7 Wide Receivers I Want In Every Fantasy Football Draft
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.
15 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 18, 2026
Published
Tue, August 18, 2026
13
Player insights
13
Players mentioned
Topics
Antonio WilliamsBrian Thomas Jr.DK MetcalfJerry JeudyJosh DownsKeenan AllenLuther BurdenMalik NabersMatthew GoldenMichael PittmanParker WashingtonRome OdunzeXavier Worthy
Player analysis
Player insights
Antonio Williams
NegativeBust24:01
Malik Neighbors questions the ceiling of Antonio Williams, preferring Jeremy Bernard over him in draft scenarios.
Insight pageBrian Thomas Jr.
NegativeRole5:41
Brian Thomas Jr. is projected to be the team's primary deep threat, typecast into a 'sacrificial X outside wide receiver' role. He is expected to lead the team in average depth of target while running clear-out routes rather than inside crossers.
Insight pageDK Metcalf
NegativeBust23:26
DK Metcalf is viewed as a poor stylistic fit for Aaron Rodgers' current playing style, creating an opportunity for Jeremy Bernard to earn targets over him.
Insight pageJerry Jeudy
NegativeBust23:55
Malik Neighbors questions the ceiling of Jerry Jeudy, preferring Jeremy Bernard over him in draft scenarios.
Insight pageJosh Downs
PositiveValue11:56
Josh Downs is expected to lead the Colts in targets and remains a strong value target in the 7th or 8th round. Despite previous injury issues and poor quarterback play, he is expected to move into the slot in 11 personnel while Keenan Allen plays outside. He may run a more diverse route tree to help the offense combat heavy defensive boxes, though target competition exists with Allen and Tyler Warren due to overlapping average depths of target.
Insight pageKeenan Allen
NegativeUsage12:03
Following his signing with the Colts, Keenan Allen is expected to play primarily on the outside in 11 personnel, consistent with his 62% outside snap rate last year. His presence creates target competition with Josh Downs and Tyler Warren due to their overlapping average depths of target.
Insight pageLuther Burden
PositiveBreakout3:56
Luther Burden is a high-upside target with elite efficiency, tied with Justin Jefferson for the best rookie yards per route run of all time. With DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus gone, Burden is positioned for a full-time role. Despite a minor groin injury, the team is not concerned. Burden showed versatility in his sophomore season, including nine rushes for 120 yards and a touchdown, and a standout Week 17 performance against San Francisco. Mattek projects Burden to significantly out-target Rome Odunze (140 vs. 100-105 targets).
Insight pageMalik Nabers
PositiveValue0:27
Malik Nabers is underpriced in current drafts, making him a strong target in the second round (picks 15-17). Despite concerns regarding coaching and quarterback play, Nabers' 2024 performance—where he led the NFL in targets per game and finished as the WR7—supports his elite upside. With Wan'Dale Robinson gone and Isaiah Likely not expected to encroach on his role, Nabers has a path to a 30% target share.
Insight pageMatthew Golden
PositiveBreakout19:03
Matthew Golden is a high-priority breakout candidate following significant Packers depth chart changes, including the departures of Dontayvion Wicks and Romeo Doubs. Despite health concerns for Christian Watson, Luke Musgrave, and Tucker Kraft, Golden is expected to be a primary target. He was a first-round pick one year ago and missed out on two potential 90-yard touchdowns due to early-season overthrows by Jordan Love.
Insight pageMichael Pittman
PositiveBust23:22
Michael Pittman Jr. is coming off a down efficiency year and is changing teams, making him a player Jeremy Bernard could potentially surpass in target share.
Insight pageParker Washington
PositiveUsage4:40
Despite career averages under 10 fantasy points per game and 1.5 yards per route run, Parker Washington is a target because the offensive structure of Liam Cohen's scheme heavily favors the slot receiver position. The market price has not caught up to the team's intended usage, as the slot receiver in this offense historically averages over 14 fantasy points per game and is the most targeted position.
