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The Path to a WR1 Fantasy Season: 2026 Season Primer
Jul 3, 2026Kyle BorgognoniThe Fantasy Footballers
Getting things ready
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Player mentions
Tre Tucker
WR · LV · #general
...efantasyfootballers.com/fantasy/tre-tucker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tre Tucker who might be the best-conditioned players on the field but shots in t...
Michael Wilson
WR · ARI · #general
...tasyfootballers.com/fantasy/michael-wilson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Wilson ran and you can see that his 62.9 percent catch rate is actually nothi...
Spencer Rattler
QB · NO · #general
...asyfootballers.com/fantasy/spencer-rattler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spencer Rattler ) left a ton of yards on the field as Olave’s catch rate (66.2%) and ca...
Jordan Whittington
WR · LAR · #general
...footballers.com/fantasy/jordan-whittington" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jordan Whittington can end up with so many routes run with 3 WRs on the field but rank so...
Ladd McConkey
WR · LAC · #waiverwire
Article text
Editor’s Note : Find out the full statistical projections for the Footballers Consensus WR1s in the Ultimate Draft Kit . I am beginning to see a trend… for the 10th(!) year in a row, our Fantasy Footballers writing staff can’t stop and won’t stop! It is my honor to kick off our annual “ Path to WR1 ” series examining wide receivers who are currently ranked outside of the top-15 receivers in Andy, Mike, and Jason’s initial WR projections . The goal is to give some reasoning and definition to our methodology in determining the likelihood of a top-12 fantasy season from a number of off-the-wall candidates. Our team of writers will be hypothesizing about players that possibly have a shot at finishing the year as a WR1. In the past, we’ve identified some superb potential WR1 values before they were fantasy stars including Chris Godwin , A.J. Brown , and Ja’Marr Chase, when he was a rookie. Last year, our writers were bullish on the prospects of guys like Jameson Williams and Courtland Sutton , to name a few. Let me be clear : we are NOT projecting a WR1 end-of-the-year total; instead, we are merely giving the high-end of the range of outcomes for players to show what type of ceiling is in the realm of possibilities. We poll our team of writers and take the consensus percentage of whether that WR is capable of churning out a WR1 season. Each of these WRs brings a bit of optimism for 2026 and our job is simply to lay out the “path” to a top-12 finish. This journey ultimately comes down to projecting their target share, depth of those targets, receptions, yards, and TDs for the upcoming season. All of these statistical categories are defined and explained in this article. Let us know on Twitter who your long shot WR1 candidates are using the #PathtoWR1 and tagging @TheFFBallers . Range of Outcomes Is the Name of the Game This is a phrase we mention often: a range of outcomes . Whether people like to admit it or not, projecting fantasy point totals is a guessing game. We forecast usage while also acknowledging the fact that we don’t have all the info. There are many offensive situations where predicting player usage has to be met with humility. We don’t know everything and we shouldn’t pretend we do. I wrote an article entitled Forecasting 101: How to Project NFL Offenses Knowing You Could Be Wrong which highlights some of those points. There isn’t a perfect method but we are trying to set expectations regarding the possible results of a player while also recognizing there are so many more variables at play in football outside of our control. Whether it is off-the-field issues or issues with the coaching staff, each player also has intangibles that are immeasurable. Ask yourself the following questions trying to write down anything from generalized reactions to actual counting fantasy numbers. What is the most likely outcome? What is the best case scenario? What are you counting on for your team? WRs are co-dependent on QBs. We also must maintain that none of this can be done in a vacuum as projecting one player’s ceiling can also forecast doom and gloom on a fellow teammate. For instance, if you’re projecting someone like Emeka Egbuka to sneak into the WR1 territory in 2026, it inevitably must have an effect on his Buccaneers teammates. We need to consider Baker Mayfield and the context of the Tampa Bay offense instead of singling out only Egbuka in our projections. The goal of exploring a range of outcomes (and in this case the high-end) is t…