The 10 Most Criminally Underrated Fantasy Football Players of 2026

These 10 Players Scream Value

We've highlighted top breakout players, sleepers, and league winners. But underrated fantasy football players are the backbone of a championship-caliber squad.

These are the guys who consistently beat their draft cost, giving you more production than the fantasy managers around you expected. Stack enough of those values together, and your roster becomes deeper, more flexible, and much harder to beat.

The players below stand out in the Draft Sharks rankings versus consensus ADP. The ADP Market Index shows how many spots ahead of ADP we are on each one.

Build Your Roster on Top of These Underrated Players

You don't need every player on this list. But if you consistently draft players who beat their ADP by even a round or two, the value adds up fast. And so do your odds of winning your league.

These are the values we're betting on in 2026.

• Brock Purdy
• Kyler Murray
• D'Andre Swift
• Rhamondre Stevenson
• Nico Collins
• Zay Flowers
• Tee Higgins
• Christian Watson
• Davante Adams
• Sam LaPorta

Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers

ADP Market Index: +37

Three Straight Years of QB1 Production

Drafters keep discounting Purdy despite three straight seasons of strong fantasy production. His QB15 ADP sits well behind our QB9 ranking.

Purdy has earned that projection with QB7, QB9, and QB5 finishes in fantasy points per game over the last three years.

Efficient Passing + Sneaky Rushing Fuels The Upside

Purdy has quietly been one of the NFL's most efficient passers. Among 37 QBs with 500+ pass attempts over the last three seasons, he ranks: 

• first in yards per attempt
• second in TD rate
• sixth in completion rate

Purdy is also one of just two QBs, alongside Jalen Hurts, to post a completion rate over expected of at least 3% in each of the last three seasons.

He chips in with his legs, too. After averaging 9.0 rushing yards per game in 2023, Purdy has jumped to 21.5 and 16.3 the last two years. And he told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler this summer that he's prepared to run more this season if needed.

“The thing I pride myself on is moving quickly, moving the chains when I need 10, 12 yards," Purdy said. "I think I can add that for our offense, for sure."

That blend of efficient passing and underrated rushing has helped Purdy rank second, 11th, and third among QBs in fantasy points per dropback over the past three seasons.

Situation Boosts Floor and Ceiling

Purdy's supporting cast has changed, but it's still loaded. 

HC Kyle Shanahan remains one of football's premier play callers, and Purdy still has plenty to work with. Mike Evans is one of the league's most prolific TD scorers, Christian McCaffrey remains one of the best pass-catching backs, Deebo Samuel returns, and second-round rookie De'Zhaun Stribling adds another weapon.

Even with George Kittle working back from an Achilles injury and Ricky Pearsall lost for the season, Purdy has more than enough firepower to outperform his draft price.

Kyler Murray, QB, Minnesota Vikings

ADP Market Index: +54

The ADP Doesn’t Make Sense

Murray’s QB18 ADP is a glaring misprice, especially now that he's officially beaten out J.J. McCarthy for the starting job.

Murray ranks seventh among active QBs in career fantasy points per game. Before last year's injury-shortened five-game season, he'd never finished worse than QB12 in fantasy points per game.

Elite Passing Environment Meets Elite Rushing

Murray finds himself in arguably the best situation of his career.

HC Kevin O'Connell consistently produced strong passing numbers prior to last year’s McCarthy debacle. Minnesota ranked third, fifth, and fifth in QB passing fantasy points across O’Connell’s first three seasons at the helm.

Murray also has a strong group of weapons, headlined by WRs Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. WR Jauan Jennings and TE T.J. Hockenson are solid tertiary options.

Then there's the rushing. Murray has averaged at least 30 rushing yards per game in all seven NFL seasons, and his career mark of 36.7 yards per game ranks seventh among active QBs.

Even with a conservative projection, Murray lands 11th in our QB rankings, with upside into the top 6.

D’Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears

ADP Market Index: +3

You're Drafting Him Near His Floor

Swift’s ADP has climbed recently to RB19. But that's still a spot below where he lands in our rankings.

