While we may be in a bit of a dead zone for real life football, that is not the case for dynasty fantasy football. With the NFL Draft over, leagues are starting to do their rookie drafts and the trade scene is coming alive, but on top of that, a lot of new dynasty leagues are forming.
For those of you not familiar with dynasty leagues, instead of redrafting every year, you draft your team in year one, and after that, the only way to add players is through the annual rookie draft, waivers and through trades. You get to keep the same team year after year, so the start up draft is key.
Dynasty rankings are a bit different than redraft rankings. Instead of just looking at how a player will perform in 2026, you also need to look at their long-term value. Today, I’ve created a tier list ranking the top-30ish receivers for in dynasty, so you know who to target in your start up draft.
Tier 1
This first tier is pretty simple. Right now, there are four young receivers that are clearly above the rest.
As of today, Ja’Marr Chase is my No. 1 receiver in dynasty. I know Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba had better seasons last year, but Chase has the best long-term quarterback option. Joe Burrow is going to be playing for a long time, and there’s no signs he’s going to leave Cincy any time soon.
If I had to pick my No. 2 option, it would be Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He had an incredible year in 2025 with Sam Darnold, but even if Darnold doesn’t stick around forever, his game is very quarterback-proof. I also have Puka right there next to him, but Matthew Stafford isn’t getting any younger, and I don’t really believe in Ty Simpson, so I think I have to put him one spot below JSN.
And rounding out this tier is Justin Jefferson. He’s probably the most talented receiver in the NFL, but right now, he just doesn’t have the quarterback play the other three have. J.J. McCarthy isn’t the future, and while Kyler Murray could be fun, he’s not a long-term fix.
Tier 2
Tier 2 is my shortest tier, but it’s because I think these are the only three receivers that even have a chance of being in the same realm as the four above them.
Starting with Malik Nabers, the former LSU Tiger had a terrific rookie season, catching 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns, but he tore his ACL last year and missed almost the entire season. He may not be 100 percent to start the year, but we’re playing the long game in dynasty, and he seems to have a pretty solid long-term solution at quarterback with Jaxson Dart. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a tier 1 guy in a couple of years.
CeeDee Lamb also falls into this tier. When he’s play his best football, he’s a tier 1 guy, but now that George Pickens is in the mix, it’s hard to see him getting that top-end production like the tier 1 guys. Pickens could very well be out in Dallas after this season, though, so that could open the door for more opportunities.
Finally, Amon-Ra St. Brown falls into this tier. All this dude does is put up 110+ catches, 1,200+ yards and 10+ touchdowns every single year. He’s also only 26 years old and plays in one of the best offenses in the league. It’s a mystery to me why he always falls a bit in fantasy drafts.
Tier 3
Kicking off tier 3 is Nico Collins. He’s the one of the only guy in this tier that I think has the talent to be a tier 2 or even a tier 1 player, but he’s held back by his quarterback situation right now. C.J. Stroud is not the guy in Houston, so as long as he’s Collins’ QB, his ceiling in fantasy will be capped.
Rashee Rice is probably the only other one in this tier that I believe could ascend to tier 1 status one day, but his legal trouble is very concerning. When Rice is one the field, he’s a top-10 fantasy receiver pretty much every week, but he needs to clean it up off the field, or else his fantasy value will fall off the face of the Earth.
George Pickens also falls into this tier, but I am a bit more concerned about him than the two above him. Was his success last year a product of Lamb’s injury and playing in one of the best offenses in football? What if Lamb is fully healthy this year? What if Dallas doesn’t pay him and he takes a big contract on a bad offense? There’s a lot of question marks about his future that scare me a bit, but he’s still a great player.
Chris Olave has ascended into being arguably a top-10 receiver in the league. He actually has a quarterback now in Tyler Shough, and the two built a very strong rapport last year. If Olave can stay healthy and Shough doesn’t take a step back, Olave’s ceiling is incredibly high.
Finally, we have Drake London. He’s been on the verge of becoming a top-10 receiver for a while now, but he hasn’t always had the greatest quarterback play, and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change this year. I don’t think we’ll see London’s full potential until he gets a good quarterback, and that may be a while.
Tier 4
This is the rookie tier. Do I think Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson and Makai Lemon are already top-15 fantasy receivers? No, but in dynasty, they’re going to be very valuable.
Tate enters a Tennessee offense that doesn’t have a whole lot of weapons. Outside of Wan’Dale Robinson, who works primarily in the slot, there isn’t anyone who is going to take targets away from Tate. So as long as Cam Ward doesn’t take a step back in year two, Tate should be a very viable fantasy option early in his career.
