It’s NFL Draft week! Analyst Joel Smyth breaks down the 2026 WR class for fantasy football. With several teams looking for hope this offseason, who are the college wide receivers that can provide fantasy value for your teams?
More Positional Draft Previews
Carnell Tate, Ohio State
Measureables: 6’2”, 192 lbs
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Projected Draft Pick: Top-10 Selection
The next Ohio State first-round WR is here, which will make it six in the past five years. Carnell Tate is on a long line of five-star Brian-Hartline-WR-products who’ve excelled alongside other top talent. Tate is a true X receiver with a ridiculous 69% contested catch rate, the highest of any prospect by a significant margin. He’d pair nicely with an aggressive QB who’s looking to push the ball downfield.
Although he is a fluid route runner, not just a big-play WR, Tate wasn’t the target hog past OSU receivers have been. Even considering a generational talent in Jeremiah Smith beside him, Tate’s targets per route are at the 20th percentile of recent NFL prospects, easily the lowest of past Buckeyes and dangerously low for a first-rounder. Looking back at 2024, Emeka Egbuka had 108 targets, Smith as a freshman had 107 and Tate had 69 as the clear WR3, scoring only four of the 29 TDs between the three.
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The question for Tate will be whether he can become a star or if he fits more as a top WR2. In terms of his floor, it’s tremendous. It’s hard to picture him failing to be a contributor at all, but for fantasy purposes, the focus will be on whether Tate can turn into a true WR1. The odds as a rookie are certainly not a guarantee, as only 42% of Round 1 wideouts have been a fantasy WR3 or better in the last decade.
Landing spot will also be of extreme importance for Tate specifically. With the Browns being the most popular draft location and other positive top-10 spots in play, his fantasy fate is partially outside of his own hands.
Makai Lemon, USC
Measurables: 5’11”, 192 lbs
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Projected Draft Pick: Mid-Round 1
Makai Lemon is the analytics darling. As a primary slot WR in college, Lemon’s 94th percentile yards per route is the best of this class. He ran 76% of his routes out of the slot; however, he does not need to be in the slot in the NFL. His yards per route on the outside were actually better than in the slot, a very important factor for his role long term.
He’s a productive WR, whether it’s in zone coverage or man coverage. Lemon has led the team in receiving each of the last two years, with 2024 being in competition with Zachariah Branch and Ja’Kobi Lane. Lemon’s great at what you’d expect from a slot WR, his hands are perfect and he is able to be a consistent zone beater. What makes him a first-rounder is that he is also a top talent in what you wouldn’t expect, being a reliable receiver in traffic and contested situations while being physical in all aspects of the game as a 5’11” slot guy.
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The constant Amon-Ra St. Brown comps make sense, another USC vet that is a dynamic WR. St. Brown fits perfectly in Detroit, and if Lemon lands in his most commonly mocked location of the Rams, he could be the first dynasty WR selected. It’d be a natural fit with Sean McVay elevating his stock to its maximum potential.
Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
Measurables: 6’2”, 203 lbs
Projected Draft Pick: Mid-Round 1
In a draft class that is lower on talent as a whole, drafting a risky player like Jordyn Tyson becomes a little easier. The Arizona State product is fun to watch, shifty, smooth and comes with incredible body control. It translates to the field with pure dominance in 2025, prior to his injury. His worst fantasy performance in his seven games prior to injury was 17.3 PPR points versus Baylor.
He led the class in success rate versus zone coverage and was a one-man show. An incredible stat to show the dominance he displayed (via Jacob Gibbs): Tyson had 46.7% of his team’s receiving yards and a decade-high 65% of the receiving touchdowns in 2025. His targets per route are in the 97th percentile, and keep in mind, this is all while playing his last two games with an injury that highly affected his production.
As an 18-year-old true freshman, Tyson broke out at Colorado, leading the team in receiving with only nine games played. He transferred from the struggling school to Arizona State in 2022, but missed the majority of 2022 with a knee injury that he sustained at Colorado. If Tyson had zero injuries in his career, it’d be hard not to see him go off the board as the WR1. Nevertheless, the injuries are plentiful and current. His 2022 knee injury was not only an ACL one, but also PCL and LCL with it. A fractured collarbone in 2024 and a bad hamstring strain in 2025 raise red flags. The hamstrings in particular had gone on for a long time, causing Tyson to miss the NFL Combine and on-field workouts before the draft.