Swift finished 15th among RBs in PPR points per game last year and ranked 18th in expected fantasy points per game, showing that his production was backed by solid usage.

Even after rookie Kyle Monangai earned a larger role beginning in Week 7, Swift remained a reliable fantasy starter. From that point forward, he still ranked 17th in PPR points per game and 18th in expected points per game among RBs.

Chicago Would Be Wise to Give Him the Ball More

There's little reason to expect Swift's workload to shrink in 2026. If anything, it could grow.

Swift outperformed Monangai in every meaningful rushing metric last season.

If he maintains that edge this season, Chicago could decide to shift more work from Monangai to Swift.

It certainly doesn't hurt Swift that Monangai has been sidelined since August 16 with a hyperextended knee that might cost him the start of the season.

Ben Johnson Boost

The Bears offense could be even better in HC Ben Johnson’s second season. And even if it’s not, the running game should remain strong.

Johnson's backfields have consistently generated strong fantasy production. His offenses' ranks in total RB PPR points:

• 2022: first
• 2023: third
• 2024: first
• 2025: 14th

Swift projects as a solid RB2 that you can land in Round 5 or 6.

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots

ADP Market Index: +2

The Market’s Just Being Disrespectful

Stevenson is being drafted as RB26 despite looking like a strong bet to lead New England's backfield this season.

He sits 22nd in our RB rankings even with a healthy projection for backfield mate TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson still has exciting long-term upside, but Stevenson has done more than enough to hold onto a sizable role.

Stevenson Has Earned a Big Role

Henderson averaged 5.1 yards per carry to Stevenson's 4.6 last season, but Stevenson was the better runner by almost every advanced metric. He beat Henderson last year in:

• Rush yards over expected per attempt (1.36 to 0.85)
• Yards after contact per attempt (3.83 to 3.45)
• Missed tackles forced per attempt (0.25 to 0.17)

In fact, Stevenson ranked top-5 in all three of those metrics among 51 RBs league-wide with at least 90 carries.

Passing-Game Edge is Key

He also outplayed Henderson in the passing game. Stevenson averaged 9.3 yards per target and 1.41 yards per route run, compared to Henderson's 5.3 yards per target and 0.98 yards per route.

And he was more reliable in pass protection. Henderson coughed up 3 sacks on just 48 pass-blocking snaps last season, ranking 34th among 40 qualifying RBs in Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade. Stevenson didn't allow a single sack across 112 pass-blocking snaps and ranked fifth in PFF's pass-blocking grades.

Henderson has reportedly continued to struggle in that area during training camp.

Henderson could make a Year 2 leap. But Stevenson has already proven he deserves a significant role in what projects as one of the AFC's better offenses, making his price look too cheap.

Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans

ADP Market Index: +6

Elite Production at a Non-Elite Price

Collins has established himself as one of the NFL's elite WRs. Yet he's still available in the late second or early third round of fantasy drafts.

Collins is one of only three WRs to average at least 2.4 yards per route on 200+ routes in each of the last three seasons. The other two? Amon-Ra St. Brown and Puka Nacua. Nice company.

The fantasy production has followed. Collins’ finishes among WRs in PPR points per game:

• 2023: eighth
• 2024: 10th
• 2025: 11th

The Risks Are Already Priced In

Collins’ profile isn’t totally clean. He’s missed 19 games across his five NFL seasons and plays on a Texans team that projects to lean on its defense and running game this season.

But that run-heaviness is baked into our projections, which have Collins sitting ninth among WRs and 17th overall in PPR.

As for the durability concern, our Injury Predictor has Collins as just a “Medium Risk.” His chance of missing time this season is lower than similarly valued WRs like Drake London, A.J. Brown, and Rashee Rice.

Betting against another high-end season from Collins means betting that injuries or offensive philosophy finally derail one of the league's most consistently productive receivers. At his current ADP, that seems like a poor bet.

Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens

ADP Market Index: +5

WR1 Production at a WR2 Price

Flowers is coming off a WR11 finish in PPR points per game, in spite of a rough season for Baltimore’s offense. The Ravens missed QB Lamar Jackson for four games, finished 29th with just 57.3 plays per game, and ranked 16th in points.

