Top Late-Round Stashes for your Fantasy Football Roster

Fantasy football championships can't be won during a draft, but they can certainly be lost.

Due to the long and arduous nature of the season, managers not only need to construct the best possible roster to succeed in Week 1 but also have the depth in place to win playoff games come December.  

While early-round picks will be the most pivotal towards a fantasy team's success during the 2026 NFL season, the latter rounds are where title contenders are forged.

Having a roster loaded with high-upside rookies, handcuffs and backups with strong long-term outlooks can make all the difference once injuries inevitably make their mark on the campaign.

With that in mind, here are five of the best late-round stashes—defined here as players with an average draft position of 100 or later—to target in your upcoming fantasy football draft.

Average draft position (ADP), rankings, points and other fantasy metrics courtesy of FantasyPros using PPR data.

QB Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

ADP: 147 (QB20)

Tyler Shough is seeking to parlay a strong finish to his rookie year into a breakout second season.

While the New Orleans Saints aren't expected to be a serious contender in 2026, that could change if Shough makes the leap his talent suggests he's capable of.

Shough didn't get a chance to start until the midpoint of the 2025 campaign and looked shaky during his first few appearances, but the signal-caller found his footing and led New Orleans to a 4-1 record to close out the year.

He became a serviceable fantasy option over his final six starts, finishing as the QB16 or better in each outing, including a career-best QB4 showing in Week 14.

The Saints are clearly sold on Shough's potential, spending the offseason bolstering their young passer's protection and weaponry. The supporting cast received a notable boost after the team utilized the No. 8 overall pick on elite wideout prospect Jordyn Tyson and signed a pair of key veterans in running back Travis Etienne Jr. and offensive guard David Edwards.

It's now up to head coach Kellen Moore to maximize Shough's talents. Moore's system has produced some strong fantasy output from the quarterback position in the past, including in 2019 when he helped Dak Prescott author a QB2 finish in his first year as an offensive coordinator.

With a full offseason to prepare as the starter and more talented teammates than he had last year around him, Shough is a strong bet to outperform his modest fantasy projections.

He's a perfect high-upside pick to take a chance on, offering QB1-tier upside and a potentially usable floor for managers to leverage in the latter rounds.

RB Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

ADP: 103 (RB36)

The Los Angeles Rams have shied away from using running back platoons for most of the Sean McVay era, but the head coach won't be able to keep Blake Corum off the field in 2026.

The backup running back projects to get some serious playing time this year as the Rams continue to innovate offensively in their quest for another Super Bowl.

Although he failed to notch a finish better than RB28 over the first 12 games of last season, Corum gave a glimpse of what he can do with more touches when he went off for four consecutive RB22 or better performances between Weeks 13-16—including an explosive 26.1-point, RB3 outing in Week 14.

Corum comes into 2026 as a must-roster handcuff to Kyren Williams, warranting a spot just for his potential to emerge as a true three-down back in any game the starter misses.

Williams has been largely healthy for the last two seasons, but he was sidelined for five contests during his Pro Bowl sophomore campaign in 2023 and has logged a hefty 645 touches since the start of the 2024 season. That volume could lead McVay to lighten Williams' workload and get Corum more involved.

After earning an 11 percent offensive snap share as a rookie and a 29 percent share last year, a 60-40 split between Williams and Corum seems to be the most likely scenario to kick things off in 2026.

That probably won't result in week-winning numbers right away, but Corum could eat into Williams' workload and force a more even split if he has a strong showing early on.

Given the strength of the passing attack and stout offensive line in Los Angeles, Corum should be able to do enough damage to warrant flex consideration from his backup role and will be locked in as a must-start RB1 any time Williams is out.

Considering his modest ADP, managers shouldn't hesitate to snap up Corum in the middle-to-late portion of a draft.

RB Kaelon Black, San Francisco 49ers

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

ADP: 234 (RB65)

The San Francisco 49ers were heavily criticized for their decision to select Kaelon Black in the third round of the 2026 draft, but these doubters could be quickly proven wrong.

The rookie has strong potential to earn the RB2 job behind entrenched starter Christian McCaffrey, a role that could be extremely fruitful this season.

McCaffrey led the league in fantasy scoring last year by a wide margin, but the veteran back has an unfortunate history of injuries during the seasons that have followed his best fantasy campaigns.

