Wide Receiver Rankings For Fantasy Football 2026: Could Emeka Egbuka Emerge From The WR2s?

Our rankings series continues with a look at our WR2s (WR13-24) in Fantasy Life's consensus fantasy football rankings.

We know the position tends to be deep, and in this tier, there are a handful of players who can easily sneak into the top 12 when it’s all said and done.

WR2 Fantasy Football Rankings For 2026

13) Tetairoa McMillan | CAR

I’ll be honest, and I hope the Fantasy Life rankings team doesn’t yell at me. But I just have to admit it.

I think this ranking is too high.

Look, I get it. Tetairoa McMillan had a very successful rookie season, hauling in 70 passes for 1,014 yards and seven scores. But on a weekly basis, there really wasn’t a ton of fantasy upside. McMillan finished as WR16 overall and WR20 PPG. He finished as a top-12 wideout just twice all year long, while ranking outside the top-24 receivers in 12 of 17 weeks. Of course, to no one’s surprise, McMillan operated as the clear alpha in Carolina, sporting a 26% target share, while his 43% air yards share ranked fifth among all wideouts with at least 100 routes. Entering 2026, McMillan will once again lead this team in targets, while his 56% catch rate should improve.

But unless we see a huge step forward from Bryce Young and this passing attack, I question the upside.

For starters, the Panthers aren’t going to air the ball out very much. Last year, Carolina ranked 27th in pass rate over expected (-4%), while their 66% pass rate when trailing by four-plus points ranked 22nd. And while he’d occasionally show flashes, Young failed to reach 200—not even 300—passing yards in 12 of his 17 games. And among 37 qualified quarterbacks, Young’s metrics didn’t exactly wow anyone:

30th in EPA/play (-0.03)
33rd in YPA (6.3)
22nd in CMP% (63.6%)

Again, no one should expect McMillan to struggle for targets in this offense. But it is also fair to wonder what the target share might look like with a fully healthy Jalen Coker, who made his season debut in Week 8. And following Carolina’s Week 14 bye, which included Carolina’s playoff game against the Rams, the usage was eyebrow-raising:

McMillan: 23% target share, 18% TPRR, 25% EZ targets
Coker: 22% target share, 19% TPRR, 32% EZ targets

McMillan is an awesome player, but I view him as more of a low-end WR2 than the first one off the board.

14) Garrett Wilson | NYJ

Volume, volume and more volume.

It’s been the best argument for Garrett Wilson in fantasy, who, since entering the league in 2022, has the sixth-most targets in all of football. During that span, Wilson is averaging a healthy 9.1 targets per game (8th-most), but it has led to underwhelming fantasy production, especially from a player of his talent. Perhaps last year was the year, as Wilson posted four top-12 finishes during the first six weeks of the season. During that span, he was fantasy’s WR7, but a knee sprain at the end of Week 6 cost him to miss two games. When he returned in Week 10, Wilson sprained the same knee, an injury that ended his season.

Wilson is healthy ahead of 2026, but he may finally have some target competition in New York. The Jets added Omar Cooper Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq in the draft, as well as Adonai Mitchell at last year’s trade deadline. Wilson’s 334% target share from Weeks 1-6 is unlikely to be replicated, but even with some added weaponry in New York, he should be able to post 130-plus targets again. And if Geno Smith can bounce back, Wilson will have low-end WR1 upside.

15) Tee Higgins | CIN

Arguably the top WR2 in all of real football, Tee Higgins continues to flirt with WR1 fantasy numbers. Last year, Higgins played 15 games (his most since 2022), finishing as the WR13 in PPG (14.1), buoyed by 11 touchdowns. He’s scored double-digit touchdowns each of the past two seasons, while averaging 0.93 end zone targets per game during that span. That ranks 9th in football, just behind teammate Ja’Marr Chase (0.94). Playing alongside Chase does cap his target ceiling, as Higgins has been held under a 20% target share three of the last four seasons. However, the Bengals throw more than enough for Chase to post overall WR1 numbers, while Higgins can still finish as a high-end WR2. Plus, there’s that elite contingency upside if Chase were to ever miss any time. In six career games with Chase sidelined since 2022, Higgins is averaging 8.3 targets, 6.0 receptions, 93 yards and 18.3 PPR PPG.

16) Malik Nabers | NYG

Obviously, Malik Nabers would be comfortably inside the top-10 if health weren’t a question. But unfortunately, it’s a serious question, as a torn ACL and meniscus damage have his Week 1 status in doubt. Nabers is going to be one of the highest risk/reward players in fantasy football. Yes, he’s recovering from a brutal injury.

