- DeVonta Smith is the new top target: The Philadelphia Eagles traded away A.J. Brown, and now Smith will be able to line up where he plays his best football more frequently.
- Ladd McConkey should benefit from Mike McDaniel’s arrival: McConkey thrives on intermediate routes, an area of the field McDaniel consistently emphasizes for his top receiving options.
- Luther Burden III is poised to lead Chicago’s wide receivers: The Chicago Bears wide receiver was excellent on a per-play basis and will play a larger role this season.
Finding value at wide receiver is about more than identifying talented players. It requires pinpointing situations where talent, opportunity and cost align. These three wide receivers check all three boxes and have the potential to dramatically outperform their current ADPs in 2026.
DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
Smith has been a dependable fantasy starter during his time in the NFL, averaging at least 3.5 receptions and 50 receiving yards per game throughout his career. He's ranked among the top 30 wide receivers in fantasy points per game in each of the last four seasons, despite being the second option in the offense behind A.J. Brown.
He's consistently graded between a 78.0 and 84.0 overall PFF grade each season, putting him in the range of a great, but not elite, receiver. That's culminated in an 89.4 career grade, ranking 20th among wide receivers over the last five seasons. Because career grades reward sustained performance over larger samples, his sits above any single season's mark. That is particularly impressive considering Smith’s career 20.5% target rate, tied for third-lowest among those 20 receivers.
Smith has played more in the slot over the last two seasons than in his first three, but has improved most out wide. He posted an 89.9 PFF receiving grade on the perimeter in 2025 with a 25.3% target rate. In fact, Smith’s grades in the slot have deteriorated over time. Smith achieved 2.95 yards per route run when lined up out wide last season, tied for third-best behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua.
The Eagles traded away Brown and lost Jahan Dotson in free agency while adding Makai Lemon, Hollywood Brown and Dontayvion Wicks. Lemon will primarily be a slot receiver, while both Brown and Wicks have played inside at times in their careers. We should see a significant shift toward Smith playing out wide rather than in the slot. The loss of Brown should help Smith's target rate.
Smith's ability to be a top-five or top-10 fantasy wide receiver will somewhat depend on the Eagles' skill to rebound as a team, but given the talent on the unit, that is a decent bet to make. At worst, Smith’s floor will be higher with the augmented target rate, making him an even safer starting fantasy option.
Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
McConkey impressed as a rookie, though his production dipped somewhat in his second season. His playing time and route volume both increased, but his target rate declined.
Part of that drop stemmed from a significant increase in downfield usage, as his deep-target rate climbed from 9.9% to 17.1%. Those targets proved far less efficient, with McConkey catching just three of 17 deep passes, though only four were charted as catchable. Increased competition for targets from Keenan Allen, one of Justin Herbert‘s preferred receivers for much of his career, also contributed to the dip in volume.
McConkey missed only one game in 2025, but he dealt with multiple injuries throughout the season. The Georgia product appeared on the injury report with biceps, calf, ankle and foot issues.
The strongest area of McConkey's game remains the intermediate passing attack. As a rookie, he caught 33 passes for 596 yards and three touchdowns on targets thrown 10-to-19 yards downfield. Although his target total in that range fell from 43 to 27 last season, he still earned a 90.0-plus PFF receiving grade on those throws.
McConkey’s intermediate target volume could rebound significantly in 2026 following Los Angeles' hiring of Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator. During McDaniel's tenure in Miami, both Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill recorded seasons with at least 55 targets in the intermediate range, while McDaniel's top wide receiver earned at least 42 such targets in every season under his leadership.
Improved health, reduced target competition after the departure of Allen and a scheme better suited to his strengths position McConkey for the best season of his career.
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(opens in new tab)Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears
Burden flashed as a rookie but never earned a full-time role. His 77.7 PFF receiving grade led all Bears wide receivers by a significant margin, yet his 402 offensive snaps ranked fourth on the team behind Rome Odunze, DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus. Burden failed to surpass a 30% snap share during the first half of the year but regularly exceeded 50% by season's end.
Chicago cleared a path for Burden to become a full-time starter in 2026 by trading Moore to the Buffalo Bills while allowing Zaccheaus to depart in free agency. The Bears' only notable additions at wide receiver were Kalif Raymond, who will turn 32 before the season begins, and third-round rookie Zavion Thomas. Neither profiles as a serious threat to Burden's playing time.
Burden ranked third among NFL wide receivers in yards per route run (2.69) as a rookie, trailing only Nacua and Smith-Njigba. He was especially effective out of 12 personnel, generating 6.51 yards per route run, the highest mark by any wide receiver in any personnel grouping with at least 40 routes run. Chicago could lean more heavily into 12 personnel in 2026 following the addition of third-round rookie tight end Sam Roush and the team's thinner wide receiver depth chart.
An expanded role, combined with increased usage in favorable personnel groupings, could shape up for a breakout second season for Burden. Experienced fantasy managers are unlikely to let him slip far in drafts, but he could still emerge as a value pick in more casual leagues.
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