Fantasy football managers are knee-deep in draft preparation as the calendar shifts from August to September. Opening Day is weeks away, and we are drawing ever closer to the start of the 2026 season.
After glancing through my fantasy football rankings, I don’t envision many changes, aside from injuries or perhaps last-minute waiver claims that could cause a potential shakeup. Tiers have been firmly established, and I’m more comfortable than ever with how the landscape looks in front of me.
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Having already completed a number of drafts, I’m able to look at my teams and share which players I’ve gravitated towards and which I’ve actively avoided — either due to their current draft capital cost or an overall hesitation about their outlook and an inability to meet other analysts’ projections.
Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Busts
Here are four wide receivers I’m currently avoiding for the 2026 season. Be warned.
Rashee Rice (WR – KC)
Some managers are willing to dip their toes into the shark-infested waters that surround Rashee Rice, but I’m unwilling to take the plunge. When viewing his overall body of work since entering the league in 2023, two things stick out.
First and foremost, when Rice is on the field, he commands a modest target share from quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and he is by far the most physically imposing receiver on Kansas City. Second, he hasn’t been on the field enough over the last two seasons to justify his current average draft position (ADP), which hasn’t accounted for several factors.
Currently ranked as the WR13 in expert consensus rankings (ECR), Rice is being treated as a low-end WR1. Though recent news was positive about the league (somehow) overlooking his continued off-field transgressions and not suspending him, one has to question the maturity of someone who repeatedly makes such poor choices.
Rice is currently recovering and rehabbing from an offseason knee scope, and videos from training camp show a lack of burst or explosiveness. In addition to his own injury, the Chiefs are also banking their hopes on Mahomes returning from an ACL tear, after consecutive seasons with fewer than 4,000 passing yards.
Kansas City’s decision to ink running back Kenneth Walker III to a major contract will provide this team with much-needed help in the ground game, allowing them to become a more balanced offense moving forward. There are just too many “what ifs” to wrap my head around Rice’s current price point. He’s being drafted earlier than I’m comfortable with.
Davante Adams (WR – LAR)
Others may find Davante Adams’ inclusion on this list insane, and I can understand their rationale. He’s only finished outside the top 15 of fantasy receivers once since 2015, and that was due to an injury-shortened campaign back in 2019.
Adams has eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in six of the past eight seasons (missing out on his seventh by only three yards). He is arguably the best receiver in winning off the line of scrimmage, even entering this season at 33 years old. Why the Debbie Downer attitude then?
Adams is sure to experience a major regression in touchdowns, which carried him to a WR8 finish in 2025. Out of his 60 receptions, he caught 14 touchdown passes and saw the highest red-zone usage in the league. He’s dealt with multiple lower-body injuries that have cost him several games over the past two seasons, and his efficiency numbers have fallen off a cliff.
Los Angeles is sure to get their young core of tight ends more involved within the red zone in 2026, led by the trio of Terrance Ferguson, Colby Parkinson and Tyler Higbee. Even though this remains a two-man show between Adams and Puka Nacua at receiver, I’d expect a lower concentration of targets in 2026, on an offense that should see a more balanced run/pass approach.
Offseason additions on defense should allow Los Angeles to dominate time of possession each week, encouraging a more run-heavy approach.
Christian Watson (WR – GB)
Christian Watson’s description on our website calls him a “classic talent-versus-durability bet,” and that couldn’t be more accurate. Akin to Rashee Rice above, Watson’s inclusion isn’t a matter of me questioning his hands, concentration or physical abilities — far from it. I just simply can’t trust him to stay healthy over a full season.
Watson’s best fantasy finish came during his 2022 rookie campaign, when he finished with a 41/611/7 split on 66 targets (still his career-high to date) in 14 games. Since that season, he’s missed time with a severe hamstring strain, ankle sprain, ACL tear and chest contusion.
For having a 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame, Watson routinely comes away with bumps and bruises on contested catches, and he isn’t a volume-based player. His supporters will point out that the Packers not only rewarded Watson with a four-year, $110 million extension during the offseason, but they also lost Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks.
An uptick in targets would certainly be beneficial, but can fantasy managers rely on Watson to continually produce at a high level against the opponent’s best defenders each week? Or will Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft and Matthew Golden also see a bump in targets and keep the Packers’ receiving situation a mess best left avoided for fantasy?
Too often, we’ve heard that “this will be the season that managers will finally see the real Christian Watson,” only to have the rug pulled out from under us. I won’t be falling for that again.
Carnell Tate (WR – TEN)
The first receiver selected in this year’s draft class, Carnell Tate continues a long line of highly touted receivers from Ohio State who look to make an immediate impact upon the league. While some analysts think this is a fantastic fit for an up-and-coming team loaded with offensive talent, I remain skeptical that the Titans will put everything together in 2026.
Quarterback Cam Ward was dreadful during his rookie season, finishing the year as the QB22, averaging fewer than six yards per attempt (YPA), passing for just 15 touchdowns (tied for 24th in the league) on 540 attempts (the eighth-most) and completing fewer than 60% of his throws. Ward will need to improve significantly for Tate to justify his current draft cost.
Even if that occurs, Tate will also need to fend off Wan’Dale Robinson for targets (keep in mind, Robinson piled up 280 targets over the last two seasons under Brian Daboll in New York). Tate can line up all over the field, but his strength lies in his ability to run precision routes, not haul in contested catches.
Ward’s propensity to scramble, coupled with his inaccuracy, makes me leery of a major breakout for Tate. Calvin Ridley, Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor all return, and tight end Gunnar Helm is expected to be more involved during his sophomore season.
Could Tate establish himself as the focal point in this offense in the back half of the season? Sure. I’m just unwilling to wait that long for him to acclimate as someone Daboll can trust on a team with major concerns along its offensive line.
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