Fantasy Football CounselorSource
Fantasy Football Counselor artwork
PodcastFrom Fantasy Football Counselor

5 Late-Round Fantasy Football Sleepers You MUST Draft in 2026!

STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.

10 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 16, 2026
Published
Sun, August 16, 2026
6
Player insights
6
Players mentioned
Topics
Christian WatsonDe'Zhaun StriblingKenyon SadiqMalachi FieldsMatthew GoldenMike Evans
Player analysis

Player insights

6

Christian Watson

NegativeBust3:22

JJ Zachariason advises against drafting Christian Watson as the Packers' WR1, citing his inability to stay healthy and failure to exceed 622 receiving yards in four seasons.

Insight page

De'Zhaun Stribling

PositiveSleeper5:29

JJ Zachariason highlights Deshaun Striebling (153 overall) as a physical, 4.36-speed receiver who could capitalize on a thin 49ers depth chart. He notes that Striebling's preseason performance is driving his rising ADP.

Insight page

Kenyon Sadiq

PositiveValue8:27

JJ Zachariason argues that Kenyon Sadiq (179 overall) is a superior value compared to Brock Bowers. Sadiq possesses elite athleticism (4.39 speed, 6'3", 240 lbs) and red-zone upside, making him a potential league-winner at a much cheaper draft cost.

Insight page

Malachi Fields

PositiveBreakout12:12

JJ Zachariason touts Malachi Fields as a potential breakout candidate for the Giants. He highlights Fields' 'power forward' build and red-zone reliability, suggesting he could become the team's WR1 if Malik Nabers misses time.

Insight page

Matthew Golden

PositiveBreakout2:24

JJ Zachariason identifies Matthew Golden as a high-upside sleeper (WR50) due to his explosive performance in the postseason alongside Jordan Love. With Christian Watson's persistent injury history and Romeo Doubs gone, Golden has a clear path to becoming a top-15 receiver in the Packers' offense.

Insight page

Mike Evans

NegativeBust6:52

JJ Zachariason expresses skepticism regarding Mike Evans, citing his age and recurring injury concerns as reasons to avoid him in favor of younger sleepers.

