SportsLine Model Names 2026 Fantasy Sleepers: LaPorta, Smith
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- SportsLine's model simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times to release 2026 Fantasy football rankings, sleepers, breakouts and busts, building on last year's call that De'Von Achane would outperform his RB12 ADP — Achane finished as the RB6 with 1,838 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns.
- Sam LaPorta is flagged as a top sleeper at an ADP of 72, now cleared for training camp after a herniated disc shortened his 2025 season; he has averaged 0.7 TDs in six career games without David Montgomery versus 0.4 in 36 games with him, and Detroit lost Montgomery this offseason.
- DeVonta Smith produced a 1,000-yard season in 2025 despite playing in a bottom-10 passing offense, and now ascends to the Eagles' WR1 role after A.J. Brown was traded to New England — the model projects him as a top-15 Fantasy WR despite an ADP outside the top 25 at his position.
- The model's track record includes identifying A.J. Brown as a 2020 sleeper, nailing Jonathan Taylor's 2021 monster season, predicting C.J. Stroud's 2024 step-back, and calling Daniel Jones' 2025 breakout.
- NFL training camps open Tuesday, with the Hall of Fame Game set for August 6, marking the practical start of 2026 fantasy draft season.
- The model is also "extremely high" on a veteran wide receiver it projects as a top-10 option ahead of CeeDee Lamb and A.J. Brown — though that identity and the full rankings sit behind SportsLine's paywall.
Why it matters: With training camps opening Tuesday and drafts imminent, fantasy players who grab LaPorta at ADP 72 or Smith outside the WR25 tier are buying top-15 positional production at a late-round price — Smith's path, the article notes, mirrors Jaxon Smith-Njigba's 2025 OPOY leap after DK Metcalf left Seattle.
