Our fantasy football roundtable series moves on to the wide receiver position. In case you missed our Q&A on quarterbacks and running backs, we have enlisted a standout crew of contributors to The Athletic fantasy football, including Jake Ciely, Andy Behrens, Dalton Del Don, Brad Evans, Michael Salfino, Jess Bryant and Brandon Funston.Who deserves to be the first WR off the draft board? How will Justin Jefferson fare with Kyler Murray, and which late-round WR has the best chance to help fantasy teams? Read on for our answers to these questions, and stay tuned in later this week for our tight end roundtable!Note: All Average Draft Position (ADP) references below are from Fantasy Pros’ real-time ADP.Ja’Marr Chase or Puka Nacua? And what is the biggest deciding factor in who you are taking?Leading the NFL in targets each of the past two years is part of a strong case for Ja’Marr Chase being the top-drafted fantasy WR in 2026. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)Ciely: Superman or Batman? Might as well start that debate while we’re at it, but I’ll take Batman/Nacua. Chase actually only has one season reaching 17+ FPPG (20.0) even with everyone healthy. Sure, that might sound nitpicky, but Nacua hit 19.4 last year while dealing with Davante Adams inhaling touchdowns at Kirby vacuum levels. If you want to take Chase, though, I’m not going to argue much.Behrens: Chase is not currently injured, nor does he have suspension risk hanging over his season. He’s also led the NFL in targets in each of the past two years. If we get a full season from Joe Burrow, Chase can make a run at 2K yards and another receiving triple crown.Del Don: Chase is the call for me, mainly because of Nacua’s escalated injury risk. Nacua is obviously a fantasy monster who would surprise no one if he finished as the No. 1 overall player in PPR leagues, but Chase is ostensibly safer with an equally high ceiling. Chase owns the most targets and fantasy points scored over the first five years of a wide receiver’s career in NFL history.Evans: Chase… and the gap has widened. Puka’s possible suspension combined with his tender groin pushes Chase firmly ahead. Cincinnati’s defense should be much improved and its offensive line remains a turnstile, but the targets king from 2025 (185) should again flash the YAC and tally an obscene PPR line. Cincy’s fifth-easiest projected WR fantasy strength of schedule only cements the case.Salfino: Touchdowns. Chase has averaged one every 9.6 catches and Nacua one every 22.7 catches. Nacua averages 7.1 catches per game versus one every 6.7 for Chase — not a significant difference. It’s no contest — Chase wins.Bryant: I like Chase, who ran over 10 routes per game more than Nacua last year, had a higher team target rate (30.4%) and more red-zone, end-zone and overall targets per game. He also drew more yards on defensive pass interference (DPI) and achieved nearly as many first downs per game with fewer on-target passes. Plus, I trust his connection with Joe Burrow and backup Joe Flacco.Funston: Nacua. I’m going with the player I most fear going against in fantasy. He was the No. 1 WR in PPR scoring last season despite missing a game, so he can weather being suspended a game in 2026. He was also almost 4 PPR PPG better than Chase last season, and leads Chase in PPR PPG over the past three seasons by the thinnest of margins. And don’t bother using Matthew Stafford’s age and injury concern against Nacua. The Rams have done a great job of managing him and keeping him out of harm’s way. Stafford has played 48 games the past three seasons, 13 more than Joe Burrow (35).Which top-15 WR in ADP would you be most unlikely to draft given the price?Ciely: After watching Tua Tagovailoa make the Falcons long for washed-up Kirk Cousins to return, I have major concerns about Drake London as a top-10 wide receiver. It’s not doubting London or being worried about Tagovailoa’s passes going two yards at a time; it’s that London’s 30-40% target share might not exist if Tagovailoa starts even half the season.Behrens: Malik Nabers is an easy pass for me at his price. I’m looking for a level of certainty in his draft range, which means I’m not seeking out pre-injured players. Also, I’m not totally convinced Jaxson Dart is the sort of passer who can deliver a WR1.Del Don: I prefer starting drafts with running backs at the end of the first round this season, which has resulted in reluctantly passing on Justin Jefferson. I expect a nice bounce-back campaign in 2026, but Kyler Murray presents limitations to his pass catchers. Jefferson is rightfully getting ADP respect after he was fantasy’s WR49 over the final nine games last season, but he’s going a few picks too early.Evans: Rashee Rice. Throwing a stiff arm on Patrick Mahomes’ presumed flavor of choice is hardly tasteless. Rice is coming off a major knee injury, and KC is likely to become a more run-heavy offense. Setbacks plagued the past two years, as Rice has only suited up in 12 total regular season games. Despite his terrific after-catch abilities, it’s difficult to justify taking him at his top-35 overall ADP. Piling on, the Chiefs have the third-most difficult projected fantasy schedule for WRs. Don’t snap tendons reaching for his services.Salfino: Nabers and Rashee Rice are top-15 picks? That’s insane. Both of these guys are hobbled. Rice wasn’t actually good to start with — it was all usage. Nabers is a great talent but data says 30% decline in production the first year back from an ACL for a WR. Always bet the base rate.Bryant: I’m avoiding Nabers due to an uncertain return-from-injury timeline, but let me make a case DeVonta Smith. He has a solid floor, but his ceiling might be a little capped. Maybe the Eagles are a lot different with OC Sean Mannion, but I doubt they’ll suddenly play with a ton of tempo, and Smith has never been targeted much in the red zone or end zone. Plus, Makai Lemon could end up as the 1A (or at least 1B) by end of season, Dontayvion Wicks is more of a target threat than Jahan Dotson was last year, and Dallas Goedert will always get around five a game. It’s not exactly that he’s priced badly, but Smith may not provide enough to win leagues.Funston: I’m not drafting Justin Jefferson (WR6) or Malik Nabers (WR13) at ADP, but to throw out a different name, I’ll go with Nico Collins (WR9). I’m always amazed how much the fantasy community fawns over someone with career highs of 80 receptions and 8 TDs. Now in his sixth season, he’s missed at least two games in each of his previous five campaigns and has missed a total of 20 games across that span. Over the past three seasons, Collins ranks 20th among WRs in receptions and 21st in targets. I get it, Collins looks the part of a supreme alpha. But he shouldn’t be drafted like one.Which WR outside the top 25 in ADP are you targeting most based on value?Rome Odunze is typically coming off drafts board later than WR teammate Luther Burden, but should he? (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)Ciely: It was Parker Washington, but people are catching up to the reality that he’s the best Jaguars wideout. Josh Downs was a frequent target before Keenan Allen arrived. So, one answer that hasn’t changed is Jalen Coker. Over the past five seasons — probably longer, but that’s where I cut off the research timeframe — for wide receivers with at least 100+ targets and 20% of the target share, only three have failed to hit the top-40 in fantasy: Elijah Moore, Jerry Jeudy and, well, Elijah Moore, again. Coker is like cracking that item box and seeing the blue shell pop up.Behrens: Rome Odunze was looking like one of the right answers in fantasy for half a season in 2025, prior to the injury. He was smooth, physical and versatile. When a play got messy, Caleb Williams was generally looking for Rome.Del Don: Chris Godwin was fantasy’s WR2 in points per game in 2024 before suffering a season-ending injury. He struggled after returning from an ankle dislocation and fibula fracture, but he was the WR24 with strong underlying peripherals to close last season (Weeks 13-17). Mike Evans is gone, and Emeka Egbuka enters the season likely dealing with turf toe. Godwin may not be as explosive as he once was, but he looked healthy while impressing throughout OTAs, and he’s the favorite to play the slot. Godwin is a steal as the WR36.