2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: A Way-Too-Early Look At Wide Receiver

Say it with me: it's never too early to be thinking about fantasy football! The start of the 2026 season feels light-years away, but we always have to stay on top of all coaching and player news as the offseason begins. And since it's never too early to be thinking about drafts, that means this is the perfect time to go through my 2026 fantasy football rankings with a focus on wide receivers heading into the new season.

As always, rankings are opinions, and while they probably won't align with your thoughts entirely, there's still a long way to go and many updates to come with this list. But let's get started …

The Top 15 WRs In My Early 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings

1. Ja'Marr Chase

If we're breaking down the top three receivers, it's a very thin line between Ja'Marr Chase, Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba here for me. It's never a guarantee that Joe Burrow is going to stay healthy, but even in a year where Burrow was banged up, we still saw Chase finish as the WR4. The Bengals also decided to keep Zac Taylor as their head coach, and it feels like their defense is not going to transform overnight. Give me Chase here.

2. Puka Nacua

Again, it's all very close between the top three wide receivers here. Puka Nacua had an insane season that sure looks like it's going to continue if we get Matthew Stafford back for another season. The only reason I bumped down the overall WR1 from 2025 is the idea that even if Stafford returns next season, he will not be able to fully replicate his MVP season.

3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba

GO HAWKS. This was truly a magical season for Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He was fourth among wide receivers in targets (163) and finished the season with 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. With DK Metcalf out of the picture, it was truly JSN's time to shine, and his connection with Sam Darnold is something that can be done again in 2026. My only worry (that we won't know for a while) is that Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak could be on the move. He was vital to the team's success, and a new OC would bring new questions.

4. Amon-Ra St. Brown

The Lions hired Drew Petzing as their new offensive coordinator, and while I don't think it's a home run hire, it's still Amon-Ra St. Brown we're talking about here. During Petzing's three seasons as offensive coordinator of the Cardinals, the offense ranked 22nd in points per game (21.3), 14th in yards per game (336), and 14th in EPA per play. ARSB will be at the top of many's lists because he's just that damn good.

Amon-Ra St. Brown's fantasy finishes over the last 3 years:

2023: WR3
2024: WR3
2025: WR3

5. CeeDee Lamb

The reason the Cowboys haven't performed is not because of their offense. The Cowboys finished the 2025 season with the NFL’s No. 2 total offense and No. 7 scoring offense. CeeDee Lamb finished behind George Pickens in fantasy points, but also missed games in 2025 due to a high ankle sprain and concussion. The big question is whether the Cowboys plan to bring Pickens back or not. Either way, Lamb is still a high-end fantasy target. Dak Prescott was second in the league in pass attempts (600), and this will be another high-powered offense to want a piece of in fantasy next season.

6. Drake London

There are a lot of questions surrounding what new head coach Kevin Stefanski will do at quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons this season. Michael Penix partially tore his ACL in Week 11, and it's unlikely he will be ready to suit up for Week 1. I'm more excited for Bijan Robinson than anything else. In the two healthiest Nick Chubb seasons in Cleveland under Stefanski (2021 and 2022), he was fourth in the league in carries (530) and second among running backs in yards per carry (5.3), according to The Athletic. ANYWAYS, we'll be watching closely for who Stefanski hires as his offensive coordinator, but London is far too talented not to be a top receiver in 2026.

7. Malik Nabers

Malik Nabers, unfortunately, suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee in late September, but recent reports are saying the team expects Nabers to be ready for the start of training camp. There is always a chance that the rehab process doesn't go as planned and Nabers could start the season on PUP, but I'm choosing to be optimistic for now. He's going to reclaim his role as the clear No. 1 target for Jaxson Dart when healthy, and I want pieces of this team with John Harbaugh leading the way now.

8. Rashee Rice

I'll probably be moving Rashee Rice up the rankings this summer, especially if we get good news that Patrick Mahomes is on track for Week 1. Rice is still going to be the go-to guy in this offense, and adding Eric Bieniemy back as offensive coordinator makes it even clearer that 2025 was an anomaly rather than the new standard. Don't overthink this one, you have an elite quarterback and an elite receiver, and when you put those two things together, good things happen.

