Wide receiver is deeper than ever in fantasy football, but that does not mean every player is appropriately priced. Some receivers are being drafted below the level their talent, role, and offensive environment suggest, while others are carrying inflated costs based on last season’s production. Identifying those gaps in value is essential when building a roster capable of competing throughout the season.
This list features three wide receivers worth targeting and three players to avoid at their current ADPs. A.J. Brown, Ladd McConkey, and Parker Washington all possess realistic paths to outperforming their draft positions, while George Pickens, Tetairoa McMillan, and Courtland Sutton carry more downside than their current prices reflect.
Target: A.J. Brown, WR, New England Patriots
A.J. Brown enters 2026 with one of the highest ceilings among wide receivers, yet his WR8 price fails to reflect how strong his situation could be in New England. Brown still produced his sixth career 1,000-yard season in 2025, finishing with 78 receptions, 1,003 yards, and seven touchdowns despite playing in a Philadelphia offense that struggled to consistently feature him. Even in a frustrating year, he finished as the WR11 overall and remained one of the league’s most dangerous receivers on slants, digs, and vertical routes. Brown has never finished lower than WR6 in a season with at least 140 targets, and there is a realistic chance he reaches that volume again as the unquestioned top option in New England’s passing attack.
The pairing with Drake Maye is what makes Brown especially appealing. Maye has already established himself as one of the league’s better deep passers, and that skill set should pair perfectly with Brown’s ability to win vertically and create yards after the catch. Maye also finished inside the top five in red-zone pass attempts last season despite lacking a true alpha receiver, giving Brown a strong chance to maintain or improve upon the seven touchdowns he has scored in three consecutive years. Romeo Doubs and Kayshon Boutte should help prevent defenses from completely selling out to stop him, but neither threatens Brown’s status as the focal point of the offense. At WR8, fantasy managers are paying for a low-end WR1 when Brown possesses a legitimate top-three ceiling. He should be targeted well before his current positional price.
Avoid: George Pickens, WR, Dallas Cowboys
George Pickens finally delivered the breakout season fantasy managers had been waiting for, but his current WR10 price assumes that nearly everything from 2025 will repeat. Pickens finished with 93 receptions, 1,429 yards, and nine touchdowns while emerging as one of the best values in fantasy football. His ability to win downfield paired perfectly with Dak Prescott, and Dallas’ defensive struggles consistently forced the offense into pass-heavy game scripts. That combination helped Pickens finish near the top of the position in total production, but his numbers with CeeDee Lamb healthy were far less dominant. Pickens commanded only a 20.4% target share and averaged 15.5 fantasy points per game when both receivers were active, production that is much closer to the middle of the WR2 range than a secure WR1.
The concern is not that Pickens suddenly becomes unproductive. Dallas should remain one of the more aggressive passing teams in football, and his talent gives him a strong weekly ceiling. The issue is that fantasy managers are now paying for last season’s best-case outcome. Lamb remains the unquestioned centerpiece of the offense, and Pickens will again be competing with him for targets, red-zone opportunities, and designed looks. The Cowboys also enter the season with the second-toughest projected schedule for wide receivers, creating more difficult weekly matchups than he faced during his breakout campaign. Pickens can still deliver another strong season, but his WR10 price leaves almost no room for regression. At cost, there are similarly talented receivers available with clearer paths to leading their teams in volume.
Target: Ladd McConkey, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Ladd McConkey’s disappointing sophomore season has created one of the best buy-low opportunities at wide receiver. After finishing as the WR13 during his rookie year with 82 receptions, 1,149 yards, and seven touchdowns, McConkey fell to 66 catches for 789 yards and six scores in 2025. The decline had more to do with his environment than a sudden loss of talent. Los Angeles deployed three or more receivers on over 80% of its dropbacks, creating a crowded target distribution that prevented any Chargers pass catcher from reaching 800 receiving yards. Even with that competition, McConkey still led the team in receiving yards and continued to flash the quickness, separation, and yards-after-catch ability that made him one of the league’s most productive rookie receivers.