Insight pageRome Odunze
NegativeUsage5:45
Rome Odunze is expected to be out-targeted by teammate Luther Burden, with projections of 100-105 targets for Odunze compared to 140 for Burden in the upcoming season.
Insight pageXavier Worthy
PositiveValue15:29
Xavier Worthy is an underrated, math-based draft value. Despite concerns about his size, he played through a torn labrum last season and now benefits from playing with Patrick Mahomes in a high-pass-rate offense. He has a projected floor of 90 targets with upside for 115-120. He is a preferred target who consistently goes in the same range as Matthew Golden and Josh Downs.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Fantasy football draft season is quickly
0:02approaching and I have seven wide
0:04receivers that I am targeting every
0:05single time I enter into a fantasy
0:07football draft room. We are going to go
0:09from most expensive to least expensive.
0:11And I think one of these names is going
0:12to be a massive surprise to you guys.
0:14But we are going to begin not with the
0:16top tier because let's be honest, you
0:17were not able to get those guys in every
0:19draft. We're also going to skip this
0:20next tier. These are all the receivers
0:22that go in the first round. These guys
0:23are all going to be available in every
0:25single draft that you guys do. And we
0:27are actually going to begin with Malik
0:28Neighbors who I think is just frankly
0:30underpriced in fantasy football drafts.
0:32Right now he did not have a great year
0:34last year in only four games. Though he
0:36did have actually a completely absurd
0:38game in week two against Dallas before
0:39he injured his knee. Sounds like based
0:41on all the reporting that he actually is
0:43going to be back and is going to play in
0:45week one for the Giants. Jordan Renan,
0:47the New York Giants beat reporter said
0:48that is the most likely case. We need to
0:50remember that Malik Neighbors led the
0:53National Football League in targets per
0:55game as a rookie in 2024. He did that
0:58with massive spike weeks against the
0:59Browns who had a great defense. Then he
1:01had a huge spike week against the
1:03Baltimore Ravens and in the fantasy
1:04football championship in 2024. Scored
1:0736.1 points per game. I think that Malik
1:10Neighbors is going to very clearly be in
1:13that tier of Jefferson, Lamb, St. Brown,
1:16maybe even Puka, maybe even Chase wide
1:17receivers when we go into our drafts
1:19next year. People are afraid about Dart.
1:21People are afraid about the new coaching
1:23staff. And I actually think those
1:24concerns are fairly legitimate. I do not
1:27think Harbaugh is a great coach. I do
1:29not think Greg Roman is a great play
1:30caller. I certainly do not think Matt
1:32Negi should be anywhere near Malik
1:34Neighbors. But even if Malik Neighbors
1:36turns in something close to what he did
1:38when he finished as the overall wide
1:40receiver seven in 2024, I think he is a
1:43huge jam. Obviously, the fact that he
1:46finishes the wide receiver 7 with 18
1:48points per game would be a huge win
1:50where he's going now. And I actually
1:51think he can increase that. Wandale
1:53Robinson is gone, which sounds kind of
1:55silly, but Wandale is a guy who has over
1:58a 20% target share in his NFL career.
2:01Isaiah likely is not going to encroach
2:03on that. Malik Neighbors is going to be
2:05the clear far and away. He actually
2:07might be the only guy in the entire NFL
2:10with a 30% target share. And the fact
2:11that I can get him in the second round
2:13of drafts, you know, kind of after
2:14Derrick Henry, after Deon Achan are off
2:17the board, makes me think that starting
2:19with any running back that you like and
2:21then taking Malik Neighbors in round
2:22two, even if you are taking him at 15,
2:2416, 17, I think these are all
2:26justifiable. I really like taking Malik
2:29Neighbors, but that's the only one that
2:30is actually expensive. We are going to
2:32skip the C tier and we are going to move
2:34down to the D tier of drafts and we are
2:36going to add in my guy Luther Burden. My
2:39friends over at the Fantasy Stock
2:40Exchange had him as a very very strong
2:43prospect. Of course, we all know the
2:44stats about Luther Burden. He is tied
2:47with Justin Jefferson for the best
2:49rookie season in terms of yards per
2:50route run of all time. Like we we just
2:52know that beyond a shadow of a doubt. He
2:54is a very efficient per route player.