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As we approach Thursday Night, Tyson’s draft stock has been steadily rising, with many now projecting him to be drafted inside the top 10. The Giants, Saints, Chiefs and Browns could all be possible landing spots early. A player with his upside is worth it to me in dynasty drafts compared to some safer, low-ceiling prospects.
Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana
Measurables: 6’0”, 199 lbs
Projected Draft Pick: Late-Round 1
Omar Cooper Jr. was the best player in yards-after-catch spots in college football. The Hoosiers star forced missed tackles left and right and is all but certain to hear his name called on Thursday night, with the most common predictions being Pittsburgh and Cleveland. The comparison you will see everywhere you look is Deebo Samuel Sr.
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The main issue with the Deebo comparisons is that there are Samuel comps every single season. The reason is that there’s nobody else to compare to, because everyone else with a similar style fails to produce at a high rate. It will be an uphill battle for Cooper to break the trend as a player with 73% of his targets on either screens or RPOs (only one other player over 50%). Coaching that can maximize his talent while also seeing him as more than a gadget weapon is something to watch and hope for.
Cooper’s work ethic is well known and will be needed to continue developing his route versatility. The screens and crossers will get him on the field early, hopefully allowing him to develop the rest of his game over time. I’d prefer him and any other Round 1 WR over non-Jeremiyah Love RBs as late first-rounders in dynasty leagues.
KC Concepcion, Texas A&M
Measurables: 6’0”, 196 lbs
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Projected Draft Pick: Late-Round 1/Early-Round 2
As an 18-year-old, K.C. Concepcion brought in 3.4x the receiving yards as the next closest pass catcher at NC State, with an extra 320 yards on the ground; a truly remarkable year for a true freshman. After a downhill 2024 season, Concepcion transferred to Texas A&M for his final year, where he won the Paul Hornung Award for being the most versatile player in college football.
His punt-returning skills showed up as a receiver after the catch. The main concern that you will see everywhere, and I’m sure mentioned immediately after his draft selection, was the 19 drops in his career. For such a well-rounded player, it is a surprising red flag. The QB play didn’t help him either. Forty-two percent of his downfield throws (15+ yards) last season were off target, the highest among WR prospects. He proved his slot ability at NC State and then his outside potential at Texas A&M despite the lack of QB accuracy.
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First-round draft capital is key here as a WR projected to go at the end of Day 1. If a team can commit their first-rounder to Concepcion, I’ll likely have him inside my top-four rookie WRs.
Denzel Boston, Washington
Measurables: 6’4”, 212 lbs
Projected Draft Pick: Late-Round 1/Early-Round 2
Denzel Boston has his strengths, but I’ll start with the main major scare. Boston had 1.76 yards per route versus zone coverage in his career. Beating zone coverage is not optional in the NFL, so how bad is it? Well, the only Round 1 & 2 WRs since 2020 with a lower rate are Jonathan Mingo, Xavier Legette and Adonai Mitchell. Nearly every WR under 2.0 is a bust, which makes it hard to fully buy in.
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Although he has the contested catch ability as a bigger prospect, Boston does not rely on that alone. His 27.6% target share, with only 15.8% being contested, tells a different story. He finds space, gets open and commands plenty of targets on the outside.
Early in his career, Boston was buried deep in the depth chart behind Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, Ja’Lynn Polk and even Germie Bernard. That itself isn’t an issue, but 2024 is what concerns me most. The first three all moved onto the NFL (Bernard went to Alabama) and yet in Year 3, Boston was still not the clear top WR in Washington, as the now CFL WR Giles Jackson led the way in yards and receptions. It lowers my belief in Boston as an NFL team’s WR1 and rather a solid red-zone threat on the outside. He can sneak into the end of the first round of dynasty drafts, depending on draft capital.
Chris Bell, Louisville
Measurables: 6’2”, 222 lbs
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Projected Draft Pick: Round 2
If we only used Chris Bell’s games 4-6 in 2025, he’d be the WR1 in the class, but alas, the rest of his career production is much more modest. His three-game run showed his potential, though, with 31 receptions, 441 yards and five touchdowns across three ACC contests. Bell is one of many X receivers in this class, providing a great combination of size and speed with a projected 4.4 40-time at 222 lbs.
