Top WRs by Round
You need to build your roster around your elite WRs and RBs. Here are the best receivers to draft in each of the first 5 rounds of fantasy drafts.
Round 1: Ja’Marr Chase (CIN)
Chase was the most-targeted wide receiver in football last year, and that was without a healthy Joe Burrow for most of it.
175 targets (1st in NFL), 32.7% target share (3rd), and 21 red zone targets (3rd) represents elite usage at every level of the field.
Still posted 1,316 receiving yards and finished as the overall WR5, catching passes from Jake Browning and Joe Flacco all season long.
If Burrow stays healthy, Chase's 2025 production looks more like his floor, and his 2026 schedule is projected as the 5th easiest for WRs.
The argument isn't that Chase is the best WR in fantasy, it's that there's no safer one. He's proven he can produce without elite QB play. With Burrow back, his ceiling is the whole conversation.
Round 2: Nico Collins (HOU)
Three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and a WR9 finish in points per game means Collins is the clearest undervalued receiver in the second round.
Ranked 7th in yards per catch (15.7) and 9th in Explosive Rating (120.7)… his 15.1 PPG actually outpaced his expected PPG of 13.2, meaning he beat his opportunity.
Full offensive continuity going into 2026: CJ Stroud, OC Nick Caley, HC DeMeco Ryans. And Collins has been Stroud's clear WR1 for three straight years.
SOS improves to the 4th easiest WR schedule in the NFL in 2026 — a major tailwind for someone who already outruns his targets.
The injury concerns are real (two concussions in 2025), but when healthy, Collins is outperforming expectations in a favorable environment with full QB continuity. That's a second-round profile worth trusting.
Round 3: A.J. Brown (NE)
What the Eagles did in 2025 proved to be Brown’s career-worst scheme fit. He may have landed in the best offensive environment possible. The trade to New England changes everything.
The Patriots finished 3rd in total yards and 4th in passing yards in 2025. Brown steps in as the unambiguous WR1 replacing Stefon Diggs, with no major competition for targets.
Maye was NFL MVP runner-up in 2025, with a 72% completion rate and 8.9 Y/A (1st in NFL). Brown has never played with a QB of this caliber, and his red zone usage should skyrocket after ranking just 26th there in Philly's run-first system.
Contract year. $29M guaranteed, final year of his deal. Brown arrives in New England maximally motivated to prove his Eagles tenure was a scheme problem, not a player problem.
Four straight 1,000-yard seasons, elite target metrics even under the worst circumstances, and now a true pass-first offense with an ascending top-3 quarterback. So the round 3 ADP here is a gift.
Round 4: Davante Adams (LAR)
Adams led the league in receiving touchdowns in 2025 and still isn't being drafted like it. Round 4 is where you capitalize on short memories.
14 TDs (1st in NFL) despite missing the final three weeks of the season. He also ranked 2nd with 32 red zone targets on the league's top-scoring offense.
Finished WR9 overall and WR8 in PPG (15.9), operating in a Rams offense that ranked 1st in total and passing yards — that system didn't go anywhere.
Rams' WR SOS jumps from 29th easiest in 2025 to 15th easiest projected in 2026 — a meaningful bump for a receiver who produced at that level against tougher competition.
Yes, the age and catch rate dip are real concerns, but Adams is a touchdown-dependent machine in the highest-volume two-WR system in football… and he's sitting in the fourth round.
Round 5: D.J. Moore (BUF)
Yes, Moore's 2025 numbers were ugly… but the Bills didn't trade a second-round pick for a receiver they weren't planning to use. And they needed someone they were planning to use.
Acquired by Buffalo and restructured for $17.7M in cap space. This is a franchise signaling exactly how central he is to their Super Bowl window with Josh Allen.
Despite Chicago's dysfunction, Moore ranked 19th in fantasy points per target (2.0) and 12th in deep targets (22)… the talent didn't disappear, but he didn’t fit as well anymore.
New HC Joe Brady is installing a more aggressive, pass-heavy attack designed to utilize Moore's vertical skill set. That scheme upgrade is as big as the QB upgrade.
The Bears effectively gave up on Moore late in 2025; the Bills gave up a second-round pick for him a few months later. Trust the team that paid up, especially at fifth-round price.
That’s the list. Plan to target at least a couple of these guys, and you’ll have a strong base of pass-catchers for your lineup.
Tomorrow, I’ll give you the same rundown for RBs.
-Joe