Baltimore averaged at least 61.8 plays per game in each of Jackson’s first six seasons as starter and finished top-6 in points each of the previous two years.

With a healthy Jackson, this offense is an easy bounce-back bet, meaning an even higher ceiling for Flowers.

Despite all that, he's sitting 15th among WRs in ADP, falling into Round 4 in many fantasy drafts.

Everything Points Up

Flowers is still an ascending player, improving in key metrics across his three NFL seasons.

The Ravens clearly plan on keeping Flowers a focal point in new OC Declan Doyle’s offense. They recently signed him to a four-year, $140 million extension that made him the NFL's fourth-highest-paid receiver by average annual salary. 

New HC Jesse Minter praised Flowers’ versatility the day he signed that extension: “He can not only take the top off a defense, but he can catch the underneath stuff. He’s elite with the ball in his hands after the catch. There’s so many different ways to have him affect the game.”

More TDs Would Be Nice, But Aren’t Necessary

The biggest criticism of Flowers has been his TD production, with 5, 4, and 5 receiving scores across his first three seasons. 

Perhaps Flowers gets more action near the end zone in Doyle’s offense. But he doesn't need a TD spike to pay off ADP. We project him for just 5.4 receiving TDs this season, and he still lands WR14 in the PPR rankings.

Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

ADP Market Index: +7

Elite Production When Healthy

Higgins is a regular on our underrated players list. Drafters let the same concerns push him down the board every summer. But Higgins keeps delivering.

The injuries to Higgins and his QB are annoying, but he produces like a WR1 when he and Joe Burrow are healthy. Higgins has averaged 15.3 PPR points per game with Burrow for his career, a mark that would have ranked 10th among WRs last season.

And we saw the upside back in 2024, when Burrow played a full season and Higgins finished WR6 in PPR points per game.

“But He’s Not Even The Top WR On His Own Team!”

Some fantasy managers shy away from Higgins because he's the clear No. 2 receiver behind Ja’Marr Chase.

That's a reasonable concern on most teams … but not in Cincinnati.

The Bengals have finished top-6 in pass attempts, pass rate, and neutral pass rate in four straight seasons, creating enough volume for two high-end fantasy receivers. Burrow has consistently supported both Chase and Higgins, and there's little reason to expect that to change.

You'll never eliminate the injury risk with Higgins. But that's exactly why he's available below his proven production level.

He’s a top target in Round 4 of fantasy drafts.

Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers

ADP Market Index: +18

Fantasy drafters still seem focused on what has gone wrong for Watson over his first four seasons.

We’re more interested in what could go right in 2026.

Watson sits at WR28 in ADP vs. WR19 in our projections, making him one of the clearest values at the position.

Watson’s Efficiency Has Been Elite

Watson has been one of the NFL’s most efficient big-play threats since entering the league.

Among 88 WRs with at least 100 catches over the past four seasons, he ranks second in yards per catch and first in TD rate.

That explosiveness allows him to produce strong fantasy numbers without dominating targets. Watson has averaged 15.1 PPR points across the 19 career games in which he has run a route on at least 70% of Green Bay’s pass plays. That would have ranked 11th among WRs last season.

He even managed a WR17 finish in PPR points per game last year despite returning from an ACL tear and registering only a 68% route rate.

His playing time and volume are primed to grow in 2026.

The Available Targets Are Especially Valuable

Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks are gone after combining for 26.8% of Green Bay’s targets last season.

That alone creates opportunity. But the type of targets they leave behind is even more important.

Doubs and Wicks combined for:

• 21 red-zone targets
• 11 end-zone targets

Those accounted for 31.8% of Green Bay’s red-zone targets and 45.8% of its end-zone targets.

Watson is the obvious candidate to absorb a significant portion of that scoring work. He has averaged 0.77 end-zone targets per game over the past three seasons, a mark only nine WRs topped last year.

More Plays & Passes Would Boost The Ceiling

The Packers have played slow under HC Matt LaFleur, ranking 20th or lower in seconds per play and offensive plays in each of the last three seasons. 