Tyson is the most talented receiver in this draft class, in my opinion, but he steps into a Saints wide receiver room that already has Chris Olave. The two play very different games, so I don’t think it will be a massive issue, but that’s what’s holding my back from putting him any higher.
Then there’s Lemon, who I think is a step below the other two. He’s a fantastic receiver, but he enters an offense that already has DeVonta Smith, and his quarterback situation is significantly worse than Tate or Tyson’s. He’s still a very good option for dynasty leagues, though, especially if A.J. Brown is actually traded.
Tier 5
Tier 5 is reserved for players who are the top wideouts on their team, but they have competition or subpar quarterback play that could hold back their fantasy production.
Garrett Wilson is probably the most talented receiver in this tier, but he plays for the New York Jets and has Geno Smith throwing him the football. Plus, now he has to battle with Omar Cooper Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq for targets. He’ll still be the top guy, but those two will chip away at his target count.
With A.J. Brown likely leaving, DeVonta Smith’s fantasy situation just got way better. He’s going to be the clear WR1 in Philadelphia this season, but I do think Makai Lemon has Amon-Ra St. Brown-type upside. Even if Lemon becomes St. Brown, Smith plays on the outside and can still be a very dominant receiver in fantasy.
I also have two second-year receivers in this tier: Emeka Egbuka and Tetairoa McMillan. Egbuka is incredibly talented, but his play did fall off towards the middle and end of last season. Was his early success a fluke? Or did Baker Mayfield’s injury play a big role in his drop off? As for McMillan, he had a great rookie year, but I don’t know if Bryce Young is the future of the franchise, and if he’s not, who is? There are definitely some quarterback concerns in Carolina.
Tier 6
Tier 6 is by far my biggest tier, and it consists of a bunch of different types of players, so let’s start with the extremely talented, young players that people are writing off too quickly.
I always thought Marvin Harrison Jr. was overrated coming out of college, but fans are already calling him a bust despite having 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns in his first two seasons while only playing 12 games last year. No, he’s not a future Hall of Famer like his father, but he’s a really solid wideout for Arizona. And who knows, if he gets good quarterback play, maybe he can be elite.
Brian Thomas Jr. is another guy that people are writing off way too early. After an incredible rookie season, Thomas’ production fell off last year, but he battled through multiple injuries, including a high ankle sprain. I know he has a ton of competition in that receiver room now, but he’s the most talented receiver on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ roster.
We just talked about Marvin Harrison Jr., so now we have to talk about his teammate, Michael Wilson. The third-year receiver outperformed Harrison at the end of last year and had some massive games, but it’ll be interesting to see how the two stack up with both of them fully healthy and a new play caller. Right now, they’re right next to each other in dynasty rankings.
Now lets get to some young wideouts whose ceiling just isn’t as high as the others. Starting with Ladd McConkey, I think his floor is higher than Harrison’s or Thomas’, but I don’t see him ever being a perennial Pro Bowler, and I think those other two could be one day.
Rome Odunze is anther one that falls into that category. I hate to say it, because I have a lot of dynasty stock in Odunze, but he hasn’t proven he can be an elite weapon in the NFL. He can be a very good receiver, but he’ll never be a dominant No. 1 like the guys in tier 4 and up.
Zay Flowers also falls into this tier. He’s been the No. 1 in Baltimore for a few years now, and he’s always going to get you 60-90 yards a game and catch a handful of touchdowns each season, but he’s not much of a big game threat. If you can get him as your WR2 and even WR3 in fantasy, he’s well worth it, but he’s not a WR1.
Last, but certainly not least, is Tee Higgins. He’s probably more talented than anyone else in this tier, but he has to compete with my No. 1 dynasty receiver for catches every game. He’ll have a few big games a year where he catches multiple touchdowns, but his floor is also very low each week.
Tier 7
In our final tier, we have three young receivers who have a lot of upside, but you might not see immediate returns on your investment.
Let’s start with Cleveland’s two rookie receivers, KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston. The second they step onto the practice field, they will be Cleveland’s WR1 and WR2. The only problem is, they don’t have a quarterback. It’s either going to be Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders starting under center, and I don’t trust either of them.
The other young buck in this tier is Luther Burden III. For a while, he was thought be the WR1 in last year’s draft class, but he slid into the second round and had a strong rookie season. With D.J. Moore gone, his production should ramp up, but Rome Odunze seems to be the clear WR1 in Chicago. Burden could surpass him in a year or two, but in 2026, it will be the Odunze show.