Even after missing six games from a suspension, Rice proved why he is so valuable in fantasy. From Weeks 7-15, on a per-game basis, he averaged:

9.8 targets
71 receiving yards
18.8 PPR points

9. Nico Collins

There are questions about whether the Texans will keep Nick Caley as their offensive coordinator, but no matter what, I want Nico Collins on my teams next season. He finished as the WR9 with 71 receptions off 120 targets and 1,117 receiving yards along with six touchdowns.

10. Justin Jefferson

The fall stops here, but I don't feel good about it. Justin Jefferson showed us that he is not quarterback-proof with J.J. McCarthy. From Weeks 10 to 17, Jefferson scored fewer than nine fantasy points six times. When McCarthy was under center, Jefferson averaged only 48 yards per game. He should be nowhere near the first round of fantasy drafts and might move negatively down my rankings if the team doesn't add any quarterback competition for McCarthy. What has the world come to?!

11. Chris Olave

Give me alllllll the Chris Olave. All of it, even though he's not going to be cheap this time around. I think that Tyler Shough did enough to warrant serious consideration for QB1 in 2026 for the Saints. At the very least, if they do roll with Shough, they can then focus on other holes on this roster. Olave stayed healthy in 2025 and showed everyone just how damn talented he is. Olave played all 16 games in the fantasy season and finished as the WR6 and averaged 16.8 points per game.

12. George Pickens

I feel like we all know what George Pickens is capable of if he stays with the Cowboys. He finished as the WR5 and averaged 17.2 points per game. Does the idea of a new contract scare me? My co-host, Adam Ronis, told me on SiriusXM that, as a Cowboys fan, he worries about Pickens getting complacent once locking down a big deal. That wasn't on my mind before, and I don't think we can draft scared, but it is an interesting thought. I think he gets the franchise tag and continues balling out. 2025 saw him haul in 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns.

13. A.J. Brown

The Eagles have denied any speculation about potentially trading A.J. Brown this offseason, but the marriage between Brown and the organization sure seemed to show some cracks last year. All things considered, it was actually a good year for Brown in fantasy—he was the WR11 and averaged 14.7 points per game. In his 15 games played, he caught 78 passes for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. Still, it was his fewest receiving yards in a season since 2021. The Eagles are moving on from offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, so it will be critical to see who they bring in. Either way, with the Eagles or potentially another team, Brown sits firmly inside my top 15.

14. Davante Adams

This was my favorite free agent landing spot before the season started, and it turned out even better than I imagined. Once Davante Adams and Matthew Stafford got their chemistry down, it was a year to remember—Adams was the WR9, averaging 15.9 points per game. Even crazier was that Adams had a nose for the endzone and finished the year with 14 touchdowns (four off his career-high of 18 in 2020). He signed a two-year contract worth $46 million with $26 million guaranteed in March, and if Matthew Stafford is back, then Adams will be highly sought after. The talk of regression will come because the last time Adams scored even more than 10 touchdowns in a season was 2022, but we know he is aging gracefully for fantasy managers.

15. Garrett Wilson

It was another failed quarterback situation in New York for the Jets, and Garrett Wilson was rarely on the field due to injuries. He was pegged as one of the biggest 2025 fantasy busts after averaging 4.3 receptions per game for 51 yards before he went on IR in Week 7, only to not return the rest of the year. A real NFL-caliber quarterback will help matters (obviously) for Wilson, and while it wasn't great last season, we can still remember that he gave fantasy managers four games of 19+ fantasy points. The pure talent and target share alone will bring us back in.

The best of the rest for my WR fantasy rankings …

Tetairoa McMillan
Tee Higgins
Zay Flowers
Ladd McConkey
Jaylen Waddle
Jameson Williams
DeVonta Smith
Mike Evans
Luther Burden III
Terry McLaurin
DK Metcalf
Courtland Sutton
Michael Pittman Jr
Emeka Egbuka
Christian Watson
Jakobi Meyers
Brian Thomas Jr.
Stefon Diggs
Chris Godwin Jr.
Rome Odunze
Marvin Harrison Jr.

Players Mentioned in this Article

Ja'MarrChase
WRCIN
PPG
11.21
PukaNacua
WRLAR
PPG
15.03
Proj
16.82
Amon-RaSt. Brown
WRDET
PPG
11.78
JaxonSmith-Njigba
WRSEA
PPG
11.78
Proj
15.67