August 26, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Is 2026 the year DeVonta Smith becomes a top-10 fantasy wideout?
No position is more important in fantasy football than wide receiver, especially for PPR leagues. You'll need at least three good ones to field a competitive team.
A high-volume wideout who can catch 80+ passes, accrue 1,400+ yards and find the end zone 8-12 times is fantasy gold, and the best part is you can find them all throughout the draft.
Three top fantasy wideouts last year – Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and George Pickens – outperformed their ADP. Smith-Njigba was the 14th wide receiver taken last year on average and finished with the second-most fantasy points in Yahoo! leagues behind Nacua, the seventh wideout usually drafted.
Pickens, last year's fifth highest scoring wide receiver, destroyed his ADP of around 63rd overall, the 29th wideout off the board.
As usual, this year's class is loaded with elite talent, along with a slew of young wideouts poised to break out and some impressive rookies who could help you be a league winner.
If you don't get a wide receiver in either of the first two rounds, don't panic. You just need to draft the right guys in the middle and later rounds.
We'll help you do that with our top 25 ranking:
2026 fantasy football rankings: QB, RB, TE K
| Rank | Rank | Team |
| 1 | Ja'Marr Chase | Bengals |
| 2 | Puka Nacua | Rams |
| 3 | CeeDee Lamb | Cowboys |
| 4 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Seahawks |
| 5 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | Lions |
For elites, you're looking for a WR who'll command at least 150 targets. Four of these WRs were over that mark last season, with the exception being CeeDee Lamb, who played 14 games but was on pace for a 142-target season. Some have dropped Lamb based on last year's production, which was skewed by injury, but Lamb had been over 150 targets in each of the prior three seasons.
Ja'Marr Chase is the unquestioned alpha and Puka Nacua found the perfect coach and system fit in L.A. for another high-volume season as long as he keeps his head on straight. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has nobody to compete with him for targets and the chemistry between Amon Ra-St. Brown and QB Jared Goff grows more each year.
| Rank | Player | Team |
| 6 | Justin Jefferson | Vikings |
| 7 | Nico Collins | Texans |
| 8 | Chris Olave | Saints |
| 9 | George Pickens | Cowboys |
| 10 | DeVonta Smith | Eagles |
| 11 | A.J. Brown | Patriots |
| 12 | Drake London | Saints |
| 13 | Zay Flowers | Ravens |
| 14 | Tee Higgins | Bengals |
| 15 | Ladd McConkey | Chargers |
Justin Jefferson and Nico Collins are target monsters and potential top five WRs whose numbers dipped last year because of injuries and, in Jefferson's case, terrible QB play. But Collins has little competition for targets in the aftermath of Jayden Higgins' ACL tear and the Vikings should be improved slightly with the QB change to Kyler Murray.
With A.J. Brown gone, DeVonta Smith will finally get his chance to be a No. 1 receiver in an offense without anyone else close to his talent. He could be this year's Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The elite contested catch acumen of George Pickens makes him a major weapon in Dallas' offense, and the emergence last season of Saints QB Tyler Shough coupled with the injury to first-round WR Jordyn Tyson makes Chris Olave primed for a huge season.
The QB situation in Atlanta isn't ideal, so I've slightly faded Drake London, but London surely will be the top target in the offense. The change in Chargers play caller to Mike McDaniel should most benefit Ladd McConkey, who could easily surpass the 120-target barrier for the first time.
He's already had three 1,000-yard seasons, so take the term "breakout" with a grain of salt, but Jaylen Waddle should explode in Denver playing alongside Bo Nix, who has a thirst for the downfield pass.
At this point, he's hardly a secret, but Bears HC Ben Johnson hasn't shied from heaping heavy praise on second-year wideout Luther Burden, who could edge Rome Odunze as Caleb Williams' top playmaker in a high-scoring offense.
Despite missing the first seven games, Packers WR Christian Watson's 62 receiving yards per game paced him for 1,054 on the season. He really improved his catch percentage – a career-best 64% – and should take another big step in Matt LaFleur's offense. There's a world where he finishes among the top 12 highest scoring wideouts.
Panthers WR Jalen Coker is the No. 2 receiver next to Tet McMillan. The 6-foot-3, 213-pound third-year pro has an opportunity to be the team's top downfield threat. He can generate explosives, averaging 13.4 yards per catch in his first two seasons.
| Rank | Player | Team |
| 16 | Jaylen Waddle | Broncos |
| 17 | Malik Nabers | Giants |
| 18 | Emeka Egbuka | Bucs |
| 19 | Tet McMillan | Panthers |
| 20 | Terry McLaurin | Commanders |
| 21 | Luther Burden | Bears |
| 22 | Davante Adams | Rams |
| 23 | Jameson Williams | Lions |
| 24 | Garrett Wilson | Jets |
| 25 | Mike Evans | 49ers |
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