But his rookie season was just a glimpse of the wide receiver he can be in this league.

As a rookie in 2024, Nabers posted an absurd 35% target share, averaging just over 18 PPR PPG. Drafted sixth overall, the Giants made sure that Nabers was getting the football early and often:

35% target share (1st)
31% TPRR (2nd)
11.3 targets per game (1st)
9.1 first-read targets per game (1st)

Nabers’ target-earning ability is even more impressive when you consider that 23.6% of his routes during that season were go routes, while just over 13% were slants or in-breaking routes. Through the first three weeks of his sophomore season, Nabers was once again dominating targets, sporting a 29% target share and 22% TPRR, while accounting for 55% of the Giants’ air yards. Of course, his season unfortunately ended after running just 10 routes in Week 4, robbing us of seeing really any connection between him and Jaxson Dart.

It is entirely possible he starts the year off very slowly, or even on the sidelines. But when he’s full-go, not many players in football are likely to see more targets than him.

17) Rashee Rice | KC

Rice was actually inside the top-10 when we broke down the top-12 WR rankings. However, off-the-field concerns have once again become a factor, moving him down the rankings. Of course, when Rice is on the field, the Kansas City passing attack is going to revolve around him.

After playing 16 games as a rookie in 2023, Rice has logged just 12 games over the last two years combined. We’ve seen consecutive seasons where Rice has hinted at elite fantasy production.

2024 Weeks 1-3

33% TPRR (1st)
34% target share (2nd)
21.6 PPG (2nd)

2025 Weeks 7-15

29% TPRR (5th)
29% target share (10th)
18.0 PPG (8th)

That sample size has everyone expecting a top-seven season if he can play close to a full season. And it makes sense. The Kansas City passing game funnels through Rice, especially the older Travis Kelce gets. All of the designed and schemed touches go towards Rice. Over the last two seasons (again, 12 games), Rice is averaging 2.25 targets per game when in motion (3rd), while being targeted on 58% of such routes. During that same span, Rice ranks 11th in wide receiver screens with 25, despite the rest of the wideouts playing more than double the games. This usage gives Rice such a safe weekly floor, while the upside, as long as Patrick Mahomes is under center, remains quite high, too.

18) Luther Burden | CHI

Hype.

Just about everyone wants to draft Luther Burden, who will be anything but for fantasy rosters. A preseason injury limited Burden’s early playing time, as the rookie only ran 46% of the routes on the year. However, when he was out there, he was getting the ball, sporting a team-high 23% TPRR. From Week 11 on, the involvement increased, as Burden’s route share climbed to 61%, while drawing a target on 24% of routes. During that stretch, so much of the schemed looks went Burden’s way, as 11 of his targets came from motion, with another seven being wide receiver screens. Whether you put a ton of weight into his 2.71 yards per route run (3rd-best) is up to you, but there’s no doubt that Burden will be heavily involved as a sophomore, especially with DJ Moore now in Buffalo.

19) Zay Flowers | BAL

Zay Flowers is coming off a career-best season, setting personal bests in receptions (86) and receiving yards (1,211). His 30% target share was also the highest of his career, as Flowers continues to operate as Baltimore’s clear top target. Flowers finished as the WR12 on a points-per-game basis (14.3), and for the most part, you know what you’re going to get from him. Upwards of 120 targets, 75-80 catches and 1,000 yards.

What could really put Flowers over the top is a spike in touchdowns.

Flowers hasn’t cleared five touchdowns yet in his career, and since entering the NFL in 2023, his 18 end zone targets rank 45th among all receivers. As a result, we saw just four top-12 fantasy finishes from Flowers a year ago, while he was outside the top-24 wideouts on eight different occasions.

More often than not, Flowers is going to get you 4-5 catches for 65-70 yards. But a random eight-or nine-touchdown season could really put him into a different tier.

20) Davante Adams | LAR

While Flowers has had trouble scoring touchdowns, Davante Adams has made reservations for six incredibly often. It continued in his first season with the Rams, as the veteran led the league with14 touchdown grabs, despite missing the final three games of the regular season. His 28 end zone targets were easily the most in the NFL, but also the most we’ve seen from a player in 25 years. The Rams would often call a run play at the goal line, only for Matthew Stafford to check to a pass and call for a quick slant for Adams. Easy money. Adams had nine end zone targets out of 13 personnel, which made it even easier to win and convert touchdowns.

Adams’ 24% target share was well behind Puka Nacua (31%), who remains the clear top option in Los Angeles. And because natural touchdown regression from Stafford is expected, it is fair to wonder if the 33-year-old Adams is on the decline. Given how good this offense is, double-digit scores feel likely for Adams, though he’s probably more touchdown-dependent than ever before.