That could change in 2026.

LaFleur said that improving the offense’s tempo and getting in and out of the huddle quicker was a point of emphasis this offseason. A faster pace would create more plays.

Green Bay might also need to lean more heavily on the passing game this year. Josh Jacobs remains on the Exempt List, leaving the Packers with a shaky RB room behind him.

More offensive plays plus a higher pass rate would raise the ceiling of the entire passing game. Watson might be the biggest beneficiary.

Davante Adams, WR, Los Angeles Rams

ADP Market Index: +7

Adams finished ninth among WRs in PPR points per game last year. He’s WR24 in ADP this year.

What gives?

You’ll hear two primary arguments against Adams. Let’s debunk them both.

The TDs Will Decline … But Maybe Not By Much

The first argument against Adams is that he won’t match last year’s TD production. That’s fair. He probably won’t average 1 TD per game again.

But Adams will remain one of the best TD bets at the position. He actually underachieved in that department last year based on his usage, scoring 14 TDs on 14.9 expected.

Adams saw five more red-zone targets and 12 more end-zone targets than any other WR last year, despite missing three games.

Given how good the offense was, it wouldn’t make sense for the Rams to move away from Adams near and inside the end zone this season.

Separation Score Says He’s Still Elite

The second argument against Adams is that he’s now 33. That’s certainly a worrisome age for a WR. Our historical aging curves show that WRs typically produce around 70-80% of their peak at age 33.

But Adams isn’t a typical WR. He’s a future hall-of-famer who showed no signs of decline last year. In fact, Adams led all 84 WRs with 250+ routes in Fantasy Points’ Separation Score and Win Rate. He also ranked 17th in yards per route, right ahead of WRs such as DeVonta Smith and Jameson Williams.

Could Adams Actually Be Better This Year?

There’s so much talk about Adams’ incoming TD regression and age that drafters are overlooking his path to improve this season.

He caught a career-low 52.6% of his targets last year, due mostly to a 65% catchable target rate that ranked 59th among 76 qualifying WRs. That was partly caused by a career-high 12.6-yard average target depth, but chemistry issues with QB Matthew Stafford and some bad luck likely played a role, too.

If Stafford continues to play as well as he did last year, Adams’ catchable target rate should improve this season, and his per-target efficiency should follow.

He stands out as an excellent value at his fifth-round ADP.

Sam LaPorta, TE, Detroit Lions

ADP Market Index: +7

Take the Injury Discount

LaPorta's 2025 season ended early because of a back injury, and fantasy drafters appear to be overreacting.

Before going down in November, LaPorta was quietly putting together another strong campaign. He ranked seventh among TEs in PPR points per game while setting career highs in route rate (82%), yards per route run (2.00), ESPN's receiver score, and PFF receiving grade. Among 49 qualifying TEs, LaPorta ranked fifth in both yards per route and PFF receiving grade.

That all followed a TE9 finish in 2024 and a TE3 campaign as a rookie in 2023.

Now fully healthy, LaPorta is poised to return to the top tier at the position.

The Situation Might Be Even Better Now

Detroit remains one of the NFL's premier fantasy environments, ranking third in implied points per game and fifth in our Fantasy Environment Score. Even with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Jahmyr Gibbs demanding touches, there's more than enough production available for LaPorta to deliver another TE1 season.

A coaching change could also work in his favor. New OC Drew Petzing comes from Arizona, where Trey McBride emerged as one of fantasy football's biggest stars over the past two seasons. Even before McBride's breakout, Petzing's 2023 Cardinals got enough production from Zach Ertz and McBride to finish fifth in total TE PPR points.

LaPorta has already shown he can produce at an elite level, and now he's healthy again in one of the league's best offenses. That makes him an easy bet to beat his Round 7 ADP.

You'll Need More Than Just These Underrated Players

The best thing about the players on this list: They can fit into any way you're looking to build in your fantasy football team.

The best way to draft always starts with winning on value.

But these early-round values are just a start. Want to fill out the plan for your draft? You need to check out this Draft Guide -- loaded with players to target and tips for how to build from any draft position.