When we talk about wide receivers to avoid in 2026 Fantasy Football, we aren’t talking in black and white or in absolutes. Every player is worth selecting with the right draft capital or auction bid. But fantasy football players put value on players with their draft choices and their auction selections. Our job is to look at that value and determine if we think we would pay what it takes to roster a certain wide receiver. Often, the market gets it right, but there are also plenty of times the market is wrong.
This piece will look at a number of wide receivers who have seen their ADPs settle since the NFL Draft, but might not be worth what it costs to select them in drafts or auctions. I would welcome all of these players on my roster for the right price, but as of the end of May, the price tag is a little too high.
5 Wide Receivers to Avoid (2026 Fantasy Football)
Garrett Wilson (WR – NYJ)
Garrett Wilson’s ADP has dropped some since the NFL Draft, likely because the Jets loaded up on offense. Currently priced as the WR18 (WR16 two months ago), Garrett Wilson is being drafted based on his immense talent rather than his results over the past two seasons. Is that his fault or the fault of the awful quarterbacks he has had since entering the NFL? Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor were horrific last season, and Wilson had to record a 33 percent target share to come close to getting any fantasy return on your investment in him.
Wilson is coming off an injury-plagued season and faces continued quarterback uncertainty with the Jets relying on a veteran upgrade like Geno Smith (a bust with the Raiders last season) or potentially a rookie at some point in 2026. Smith was 36th in air yards per attempt and 34th in fantasy points per dropback last year. He is supposed to get better now that he is on the Jets? Wilson has yet to finish as a true WR1 in fantasy points per game and has an uphill climb this season, making his late third, early-fourth-round cost too steep.
Jaylen Waddle (WR – DEN)
In Miami, Jaylen Waddle always had his greatest success when Tyreek Hill wasn’t snatching a 28 percent target share and all of the touchdowns for the Dolphins. Waddle will compete with Courtland Sutton for targets in Denver for a team that was ninth in passing play rate last season, and fourth overall in passing plays per game. There is an opportunity here for Waddle to excel, but once again, he finds himself behind a more productive, established wide receiver who has a rapport with his quarterback. At this point, you have to draft him at the beginning of the fifth round to secure his services. I would much rather take him in the sixth or seventh, given the uncertainty.
Waddle was traded to Denver after spending five strong seasons in Miami. He was almost always productive during his Dolphins seasons. He recorded four finishes inside the top 30 among receivers in fantasy points per game. He is never going to be a red-zone threat at his size, and the Broncos don’t like to go to wide receivers in that area anyway. Waddle is currently WR24 in ADP, meaning you need him to be one of the top two receivers on your fantasy team. I’m not sold at this point.
Davante Adams (WR – LAR)
Taken just after Jaylen Waddle in fantasy drafts (ADP of pick 52, WR26), Davante Adams is coming off more recent success, including 14 touchdowns, the highest mark among wide receivers. But anyone expecting production anywhere close to 14 scores in 14 games again is fooling themselves. Adams had a 53 percent catch rate in 2025, the lowest of his career. He dealt with another injury, and with just 789 receiving yards, was heavily dependent on touchdowns for his fantasy points.
If you look at everything that had to go right in 2025 for him to finish where he did, it’s hard to imagine it all repeating. Injury history, touchdown dependence, age (33), Matthew Stafford regression, and low catch rate all add up to a season that won’t be in the top 25 for wide receivers in 2026. If he’s healthy heading into the season, I’m happy to take him after WR30, but I want more upside with my second wide receiver.
Alec Pierce (WR – IND)
Currently being drafted as the WR34, I am tempted to say drafters have this one almost right after Alec Pierce finished 2025 as the WR23 in fantasy points per game. Pierce is expected to regress some, due to a variety of reasons, but I still don’t know if I would take him as a top 35 wide receiver. Pierce, like the player below, needed elite efficiency and a career year from Daniel Jones before he was injured to get long touchdown after long touchdown.
Pierce may have lost Michael Pittman from the wide receiver room, but he still faces competition from the run game with Jonathan Taylor, as well as target share competition from Tyler Warren and Josh Downs. Can Daniel Jones return and play well after a torn Achilles? If not, the big splash plays might be much less frequent in 2026. I love the idea of drafting Alec Pierce in Best Ball leagues, or if he falls to the Flex range in redraft. But I think last year was his career season.
Michael Pittman Jr. (WR – PIT)
We at least now know that Aaron Rodgers will be Michael Pittman’s quarterback, which is a positive thing, considering the alternatives. But in Pittsburgh, Pittman is likely to find a less efficient passing attack after Daniel Jones’ strong year in 2025, and he immediately walks in as the No. 2 behind DK Metcalf. What’s the best-case scenario for Pittman? Pittman could seriously struggle to score 10 points per game in a low-scoring, run-heavy offense. That’s not worth a top-100 pick unless Metcalf suffers some kind of injury or they make a serious upgrade at quarterback.
Last season, Michael Pittman Jr. finished with 9.6 half-PPR points per game, which only earned him the rank of WR34 on the season. And even for that level of production (barely a WR3 in fantasy football), things had to go perfectly with Daniel Jones when he was healthy for him to get there. Pittman was often outplayed by Alec Pierce and Tyler Warren throughout the season. He’s now in Pittsburgh and being drafted as the WR47 overall. Can he reach that value over a long season? Certainly, but why not take bigger upside plays like Matthew Golden and Xavier Worthy in the same range?
Other Wide Receivers to Consider Fading
- Malik Nabers (WR – NYG) – This conversation about his recent procedure to clean out scar tissue in his knee has me really worried about his availability to begin the regular season. At a top-10 ADP, that’s too expensive for me.
- Rashee Rice (WR – KC) – Like with Malik Nabers, there is just too much risk here to make Rashee Rice a top-10 wide receiver in redraft leagues. His legal troubles continue to linger after he broke parole, and a recent procedure won’t let him practice for at least a month, likely missing OTAs.
- Luther Burden III (WR – CHI) – The opportunity is certainly there for Burden after a massive end to 2025 and the departure of D.J. Moore. But who’s to say he won’t be the third or fourth option behind Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, and D’Andre Swift? At a WR21 ADP, he needs to show it first.
- Tyreek Hill (WR – FA) – Tyreek Hill is a free agent after suffering a horrible knee injury and being released by Miami this offseason. His career could be over, at least the fantasy career we all used to know and love. He will be 32 this season, and has dropped from fantasy’s top receiver as recently as 2023 to WR18 in 2024, and then was unable to finish the season last year.
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