Training camps are officially open, and if you have not started digging into your fantasy football draft strategy for 2026, you’re already behind. Nobody wants to miss out on those hidden gems, the guys who fly under the radar but end up absolutely crushing it. The computer model at SportsLine, the one that perfectly called De’Von Achane’s massive season last year, just spilled its guts on its latest 2026 fantasy football sleepers, and there is one name that will definitely get you thinking.
This Model Nailed Achane’s Monster Season, What’s Next?
You gotta pay attention when a model is this good. SportsLine’s tech isn’t just throwing darts, it is hitting bullseyes. Last year, it went all in on Dolphins running back De’Von Achane, predicting he would comfortably outplay his RB12 ADP. And what happened? Achane went absolutely ballistic, racking up 1,838 scrimmage yards, good for sixth-most in the entire NFL, and punched in 12 touchdowns. The model pegged him as RB6, and guess what, he finished sixth among running backs in Fantasy points in CBS Sports PPR leagues. That is not luck, that is a proven track record.
This thing has been delivering for years. Think back: A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020? Nailed it. Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous 2021? Yep. It even called C.J. Stroud’s step back in 2024 and Daniel Jones’ breakout in 2025. And we are talking about game-changers here, folks, the kind of picks that win you league titles: Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, Davante Adams in 2017. These were the players that powered championship runs, and this model saw them coming.
The Injury Comeback That Could Win You Your League
Now, the SportsLine model has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times to give us its latest rankings, and one name is jumping off the screen as a serious sleeper: Lions tight end Sam LaPorta. His ADP is sitting at 69, and let’s be real, a lot of that comes from a tough stretch. The guy was just cleared for training camp after dealing with a herniated disc last season. We saw his production dip hard. After a record-setting rookie year in 2023, where he was the TE1, he regressed to TE6 in 2024 and then all the way down to TE26 in 2025 after missing half the season.
But this is where you take a chance, right? The model is betting on a bounce-back. Remember how Dak Prescott, Christian McCaffrey, and Chris Olave shook off the injury bug last year and blew up? Joe Burrow and Malik Nabers are facing similar bounce-back potential from their own injury-plagued seasons this year, and they could be absolute steals in drafts. LaPorta, despite the regression and the injury history, fits that mold perfectly. If he can stay healthy, that TE26 ranking could skyrocket, making him one of the biggest steals in your draft.
The Hall of Fame Game is set for August 6, so you need to get your draft strategy locked in. That means diving deep into these sleeper picks and being ready to snag a guy like LaPorta before anyone else realizes what’s coming.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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