Mike McDaniel’s arrival could completely reshape McConkey’s fantasy outlook. McDaniel has consistently built his passing offenses around motion, space, and easy touches for his top receiver, with his WR1 averaging 16.6 fantasy points per game over the last three seasons. McConkey’s skill set is an ideal fit for that system, particularly after producing 2.6 yards per route run as a rookie. Keenan Allen is no longer on the roster, and a shift toward heavier personnel packages should allow McConkey to remain on the field in two-receiver formations far more often than he did last season. That could lead to a substantial increase in route participation and target share while giving Justin Herbert a clearer offensive focal point. At his WR2 price, McConkey has a realistic path to a breakout resembling Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s rise and could return to the WR1 conversation in 2026.
Avoid: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers
Tetairoa McMillan delivered an impressive rookie season, but his WR14 price asks fantasy managers to pay for a second-year leap that may be difficult to reach in Carolina’s offense. McMillan immediately established himself as the Panthers’ top receiver, finishing with over 1,000 yards, seven touchdowns, and a 23% target share on his way to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. His 41% share of the team’s air yards showed just how heavily Carolina relied on him to create explosive plays, and the lack of proven competition behind him should preserve a strong volume floor. The concern is whether that volume can become efficient enough to justify a borderline WR1 price.
Bryce Young remains the biggest limitation on McMillan’s ceiling. Carolina struggled to generate consistent passing volume last season, with Young frequently failing to surpass 200 yards. Even during McMillan’s breakout year, he ranked just 49th in fantasy points per target, showing that his production was driven more by opportunity than elite efficiency. He also played only one percent more snaps than Jalen Coker when both receivers were healthy, suggesting the passing game may remain more distributed than his price assumes. Add in the 22nd-ranked schedule for wide receivers, and McMillan faces several obstacles to significantly improving upon his rookie production. He is a talented player with a secure role, but fantasy managers are already paying close to his ceiling. At WR14, I would rather target receivers attached to more productive quarterbacks and higher-volume passing attacks.
Target: Parker Washington, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Parker Washington finished 2025 playing like one of the best receivers in fantasy football, yet his WR33 price still treats that production as a temporary hot streak. Over the final four games of the season, Washington averaged 22.4 fantasy points while establishing himself as Trevor Lawrence’s primary target. During that stretch, he commanded a 28.9% target share, averaged 113.5 receiving yards per game, and produced an elite 3.78 yards per route run. He also earned six red-zone targets and 13 deep targets, showing that Jacksonville was not simply using him as a short-area possession receiver. Washington finished the season eighth among wide receivers in deep targets and 16th in yards per route run, providing evidence that his late-season production was backed by strong underlying metrics.
The return of Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter creates some uncertainty, but Washington’s role as the primary slot receiver under Liam Coen remains highly valuable. Coen has historically featured the slot position, and Washington’s ability to win both underneath and downfield gives him multiple paths to earning targets. Jacksonville has already begun discussing a contract extension, further signaling that the organization views him as a significant part of its future. The Jaguars also draw the fifth-easiest projected schedule for wide receivers, giving Washington several favorable matchups in an offense that should continue improving. His WR33 cost already accounts for the competition around him, but it does not fully reflect the upside he displayed to close last season. Washington has a realistic chance to finish as a weekly WR2 and is one of the strongest middle-round targets on the board.
Avoid: Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos
Courtland Sutton quietly produced another useful fantasy season in 2025, but his overall finish continues to exceed the quality of his underlying profile. Despite serving as Bo Nix’s unquestioned top receiver over the last two seasons, Sutton has never finished higher than WR18 in fantasy points per game. His production has been driven by volume and red-zone usage rather than elite efficiency, and that becomes a major concern now that his role is expected to shrink. Sutton ranked just 40th in fantasy points per target and 85th in separation last season, while his yards per route run have declined in three consecutive years. Those numbers suggest he needs another large target total to maintain his value.
That volume is no longer secure after Denver traded a future first-round pick for Jaylen Waddle. Waddle immediately becomes the most explosive receiver in the offense and should command a sizable portion of the targets that previously flowed through Sutton. Denver also enters the season with virtually no vacated targets, meaning Sutton cannot rely on a larger overall passing pie to offset the added competition. The Broncos face the fifth-toughest projected schedule for wide receivers, further reducing his weekly ceiling. Sutton should remain involved near the goal line and can still provide usable stretches, but his path to outperforming ADP is extremely narrow. He is a low-upside selection in a more crowded passing attack and should be avoided at his current price.
