New Fantasy Football 2026 Sleeper Cheat Sheet and Strategy Tips for Mock Drafts

Research is ramping up in the fantasy football world.

The 2026 NFL preseason kicks off this week, and the actual campaign will get going sooner than you think.

In other words, it's time to start making fantasy draft strategies and honing in on how to execute them. To help with that, we're providing both cheat sheet rankings and cheat sheet sleepers, plus a few tips on how to maximize the value of mock drafts.

Cheat Sheet Rankings

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Top 30, standard scoring

1. Bijan Robinson, RB, ATL
2. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, DET
3. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, CIN
4. Puka Nacua, WR, LAR
5. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, SEA
6. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, DET
7. Jonathan Taylor, RB, IND
8. CeeDee Lamb, WR, DAL
9. Christian McCaffrey, RB, SF
10. Justin Jefferson, WR, MIN
11. Ashton Jeanty, RB, LV
12. James Cook III, RB, BUF
13. Drake London, WR, ATL
14. Derrick Henry, RB, BAL
15. Saquon Barkley, RB, PHI
16. Nico Collins, WR, HOU
17. Trey McBride, TE, ARI
18. Brock Bowers, TE, LV
19. De'Von Achane, RB, MIA
20. Jeremiyah Love, RB, ARI
21. Chris Olave, WR, NO
22. George Pickens, WR, DAL
23. Omarion Hampton, RB, LAC
24. Kenneth Walker III, RB, KC
25. Josh Allen, QB, BUF
26. A.J. Brown, WR, NE
27. Tee Higgins, WR, CIN
28. Lamar Jackson, QB, BAL
29. Josh Jacobs, RB, GB
30. Zay Flowers, WR, BAL

Sleeper Cheat Sheet

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Quarterbacks

Justin Herbert, LAC

Kyler Murray, MIN

Brock Purdy, SF

C.J. Stroud, HOU

Cam Ward, TEN

Running Backs

Jonathon Brooks, CAR

Kenny Gainwell, TB

Emmett Johnson, KC

Keaton Mitchell, LAC

Isiah Pacheco, DET

Wide Receivers

Josh Downs, IND

Matthew Golden, GB

Jayden Higgins, HOU

Michael Pittman Jr., IND

DeVonta Smith, PHI

Tight Ends

Sam LaPorta, DET

Isaiah Likely, NYG

Kenyon Sadiq, NYJ

Mock Draft Strategy Tips

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Look for trends amid multiple mocks.

A single mock draft probably won't reveal much, other than the particular whims of the managers involved. So, if your schedule allows it, you'll want to run through as many mocks as possible while keeping an eye out for potentially revealing trends.

If a player is consistently going at least a round above or beneath their average draft position, it's probably safe to assume some legitimate movement with their draft stock. This can be especially for helpful with things like rookies or certain position groups.

Veer away from your drafting norm.

Assuming you're going to conduct multiple mocks, don't spend all of them following your typical draft plan. It's fine to have a defined strategy and try testing it out, but this is also your chance to get a real feel for alternatives.

Are you someone who always waits for a quarterback? Try grabbing one of the elites early, and then see how things shape up over the course of that mock. Maybe you'll wind up liking your skill spots enough to consider putting this plan into practice during your actual draft.

Mimic your league settings.

Mock drafts are, in essence, practice runs ahead of your actual draft. So, if you can, you'll want the mock settings to reflect your actual league settings as close as possible.

Everything from league size and scoring format to draft platform and roster setup impacts the draft value of players and position groups. If you can input settings exactly like the ones your league uses, then you can get a great gauge for what to expect when draft day arrives.