Chris Olave caught 100 balls last season and scored nine times, nearly doubling his total from his first three years in the league. The former first-round pick has established himself as one of the higher floor options in the sport, and an encouraging rookie campaign from Tyler Shough opened our eyes to some upside that we were blind to prior.
Can #12 build on his success from last season and be one of the top 10 performers at the position in 2026?
Should I Draft Chris Olave in Fantasy Football?
Olave led the NFL in targets through three weeks last season and figures to get all of the work he can handle again this year. I was a little down on him when Jordyn Tyson was considered a full-go as a way to hedge the Shough development curve, but now (with Tyson out for all of September at a bare minimum) I’m back in on him, having WR1 potential and being a nice get in the early third round.
It’s possible that the drafting public bumps him into Round 2, and that’s where I’m drawing the line. At that point, it’s less about him and more about the players I’m not going to move him over (Malik Nabers, George Pickens, and Nico Collins, for example).
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Shough impressed us as a rookie, but let’s not forget that he had just three multi-pass TD games. I don’t doubt the target-earning abilities of Olave, but it’s hard to elevate too far up the WR board on volume without much scoring equity, and that’s why I’m going to ultimately settle with him on the outside looking in at my top-12 at the position.
This injury doesn’t hurt Olave’s value, obviously, but the increased defensive attention does complicate that ranking a bit. I don’t think that’s the case for TE Juwan Johnson, the player who moved the most positionally for me because of this news.
Kyle Soppe’s WR Fantasy Rankings 2026
- Ja’Marr Chase | CIN
- Puka Nacua | LAR
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA
- Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET
- Nico Collins | HOU
- Drake London | ATL
- A.J. Brown | NE
- Justin Jefferson | MIN
- CeeDee Lamb | DAL
- Malik Nabers | NYG
- George Pickens | DAL
- Rashee Rice | KC
- Zay Flowers | BAL
- Jaylen Waddle | DEN
- Chris Olave | NO
- Ladd McConkey | LAC
- Tee Higgins | CIN
- Emeka Egbuka | TB
- DeVonta Smith | PHI
- Tetairoa McMillan | CAR
- Luther Burden III | CHI
- Terry McLaurin | WAS
- Garrett Wilson | NYJ
- Christian Watson | GB
- Jameson Williams | DET
- Rome Odunze | CHI
- Jakobi Meyers | JAX
- Michael Wilson | ARI
- Carnell Tate | TEN
- Parker Washington | JAX
- DJ Moore | BUF
- Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI
- DK Metcalf | PIT
- Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX
- Quentin Johnston | LAC
- Davante Adams | LAR
- Stefon Diggs | WAS
- Jayden Reed | GB
- Josh Downs | IND
- Alec Pierce | IND
- Courtland Sutton | DEN
- Mike Evans | SF
- Michael Pittman Jr. | PIT
- Matthew Golden | GB
- Khalil Shakir | BUF
- Wan’Dale Robinson | TEN
- Rashid Shaheed | SEA
- Jordyn Tyson | NO
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- Romeo Doubs | NE
