Favorite WR Targets

Fantasy football is almost upon us! And with it, my very favorite part of the - drafting your team. There are many favorites across each skill-position that I find myself targeting in drafts, but I thought it would be great to start off with highlighting some WRs in the early to middle rounds that I believe to have the most upside and talent to finish top 15.

Emeka Egbuka

I will soon be publishing my wide receivers by tiers article and in it, I have Egbuka as a Tier 2 receiver, joining the ranks of receivers like CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, Drake London, AJ Brown, and Chris Olave. You might say it's crazy, but I think Egbuka has the talent and the opportunity to finish as a top 10 receiver this season.

Mike Evans' departure opens up the greatest opportunity for Egbuka. There are 62 vacated targets up for grabs. Sterling Shepard is also no longer part of the team, adding another 53.

He had an electric rookie season, finishing with 63 catches, 938 yards and 6 TDs on 127 targets, ranking WR23. Through his first 10 games, he averaged 15.6 points per game, ranking 8th among WRs during that span.

Chris Godwin is going to be a late round bargain, but he is no longer in his prime after dealing with some nasty injuries. If Egbuka can capitalize on the additional target share opened up by Evans, he immediately launches into WR1 territory.

DJ Moore

Moore received a lot of hate from Chicago fans after the route that he appeared to have gave up on during the divisional playoff game against the Rams. Overall, I think there was a lack of chemistry between Williams and Moore, which contributed to Moore's struggles, but now he's in a new environment with the league's best quarterback. From 2020-2023, Stefon Diggs was Allen's favorite receiver and each year he had 150+ targets finishing as WR3, WR7, WR4, and WR9 during that span. The last two years, Allen didn't really have a go-to guy; Khalil Shakir was the preferred WR finishing with about 100 targets in both seasons.

Outside of his anomalous final year in Chicago, Moore had reached 136+ targets in three out of his four seasons between 2021-2024. He has historically been an extremely high-volume target earner, averaging about 132 targets per season.

With Allen as his QB, I estimate Moore reaching 135-145 targets and taking the role of the alpha WR for the Bills. Joe Brady was also Moore's OC in Carolina in 2020 and 2021, where he had 118 targets and 163 targets, respectively. If Moore reaches 140+ targets, I think WR1 territory becomes very realistic as his ceiling. My estimates have Moore finishing between WR10 and WR12.

Ladd McConkey

After finishing as WR12 in his rookie year, McConkey disappointed last year. This is another case of new faces in new places; Mike McDaniels arriving in Los Angeles as their new OC will greatly change this offense. Under McDaniel in Miami, Tyreek Hill finished as WR2 in two back-to-back seasons and then a WR18 finish in 2024.

McDaniel's offense emphasizes motion, timing, space, yards after catch, and getting receivers the ball in advantageous situations. And McConkey has already led the Chargers in YAC in each of his first two seasons. There will be a very natural schematic fit for McConkey in McDaniel's style of offense. And now McDaniel also gets a quarterback upgrade in Justin Herbert.

Another big update is that Keenan Allen is no longer part of the team, which opens up 122 targets; that number is HUGE. The #1 receivers role is now McConkey's and there is a strong case for him to also finish as a WR1 and a good bet to finish within the top 10.

Rome Odunze

The Luther Burden hype train is growing, but Odunze is the guy I'm picking in drafts. I think Burden will have some great games this season, but Odunze is going to be the WR1. Last year, his catchaable-target rate was only 59%, which ranked 72nd of 76 WRs with 50+ targets, according to DraftSharks. So you had a highly drafted, talented WR getting opportunities but not receiving particularly catchable passes. If Williams improves his accuracy even moderately, Odunze doesn't necessarily need more targets to produce substantially more fantasy points.

Also, the start to his last season was highly encouraging. Over the first four games, he recorded 20 receptions for nearly 300 yards and 5 TDs; only two WRs scored more fantasy points during that stretch.

DJ Moore is now in Buffalo, which opens up about 90 additional targets to go around. This will be a really fun offense to watch in 2026. They are projected to be one of the league's highest scoring offenses, which will be a very fantasy-friendly environment. Odunze, Burden, and Loveland are all guys I would love to have, but I think Odunze has the better value relative to ADP vs Burden. Odunze's ceiling is finishing as WR15.

Parker Washington

One of my favorite late-round draft targets, you may not know this but he is ALREADY Jacksonville's WR1. This is something most people overlook. He finished the season with 95 targets, 58 receptions, and 847 yards, first on the team in all those categories.

His late-season breakout was REALLY good. After Travis Hunter went down and BTJ missed time, Washington had a three-game stretch where he corraled 28 receptions for 330 yards and 2 TDs. Over a four-game sample, he produced a nearly 29% target share, had a 33.3% first-read share, and averaged 22.3 points/game.

Lawrence was a big reason for this too - his development was really starting to show. He finished as QB4 in fantasy points. If they take another step forward, Washington will be in a prime position to smash.

The upside is clear and could propel him to a top 20 WR finish.