SportsLine Model Pegs LaPorta, Smith as 2026 Fantasy Sleepers
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- SportsLine's model simulated the 2026 NFL season 10,000 times and released fantasy rankings with sleepers, breakouts, and busts, with training camps opening this weekend and the first preseason game set for August 6.
- Sam LaPorta is flagged as a top sleeper despite an ADP of 69, with the model citing his 0.7 TD average in six career games without David Montgomery versus 0.4 TDs in 36 games with him, and a career-high 54.3 receiving yards in an injury-shortened 2025.
- DeVonta Smith is projected as a top-15 fantasy WR despite an ADP outside the top 25, after posting a 1,000-yard season in a bottom-10 passing offense; the Eagles traded A.J. Brown to New England and replaced their offensive coordinator, mirroring Seattle's Jaxon Smith-Njigba breakout after DK Metcalf's exit.
- SportsLine is also promoting an unnamed veteran wide receiver as a 'shocking' top-10 fantasy option ranked ahead of CeeDee Lamb and A.J. Brown, with the identity gated to SportsLine subscribers.
- The model correctly predicted Dolphins RB De'Von Achane's 2025 surge — he finished as RB6 in CBS Sports PPR with 1,838 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns versus an ADP of RB12 — and has past hits on A.J. Brown (2020), Jonathan Taylor (2021), Daniel Jones (2025), and Derrick Henry (2019).
- The piece also names Joe Burrow and Malik Nabers as potential injury bounce-back candidates, following last year's rebounds by Dak Prescott, Christian McCaffrey, and Chris Olave.
Why it matters: Fantasy drafters targeting LaPorta at TE6-or-later cost or Smith outside the top 25 at WR could capture top-15 positional value if the model's logic holds, while LaPorta's specific boost depends on Detroit's run-game void after Montgomery's exit and Smith's hinges on Philadelphia's redesigned passing attack.