Given McCaffrey's surprisingly low ADP of 5, there are clear expectations that he'll struggle to stay healthy in 2026. The Niners are hoping they can keep the aging back available by limiting his workload, but Black is still one of the most intriguing insurance options a fantasy manager can take out this season.

Black still needs to officially beat out a slew of veterans in Jordan James, Isaac Guerendo, Patrick Taylor Jr., Sincere McCormick and Khalil Herbert to earn the RB2 job, but the rookie possesses all the tools needed to lead the platoon if McCaffrey were to miss extensive time.

Black has good size and hits holes hard, averaging over five yards per carry across his four collegiate seasons.

He breached the 1,000-yard mark on the ground during his final season at Indiana, churning up tough yardage on a regular basis for the undefeated national champions.

The Hoosiers didn't use him much in the passing game, but he proved to be a solid receiver during his two seasons at James Madison, recording 44 catches for 431 yards and six touchdowns for the program.

While Black doesn't profile as a seamless replacement for McCaffrey and lacks the elite playmaking abilities that the starter provides, he should still be able to make up for a large chunk of that production given the opportunity.

His ADP is only going to go up once he officially secures the RB2 job, so be sure to capitalize on the uncertainty surrounding San Francisco's backfield by stashing him during the final rounds of your draft.

WR Rashid Shaheed, Seattle Seahawks

AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

ADP: 142 (WR57)

The Seattle Seahawks rejuvenated their special teams play with a midseason trade for Rashid Shaheed last year.

While the ace return man helped Seattle get over the hump and win a Super Bowl, his contributions as a receiver left much to be desired and largely kept him off the fantasy radar in 2025.

That should change this season, especially after Seattle rewarded the speedster with a sizable contract extension.

Shaheed's three-year, $51 million deal is more indicative of the impact team brass believes the playmaker is going to have on the Seahawks' passing attack than anything he provides as a return man.

He's going to play a far larger role on offense than he did last year when he contributed a meager 15 catches for 188 yards and zero touchdowns in nine regular season contests for Seattle.

Shaheed's lack of receiving production was understandable given the need to pick up an entirely new system and establish rapport with a new quarterback. The Seahawks didn't need him to play a key receiving role right away, but will in 2026 with Cooper Kupp set to take another step back during an upcoming age-33 season.

In June, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler spoke about Shaheed's increased role and the chemistry he's been building with Sam Darnold. The insider projects more short and intermediate work in addition to the field-stretching deep routes he provided last year.

With Jaxson Smith-Njigba commanding intense defensive attention and a ground game that still looks strong with first-round rookie Jadarian Price leading the way, Shaheed's path to becoming a major fantasy asset in 2026 is obvious.

If he usurps Kupp as the WR2 in Seattle's offense, he'll vastly outperform his current ADP and will be one of the true late-round steals of fantasy drafts.

TE Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills

AP Photo/Adrian Kraus

ADP: 123 (TE15)

Even after the emergence of several up-and-coming stars at the position in recent years, elite tight ends continue to go for a premium in fantasy football drafts.

Managers have to choose between using an early pick on one of the established talents or accepting the lower ceilings or higher risk that comes with waiting until the latter rounds.

While he's not guaranteed to put up TE1 numbers in 2026, Dalton Kincaid is occupying a sweet spot between potential production, realistic floor and average draft position.

The Buffalo Bills tight end hasn't quite lived up to the hype that surrounded him when he entered the league as a first-rounder in 2023, but he still has untapped upside that could finally be unlocked this season.

Kincaid had his most efficient campaign yet in 2025—securing 39 of his 49 targets for 571 yards and five touchdowns—but lacked week-to-week consistency.

It looked like he would finally have his breakout season when he authored a pair of TE4 finishes over the first three weeks, but would only have three more top-10 performances the remainder of the year. He missed five games with injury and continued splitting time with veteran Dawson Knox, limiting him to a TE14 finish on the year.

If Kincaid is going to jump into the upper echelon of NFL tight ends, he'll need to stay healthy and continue producing at a similar level with higher volume coming his way. It's an outcome that is not only possible but also probable after the team added a sorely needed wideout capable of drawing defensive attention down the field in DJ Moore.

Kincaid should be able to feast with this increased talent level around him, using his elite athleticism and size to create mismatches against slower linebackers and small defensive backs.

If Josh Allen continues to play at an MVP level and Kincaid sees more playing time than he has previously, it's almost guaranteed the tight end will post a TE10 or better finish and greatly outperform his middling ADP.