The NFL is filled with talented wide receivers of all shapes, sizes, and skill sets. The truly elite wideouts who dominate targets, air yards, and never leave the field are among the top picks in fantasy football drafts. Gamers don’t need to be instructed that Ja’Marr Chase is a needle-mover and a foundational piece for fantasy squads.
Even those teams with an elite wide receiver will need more wideouts behind them, though. Conversely, gamers who tab workhorse running backs out of the gate or veer away from running back or wideout for a stud quarterback or tight end in the early rounds need to make up for lost ground at the position to the teams with an elite wide receiver or two.
Finding wide receivers who outkick their average draft position (ADP) is critical. It might be more difficult than ever in 2026 for gamers to find undervalued gems at wide receiver, since, in the copycat NFL, teams appear to be trending toward using more multi-tight-end personnel groupings after seeing the success some of the league’s best offenses enjoyed by deploying multiple tight ends in 2025. With that in mind, getting on the field in two-wideout personnel groupings is more important than ever.
The following two wide receivers are drafted as WR4s in Underdog best ball formats, and both players have a chance to outperform their ADPs drastically. The first needs to stay healthier than he has to this point in his young career, and the second needs to seize an opportunity at a more straightforward path to the field this season.
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Fantasy Football Must-Have Wide Receivers
Ricky Pearsall (WR – SF) | Underdog ADP: 98.0/WR44
Ricky Pearsall has been limited to only 20 games in the regular season through two years in the NFL. He missed time to begin his rookie season after getting shot in the chest in an attempted robbery, and he was limited to nine games in 2025 with a few injuries, including a PCL sprain and an ankle sprain.
Around the injuries in 2025, Pearsall took a step forward in a larger role. According to the Fantasy Points data suite, Pearsall’s route participation rate climbed from 68.8 percent in 11 games in the regular season as a rookie to 79.2 percent in the regular season of his sophomore campaign.
Among 86 wide receivers with at least 250 routes in the 2025 regular season, Pearsall was 18th in air yards share (34.7 percent), tied for 37th in targets per route run (0.20), 19th in yards per route run (2.02), 10th in yards per target (9.96), tied for 17th in first downs per route run (0.103) and 19th in expected half-point per reception (half-PPR) points per game (12.9).
Pearsall was good against man and zone. Out of the same sample of 86 wideouts, 26 cleared 2.00 yards per route run (Y/RR) against man coverage, and 25 did so against zone coverage. Pearsall was one of only 12 wide receivers from the group to accomplish the feat against both coverages, with 2.53 Y/RR against man and 2.01 Y/RR against zone.
Pearsall was also impressive in the Fantasy Points separation metrics. He was fifth in their overall separation score, 24th in separation score against man, and second in separation score against zone. The 49ers signed Mike Evans and Christian Kirk in free agency, and they turned heads by drafting wideout De’Zhaun Stribling 33rd overall. Even with those additions, Pearsall’s biggest hurdle for finishing as a WR3 or better in fantasy football is completing a fully healthy season. His underlying data is worth betting on at his modest WR4 cost.
Josh Downs (WR – IND) | Underdog ADP: 105.2/WR46
Josh Downs had an 80.6 percent slot rate and only an 18.9 percent wide alignment rate in 2025. As a result of Downs’ slot-heavy deployment, he had just a 62.8 percent route participation rate last year. Will Shane Steichen allow Downs to run more routes this year?
Reading the tea leaves suggests Downs will have an opportunity to claim more routes in 2026. The Colts re-signed Alec Pierce to a four-year, $114 million contract, with $84 million guaranteed, per Over the Cap. Indianapolis immediately freed up salary after retaining Pierce by shipping Michael Pittman off to the Steelers. Their only other noteworthy moves at the position were signing Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to a one-year deal worth $1.2 million, with just $250,000 guaranteed, and spending a seventh-round pick on Deion Burks.
The red carpet is rolled out for Downs to play more often in 2026. He was at his best against zone coverage last year, tallying 1.77 Y/RR and 0.22 targets per route run in 244 routes against zone compared to 1.16 Y/RR and 0.28 targets per route run in 96 routes against man. However, Downs was a completely respectable 40th in Fantasy Points separation score against man coverage and fifth in separation score against zone coverage.
Downs wasn’t efficient on 67 routes aligned wide, as evidenced by his 0.94 Y/RR on them in 2025, but he earned targets at a solid 0.22 targets per route run. Downs was more effective in 286 routes in the slot last season, with a 25.3 percent target share, 0.24 targets per route run, and 1.76 Y/RR.
Interestingly, Downs made the most of his limited opportunities with fewer than three wide receivers on the field. In 17 routes in personnel groups with two receivers or fewer in 2025, Downs had an 11.8-yard average depth of target, 0.35 targets per route run, five receptions, 62 receiving yards, 3.65 Y/RR, and 10.33 yards per target.
Downs is unlikely to maintain 0.35 targets per route run and 3.65 Y/RR on an increased number of routes with fewer than three wideouts on the field, but his showing last year demonstrates his ability to get the job done. Downs is a breakout candidate this year and an excellent target at his low-end WR4 ADP.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
