5 Overvalued Fantasy Football Wide Receivers for 2026

Aug 16, 2026

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Last year's version of this column ended up being pretty spot on, with four of five receivers clearly underplaying their draft capital. Here's a quick summary, if you're looking for a reason to read further in 2026 ...

Xavier Worthy: Drafted as WR24, finished as WR59. Scored just one touchdown and missed three games.
Terry McLaurin: Drafted as WR17, finished as WR55. Scored just three touchdowns and missed seven games.
Garrett Wilson: Drafted as WR18, finished as WR62. Had a nice start but missed 10 games.
Brian Thomas Jr.: Drafted as WR8, finished as WR43. Inexplicable bust.
Amon-Ra St. Brown: Drafted as WR4, finished as WR3. Miss on my part; St. Brown was completely unaffected by the loss of Ben Johnson.

Let's see if we can go 5-for-5 this year. These are the receivers I'm not touching with a 39-and-a-half-foot pole in 2026 drafts.

Note: You will find that I haven't listed a single wide receiver currently going in the top 40 overall. As it happens, I think most of those guys are pretty properly priced. If you forced me to choose, I'd say I don't like Rashee Rice at WR11 in the early third round, but the case against him isn't strong enough to officially make this article.

Luther Burden, Bears (ADP 4.10)

I know, I know. The darling of the fantasy community. The future 2026 breakout of the year. Everyone loves Luther Burden this offseason. Well, not me. It's not that I don't like his talent, his quarterback, or his offense. All three are good to great. It's the draft price. Burden is going as the WR23 in the fourth round in 4for4's multi-site ADP. This, from a second-year receiver who started just five games and scored just two touchdowns as a rookie. He had one monster outing in Week 17, where he logged eight catches for 138 yards and a touchdown... with Rome Odunze absent. That was his only game with more than eight targets or more than six catches all season. Take that performance out, and he averaged 5.8 fantasy points per game the rest of the season.

Now, of course, things could shift in 2026. DJ Moore's departure might matter... though he only saw 85 targets while playing every game for Chicago. Caleb Williams could improve in year three. Ben Johnson's system could kick into another gear in year two. But the issue is that all these things need to break Burden's way just to return value on WR23. It feels like he's being priced like he's already broken out, when he hasn't. And the upside from WR23 is hard to find. He's also dealing with a strained groin that is expected to keep him out for the entire preseason. I hate soft-tissue injuries in August. If Burden were to fall a couple of rounds, I'd honestly like to have some shares because of the breakout potential. But for now, he's heavily overvalued.