2:56The question was going to be, well, is
2:58Luther Burton going to step up as a
3:00full-time player in 2026 the way he was
3:03at the end of 2025? And I think that the
3:06personnel moves from the team clearly
3:08show that the answer is yes. They let DJ
3:10Moore go. They let me Zakius, who was
3:12actually playing over Luther Burton at
3:14the beginning of the 2025 season, go.
3:16Ben Johnson has said, "I am buying his
3:18stock." Now, he actually has gotten a
3:20little bit cheaper in drafts because as
3:22of this recording right now, he is
3:24suffering from a groin injury. has not
3:25returned to practice. The reporting is
3:27that the team is not that concerned
3:29about it, that we do expect Luther
3:30Burton to be back for week one for the
3:33Chicago Bears. If I'm wrong about that,
3:36well, I'm going to be wrong about a lot
3:37of things in 2026, but based on my read
3:40of the situation, we are going to get
3:41Luther Burton back in. My bet is that he
3:45crazy out targets Roman Dunes. I would
3:47not be surprised for Luther Burton to
3:49see 140 targets and only 100 to 105 for
3:53Roma Dunes this season. If you made me
3:54choose between Burden and a Dunes, I'm
3:57definitely going Burden. If you made me
3:58choose between Burden and Loveland,
4:00maybe controversially, I am actually
4:02still going Luther Burton. I think that
4:04his prospect profile is underrated
4:06because the Missouri team that he played
4:07on his final season went so sideways.
4:10I've heard this quoted that he got
4:11outproduced by Theoise, which is not
4:13actually true when you look at the
4:15perame production. And then you add in
4:17that Luther Burton also had nine rushes
4:19for 120 yards and a touchdown. And
4:21Theoise, I mean, he look he did make the
4:23Dolphins roster. I think he's a kind of
4:24a decent player, but the sophomore
4:26season for Burden is what is doing all
4:28of the weight. And then of course the
4:29week 17 game against the San Francisco
4:3249ers as well. I absolutely love
4:34drafting Luther Burton, and I'm going to
4:36continue to hammer him in drafts. Now,
4:38my next guy, I think this is going to
4:40surprise a lot of you who've been
4:41watching the channel, but I I have to
4:43admit that I was wrong about a player,
4:45and that player is going to be Parker
4:48Washington, who in his career has
4:50averaged less than 10 fantasy points per
4:52game. He has averaged under 1.5 yards
4:54per route run for all the routes he's
4:56ran on his career. The entirety of the
4:58Parker Washington thing are these games
5:00right here. 18 fantasy points against
5:02Arizona, 26 points against Denver, 19
5:05points against Indianapolis, 18 points
5:06against Tennessee. Was also their
5:08leading receiver in their playoff game
5:10as well. Now, I've heard it all before.
5:13Some people think he's Russell Gage.
5:15Some people think he's Gabe Davis. Some
5:17people think he is Jaguar Smith and
5:19Jigba. Some people think he's Alman Ross
5:20St. Brown. My truth tends to lie
5:22somewhere in the middle. But I'll tell
5:24you guys why I've changed my mind. They
5:26switched Travis Hunter's position
5:27because basically Travis Hunter's wide
5:29receiver position is the position that
5:31Parker Washington plays inside of Liam
5:33Cohen's offense. Turns out that's going
5:35to be wrong. Travis Hunter when he has
5:37been on offense has only been playing on
5:39the outside. He does not play the same
5:40position as Jacobe Meyers. And Brian
5:42Thomas Jr. has been typ cast into this
5:45sacrificial X outside wide receiver.
