Fantasy Football Sleepers 2026: Kenneth Gainwell, Bhayshul Tuten, and Kenneth Walker III

As the 2026 NFL season approaches, fantasy football enthusiasts are eager to identify sleepers, breakouts, and busts. A computer model has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest fantasy football rankings for PPR and non-PPR leagues. The model has a proven track record of providing fantasy football tips, nailing Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous season in 2021, calling Rachaad White’s breakout in 2023, and identifying Isiah Pacheco as a bust in 2025.

According to the model, one of the top fantasy football sleepers in 2026 is Buccaneers running back Kenneth Gainwell. Gainwell has an ADP of No. 100 overall and is expected to be more than just a backup to Bucky Irving. The model likes Gainwell ahead of clear-cut RB1s such as Tony Pollard and Chuba Hubbard. Gainwell set career highs across the board last year in Pittsburgh and finished with 1,023 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns. He then joined Tampa as a free agent, replacing Rachaad White, who departed for Washington.

Another sleeper in 2026 is Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten. Tuten has an ADP of No. 60 overall but is going as low as pick No. 94 in some cases. A fourth-round NFL Draft pick in 2025, Tuten had 386 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie in backing up Travis Etienne. The latter has since joined the Saints, putting Tuten atop the depth chart. Tuten impressed when given opportunities as a rookie, scoring in all four games he had at least nine touches.

On the other hand, the model identifies Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III as a player to avoid. Walker’s fantasy stock is sky high after he was dominant in the playoffs last year as a key piece of Seattle’s Super Bowl run. Now he joins a Kansas City backfield without a lot of competition, and he’s going off the board at pick No. 26 overall on average in fantasy drafts. Andy Reid’s pass-first offense hasn’t been friendly to running backs from a fantasy standpoint as no Kansas City back has cleared 1,000 yards on the ground since 2017. Walker also brings some injury risk after missing at least one game in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

The model also identifies a surprising tight end as a top-8 option ahead of stars like Travis Kelce and Sam LaPorta. This tight end is listed as a shocking top-8 option ahead of stars like Travis Kelce and Sam LaPorta. You can only see who it is and the 2026 fantasy football rankings for every player at SportsLine.

The 2026 fantasy football ADP is beginning to take shape, with players like Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, Ja’Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jonathan Taylor, and Christian McCaffrey going off the board first on average. The latest ADP data shows tight ends like Brock Bowers and Trey McBride and quarterback Josh Allen going off the board early in the late second or early third round.

The model has accurately predicted that Colts quarterback Daniel Jones would fully realize his potential in his first year in Indy. He was the QB10 before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 14. Jones finished the year as the QB17 as the model had him as a top-15 fantasy quarterback entering 2025. Anyone who took a chance on him in fantasy football drafts was surely rewarded when he was in the lineup.

The same model has a proven track record of providing fantasy football tips, nailing Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous season in 2021, calling Rachaad White’s breakout in 2023, and identifying Isiah Pacheco as a bust in 2025. Additionally, it has called past fantasy football sleepers like A.J. Brown in 2020, Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017.