As we move into peak draft season, Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg, and I are all updating our Fantasy Football Tiers for quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. To try to make mine a little bit different, my tiers are based almost exclusively on my 2026 projections. I say almost, because at some point you have to throw the projections out and start drafting based on theoretical upside.
That elevates low-cost rookies like KC Concepcion, Makai Lemon, and Jordyn Tyson. There are a couple of other tweaks, but for the most part I will tell you below where these guys project and when I would draft them. Ja'Marr ChaseJaxon Smith-NjigbaAmon-Ra St.
BrownPuka Nacua I could have put Chase in his own tier, as he projects a full point per game higher than the other three wide receivers in this tier, but these are the four wide receivers I have projected for more than 18 Fantasy points per game this season. It's fair to wonder if St. Brown has the same upside as the other guys in this tier, but he may also have the highest floor of the group.
He has been a top four wide receiver in full PPR leagues each of the last three seasons. We all have all four of these receivers ranked in our top seven overall and I think they should be the next four picks after Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson have been taken. These receivers project between 16.4 and 17.7 PPR FPPG.
Rice has fallen within the tier due to concerns about just how healthy his knee is, but he is still a second-round pick in my PPR rankings. Pickens was actually better than Lamb in the second half last year, but Lamb had some pretty terrible touchdown luck. Some people have downgraded London based on a very poor preseason from Tua Tagovailoa, but Michael Penix is healthy now, so if Tagovailoa is actually that bad, London will get the QB that helped him to elite WR1 production last season.
Rashee RiceJustin JeffersonChris OlaveZay FlowersNico CollinsTee HigginsDeVonta Smith Chris Olave is the big riser in this tier and is close to joining Tier 2 after Jordyn Tyson's hamstring injury. If you told me Tyson wouldn't be the same all year, Olave would be in Tier 2. While Tier 2 bleeds from Round 1 to Round 2, Tier 3 wraps up my Round 2 wide receivers.
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