SportsLine Model Names LaPorta, Smith 2026 Fantasy Sleepers
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- SportsLine simulated the NFL season 10,000 times and flagged Sam LaPorta (ADP 69) and DeVonta Smith (ADP 38) as top 2026 Fantasy football sleepers, plus a veteran WR the model projects as a top-10 option ahead of stars like CeeDee Lamb and A.J. Brown.
- Sam LaPorta has been cleared for training camp after a herniated disc ended his 2025 season early, though he's regressed every year since his record-setting rookie TE1 campaign — falling to TE6 in 2024 and TE26 last year.
- DeVonta Smith posted a 1,000-yard season in 2025 while playing in a bottom-10 passing offense, and now becomes the Eagles' WR1 after A.J. Brown was traded to New England this offseason, drawing a direct parallel to Jaxon Smith-Njigba's WR1 ascent in Seattle.
- De'Von Achane justified the model's 2025 sleeper call by producing 1,838 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns, finishing as the RB6 in CBS Sports PPR leagues after being drafted at an ADP of RB12.
- The model's track record includes identifying A.J. Brown as a 2020 sleeper, nailing Jonathan Taylor's 2021 breakout, predicting C.J. Stroud would step back in 2024, and calling Daniel Jones' 2025 breakout season.
Why it matters: For Fantasy drafters, sleepers are where leagues are won — LaPorta offers TE1 upside at TE26 cost if his herniated disc is truly behind him, while Smith inherits A.J. Brown's vacated targets in what the model projects as a passing-game renaissance. The model's Achane call (RB6 finish off an RB12 ADP) is the sales pitch, but its C.J. Stroud miss shows even proven models get it wrong.
