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. Let's jump right in.
Tier 1
Ja'Marr Chase Jaxon Smith-Njigba Amon-Ra St. Brown Puka 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.
Tier 2
CeeDee Lamb Drake London George Pickens
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.
Tier 3
Rashee Rice Justin Jefferson Chris Olave Zay Flowers Nico Collins Tee Higgins DeVonta 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. This is a close-knit tier with all five wide receivers projecting right around 15 PPR FPPG, so feel free to pick your favorite. Higgins, Olave, and Collins all carry at least moderate risk of injury based on their past and Smith has battled a hamstring injury in camp. Smith is getting a chance to be a WR1 with A.J. Brown sent off to New England, and we absolutely believe Smith has the ability to do just that. If you told me any of these receivers finished top 12 in 2026, I would not be surprised. It may just come down to who stays healthy. Rice and Jefferson fell into this tier. Rice because of all the buzz about Kenneth Walker II's role in the passing game and Jefferson because I'm just not that confident that the Vikings have a high-volume passing offense.
Think I am too high on Zay Flowers? Jacob Gibbs and I did a 20-minute profile of Flowers on Beyond the Box Score. Listen to why we both rank him as a top 12 wide receiver:
Tier 4
Tetairoa McMillan Malik Nabers A.J. Brown
If you were looking for a low-confidence tier, this would be it. I have these guys projected right around 14 PPR FPPG and I am drafting them in Round 3 but it truly feels like all five could be just about anything. That probably makes more sense with McMillan, but it is particularly true with Nabers and Brown. Nabers is coming off a torn ACL and there have been some mixed messages about his availability at the start of the season. Brown has knee concerns of his own, at least if you believe some teams' evaluations, and he is coming off of a down year. But when he's right, he's still one of the best wide receivers in football and the passing environment should be better in New England this year than it was in Philadelphia last year. If you're looking for a safe pick, it's probably McMillan, but I also think he has the lowest ceiling in the tier.
Tier 5
Terry McLaurin Luther Burden III Jaylen Waddle Ladd McConkey Emeka Egbuka Garrett Wilson DJ Moore Davante Adams
Burden fell into this tier due to his groin injury. I am getting very close to moving him back up a tier now that he is back at practice. Egbuka fell into this tier because of his turf toe. I don't have a confident read on how close he will be to 100% Week 1. These are borderline WR2s that project for between 12.5 and 13.5 PPR FPPG. You should start looking for them in Round 4. Moore and Waddle have the opportunity to be the No. 1 wide receiver on their own team in their new locations but I am afraid Joe Brady and Courtland Sutton will have something to say about them hitting their target ceiling. Adams is the most obvious touchdown regression candidate at the position, but it still feels a little silly ranking him this low.
Tier 6
Parker Washington Jameson Williams DK Metcalf Mike Evans Brian Thomas Jr. Rome Odunze Marvin Harrison Jr. Christian Watson Chris Godwin
In the last update, I called this the mega tier. There has been some separation in my projections since, and the remaining seven all project for between 11.4 and 12 PPR FPPG. Well, that's not exactly true. I expect Evans and Watson to score more than that, but I am not confident they will still be healthy when they are needed most. Evans has already been battling a quad and a groin in camp. Washington has been the star of training camp and he's now my top-rated Jacksonville wide receiver, but I still have Thomas in the same tier and wouldn't be surprised if he proves me wrong. Odunze and Harrison have massive upside and are third-year breakout candidates, but it is hard to tier project them any higher than this based on their resume.
Tier 7
Stafon Diggs Alec Pierce Courtland Sutton Chris Godwin Carnell Tate Quentin Johnston Deebo Samuel Josh Downs Jordan Addison
Downs got a small ding from the Keenan Allen signing. You would like to think a 34-year-old wide receiver won't matter, but Allen has experience in Shane Steichen's offense and he has been a major problem for DJ Moore and Ladd McConkey the last two seasons. Tate probably has the most upside in this tier, but Cam Ward did not look like he's taken a step forward in the Titans first preseason game and Wan'Dale Robinson could limit Tate's target upside with Brian Daboll calling plays. Samuel has the lowest ADP in this tier. I expect him to have a bigger role as a rusher and receiver than most seem to. Pierce is back in this tier now that he is back at practice, and may still be ranked too low.
Tier 8
Michael Wilson Jalen Coker Xavier Worthy KC Concepcion Makai Lemon Jayden Reed
This is the point when the rankings and projections begin to diverge, and unless you are in a very deep league, I would trust the rankings, which is what the tiers are based on from this point. Concepcion and Lemon are examples of guys that I rank higher than I project, because of their upside. As of late-August, Concepcion seems to have secured a Week 1 role and Lemon is back on the practice field, if not quite in the starting lineup yet. Don't sleep on Coker in Carolina. He outplayed McMillan down the stretch last year and has been one of our favorite draft values all summer.
Tier 9
Michael Pittman Jakobi Meyers Khalil Shakir Malik Washington Romeo Doubs Tre Tucker Wan'Dale Robinson Jordyn Tyson Matthew Golden
Man, do I hate tiering Tyson this low. My current expectation is that we don't see him on the field until Week 5. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see the best of him until after the Saints' Week 8 bye. That makes it really hard to draft him in a league where you only have five bench spots. At the same time, Kellen Moore's WR2 has seen seven targets per game in multiple seasons and Tyson could be a WR2 when he's healthy. Golden is the other high-upside player in this tier. I like that he is playing in two-receiver sets but I am not sure he can earn enough targets without an injury.
Tier 10
Keenan Allen Denzel Boston Caleb Douglas De'Zhaun Stribling Malachi Fields Adonai Mitchell Tre Harris Ja'Kobi Lane Chris Bell Pat Bryant
Allen is tiered well below his projection because I don't see any upside. The rest of the tier has nothing but upside. Whoever your favorite guy is in this tier, feel free to reach a couple of rounds because, as a reminder, these tiers are based on projections, not upside. Boston is my favorite upside pick in the range, even with his QB concerns. It looks like to open the season, he will actually be on the field more than Concepcion and he has had an impressive camp as a route runner.
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