5:47Never going to come inside. Not going to
5:48be running crossers. He is going to be
5:50running these clear out routes. Brian
5:52Thomas Jr. is going to lead the team in
5:53average depth of target. My friend Scott
5:55Barrett has done some research on this,
5:57but basically extending back to Liam
5:59Cohen's time in college, the slot
6:01receiver in the Liam Cohen offense
6:03averages over 14 fantasy points per game
6:06and it is the most targeted position
6:08inside of the Liam Cohen offense. And
6:10that is the position that Parker
6:11Washington plays. So even if I don't
6:13think Parker Washington is that good and
6:15I basically think he's okay. I mean, at
6:17the end of the day, I'm targeting him
6:19because I think that the price has not
6:21caught up with what the team has told us
6:23we are going to do. And as someone who's
6:24played fantasy football for a long time,
6:26something that I do like relatively
6:28deeply believe is that coaches can kind
6:31of be the dictators of fantasy points
6:32when things are close. And my belief is
6:35that Parker Washington, Brian Thomas
6:36Jr., and Jacobe Meyers, and Brentton
6:38Strange are all kind of roughly equal in
6:41terms of earning targets. But the way
6:43that the offense is structured is going
6:45to direct more targets than he is
6:48necessarily earning to Parker Washington
6:51just because of the way that the offense
6:52works. So Malik Neighbors, Luther
6:54Burden, and Washington. Now we are going
6:56to get to a more controversial part of
6:58the draft where people are going to
6:59start to have very different opinions
7:01about who should go where. These guys
7:04right here, your Metcaps, your Pearsons,
7:05your Tyson's. Well, Tyson is actually in
7:07our next site update over on Flock
7:09Fantasy, which you guys can sign up
7:10using code Davis. The season pass is
7:12only $34. Tyson and Pierce are actually
7:14going to be a lot lower. But we are
7:16actually going to bring up Alec Pierce's
7:18teammate Josh DS. Again, potentially a
7:21controversial one because as of last
7:23night, Keenan Allen signed with the
7:26Indianapolis Colts. And I think the
7:28conversation has generally been, well,
7:29Keenan Allen is going to snatch Josh D's
7:32chain the same way he did for Lad
7:33Mankey. But that is not necessarily
7:35true. The first thing is Keenan Allen
7:37played 62% of his snaps on the outside
7:40last year for the Chargers. So my
7:42projection for the Indianapolis Colts
7:43offense is that in 12 personnel, it is
7:46going to be Alec Pierce and Josh DS are
7:48the two wide receivers on the field.
7:49Then when they switch into 11 personnel,
7:52it's actually going to be DS that moves
7:54into the slot and Keenan Allen moves
7:56outside. The issue in this offense, and
7:58I think it's a reason that Josh DS is
8:00going to end up not being that
8:01expensive. I think he will be a seventh
8:03or eighth round pick in most of your
8:05fantasy football drafts, is that Tyler
8:07Warren, Josh DS, and Keenan Allen are
8:10all going to be having very similar
8:12average depth of targets. They're all
8:13going to be running, you know, these
8:14five yard slant routes, these screens,
8:16these crossers. One thing I'm actually
8:19pretty excited to see for DS would be
8:22what happens if we actually do increase
8:24his average depth of target because his
8:26yards per target has been 6.4, 7.5, and
8:297.9. He did average 13.1 fantasy points
8:32per game in 2024. And frankly, he is not
8:35as bad as we remember from last season.
