5 Must-Have Wide Receivers (2026 Fantasy Football)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and which to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Let’s dive into a few wide receivers fantasy football expert Derek Brown is targeting in all of his drafts.

2026 Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Must-Have Wide Receivers

DBro loves to target these wide receivers in his 2026 fantasy football drafts.

Zay Flowers (BAL)

Last year, Zay Flowers posted career-best marks across the board with 86 receptions, 1,211 receiving yards, and a WR12 finish in fantasy points per game. It was amazing to see for a player who also ranked eighth in target share (27.7%), 11th in receiving yards per game (71.2), seventh in yards per route run (2.61), and tenth in first-read share (33.3%, per Fantasy Points Data). While Flowers also saw 19 deep targets last year, the big concern with him is his touchdown upside. Flowers has never had more than five receiving touchdowns in any season, and with only 11 red zone targets last year, it’s tough to project a huge spike in that this season, but there could be hope with the arrival of offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. I’m not projecting that Doyle heads into this season drawing up more usage for Flowers near the goal line, but it can’t possibly get any worse than it has been previously. Flowers is a strong WR2 with WR1 upside again this year.

Emeka Egbuka (TB)

Emeka Egbuka could crush his mid WR2 draft cost this season. Egbuka faded after Week 5 last year after he sustained a hamstring injury, and Baker Mayfield‘s injury severely impacted his ability to feed catchable targets to the receiving options in Tampa Bay. In Weeks 1-5, Egbuka was the WR3 in fantasy points per game, commanding a 22.1% target share with 89 receiving yards per game, 2.71 yards per route run, a 26.1% first-read share, and 0.104 first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Had Egbuka kept up that pace all season, he would have ranked 19th in target share, third in receiving yards per game, fourth in yards per route run, 26th in first-read share, and 20th in first downs per route run. Sadly, he didn’t keep up that pace. In Weeks 6-18, despite still drawing a 23.1% target share with a 28.9% first-read share, Egbuka had only 41.1 receiving yards per game, 1.50 yards per route run, and 0.052 first downs per route run as the WR55 in fantasy points per game. If Egbuka had closed the season with the flurry of production instead of the other way around, fantasy gamers would be foaming at the mouth to draft him this season. Consider me a rabid drafter hellbent upon drafting as much Egbuka as possible this season. Entering his second season with Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan as his primary competition for targets, Egbuka can establish himself as the team’s clear WR1 and return WR1/2 production.

Christian Watson (GB)

Christian Watson got the bag this offseason and should be considered the clear WR1 for the Green Bay Packers. Watson deserved the pay day as a he proved that he can handle this role last year. Last season, in Weeks 8-18, he was the WR21 in fantasy points per game with an 18.2% target share, 61.1 receiving yards per game, 2.67 yards per route run, a 23.9% first-read share, and 0.122 first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). His target share and first-read share should go up this season with Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks gone and Watson likely getting promoted into a full-time role. Last year, he was also held back by a 68% route share (56th out of 109 qualifying receivers). The increase in usage and playing time should make his ultra-efficiency per route even more deadly in 2026. Last year, among those 109 qualifying receivers, Watson ranked fourth in yards per route run, tenth in first downs per route run, and sixth in fantasy points per route run. Watson is a strong WR2 with upside for more in 2026.

Mike Evans (SF)

Mike Evans has a new home with the 49ers, and he looks like a wonderful value in fantasy drafts. Yes, Evans dealt with hamstring issues again last year, but that wasn’t the big limiting factor in his games played. That was related to a broken collarbone. For all of the injury talk about Evans, before the 2025 season, he had never played less than 13 games in any season, and since 2020 he had played at least 14 games in every season. Evans might be older, but he hasn’t slowed down when you look at his metrics. Last year, during his seven full games played, he had a 24.4% target share, a 30.6% first-read share, and 0.116 first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Among 109 qualifying receivers last year, those numbers would have ranked 13th-best across the board. Yes, during that sample, he had only 1.86 yards per route run and 52.6 receiving yards per game, which would have ranked 31st and 33rd among the same group of receivers, but that was more related to Baker Mayfield‘s inaccuracy than Evans slowing down. In his full games played, Evans had only a 70.9% catchable target rate, which among those 109 receivers would have ranked 84th. Evans on field production didn’t match his deeper analytics and target-earning ability, as he was also second-best in separation and route win rate last season. If he can stay healthy this season, he should be one of the best values on the board for fantasy season with WR1 upside.

Parker Washington (JAC)

Parker Washington finished last season with a flurry of insane production; if he picks up right where he left off, he’ll be one of the best picks in fantasy football this season. Last year, in Weeks 16-19, Washington asserted himself as the Jags’ clear WR1. During that stretch, he averaged 22.3 PPR points per game while soaking up six red zone targets and 13 deep targets (per Fantasy Points Data). In those four games, he had a 28.9% target share, 113.5 receiving yards per game, 3.78 yards per route run, and a 33.3% first-read share. Those are all absolutely elite metrics no matter how you slice it. There’s some uncertainty about how the Jags target hierarchy sifts out this season with Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter healthy. Each player could effectively put a dent in Washington, putting up monster numbers in 2026, but that risk is baked into Washington’s price in drafts. He’s a wonderful upside swing in the later rounds.

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