Ladd McConkey looked like a future star after a rookie season that put him in historically elite company. His second year went in the opposite direction, and nobody has a clean explanation for it. The situation around him improved this offseason in a couple of meaningful ways. Fantasy managers have to figure out which version of McConkey shows up in 2026.
Should I Draft Ladd McConkey in Fantasy Football?
McConkey is a genuinely tough player to figure out, and I want to be upfront that I do not have a tidy answer here.
Start with what made him so exciting. McConkey cleared 1,100 receiving yards as a rookie, which puts him in an extremely exclusive club. Since 2011, only nine receivers have hit that mark in their first season. The list includes Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Puka Nacua, Odell Beckham Jr., Malik Nabers, and Michael Thomas. Five of those players went on to become elite WR1s, and Nabers looks poised to join them. Garrett Wilson is the lone member who has truly failed to live up to it.
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The rookie production was not empty either. McConkey averaged 15.5 fantasy points per game on a healthy 24.5% target share, and he surged down the stretch, posting 17.24 PPG from Weeks 10 through 18. That kind of second-half explosion almost always signals a sophomore leap.
Then it did not happen. McConkey fell to 11.3 PPG in 2025, and his yards per route run cratered from 2.56 all the way down to 1.47. That is not a modest step back. That is a collapse.
Some of the blame belongs to Keenan Allen. At 33 years old, Allen was supposed to be a secondary piece in Los Angeles. Instead, he held onto just enough of a role to get in the young receiver’s way.
Here is the part that nags at me. In the elite tier, competition usually does not matter. Chase and Jefferson dominate regardless of who lines up next to them. After one season, it looked like McConkey belonged in that group. The 2025 data argues otherwise, and I cannot simply wave that away because a 33-year-old veteran took some targets.
There is real reason for optimism, though. The Los Angeles Chargers hired Mike McDaniel as their offensive coordinator, which should produce a far more creative passing attack. McDaniel has a long track record of scheming to his playmakers’ specific strengths, and McConkey’s game is tailor-made for that kind of design. With Allen unlikely to return this season, the runway is finally clear.
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So where does that leave me? Honestly, right in the middle. McConkey is my WR19 against a WR20 ADP, which is about as neutral as it gets. The bounce-back case is legitimate and the historical company he keeps is impossible to dismiss. The sophomore data is equally impossible to dismiss.
I am not targeting McConkey and I am not fading him. If he is the best player on my board when the pick comes around, I will take him without hesitation. I am just not going out of my way to make that happen.
Katz’s WR Fantasy Rankings 2026
- Ja’Marr Chase | CIN
- Puka Nacua | LAR
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA
- Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET
- CeeDee Lamb | DAL
- Justin Jefferson | MIN
- Drake London | ATL
- Malik Nabers | NYG
- Nico Collins | HOU
- A.J. Brown | NE
- Chris Olave | NO
- George Pickens | DAL
- DeVonta Smith | PHI
- Zay Flowers | BAL
- Rashee Rice | KC
- Jaylen Waddle | DEN
- Tee Higgins | CIN
- Terry McLaurin | WAS
- Ladd McConkey | LAC
- Emeka Egbuka | TB
- Luther Burden III | CHI
- Tetairoa McMillan | CAR
- Garrett Wilson | NYJ
- Parker Washington | JAX
- Jameson Williams | DET
- Christian Watson | GB
- Rome Odunze | CHI
- Carnell Tate | TEN
- Davante Adams | LAR
- Mike Evans | SF
- Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI
- DJ Moore | BUF
- Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX
- Chris Godwin Jr. | TB
- Stefon Diggs | WAS
- Michael Pittman Jr. | PIT
- Josh Downs | IND
- Wan’Dale Robinson | TEN
- Quentin Johnston | LAC
- Jayden Reed | GB
- DK Metcalf | PIT
- Jordan Addison | MIN
- Courtland Sutton | DEN
- Jakobi Meyers | JAX
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- Xavier Worthy | KC
- Michael Wilson | ARI
- KC Concepcion | CLE
- Romeo Doubs | NE
- Jalen Coker | CAR
