2026 Sleeper Picks

Sleeper: a player that is often overlooked but with significant potential impact to the drafting team

Can they be molded into NFL players?

• Uar Bernard - DL; testing measurements never before recorded at his 306-pound weight: a 10-foot-10-inch broad jump, a 39-inch vertical, and a 4.63-second 40-yard dash, 21 yrs old, 18.5 inch shoe size... oh my!
• Joshua Weru - TE who played rugby as a kid; a 4.45 at 244 lbs?!?; https://x.com/BruceFeldmanCFB/status/2040058914314838490
• Cole Payton - QB; who doesn't like a lefty? I mean, that arm! NDSU Football on X: "3rd-and-18 ✅ https://t.co/OtNwPLRrMF" / X

 

i wondered about the cole payton thingy, with him being a lefty. what could this mean for the o-line? we have two guys on the right that played the left in college. could fautanu and mccormick go back to the left side and we draft a right tackle like freeling and a right guard? cook can still swing side to side. driscoll is more of a right tackle. billy schrauth the guard from notre dame has played both sides in college. james campon has some options to work with.

 

Uar Bernard has my full attention and I would definitley take a flyer on him on late day three. Pittsburgh could stand to add more depth along the IDL and him only adding 10lbs to his frame is well within manageable. Gonna take a lot of coaching up though.


Not sure how I feel about Domata Peko though as a Coach.

 

I know a lot of scouts or pundits who like the raw potential of Cole Payton and who get seduced by NDSU's record and their program but given the last 2 Bison quarterbacks who were drafted he will need time and work to rise to that potential. He maybe a sleeper but shouldn't be look at for an immediate answer to the QB question.

 

Dude is a specimen but getting NFL ready might take some doing. Steelers have a few 7th rounders to throw away anyway.

 

I still like the WR out of Cincinnati Jeff Caldwell. His combine numbers put him on the map for everyone.


I missed that Cole Payton was a Lefty.

Would Joshua Weru count as one of those international players roster exemptions? Says he was in the NFL's IPP program.

With those kind of numbers he must be Rawer than all get out.

 

Not sure about the roster exemption. The Steelers have had an international player for what seems like 5 years on the team. Can't recall his name.

Caldwell; another testing freak that needs some good coaching. Needs to learn how to catch in traffic I think.

 

Dunno if he qualifies as a sleeper....but I would take the WR from Georgia State (Hurst?) later in the draft over some of the more "name" guys projected to go in Round 1.

 

This guy is starting to get some buzz maybe a player to take on day 3.

 

The more I watch Cole Payton, the more I hate his throwing motion. He seems to just "Punch" the ball out, all arm strength and doesn't use any of his lower body to throw the football. Payton just always looks out of balance when the ball comes out as he never sets his feet. I don't know if this is something that can be fixed.

Warner gets into Cole Payton's bad throwing technique here. Warner nails it on the head when he says, "You have a Great Athlete Playing QB"; AKA Not a Great QB.

 

our sleeper first round pick. billy bob bob.

 

But the Steelers have an offensive guru QB whisperer as coach. He can fix anything with his "Qb School".

In all seriousness, if MM is not just full of hot air, Payton is the exact kind of low cost potential upside prospect the Steelers should be drafting annually.

 

Travis Burke Memphis, I think he can be considered a sleeper. Needs work and top shelf coaching.