracted to like magnets.
It’s boring to suggest drafting players like Bijan Robinson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba if they’re on the board. But these five players present a mix of high upside and sleeper status given their ADPs.
WR Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers (ADP: 81.2)
If you’ve followed my pieces for any length of time, you’ll know I’m a Watson fan. The Packers wide receiver could keep pace with sprinting gazelles and has hugely cut down on drops throughout his NFL career.
The Packers put a huge amount of faith in the former second-round pick with a four-year, $110.5 million contract extension and cleared out the receiving room. Watson ended the 2025 season as one of the best receivers in football.
From Week 8 onward, Watson finished as the WR16 in standard PPR formats with 132.4 points. He was only 4.2 points off being the WR12, and therefore a bonafide WR1 for teams down the stretch.
Given his Sleeper ADP of 81.2 and PFF’s ranking of him as WR26, Watson is being drafted as a WR3 who has high WR2 upside with week-winning — and even championship-winning play — in his locker.
QB Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (ADP: 41.8)
Prescott has been as dialled in as any signal-caller in recent years. His 86.9 overall PFF grade last year was fifth among qualifying passers and the second-best of his career, just behind his 90.8 in 2023.
Prescott also finished the 2025 season as the QB5, the eighth top-10 fantasy finish during his 10-year career. In the two years he didn’t crack the top 10 at the position, 2020 and 2024, he suffered injuries.
Based on current ADP, Prescott is going off the board as the QB11. Yet in no healthy season has he ever finished lower than QB10.
Prescott is just not a sexy fantasy pick. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels have insane rushing upside. Caleb Williams, Jordan Love and Justin Herbert are the trendy picks for guys who could outperform their ADP. But Prescott is just consistently excellent.
The former fourth-rounder enters the 2026 season with both his top receivers, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, in tow. Along with Ryan Flournoy making waves in camp and Jake Ferguson a dependable tight end, Prescott has one of the best collections of pass-catchers across the league.
If Dallas’ defense improves, Prescott may not have to air it out as much; he tallied a career-high 600 attempts during the 2025 regular season. Still, Prescott offers fantasy managers a very safe high floor with the potential to be the QB1 in any given season.
Pocket passers can still be fantasy gold. Consider that Matthew Stafford is coming off a QB3 season, and Prescott is of a similar ilk.
RB Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans (ADP: 101.6)
Part of fantasy is understanding what players will fill what role for your team. Pollard’s 101.6 Sleeper ADP and PFF’s RB24 ranking has him at a bench-player cost, but he is slated to be a large part of the Titans’ offense once again. If you need a dependable RB3 or RB4 for your roster, Pollard is a great player to target further down the board.
The knocks against him are both age-related and concerns that the Titans may not be very good this season. But that was the worry last term, and Pollard put up a respectable 1,082 rushing yards, 206 receiving yards on 33 catches and five total touchdowns on his way to an RB23 finish.
It isn’t encouraging that Pollard has posted back-to-back career lows in PFF grades, with a 67.0 in 2025 a tick below the 68.7 he registered in 2024. However, in 2025, the former Dallas Cowboys runner posted a marginal increase in yards per carry — 4.5 against 4.2 — compared to 2024.
Running backs in his similar ADP are Chuba Hubbard (100.0) — who has gone down with a hamstring injury and is trying to fend off a resurgent Jonathon Brooks — Kyle Monangai (106.7) — who is part of a loaded offense and has D’Andre Swift ahead of him in the backfield — and Rico Dowdle — who, like Pollard, is an effective if unspectacular runner.
If Pollard maintains his 2025 levels, he can be a valuable spot starter in all formats. At the same time, if you own him in dynasty leagues, you may have to accept he is a depreciating asset, but you can swallow that if he is a vital squad member of a championship-caliber roster.
WR Denzel Boston, Cleveland Browns (ADP: 160.1)
Boston has had a superb camp from all reports, yet his ADP in both startup drafts and dynasty rookie drafts is yet to catch up to those claims. Part of that could be the quarterback situation in Cleveland, but Boston has done his part.
The Browns need him and fellow rookie KC Concepcion to produce. Jerry Jeudy paced the club in targets with 105 in 2025, yet he registered just 50 catches for 602 yards and two touchdowns. Jeudy’s 57.9 PFF receiving grade was the lowest among qualifying receivers.
By contrast, Boston’s 86.6 receiving grade was fifth amongst all FBS receivers in 2025, just behind Jeremiah Smith, and his 10 touchdowns were tied for fourth.
Boston is currently PFF’s WR57. Given the opportunity in front of him to be a focal point of the Browns’ passing attack — along with second-year tight end Harold Fannin Jr. — Boston could easily outperform his ADP and be a fantasy-relevant player as a rookie. That’s true even on a weak-looking Browns aerial attack.
TE Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears (ADP: 40.3)
It’s either Luther Burden III or Colston Loveland when you’re looking at Bears skill-position players to draft; pour one out for Rome Odunze, the forgotten man. In truth, I am drafting both when presented with the chance. But we already have two wide receivers here, so we’re giving the tight ends some love(land).
In startup drafts, Brock Bowers and Trey McBride are the first tight ends off the board, and are PFF’s top two tight ends. Both also have Sleeper ADPs inside the 20s, meaning you’re not seeing them past Round 2 in 10-team formats. Loveland’s current ADP is 40.3 (PFF’s TE3), meaning you can grab him a couple of rounds later. He has a chance to be the overall TE1 come season’s end.
From Week 1-8, Loveland was the TE48 in standard PPR formats. But from Week 9 onward, he was the TE2 overall, behind only McBride.
Loveland was one of just 12 tight ends with at least 80 targets last season, and of that qualifying group, he finished second in PFF receiving grade with an 83.3 mark — again, just behind McBride (84.8). His 12.3 yards per catch were also second, just behind Hunter Henry.
In a loaded Bears offense, and with D.J. Moore departing and freeing up 80 targets, Loveland could have a monster season and firmly establish himself in the elite group of tight ends.
Honorable mentions: Jonathon Brooks, Bhayshul Tuten and Parker Washington, Matthew Stafford (redraft only), George Kittle and MarShawn Lloyd (dynasty only)
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