21) Emeka Egbuka | TB

Emeka Egbuka’s rookie season started red hot, with five touchdowns over his first five career games. However, he only scored once from Week 6 on, and really slowed down during the second half of the season. Part of that was due to Baker Mayfield playing at well below 100%, as Egbuka posted just a 52% catchable target rate following the bye. But Egbuka also wasn’t playing as well, even dropping a wide-open touchdown against the Saints.

A more consistent sophomore season is likely.

Of course, Mike Evans shockingly won’t be in Tampa Bay for the first time in his career, opening up more routes and touchdown opportunities for Egbuka. Evans missed a lot of time last year, while Jalen McMillan was sidelined for nearly the entire season. However, both returned to the lineup in Week 15, relegating Egbuka to a much smaller role. From Week 15 on, Egbuka ran just 57% of the routes and recorded a 14% target share. During that same stretch, Evans accounted for a whopping 50% of the Bucs’ end zone targets, averaging 1.3 such looks per game (3rd-most).

With Evans off the field last year, Egbuka was targeted on over 26% of his routes, while sporting a 28% target share. Assuming Tampa Bay’s offense gets back on track in 2026, Egbuka projects as one of the top breakout candidates.

22) Jaylen Waddle | DEN

Talented wideouts joining a new team via trade actually often work out for fantasy purposes. Stefon Diggs, A.J. Brown and George Pickens can all attest to this. So consider me interested in Waddle, who, after spending most of his career as the WR2 behind Tyreek Hill, finally gets his time to shine. We did see a dress rehearsal of Waddle as the WR1 last season, too.

The move to Denver will be great for him.

Last year, the Dolphins ranked 32nd in plays per minute (1.9), 31st in plays per game (55.6) and 24th in dropback rate over expected (-3%). Waddle now joins a Denver offense that ranked third in dropback rate over expected (4%), and he should see far more designed targets in Sean Payton/Davis Webb’s offense. During his time in Miami, Waddle was mostly used on post routes, while the motion/screen/designed looks went to Hill. Over the past two seasons, Waddle has seen a total of 10 screen targets. Expect that to change immediately, as Waddle is now playing in a Broncos offense that averaged 4.5 screen attempts per game, good for the third most in football.

Jaylen Waddle over the last two seasons:

-13 targets from motion (72nd)
-10 WR screen targets (43rd)

Tyreek Hill saw ALL of the schemed looks in Miami.

Now in Denver, it’s Waddle’s turn.

Since 2024, the Broncos rank 2nd in football in screen passes.

Love Waddle this year. pic.twitter.com/f9CtdIWvgF
— Adam Pfeifer (@APfeifer24) June 12, 2026

23) Ladd McConkey | LAC

Following an exciting rookie campaign, Ladd McConkey took a step back in Year 2. He failed to even reach 800 receiving yards, while finishing outside the top-30 fantasy wideouts. The efficiency fell off a cliff, a lot of which can be explained by the absence of both of Los Angeles’ starting tackles, Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater.

Between the return of both tackles and the addition of offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, I’m excited to see what this Chargers offense can do. An uptick in motion is to be expected, as the Dolphins utilized shift-motion a league-leading 68% of the time under McDaniel last year. The Chargers, meanwhile, were down at 50%. That uptick will help McConkey see plenty of schemed, designed and uncontested layup looks. He’s one of the top bounceback receiver candidates in drafts, and a return to his rookie form is very, very possible.

24) Mike Evans | SF

Last season, Christian McCaffrey accounted for a whopping 31.7% of the 49ers' targets from inside the 10-yard line. That was the 10th-highest rate in the NFL. A running back, y’all. So, yeah, it’s safe to say Mike Evans is going to fill a key role in the San Francisco passing attack. Since 2020, Evans’ 82 end zone targets are the fourth-most in the league. Health is seemingly the only thing that can slow Evans down, even at this age. The veteran has dealt with soft-tissue injuries over the past few seasons, sidelining him for multiple games. If he can stay on the field, I see one more huge season left for Evans, especially if the 49ers are missing George Kittle to open the season.

Players Mentioned in this Article

TetairoaMcMillanQ
WRCAR
PPG
10.4
Proj
185.5
GarrettWilson
WRNYJ
PPG
11.4
Proj
181.0
TeeHiggins
WRCIN
PPG
12.0
Proj
188.6
MalikNabersQ
WRNYG
PPG
12.0
Proj
190.6

Published Jun 21, 2026, 6:45 AM ET