The Louisville star did tear his ACL at the end of the 2025 season, although it shouldn’t affect his availability come September. His ability to create separation in the quick game is still in question to complement his strengths down the field. The fantasy floor is in the basement still, with similar players such as Treylon Burks and Legette failing to translate to the next level, but big play and touchdown upside make the positive end of the spectrum attractive.
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Germie Bernard, Alabama
Measurables: 6’1”, 206 lbs
Projected Draft Pick: Round 2
Germie Bernard may have set the record for the number of NFL receivers he’s played beside in a college career. As a freshman at Michigan State, he played alongside Jayden Reed and Keon Coleman. He then moved to Washington, where, impressively, he had 419 yards behind Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan while playing in front of Denzel Boston. Finally, he spent his last two seasons at Alabama with 2027 NFL prospect Ryan Williams, leading the Tide in receiving as a senior.
Bernard isn’t the most fascinating prospect of the class, but he has way more pros than cons. He’s an athletic, all-around WR, with a route tree that translates very nicely to the NFL. It’s nearly universally beneficial, but if Bernard lands in a Shanahan coaching system, his experience and proven production in the downfield in-breakers can continue to shine.
Will he be a fantasy WR1 for the next 10 years? Probably not. Yet, his odds of being a long-term starter make him a solid selection in this year’s second-round rookie drafts.
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Measurables: 6’4”, 198 lbs
Projected Draft Pick: Round 2
The recent history of Tennessee receivers makes Chris Brazzell hard to judge. Josh Heupel’s unique offense puts Brazzell and others in a role that is foreign to the NFL. The spacing in the offense is wild, the route tree is heavily limited and he only plays on one side of the field. He’s great at what he does, but that is very limited. At 6’4”, 198 lbs, Brazzell is a long, fast and thin WR whose strengths lie in the deep threat role. If he can be more than that remains to be seen.
Zachariah Branch, Georgia
Measurables: 5’9”, 177 lbs
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Projected Draft Pick: Early Round 3
As a prospect, Zachariah Branch is more of an “offensive weapon” than he is a wide receiver. Over half of his receptions and routes were screens, and the targets that weren’t screens were usually RPOs. It’s a trend we’ve seen before that doesn’t tend to work.
At USC, it was a little different, yet Lemon was the WR1, Lane had 12x the touchdowns and RB Woody Marks had the same amount of receptions in the 2024 season. There’s no shortage of exciting plays, yards after the catch or special teams prowess. That’s the purpose of drafting him on your NFL team, but I’m not too confident for your fantasy team.
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Other Notable Wide Receivers
Brenen Thompson, Mississippi State – Speedsters are often overhyped and underproduce, yet still hard to ignore. His 4.26 40-time isn’t nearly as important as his class-best 3.7 yards per route versus zone coverage last season. He’s likely to be limited to a deep-threat role player, but there are signs he can be more.
Malachi Fields, Notre Dame – A riser ever since the Senior Bowl. QB play for his style, as a downfield X WR, wasn’t ideal at Notre Dame. His command for targets given that role is a good sign to make up for the lack of production.
Elijah Sarratt, Indiana – The chemistry with Fernando Mendoza was perfection. A great contested-catch WR who benefited from extreme accuracy down the field compared to his fellow prospects. Will likely need an amazing landing spot and coaching to be productive as a fantasy asset.
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Antonio Williams, Clemson – Brings some upside as a player who contributed immediately at a top school. Injuries held his big breakout until his third season, but compared to other late-round receivers, the upside is more intriguing.
Ted Hurst, Georgia State – Put up good — not great — numbers in his four years at Division II Valdosta State and Georgia State. Was dominant versus Vanderbilt in two matchups at Georgia State, but nothing crazy versus other top competition. A 99th-percentile athlete who will need fast development.
Ja’Kobi Lane, USC – After scoring 12 TDs beside Lemon & Branch in 2024, his touchdowns dropped to four last season. Thirty-three percent of his targets were contested in 2025, a scary high mark that is the highest of the class. Can be a red-zone threat that requires lots of development.
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