NFL Draft sleepers to know: 11 potential steals in 2026 include Kaytron Allen, Chris Johnson
There are always steals at the NFL draft — who will be a late-round value selection this year?
NFL Draft sleepers to know: 11 potential steals in 2026 include Kaytron Allen, Chris Johnson originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Four of our top sleepers for the 2026 NFL Draft played in the College Football Playoff championship game last season – and three of those players were transfers.
This is the college football landscape in 2026. Indiana cornerback D'Angelo Ponds and center Pat Coogan were top players for the Hoosiers, and Jakobe Thomas and Markel Bell were among the standouts for the Hurricanes. None of those players are projected to be first-round picks, but that makes them ideal sleepers in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Sleepers and steals are always well-documented during the draft process, but the profile varies. Penn State's Kaytron Allen is the school's all-time leading rusher. San Diego State's Chris Johnson was a standout in the Mountain West Conference.
Will their production at the next level match the draft-day value? It's a hit-and-miss science, and last year we hit on RJ Harvey and Harrold Fannin Jr . Sporting News looks at our favorite sleepers from each position group ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft – a wide range of players from the Power 4, Group of 6 and FCS who we think will hit in the NFL: MORE 2026 NFL DRAFT: Complete 7-round mock draft Trade predictions for the first round Where will each quarterback go in 2026 draft?
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