8:38He was a little bit banged up and then
8:40he was also playing in those games with
8:42Philip Rivers. you know, Philip Rivers,
8:44God love him, but he's not even at the
8:45level that Joe Flacco was when he was
8:47playing in 2024. My estimation is that
8:50it is Josh Downs that leads the
8:52Indianapolis Colts in targets. I also
8:54think the team is not going to be as
8:56successful running the ball this season
8:57as they were in 2025 because the threat
9:00of the Daniel Jones running stuff did
9:02create some lighter boxes for Jonathan
9:04Taylor. And I think one of the ways they
9:06are actually going to choose to combat
9:08some of the heavier boxes they are
9:09seeing would be to have Josh DS run a
9:12slightly different route tree than he
9:14has in the first three years of his NFL
9:16career. I will be heavily targeting Josh
9:18DS despite the presence of Keenan Allen.
9:21I still think he is a very strong value.
9:23Next up we are going to move to two
9:25graduates of the University of Texas
9:28Austin. We are going to begin with
9:29Xavier Worthy. Now, stop if you've heard
9:31me this one before, but Xavier Worthy
9:33is, I think, being very underrated by
9:35the market because he played last season
9:38with a torn labroom. Do I think that
9:40Xavier Worthy is a great NFL receiver?
9:42No, I don't. I think the preponderance
9:43of evidence would suggest that any great
9:46season he has in fantasy is going to be
9:48because Patrick Mahomes is great and
9:50because Andy Reid is a great play
9:51caller. But now, Xavier Worthy is so
9:54cheap in drafts compared to where he was
9:55in year 1 and year two that he has
9:57become a math-based play. If you just
10:00look at the Kansas City Chiefs offense,
10:01an offense that has been top one or top
10:04two in the NFL in pass rate over
10:06expectation every single year of Patrick
10:08Mahomes's career, you have about between
10:11580 and 620 pass attempts. Even if you
10:15give Rashi Rice and Travis Kelce insane
10:18target shares, you were still going to
10:19have quite a bit of meat on the bone for
10:22Xavier Worthy. You're talking like a
10:24minimum a minimum of about 90 targets
10:27with I think upside to like 115 or 120
10:30if you just kind of scale things based
10:32on what a wide receiver two in that
10:34offense would look like. I think that
10:35worthy is kind of an efficient way to
10:37actually bet on Kenneth Walker improving
10:39the Kansas City Chiefs offense.
10:41Something the Chiefs coaching staff has
10:42talked about quite a bit is having
10:44Kenneth Walker be a replacement for what
10:46was Rashi Rice's role in the game. So
10:48Rashi Rice and his short area targets,
10:51the screens, that was kind of a
10:52replacement for their very poor run game
10:54that the Chiefs had. Theoretically, the
10:56run game is going to be much better with
10:58Kenneth Walker, the offensive line,
11:00ranked as a top 10 unit by pretty much
11:02every grading service out there. And so
11:04all we are asking for for Xavier Worthy,
11:06who finished as the wide receiver 43 his
11:08rookie season, is can you simply stay
11:11healthy for 17 games? And maybe he
11:13can't. Ultimately, at the end of the
11:14day, Xavier Worthy might be too small.