Insight page
Full transcript

Episode Transcript

89
0:00Buckle up, I'm going to give you guys 5 Late-Round Sleepers Your League mates have no idea about that can sheepsses they're
0:07sleeping on They're not telling you about these guys, they don't want you to win your leagues I'm ready to dive in,
0:13these guys can be absolute league winners, okay? 5 Late-Round Sleepers If you're new to the channel, smash it, tap it, hype
0:20it, swipe it Just at the bottom, there's a little under the comments, you can hype it Really take, it really helps
0:26the channel out Smash a thumbs up, and of course subscribe if you're new to the channel The only channel giving you
0:33the truth Once you guys listen to this channel, what I'm saying Oh my god, this guy's talking nonsense, nobody's talking about
0:39this stuff It'll start making sense to you, you want to subscribe And also grab the 16 Rounds, which you do not
0:46draft for those 16 rounds You will be unprepared without it Sleepers, breakouts, full mock drafts, principled cheat sheet, which I update
0:52I just updated it by the way Grab 16 Rounds, I've linked it below Use code DEAL2SAVE this weekend only guys DEAL2SAVE
0:59is going to save you guys 20% Grab 16 rounds right now Your league mates won't even know what hit them You're
1:05going to leave them in the dust, okay? Hit the thumbs up, let's dive into it Alright, five late-round sleepers And this
1:12is why I'm going to prove to you We're going to debunk this whole rankings thing Because rankings don't work Last year,
1:18Justin Jefferson was ranked as a top guy Round one, he finished outside the top 20 Brian Thomas Jr., round two, I
1:25told you to avoid him Vlad McConkie, all these guys busted last year After I told you that they would Rankings don't
1:31work A couple years ago, I remember Nico Collins was ranked wide receiver 70 He's finished as a top 10, 15 receiver
1:38Rankings don't work So it's about finding these gems Before your league mates do And being ahead of the curve, okay?
1:44First sleeper here Matthew Golden 132 overall Guys, let me let this sit Let's talk about this here This kind of hurts
1:50my head here Wide receiver 50 They've got nobody else I mean, they've got You know, Tucker, Kraft Who can get some
1:57work They've got Reed, but we know he's not the true one They've got Watson Watson just got paid But Watson, I'm
2:03telling you guys right now Christian Watson can't play football Why?
2:07Because he's always hurt The guy has not cracked 622 yards Receiving in four years Listen, if it takes you four years Right?
2:14To try to finish a season You can't do it Or you can't even crack 700 yards receiving You're never going to
2:20do it Like, years to wow me We're not wowed Could he have a breakout year?
2:25Yeah, but To actually designate Christian Watson as the one I'm not doing that So I look at Matthew Golden there Who
2:31was a first round pick Mind you And again, I look at that Post-season game last year Where him and Dobbs Were
2:38number one And number two targets Dobbs was one And Golden was two When it mattered the most He looked explosive He
2:44looked good His hands are good Listen, Dobbs is gone And there's a huge Golden opportunity No pun intended For Matthew Golden
2:51To absolutely tear it up This year I'm telling you Watson's not the solution Reed's not the solution There's a huge opportunity
2:57For Matthew Golden Wide receiver 50 I can This is a top 10 15 receiver I'm telling you The only problem is
3:04Is that The Packers Kind of spread the ball around They dilute They're not really designed To go for like They don't
3:10target one receiver But there's a chance, man As soon as Watson gets hurt And he will He's proven it four years
3:17in a row Even if he doesn't get hurt I think Matthew Golden He's going to be on the field a lot
3:23Draft him What a value Okay Number two And he kind of showed out A little bit in preseason Is Deshaun Striebling
3:30Now again All these guys are laid out In my 16 Rounds Which is exactly where to draft him As part of
3:36a robust RB strategy Make sure you implement The core four And then which wide receivers To plug in With an ace
3:43quarterback The tight ends to grab When to grab a defense All laid out in 16 rounds You'll be light years Ahead
3:49of the sheep Right But Dejan Striebling Why do I like him 6-2-207 at an old miss Listen he's physical And the
3:56guy can block He's a good blocker 4.36 speed Last year in college 811 yards 6 touchdowns He was a round 2
4:03pick And here's the thing man The 49ers have nobody They literally have nobody Like Debo Samuel Is like a running back
4:09Pretty much He hasn't done much Lately And then you got Mike Evans Who already showed signs That he's going to get
4:16hurt Has gotten hurt I can't believe they re-signed him Peter Saul's out Ayuk said He's out So in comes Striebling There's
4:22an opportunity here That's all I'm saying 153 overall You get this guy later And as preseason comes out The more preseason
4:29games These guys start shooting up The ADP Because it can Sheeps and start catching on About guys we're talking about here
4:35And we talked about Back in April I mean this guy was brought up On my podcast With Walter Football About I
4:42think a month Or two months ago Or something like that Now people are starting To talk about him Because again Preseason
