We’re over one of the last major offseason milestones on the NFL calendar: the NFL Draft. Many wide receivers’ fantasy football values rise and dip according to the players each team’s general manager drafts or doesn’t draft. In terms of determining the baseline for fantasy football value, this is prime time in setting that as we get deeper into the spring and summer months.
Still, 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 that I absolutely must have on my fantasy teams for fantasy football in 2026.
- Dynasty Rookie Draft Simulator
- Dynasty Rookie Rankings: Expert Consensus
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
Fantasy Football Must-Have Wide Receivers
Ladd McConkey (WR – LAC)
I’ve got to have Ladd McConkey this season. I just need to. Fantasy managers and Ladd McConkey himself will surely find out how needed he will be on rosters if you don’t draft him in 2026. McConkey was a rookie revelation in 2024, with 1,149 yards, seven touchdowns, and a robust 2.38 yards per route run. 2025 saw McConkey take major dips in Roman’s offense, as quarterback Justin Herbert managed multiple receiving targets in the offense like Quentin Johnston, a returning Keenan Allen, rookies Oronde Gadsden II and Tre’ Harris.
At times last season, McConkey would get lost in the shuffle, especially later in the season, as after Week 9, McConkey never earned more than six targets in a game in the regular season. In fact, his first-read target percentage dropped significantly.
(data via Fantasy Points Data Suite)
| Weeks 1-8 | First-Read Target % | Week 9-18 | First-Read Target % |
| Keenan Allen | 25.0% | Keenan Allen | 23.7% |
| Ladd McConkey | 25.0% | Quentin Johnston | 21.0% |
| Quentin Johnston | 21.4% | Ladd McConkey | 14.4% |
| Oronde Gadsden | 15.0% | Tre’ Harris | 14.1% |
| Tre’ Harris | 4.2% | Oronde Gadsden | 13.6% |
Clearly, the Chargers bringing in Allen during last August’s preseason harmed the bottom line of McConkey in 2025. But what to make of this passing game in 2026?
Well, out is Greg Roman and in is Mike McDaniel, the former head coach of the Miami Dolphins, as the new offensive coordinator of the Chargers. In terms of offensive scheming and putting his players in the best position for success, I would take McDaniel over every single coach in the NFL not named Sean McVay. McDaniel typically condensed the personnel down to core players and was able to get them the ball. Tyreek Hill had the second-highest yards per route run season since that data was charted, going back to 2006 under McDaniel’s direction. Jaylen Waddle has had five seasons of incredible success under McDaniel’s tutelage. We could easily see some personnel condensing for the Chargers in 2026, following the track record from Miami.
Buy any dips on guys we’ve seen perform at a high level, at a young age
Malik Nabers
Brian Thomas Jr
Ladd McConkey^ all fit that narrative. Maybe all not value dips in every league but I’m knocking on these doors
— Skrip (@P2WFantasy) April 21, 2026
With young players like McConkey, we have a bit of a tendency to swing so far in the current direction with our line of thinking. Did a player have a bad rookie season and then a great second season? He’s now a superstar in the public perception. The opposite is also true. Did a player have a great rookie season and then backslide into a slightly below-average season? He’s playing himself out of the league.
It’s incredibly hard to ignore what we saw in McConkey’s rookie season, but there are also reasons why McConkey’s second season wasn’t as good as his first. Players like this don’t just become bad all of a sudden. With a new playcaller and offensive coordinator, this Chargers’ offense may be a bit more balanced in terms of run vs. pass, but in terms of who is getting the ball, McConkey looks to be at the head of the pack when it comes to who can balloon his production in his third season. As WR19, it’s a very fair price to pay as he’s slotted around veteran receivers like the aforementioned Waddle, Zay Flowers, and Terry McLaurin. Give me his upside over those three all day long.
Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR – DET)
Another season in 2025, 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. 2025 gave us St. Brown’s third consecutive season with 10 or more touchdowns. St. Brown’s production shouldn’t waver too much in 2026, given that the core of the team remains largely the same, minus David Montgomery.
St. Brown feels like one of the safest bets in fantasy football each season, so it’s great to see him at WR5 in Expert Consensus Rankings and then locking St. Brown’s elite production in the middle to late first round. After the top trio of fantasy wide receivers that includes Ja’Marr Chase, Puka Nacua, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the choice between CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, 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.
Chris Olave (WR – NO)
Entering his fourth season in 2025, we saw glimpses of Chris Olave’s potential: an analytical profile that saw Olave crest 2.05 yards per route run in all three seasons, as well as a targets per route run no worse than 23% in each season. His 2025 season put everything together and saw him become one of the best receivers in football.
Olave earned 151 targets and parlayed them into 100 receptions, 1,163 yards, and nine touchdowns as a true focal point of the Saints’ offense. Even better, there’s finally reason for optimism with Tyler Shough at quarterback to help support Olave with some consistency. Not to mention the Saints drafting wide receiver Jordyn Tyson in the first round, which will help boost the overall offensive environment. It’s been a while since we’ve been excited about a New Orleans offense; at least since Drew Brees still quarterbacked this team. More touchdowns for this offense will no doubt boost the top playmakers in this offense, and Olave is front and center.
Defenses are going to have BIG TIME problems…
facing a starting trio of:
Chris Olave
Jordyn Tyson
Bryce LanceWhile also accounting for Oscar Delp's speed.
The Saints are killing this draft.
— Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) April 25, 2026
Everything analytically for Olave also followed in his fourth season: a very strong 25.7% targets per route run, a 2.00 yards per route run, and a massive 32% first-read target rate. That’s a great profile to target at the end of the second round as your WR1 or WR2 of your squad. At WR11 in FantasyPros’ ECR, it’s still an awesome value as a second-round WR1 if you draft a running back early in the first round.
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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
