SportsLine Model's 2026 Fantasy Sleepers: Likely, Pollard — SkimNews
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- SportsLine's model simulated the NFL season 10,000 times to produce its 2026 Fantasy football rankings, identifying Isaiah Likely and Tony Pollard as sleepers ranked ahead of where they're being drafted.
- Isaiah Likely, who followed coach John Harbaugh from Baltimore to the Giants this offseason, carries an ADP of 90 but ranks TE9 in the model — ahead of Sam LaPorta and Travis Kelce — after reportedly becoming a favorite target of rookie QB Jaxson Dart with Malik Nabers (knee) limited in camp.
- Tony Pollard, the 29-year-old Titans running back with four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons, averaged 100 yards per game and scored three touchdowns in the final five weeks of 2025, yet goes off the board around pick 73 as the RB27.
- The model is also extremely high on an unnamed wide receiver going in rounds 3-4 of most drafts, projecting him as a shocking top-10 option ahead of CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson and A.J. Brown.
- De'Von Achane finished as the RB6 in CBS Sports PPR scoring last season with 1,838 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns — matching exactly where the model had slotted him and well above his preseason RB12 ADP.
- Past correct calls include identifying A.J. Brown as a 2020 sleeper, nailing Jonathan Taylor's 2021 season, predicting C.J. Stroud would step back in 2024, and forecasting Daniel Jones' 2025 breakout.
Why it matters: Fantasy players drafting in the next six days get a third-party model's 10,000-simulation projection to anchor their boards, with concrete sleeper candidates — Likely projected as a top-9 tight end despite a TE13-ish ADP and Pollard ranked in a tier above backs going 20 picks earlier — that could differentiate championship rosters if the model's Achane-sized track record holds.
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