4:48has kind of put These players on the radar So I mean Why wouldn't you get Striebling when there's Nobody else I
4:55just do not believe In Mike Evans There's nobody else there Okay Mike Evans Could have a good year Health is a
5:01big concern And he's an older guy Deshaun Striebling Wow Okay Alright next guy here I've got him on all my rocks
5:08I'm taking a chance on him 6'3", 240 pounds 4.39 speed I'm going to tell you All the metrics here Strong hands
5:14Quick twitch foot muscle Quick twitch muscle On his feet So he's quick off the line Strong like I said Finds the
5:21soft spots In the In zone coverage Good red zone target Extremely athletic He's got all the features That you want Out
5:27of a top running Tight end It's Kenyon Sadiq I mean we're talking A guy Who's like 179 overall People are drafting
5:34Brock Bowers Early Like round 2-3 And you're passing up On Sadiq Remember last year Brock Bowers Was being drafted Second round
5:40When Geno Smith Was throwing the ball Why wouldn't I draft Sadiq after 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th round With the same quarterback
5:47Throwing the ball When this guy is more Physically talented Mind you I'm not crazy About the Jets But A value tight
5:53end Later With massive talent And upside Sign me up Man There could be A potential league Winner there I got two
6:00more here One of them I've not Actually One of the next one I haven't really talked about But Walter Football Brought
6:06him up A couple episodes ago In must draft players And then he just Played a preseason game And the last one
6:13I've been talking about For a while Had a mini breakout Here In preseason as well So two wide receivers You need
6:19to draft Before I get to those Make sure you guys Do hit the thumbs up Grab 16 Rounds I've linked it
6:26below Sleepers, breakouts Optical players Make sure you guys Secure 16 rounds I've linked it below Grab it Do not draft without
6:32it Okay Use code deal 20% off Alright Next one is Jacoby Lane Baltimore Ravens Listen These guys have Nobody else They've
6:39got Bateman there Zay Flowers I don't think Is that good Obviously they paid him He's clearly the one To begin with
6:45But listen to the metrics Here on Jacoby Lane 200 pounds 6'4 4.47 speed Not the fastest But not that bad He's
6:52an X-type receiver Amazing catch radius He's got that long Catch radius He's tough He's explosive And he's quick as well Wide
6:58receiver 98 Like this is what I'm talking about Like I can get this guy Like super late And I can get
7:05the Wide receiver one Potentially on the Ravens Now The reason I didn't Have this guy on my radar Is because I
7:11don't Really trust the Ravens And you know I don't look at Lamar As a major passing Type quarterback But man oh
7:18man There's a huge opportunity For this guy to get volume Not my favorite sleeper But there's something there And when I
7:24watched The preseason game I'm like You know Walter's making some sense here So we're talking Jacoby Lane Late round sleeper Stash
7:31Massive upside Okay And the last one I've been talking about A lot I ended up drafting him In April My drafts
7:38Love the upside Let me give you The metrics here first Again you can find All these players In 16 rounds Where
7:44to draft them Make sure your roster Is optimal 6'4 4.6 speed Not the fastest speed But don't worry Check this out
7:512'4 2'8 2'8 That's not bad Tough Power forward type build Reliable hands Again very capable I read his scouting reports Captain
7:57mentality Very strong This guy could easily Be the one On the New York Giants They moved up to Round 3 to
8:04grab him They brought in Odell Beckham I don't think he's Even going to make the team Odell Juju All these guys
8:10But really they have a gem In Malachi Fields Now again I think he's going to be An amazing touchdown guy Devontae
8:17Adams type thing There if If neighbors Plays healthy Which I don't think he will Then this guy's going to be A
8:23solid two And he's going to be In the red zone a lot End zone a lot Getting a lot of touchdowns
8:30Okay So Malachi Fields I mean this guy's like Wide receiver Like 90 something Like it's ludicrous This guy could be the
8:36one On his team All I'm saying is He could bust Right But all I'm saying Is stash him Major upside Okay
8:43Now I want to make sure You guys build your roster Properly Make sure you guys Do grab 16 rounds Hit the
8:49thumbs up For daily videos We've got Walter Football Come back twice a week Right now We'll try to get Tim the
8:56bald guy in as well Breaking Brad news Everything And all season We're going to be talking here Breaking news Waver wire
9:02All that stuff So make sure you guys Are subscribed Grab 16 rounds You don't want to draft Without it But that's
9:09five Late round sleepers For your Malachi Fields Jacoby Lane Kenyon Sadiq Deshaun Striebling And Matthew Golden Yes the upside is in
9:15the rookies You don't go ahead And just draft Kenneth Gainwells later Because they just suck Right You don't want players That
9:22have years to wow you You want guys That have Breakout potentials That's who you draft Right Subscribe Thumbs up I'll see
9:28you in the next video Have a great Sunday I'll see you tomorrow morning I'm out

More episodes from Fantasy Football Counselor

6