2026Q2: WRs
Let's discuss WRs.
Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward...
- Leonardo da Vinci, polymath
*The scoring system I’m referring to is full PPR.
Jeremiah Smith (OSU) — It can be either Malachi Toney or Smith at the top spot as far as I’m concerned. Smith just feels that bit more locked in to have a good season compared to Toney because we have more data points on the former five star, but we’re talking marginal differences here. Interestingly, both players hail from high schools that are essentially a 20 minute drive from each other: Chaminade Madonna Prep for Smith, and American Heritage for Toney. It’s just different in Florida, what can I say?
Malachi Toney (MIA) — As mentioned above, Toney and Smith are interchangeable here. In Smith's case, there is an OC change, but we've also seen him dominate for two seasons straight, and this is his (likely) final year of collegiate football making it a consequential campaign. In Toney's case, he holds a historically lucrative position in Shannon Dawson's slot receiver role in the offence. Well, there isn't much to say that the audience doesn't already know. Both players are excellent options.
Easton Messer (FAU) — Similar to Dawson’s, we know Kittley’s offensive system is typically a lucrative one for the slot receiver. Messer is one of four WRs returning to the same team who averaged 20+ PPG last season. Two of the others are listed above, and the only other player who is returning to CFB but not to the same team is Danny Scudero, who we’ll talk about later. Again, there isn’t much to say about Messer at this point that the reader doesn’t already know.
Beau Sparks (TXST) — Sparks is the fourth of the aforementioned 20+ PPG WRs returning to the same team in 2026, so naturally I think this is an appropriate spot to rank him. Of course, we are ranking with the future in mind, not ranking players based on 2025, but at this juncture in the offseason it's probably a good idea to just default to who the highest scorers were a season ago, at least, at the top end. As future iterations of this article are released, there will be some shakeup.
Amare Thomas (HOU) — Originally, I wasn't high on Thomas' move to Houston given that he'd be participating in the typically anemic Willie Fritz/Slade Nagle WR system, but he bucked the trend in 2025 finishing the season at 18 PPG. Now, both he and his QB return for 2026, and so do both the play callers (HC & OC). They did bring in Trent Walker from Oregon State, so he might commandeer a significant role in the team target share, along with others. Thomas was a TD magnet in 2025, and that bolstered his numbers. Was it by design? Or just coincidence? Probably something in between. TD production becomes a concern when it doesn't have the matching input volume; in Amare's case, he had the corresponding target share in 2025, and he'll (probably) have it again in 2026.