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Matt's must-have wide receiver fantasy football breakouts who will command a massive target share in 2026. He looks at elite fantasy football WR draft targets.
Last season, five receivers topped 160 targets, including Ja'Marr Chase (185), Amon-Ra St. Brown (172), Trey McBride (169), Puka Nacua (166), and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (163), forming one of the most exclusive clubs. Assuming Malik Nabers was healthy in his 2024 season, which featured 170 targets, it would've gained him access to this club.
So, which receivers have an opportunity to push for membership this season? Well, to have a realistic shot, several things must fall just right. First, volume. Each of the names above plays in elite offenses or offenses in which the ball is funneled in their direction. Second, health. Your best ability is your availability. Third, target share. All five players who led the league in targets finished with at least a 32% target share.
With that in mind, here are five receivers who are positioned to be the focal points of their teams' passing attack and present fantasy managers with plenty of upside heading into 2026.
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Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
Chris Olave’s inclusion on the list should come as little surprise. While Olave doesn’t have the type of fanfare as some of the elite fantasy options, his numbers aren’t all that far behind, either. Olave’s 156 targets were the next-highest total a season ago, while his 100 receptions were the fifth most among wide receivers.
Tyler Shough 63-yard completion to Chris Olave!
NOvsTEN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/OlVRsH6aHF
— NFL (@NFL) December 28, 2025
Breaking down the analytics, Olave was the recipient of 9.4 targets per game, which ranked sixth, while his 27.2% target share ranked 10th among all pass-catchers. When looking at the receivers ahead of Olave in terms of targets, Olave’s 12.2 aDot was the highest amongst that group.
What makes Olave scary is that the 1,820 air yards were the most in the NFL, and that was with some questionable play under center early on in the season before a rookie signal-caller took over.
Assuming Tyler Shough takes the next step in his development, the other aspect that benefits Olave is the addition of a legitimate weapon opposite him in rookie Jordyn Tyson. Every top target hog had a secondary option to keep defenses honest, whether it was Tee Higgins, Davante Adams, Michael Wilson, or Jameson Williams.
Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs
Despite playing in just eight games last season, Rashee Rice showed some of the greatest potential among his wide receiver peers. In those eight games, Rice caught 53 of 78 targets for 571 receiving yards and a team-high five touchdowns. If you double his production to account for 16 games, yes, it’s lazy math; it’s easy to deduce that Rice would be in line for 106 receptions and 156 targets.
In 2025, over a short sample, Rice ran 250 routes and had a route share of 72.9%. From Week 7 to Week 15, when healthy, Rice was averaging 9.6 targets per game. Only Chase (13.9), McBride (10.6), St. Brown (10.1), Michael Wilson (10.1), and Travis Hunter (13.0) averaged more; however, Rice’s 0.31 targets per route run trailed only Chase and St. Brown among those to run 200 or more routes over that time.
Here’s hoping Rice has put the offseason behind him and can get himself back into the form we saw last season, as he should be fully recovered from that ACL injury by the time Week 1 commences.
While Travis Kelce is not the same player he was two or three seasons ago, opposing defenses still need to take him into account, which gives Rice a viable option opposite him. Xavier Worthy, Cyrus Allen, and Tyquan Thornton are fairly unproven at this point.
DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
As mentioned previously with Egbuka, DeVonta Smith finds himself as a highly targeted receiver (113) who is now emerging as the top option in his team's passing attack after the departure of A.J. Brown, who is vacating 121 targets of his own.
Now, to be fair, Smith isn’t going to take all 121 targets; however, if he can absorb even 25% of that volume, it will push him just shy of 145 targets on the season.
People have been questioning all offseason whether Smith can be that alpha receiver in an offense. We saw it in college where in 2020 he not only had 117 receptions, 1,856 receiving yards, and 23 touchdown receptions, but he would also go on to claim the Heisman Trophy, joining four other receivers to accomplish that feat. Even that is stretching it, as Desmond Howard was better known as a returner and Travis Hunter was effective on both sides of the ball.
As a professional, Smith has the 2022 season to point to. In just his second season, Smith caught 95 of 136 passes thrown in his direction, resulting in 1,196 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. In fact, outside of the 13-game 2024 season, Smith has assumed 100 or more targets in four of five professional campaigns.
With Brown now gone, Smith should improve upon the 23.9% target share he received last season. The additions of Dontayvion Wicks, Marquise Brown, Elijah Moore, Makai Lemon, and Eli Stowers should only push that number closer to 28%, which is within striking distance of the 32% threshold. Lemon’s presence should offer the same sort of protection to Smith as Smith once provided Brown.
Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
Fantasy managers are a fickle bunch. The need for instant gratification is always present. Often, once a player has been removed for a period of time, they are forgotten or, at the very least, depreciated.
Jump ball to Garrett Wilson for the TD!
NYJvsMIA on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/IX89Wssx5d— NFL (@NFL) September 30, 2025
One receiver fantasy managers must not forget is Jets wideout Garrett Wilson. Back in 2024, Wilson’s 154 targets were tied with Justin Jefferson for the fourth most in the NFL. That season, Wilson finished eighth in receptions (108) and 12th in receiving yards (1,104), and that was with the ghost of Aaron Rodgers under center.
Last season, despite participating in just seven contests and amid a quarterback carousel that included Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor, and Brady Cook, Wilson still led the team in receiving yards and was second in receptions and targets.
Analytically, Wilson averaged 7.9 targets per game; assuming that number remains the same, projecting it over 17 games yields 134 targets. The wild card in all this is Geno Smith.
While Smith would rather forget his time in Las Vegas, he is only a season removed from completing 70.4% of his passing attempts and throwing for 4,320 yards. Truth is, Smith could be the best quarterback Wilson has had in New York as he enters his fifth season.
Fantasy enthusiasts should be betting on the over on the targets per game with Smith under center, especially with Wilson earning a 30.4% target share last season and drawing 46.6% of the Jets’ total air yards in games he played.
Wilson is currently the WR21, according to Yahoo ADP; with that kind of volume and those shares, there is no reason not to believe Wilson finishes as a WR1 in fantasy this season as long as he remains healthy.
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