We’re seven months away from the opening kickoff of Week 1, and we don’t even have free agency, the NFL Draft, training camp and all of the endless chatter in between to keep us all informed. Never fear, though, as even though it’s incredibly early in the 2026 fantasy football cycle, we’re out here perusing the fantasy landscape for wide receivers we must have for the upcoming NFL season.
Who are the pass-catchers I’m targeting as a “must-have” wide receiver? Let’s dive in and take a look at a trio of fantasy wide receivers I absolutely must have on my fantasy teams this season at their current average draft position (ADP) on Underdog.
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Fantasy Football Must-Have Wide Receivers
Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR – DET) | Underdog ADP: 9.0
Another season, another 100+ catches and over 1,200 receiving yards for Amon-Ra St. Brown. You can set his production on a clock each season with how automatic the Detroit Lions’ passing game is with St. Brown leading the way. This past season gave us St. Brown’s third consecutive campaign with 10+ touchdowns. Even though John Morton was let go and replaced by former Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, St. Brown’s production shouldn’t waver.
A whopping 56% of league-winning WRs (by ESPN fantasy playoff rate) have been in Years 3-5 of their career, going back to 2017.
Applies to 5 out of 6 from 2025:
– Jaxon Smith-Njigba
– Puka Nacua
– George Pickens
– Amon-Ra St. Brown
– Rashee Rice+ Year 12 Davante Adams! pic.twitter.com/HN2tZomtv3
— Ryan Heath (@RyanJ_Heath) January 12, 2026
St. Brown feels like one of the safest bets in fantasy football each season, so it’s difficult not to see his current WR5 price tag at the end of the first round in early best ball drafts and then think about locking in that production in the middle to late first round. Detroit is a team that shouldn’t be changing too much, but after the top trio of fantasy wide receivers that includes Ja’Marr Chase, Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the choice between CeeDee Lamb and St. Brown is a tough one. Right now, I’m taking St. Brown with a massive ceiling and floor that both feel very stable.
Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN) | Underdog ADP: 16.1
We know Justin Jefferson is awesome. He’s been a locked-in top fantasy receiver every season of his career, and for the first time in his six seasons, Jefferson looked merely mortal. While he still earned a ton of targets (140), Jefferson brought in just 84 over the full season. Jefferson still notched over 1,000 yards but scored only two touchdowns.
Averaging just 11.9 fantasy points per game (WR30 in 2025) and suffering through quarterback issues all season, it was too much for Jefferson to overcome. Head coach Kevin O’Connell knows something has to change at the quarterback position because it clearly impacted how the Vikings wanted to run their offense this season.
The 2026 season should be a reset, but getting the ball to Jefferson wasn’t the problem; the efficiency behind it was the issue. Jefferson’s catchable target rate, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), hovered around 64% this past season and was one of the biggest underperformers relative to expectation this past season.
In early best ball drafts, Jefferson clocks in at WR8 as a pick in the middle of the second round. That’s a massive discount for a receiver who has been a mainstay in the front half of the first round for much of his career. Jefferson definitely feels like somebody who is predicted to rise back into the first round rather than staying in the middle of the second round based on his entire body of work.
Of course, good news on J.J. McCarthy or any other good news related to the quarterback situation should cause Jefferson to rise a bit into the first round. I’m staying on the good side of history with Jefferson while taking his current price to the bank and buying up as many shares as I can.
Stefon Diggs (WR – NE) | Underdog ADP: 81.9
Stefon Diggs enjoyed a banner resurgence with 85 receptions and 1,013 yards this past season, which has him in the conversation for the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award. However, it’s at least a bit possible that the Patriots will exercise a potential contract out with Diggs. While the contract out was primarily in case Diggs had lost a step and was not productive, he will have at least $20 million in the final two seasons of the three-year deal he signed last March.
That price tag could be too rich for New England, having to pay premium money to a receiver that will be 33 years old towards the end of next season, no matter how productive he was. If the Patriots keep him, they’ll have somebody who still has massive efficiency, but repeating that bet could prove a bit thinner in 2026.
Diggs was back to his typical efficiency after a season-ending ACL injury with the Texans in 2024, with 2.42 yards per route run (YPRR) this past season. On the flipside, Diggs put up the lowest targets per game (5.9) mark of his 11-season career.
“They were calling me washed. Saying I didn’t have it anymore. I just wanted to prove to myself I am who I say I am.”
“This team took a chance on me. I just wanted to make them proud.”
1-on-1 with emotional #Patriots WR Stefon Diggs headed to 1st Super Bowl: pic.twitter.com/B2dD8Wq47h
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 26, 2026
With a huge 2025 season fueled by being Drake Maye‘s most trusted target, we’ll have to see if that’s going to be the veteran Diggs or if the Patriots decide to dip into free agency or with a premium NFL Draft pick in April. It’s likely going to be Diggs in 2026, and Maye could be even better heading into his third season.
Early best ball valuation has Diggs at WR40, with the veteran discount putting him between players like Ricky Pearsall and Quentin Johnston. I’ll take that bet at such a great price in early drafts.
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Kevin Tompkins is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Kevin, check out his profile and follow him on Bluesky @ktompkinsii.bsky.social
