The Best Rookie Wide Receivers in 2026 Fantasy Football: KC Concepcion Plus 5 Others
A new menu of NFL wide receivers has come out. Carnell Tate of the Tennessee Titans, Jordyn Tyson of the New Orleans Saints, and many others look to take fantasy football by storm. We know that nothing goes just as planned. What we mean is that the pecking order of rookie wide receivers will likely shift as the season goes on. Running our own numbers, we find the below 6 rookie wideouts below to be the best entering the 2026 NFL season.
Carnell Tate
Current ADP: WR29
Our Projection: WR37
Tate is a mild risk on a new Titans team that features a new coaching staff and year two quarterback. He does appear to be the frontrunner for the WR1volume. In fact, Tate is being hyped as part of a breakout two-person duo that features Wan'Dale Robinson, not Calvin Ridley.
Our projections show Tate as the WR1, with 23% of the team's receiving volume. Robinson projects to 21% and Ridley to 19%. The power index ranks the Titans as the NFL's 28th-best offense.
Tate is not a particularly risky fantasy football draft pick. The Titans can only get better offensively, as compared to their abysmal 2025, which led to the firing of Brian Callahan. We would still not draft Tate inside the top-30 of wide receivers.
Jordyn Tyson
Current ADP: WR37
Our Projection: WR40
I personally view Tyson as better than Tate as an NFL wide receiver. He joins a pass-friendly Kellen Moore offense, run by Tyler Shough, who was argued as the top rookie quarterback in 2025. Among a thin depth chart, the volume should be there for Tyson in a big way.
Our projections show Chris Olave as the clear-cut WR1; 31% of the receiving offense. Tyson is No. 2 with 22% of the receiving offense, averaging 46 yards per game and projected for 4.7 touchdowns on the NFL's 26th-rated offense.
Garbage time could especially be a friend for Tyson to rack up fantasy points. His floor is very high and well worth the current ADP value.
Makai Lemon
Current ADP: WR41
Our Projection: WR53
Lemon carries more risk into his rookie season. The reason is that the Eagles have another new offensive coordinator in Sean Mannion. The 34-year-old offensive coordinator calls plays for the first time in his coaching career, a product of two years under Matt LaFleur in Green Bay.
The other reason for risk is that, well, Jalen Hurts is not the sharpest arm in the NFL. In 2025, EPA per Dropback, Hurts only ranked 21st in the NFL.
Lemon is still going to be uncontested as the Eagles' No. 2 pass-catcher, ahead of Dallas Goedert. In a run-heavy offense, we have a run-heavy issue with the Eagles having 2 top-25 fantasy football wide receivers. Lemon falls below ADP for us, projecting for 19% of the receiving offense, 39 yards per game, and 4.7 touchdowns in total.
KC Concepcion
Current ADP: WR51
Our Projection: WR56
The hype is real in Cleveland. It is being said that Concepcion and Denzel Boston are showing out, potentially both leapfrogging Jerry Jeudy for the WR1 and WR2 roles.
The Browns are going to be a team that trails in many ways in football. They will be a team that must pass the ball and with that fact, the Browns have a projected pass rate, above 60%. That being said, they still foresee passing for less than 200 yards per game. So, where does Concepcion fare in that pie?
He has a slim lead in our volatile wide receiver share projections. It shows Concepcion to have 20% of the receiving offense, followed by 18% for Boston and 17% for Jeudy.
To pick Concepcion would be a play of upside rather than confidence. There is hardly any confidence that someone can have in this uncertain offense. Luckily for Concepcion, his upside is rather high. Todd Monken has historically favored his high-priority wide receivers, most clearly shown in Zay Flowers' ability to have monster seasons and get his huge four-year contract as an undersized pass-catcher.
De'Zhaun Stribling
Current ADP: WR64
Our Projection: WR66
Everything seems to be going in Stribling's favor. He is having a great training camp, and the 49ers are quite hurt. Ricky Pearsall is out for the season, Mike Evans is nursing a quad injury, and Christian Kirk is nursing a calf injury. Stribling seems to be the healthiest wide receiver and shall remain that way. In a Kyle Shanahan offense that ranks the 3rd-best in the NFL, Stribling is well worth the risk.
Our projections have Stribling up to a 13% share of the receiving offense. It may go even higher when expecting more projected games than both Evans and Kirk, who are often hurt. As a player going in the late rounds of a fantasy football re-draft, take Stribling.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.