- WR George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys’ coaching staff plans to line up Pickens in the slot more often this season.
- WR Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears: Burden's preseason groin strain makes him an even better value based on his ADP.
- WR Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers: Watson was a WR1 when active in 2025.
Fantasy-friendly offensive environments increase each position’s fantasy-scoring potential in both half-points-per-reception (half-PPR) and PPR formats, though WR1 workloads and performance are highly correlated with age and talent. The article below details three must-draft NFL wide receivers capable of delivering high-end results, with WR1 productivity firmly in their range of potential outcomes.
WR George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens finished as the Weeks 1-17 half-PPR overall WR4 and tied for the PPR overall WR4 last year. This season, he is being drafted via a 2.11, WR9 Yahoo! ADP and a 3.03, WR11 ESPN ADP. He earned a career-best 87.2 PFF receiving grade across the full 2025 season.
Pickens’ 2026 sixth-softest positional schedule and 2025 performance splits with Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb are detailed in “Wide receivers primed to exploit soft schedules.” Lamb, 27, “suffered a high-ankle sprain in seven snaps into his team’s Week 3 game. He missed Weeks 4-7.” Since 2017, Lamb has also suffered a shoulder injury, one nonspecific ankle sprain, one contusion, two concussions, one foot laceration and one AC joint sprain. He earned a 79.0 PFF receiving grade last year.
Pickens, 25, last missed time in 2024. A lower-leg contusion resulting in knee and calf injury listings (2025), one hamstring strain (2024), one ACL tear (2021) and one shoulder injury (2020) make up his full injury history.
Age plays a critical role in projecting WR1 performances. Pickens can outscore Lamb in both formats this season.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer praised Pickens’ training camp preparedness in July before outlining Pickens’ intended deployment alterations. Per Schottenheimer, the team wants to “move him around more.” Pickens is “not just going to live at X[-wide receiver]–he doesn’t like anyway. We want to put him in the slot… We want to get him isolated to the front side–the same side as the tight end,” while also expanding his route tree and building new play designs around Pickens’ strengths.
Pickens lined up in the slot at just an 8.0% rate last season, substantially less than Lamb’s 34.6% slot clip. Similarly, Pickens lined up on the perimeter at a 92.5% rate, while Lamb operated at a 64.6% perimeter figure
The altered usage will significantly increase Pickens’ fantasy-scoring ceiling via quick-hitting targets thrown against soft linebacker and safety coverage.
Even if Lamb remains the team’s top target earner, Schottenheimer’s high-volume tactics coupled with second-year offensive coordinator Klayton Adams increasing the play-action and shifts and motion rates keep a mid-to-low WR1 outcome firmly in Pickens’ range of potential outcomes. He is a safe WR1 with high-end upside.
WR Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears
Burden’s potentially Grade 1 groin strain suffered on Aug. 8 resulted in helpful ADP declines for the Bears wide receiver. In half-PPR best ball formats, Burden went from a 4.06, WR21 Underdog Fantasy ADP to a 5.09, WR24 Yahoo! ADP in managed re-draft leagues. In PPR formats, Burden went from a 5.02, WR23 DraftKings ADP to a 6.06, WR27 ESPN ADP. He was given a one-month return timeline, with five weeks post-injury until Week 1. Burden played to a 77.7 PFF receiving grade as a 2025 rookie.
As outlined in “Injury and status updates for veterans,” Burden drew elite historical comparisons from head coach Ben Johnson for his pre-injury practice performance.
Burden is poised for a second-year leap, playing in one of the three most fantasy-friendly offensive schemes after an elite rookie season.
Burden’s receiving data among 38 rookie wide receivers with at least 65 targets, 2021-25
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| PFF Receiving Grade | 77.5 (No. 15) |
| Targets | 72 (No. 33) |
| Target Rate | 23.4% (No. 13) |
| Deep-Target Rate | 15.3% (No. 25) |
| Slot-Target Rate | 10.4% (No. 10) |
| Yards Per Route Run | 2.34 (No. 6) |
| Catch Rate | 73.6 (No. 6) |
| Average Depth of Target | 7.9 (No. 32) |
| Yards Per Reception | 13.6 (No. 15) |
| Missed Tackles Forced | 14 (No. 8) |
| Missed Tackles Forced Per Reception | 0.26 (No. 2) |
| Yards After Catch Per Reception | 7.2 (No. 4) |
| Explosive Plays | 17 (T-No. 21) |
| Explosive Play Rate | 32.1% (No. 17) |
| First Downs &/Or TD Rate | 56.6% (No. 21) |
Burden is being drafted as a WR2/3. He possesses WR1 upside.
WR Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
Compared to late-June best ball drafts, late-August re-draft managers are getting an eight-pick discount on Green Bay Packers Z-wide receiver Christian Watson in half-PPR (6.06, WR28) and a 17-pick discount in PPR (8.01, WR35) formats. He remains a must-draft player with WR1 upside.
As enumerated in “Waiver wire pickups that won 2025 leagues,” Watson “earned a career-high 83.9 PFF receiving grade and averaged a career-best 2.28 yards per route run (YPRR)” while finishing as the half-PPR WR9 and as the PPR WR12 among Weeks 8-17, 2025.
Watson's YPRR average ranks ninth among 66 NFL wide receivers with at least 60 targets in 2025. His 32.3% deep-target rate slots third.
Out of 53 skill-position players with at least 15 centerfield targets 10-plus yards downfield and between the painted numbers, Watson (19 qualifying targets) ranks and/or ties for sixth in yards per reception (23.9) and qualifying PFF receiving grade (94.8 PFF receiving grade).
Watson should produce career-best receiving totals by playing in an expectedly revamped offense, now featuring its core skill-position players rather than relying on frequent rotations.
Watson is available in drafts as a WR3 with WR1 upside. Draft accordingly.
© 2026 PFF - all rights reserved.