11:16He really might. it truly he might be
11:18too small, but this is a first round
11:21wide receiver who played injured for all
11:23of last season who plays with the
11:25greatest quarterback in the NFL and
11:27probably the greatest play one of the
11:28five best play callers in the NFL. I'm
11:30not going to I'm not going to put him on
11:32the Shanahan level or the McVey level,
11:34but I think Andy Reid is awesome at his
11:37job. We're going to transition from
11:38Xavier Worthy to his UT uh fellow
11:41alumnist and that is going to be Matthew
11:43Golden who frankly was not very good
11:46last season, right? Uh only topped 10
11:48PPR points three times, four times if
11:51you include the postseason. His best
11:52career game was actually that playoff
11:54game against the Bears. But the
11:56decision-making for the Green Bay
11:57Packers is why I have landed here. They
11:59let Dantavian Wixs go. They let Romeo
12:02Dubs go. They don't bring in a second
12:04tight end with Luke Musgrave dealing
12:06with a neck and back injury. Tucker
12:08Craft is not going to be fully healthy
12:09to start the year. Yet, they really only
12:11have three receivers that they can count
12:13on, which is Golden, it is Jaden Reed,
12:16and it is Christian Watson. We've also
12:18seen Christian Watson kind of struggle
12:19with his health. Everyone involved in
12:21the Packers organization has said, "Hey,
12:23man, it's going to be Matthew Golden's
12:25year." I actually remember at uh they
12:27had an event at the Green Bay Stadium
12:28and they brought in Jordy Nelson, they
12:30brought in James Jones, they brought in
12:32Donald Driver and all of the formers
12:33Packers wide receivers when asked about
12:35the wide receiver room, they all said
12:37they were very excited for Matthew
12:39Golden. You know, I'm not the first one
12:40to make this point, but Jordan Love did
12:42overthrow Matthew Golden on what would
12:44have been two separate 90 yard
12:46touchdowns in the first three games of
12:48the season in 2025. Obviously, if he
12:51catches those, things go in a very
12:53different direction. We are thinking
12:54about Matthew Golden in a much different
12:56level, but the price is just so cheap
12:58for a guy who was a first round pick
13:00just one year ago and has had the runway
13:03cleared in front of him. I absolutely
13:05love taking Matthew Golden. And frankly,
13:07pretty much every draft I do, I get at
13:10least one of worthy Golden or Josh DS
13:13who all kind of go in the same range.
13:15There were a number of guys I thought
13:17about taking as the absolute last
13:19receiver here. You know, I do think that
13:21guys like Tank Dell are very
13:22interesting. I actually think Zachariah
13:24Branch is a really interesting name as
13:25well. Jacobe Lane or Cyrus Allen would
13:28be kind of more trendy sleeper names,
13:31but I'm actually going to go with one I
13:33don't think you guys would expect from
13:34me, and that is going to be Jeremy
13:36Bernard, who comes in as a relatively
13:38high RAS guy who was not counted on as
13:41an everyown wide receiver because he
13:43played for a team that strengths were
13:45running the ball and on defense, but he
13:47was drafted, I think, higher than a lot
13:49of people think. He was the 49th overall
13:51pick. And if you look at the competition
13:53ahead of him, I I've been very guilty of
13:54this, not seeing a week one role for
13:57Jeremy Bernard because he's likely going
13:58to be behind Friouth as the third pass
14:00catcher. But the guys that he has to
14:02surmount are Michael Pitman Jr. coming
14:04off of a down efficiency year changing
14:06teams. DK Metaf who is just not a great
14:10stylistic fit for what Aaron Rogers
14:12wants to do at this stage of his career.
14:14And then Fri Mouth in Washington. He
14:16basically has to get on the field over
14:18one of those players and then earn more
14:20targets than two of those players. And
14:22just generally speaking, guys who were
14:24drafted this high in the actual NFL
14:26draft are not the sort of guys that we
14:29are used to seeing as you know basically
14:31undrafted in a lot of leagues. And so I
14:34look at some of the other names that are
14:35going ahead of him. I look at guys like
14:36Jerry Judy like what's the ceiling on
14:39Judy? What is the ceiling on Florenoi?
14:41What's the ceiling on Antonio Williams?
14:42What's the ceiling on Trey? I mean,
14:43Jaylen Jaylen Naylor versus Jeremy
14:46Bernard. To me, that's not close. Give
14:47me Jeremy Bernard every single time in
14:50that scenario. So, we had seven wide
14:52receivers who I target in every single
14:53draft. Malik Neighbors, Luther Burton,
14:56Parker Washington, Xavier Worthy,
14:58Matthew Golden, Jeremy Bernard, and Josh
15:00DS. If you want more of my rankings and
15:03more of my content, you can get that
15:05over on flockfantasy.com.
15:07You can subscribe using code Davis. Link
15:09to that is in the description and down
15:10in the comments. the season pass only
15:12$34. It's going to get you rankings and
15:15everything that you need to draft a
15:16winning fantasy football team. And I
15:18will see you guys back tomorrow.
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