NFL Fantasy Football 2026 Mid Draft Value Picks: Wide Receviers

Brad Blakemore

Written by: Brad Blakemore

Published: Sat Aug 08, 2026, 12:55 pm ET

Read Time: 10 minutes

Garrett Wilson and Justin Fields lead the Jets' offense - NFL Preseason Picks

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Yesterday we broke down the best wide receivers in the first four rounds of fantasy football drafts, kicking off our Betting News Fantasy Football series. Today we will select one receiver from rounds 5-7 and discuss their NFL fantasy value. Today we go hunting in the mid-rounds, where championships are quietly built. One receiver from rounds 5, 6, and 7 — and at least one of these is going to make your league jealous by November.

I know, I know. I'm the hockey guy at Betting News. I go by Gretzky Betzky, I host PUCK IT and I eat, breathe, and sleep puck. But I'm also an AVID fantasy football nerd who is in two dynasty leagues, partaking in 5+ leagues annually and been addicted to being a fake GM for over 15 years now.

In fact, I won the Betting News staff fantasy league twos seasons ago and came in second place last season. From draft day on, I will watch players' ADP like they are stock tickers, hunting down value. And while the NHL is snoozing, I'll be contributing my NFL expertise in the fantasy football realm.

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This will become an ongoing series where I highlight players who REEK of value in fantasy drafts. We aren't talking about grabbing Ja'Marr Chase with the first overall pick, but instead we are going to be finding gems and value. Each article will feature a position within a range of draft rounds (we will always skip the first round). We will assume that these picks are for 12-team leagues with .5 PPR and will not be discussing in terms of Superflex. On top of that, I'll highlight a futures bet that corresponds with each player, all of whose odds can be found on BetOnline.

Before we dive in, let me make my philosophy crystal clear heading into 2026 drafts. Wide receiver is the single most important position to nail in standard fantasy leagues right now — and I cannot stress this enough. In a world where quality running backs can be found on the waiver wire every week, and serviceable quarterbacks can be grabbed in the middle and late rounds, wide receiver is where championships are won and lost in the draft room. Without two legitimate WR1/WR2 caliber options — even if one of them is nabbed late — you will spend all season scrambling. The good news? Depth starts in round two. Let's find that value.

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So without further ado, let's kick it off with NFL fantasy football 2025 top three value picks: the wide receivers. It's mock draft season baby!!!

5. Wide Receiver Fantasy Value Round 5: Garrett Wilson

Garrett Wilson and the Jets take on the Vikings in London

Can the Garrett Wilson have the bounce back season to lead your league?

BUY THE DIP. Hard. Garrett Wilson is the single most clear-cut recency bias victim in the entire 2026 fantasy football wide receiver market, and he is available at a price that should be alarming to anyone who watched what he did in 2024.

Let's rewind: in 2024, with a shell of Aaron Rodgers throwing him the football and the Jets being an absolute organizational dumpster fire, Wilson set career highs in receptions (101), receiving yards (1,104), and touchdowns (seven). His quarterback was Aaron Rodgers, who had a modest 3,897 passing yards that year — numbers that represent some of the worst production from a starting quarterback any WR1 has had to survive in recent memory. And Wilson still put up career numbers. That's a receiver finding a way to win despite his situation, not because of it. FantasyLife

Then 2025 happened. Justin Fields took over under center and immediately the offense sputtered. Worse, Wilson hyperextended his right knee late in a Week 6 loss and missed the next two games, aggravated the injury early in his Week 10 return, and sat out the rest of the season. In the seven games he played, he still racked up 36 catches for 395 yards and four touchdowns on 59 targets. Per-game, that's still a productive player. The knee ended the season — not the talent. FantasyPros

Now here's the critical part: Wilson is healthy heading into 2026, enters the season as the unquestioned centerpiece of the Jets' passing attack, and gets Geno Smith at quarterback — the same Geno Smith who helped Jaxson Smith-Njigba put up a 100/1,130/6 line in 2024 in Seattle. Wilson also enters with less competition than ever before at wideout in New York. Wilson is available more cheaply in 2026 than he has been since his rookie year, making him a value play despite the Jets' reputation. FantasyLifeAthlon Sports

I'm sprinting to the podium in round five for Garrett Wilson. A player who just put up 101 receptions and 1,104 yards at his absolute ceiling of quarterback play, available this cheap because of a knee injury and a bad season from Justin Fields? That's the definition of a dip worth buying.

Garrett Wilson over 900.5 receiving yards for -115 on BetOnline:

Wilson's floor should be 90 catches for 1,000 yards with five to seven touchdowns, according to analysts who project him at a clear-cut target-share leader in the Jets' offense. Even in his truncated 2025 campaign before the knee, he was on pace for elite per-game numbers. I'm actually betting the under of what I think he'll produce by grabbing this line. A healthy Garrett Wilson with a functional quarterback in a pass-heavy offense is a 1,000-yard receiver. At -115, you're paying a modest premium on what should be a gimme by Week 14.

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2. Wide Receiver Fantasy Value Round 6: Emeka Egbuka

Emeka Egbuka

Can Egbuka build on a very solid year, and gain Baker's trust to be the top dog?

Baker Mayfield's top dog was Mike Evans, a Hall of Fame caliber receiver who help rejuvenate Baker's career and make the Buccaneers offense on of the most exciting in the league.  Now Evan's has gone to California, leaving the man who inherited his vacated targets in Tampa Bay as a top NFL fantasy steal. It's like a big ol' opened treasure chest sitting on Treasure Island (sorry, not sorry).

Emeka Egbuka's 2025 rookie season is a pure tale of two halves, and understanding both halves is the key to cashing in on his value in 2026. He was the overall PPR WR3 in Weeks 1 through 5 behind only Puka Nacua and Amon-Ra St. Brown, scoring 102.4 PPR points during his first five games — the only other receivers to surpass that mark: Puka and Randy Moss. Then a Week 6 hamstring injury robbed him of his top speed, and by the second half of the season he was a shell of himself — going from 16.1 PPG in Weeks 1-10 to just 6.1 PPG the rest of the way. CBSSports.com

Here's the storyline for 2026: Mike Evans vacated 130+ targets and a massive share of the team's air yards. New OC Zac Robinson has already announced his intentions for Egbuka — he will settle into the full-time "Z" receiver role outside, playing more consistently than in his fractured rookie year when he was bouncing around multiple positions due to the team's injury chaos. Robinson's scheme, refined in Los Angeles under Sean McVay, is designed to funnel high volume to the most efficient separators. The "Power Slot/Flanker" role in Robinson's system is a ticket to top-12 WR territory — and Egbuka already showed a 29.4% first-read share as a rookie before injuries derailed everything. DJ Moore Will Outperform His Fantasy Football ADP After Joining Josh Allen in Buffalo +2

If Baker Mayfield can bounce back and Egbuka matches his 36.5% air yards share from last year, he could be a top-10 wide receiver. At round six pricing with WR1 infrastructure and a clear schematic path to elite volume, Egbuka is one of the juiciest buy-low situations in any round of 2026 drafts. FantasyData

Emeka Egbuka over 900.5 receiving yards for -110 on BetOnline:

He finished at 938 yards in his fractured rookie season where he played hurt for the back half of the year and bounced between three different positions. Now settled in as the unquestioned WR1 in the same offense with 130+ vacated targets from Evans, this line is the floor of what Egbuka can do in year two. Take it with confidence.

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3. Wide Receiver Fantasy Value Round 7: DJ Moore

DJ Moore could be Josh Allen's top target for the Buffalo Bills

DJ Moore could be Josh Allen's top target for the Buffalo Bills

Much like Mike Evans moving to a dream situation, DJ Moore's trade to the Buffalo Bills might be the most quietly impactful fantasy storyline of the entire 2026 offseason — and the market hasn't fully priced it in yet.

Moore spent two years in Chicago watching Caleb Williams figure out the NFL, and the results were predictably uneven. After an explosive 2023 season (96/1,385/9 on 136 targets), Moore faded over the past two years with Williams behind center, finishing 2025 with just 50 receptions for 682 yards on 85 targets — career lows across the board. The recency bias here is brutal for Moore's draft price and absolutely glorious for fantasy managers willing to look past it. sportskeeda

Now Moore is in Buffalo, catching passes from Josh Allen. In four seasons with Stefon Diggs, Allen averaged 28.5 fantasy points per game, including two seasons above 29.1. In the past two years without a true alpha WR1, he has averaged just 26.8 points per game and attempted 483 passes at most. Moore arriving gives Allen the boundary receiver he has been missing — the kind of big-bodied, contested-catch weapon who draws safeties over the top and creates one-on-one situations everywhere else. Buffalo is going to throw the ball a lot with a receiver room now headlined by Moore. Commish Kit

Analysts see 80+ catches with over 1,000 receiving yards and about seven scores, which makes Moore a slight fantasy value at his early ADP in the 50s. At round seven pricing, that's a steal. This is a proven commodity who hit 1,000+ yards four times in his career suddenly dropped into one of the three best quarterback situations in the NFL. Like Moore getting to San Francisco levels the playing field for Evans, Moore getting to Buffalo does the same. If you can snag him as your WR3 or flex option, you're stealing upside. This is exactly the type of profile and value I am looking for in round seven of NFL fantasy drafts. Hell, these mid-round receivers look so damn tasty I may adjust my drafting strategy to go heavy at RB early!

DJ Moore over 1,000 receiving yards for +105 on BetOnline:

Moore hit this mark four times in his career and hit 966 yards just two seasons ago with a good Bears team. Now he's catching passes from Josh Allen. At plus money on a player with a track record of crossing 1,000 yards and a quarterback upgrade that dwarfs anything he's had in two years, this is the type of bet you want to be making in late July. BUY THE DIP on DJ Moore and enjoy the ride in Buffalo.

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Brad Blakemore
Brad Blakemore

Brad Blakemore, better known as Betzky, is a desert rat who was born and raised in Tempe Arizona. Shockingly this didn't stop Betzky from becoming a hockey fanatic. He specializes in NHL capping, and is (unfortunately) a diehard Coyotes fan, through all the highs and (mostly) lows. When not consuming NHL action Betzky collects records of all genres, attends tons of concerts and spends time with the Mrs, their cat Brain and doggo Ned. Follow Betzky on Twitter/X @gretzkybetzkys or on the Parlay Science discord.

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