Fantasy Football: Health of Malik Nabers, Matthew Golden's role, Patriots slot man among biggest WR questions for NFL training camps
Training camp is among us! Analyst Joel Smyth breaks down the 10 WR camp stories to watch for fantasy football this season. Who has important storylines to take note of that can shape the fantasy season?
More Training Camp Questions
Parker Washington in 2-WR Sets
Parker Washington was the star of late last season and has been the star of this offseason. After his final four games of total domination to end 2025, he's looking to establish himself as the main target in Jacksonville with WR talent galore. Because of that talent, usually there is an odd man out. When Travis Hunter was healthy, that was Washington, and when multiple tight ends were on the field, again, Washington. As the primary slot after Hunter's injury, his targets per route were incredible, but the routes were clearly third among wideouts.
With the Jaguars reaching on blocking TE Nate Boerkircher in Round 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft, expect more usage of two tight end sets as we have seen in other teams across the league. Washington's targets can be good, but if he can play more in heavy personnel and avoid being taken off the field for Hunter on offense, his volume can be one of the best in the later rounds. We should discover a lot this camp.
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Josh Downs in 2-WR Sets
Downs has a similar issue to a far greater extent. No player has a higher percentage of snaps from the slot, targets from the slot or routes coming from three-WR sets than the Colts receiver. When he can stay on the field for the majority of the game (70%+ of snaps in this example), he averages over 13 career PPG in PPR leagues, where he can take advantage of his reception totals. He surprisingly draws a lot of red zone volume as well with Daniel Jones and can put up more scores than your average inside receiver. However, in the past, even without Michael Pittman Jr., he has not played much on the outside, as Indianapolis has favored receivers such as Adonai Mitchell or even D.J. Montgomery over him. We need good news about his potential playing time in this new offense, without the receiving talent on the outside from last season.
Alec Pierce in short-area passing attack
Speaking of, Alec Pierce is the winner of the Colts offseason, getting paid nearly $30 million per year and becoming the No. 1 option on the outside. Pierce was incredible as a deep threat last season, although that is where it began and ended. His average depth of target reached over 21, with 55% of his fantasy points coming on vertical routes as he led the NFL in yards per reception. It made him a fun fantasy option, but not multifaceted enough to be a consistent starter. He now comes into camp with three major questions.
1. Can the Colts utilize him in the short passing game, expanding his route tree and usage?
2. Can he recover from ankle surgery this March, as he is expected to be limited in training camp?
And 3. Will Jones be able to push the ball downfield the same as he did in 2025 off the Achilles tear?
Rome Odunze 13-personnel possibility?
There are rumors in Chicago that third-round selection Sam Roush was not drafted to sit and wait, but, similar to Rams rookie Terrance Ferguson in 2025, to make an immediate impact in three tight end sets. Chicago ran the most two tight end sets in 2025 and could look to copy the Rams formula that worked so well. The biggest benefactor here would be Rome Odunze, as I'd project him as the team’s one receiver on the field in heavy sets before camp news rolls out. His downfield and red-zone role is extremely similar to Rams WR Davante Adams in 2025, actually the closest in terms of total targets of that kind. In 13-personnel last season, Adams averaged over two full fantasy points per route, with a target on nearly 60% of the dropbacks. It would make Odunze's red-zone potential incredible.
Who is the Patriots' slot WR?
In percentage of routes coming from the outside in 2025, Kayshon Boutte ranked second, A.J. Brown fifth, Romeo Doubs 11th and even Kyle Williams would be top-10 if he qualified. Playing on the outside isn't a bad thing, but versatility is a positive and can make a player more trustworthy week to week, especially when used well in the offense. Stefon Diggs was the primary inside receiver in 2025, and although his routes were limited, he was a top-20 WR on average with a sub-20% target share. In Brown's later days, it can be beneficial if his 88% of routes from the outside dipped down to 70%, his rate the last time Mike Vrabel was his head coach. He can get some easy targets in space while still benefiting from Maye's ability to push the ball down field on the outside. Watch to see who is splitting up Diggs' role this week in New England.
Jets depth receivers behind Garrett Wilson
As part of the Jets offense, Garrett Wilson needs an extreme target share to keep up with the other top receivers in the NFL. In 2024, his target share ranked seventh, and he finished as the WR21. Now, New York has completely revamped its passing game, not only with Geno Smith, but with three new receivers in AD Mitchell, Omar Cooper Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq.
It'll be another hit to Wilson's stock if camp reports about their rookie first-round picks are sky high, or, more importantly, if Mitchell's reports continue to be raving after his very strong showing and connection with Geno Smith at OTAs. Mitchell surprisingly has a 25% targets per route rate in his last two seasons when he can get on the field, the 17th-best among WRs.
Jameson Williams with a new OC on the Lions
Will Jameson Williams' stock be more like Michael Wilson with OC Drew Petzing or Marvin Harrison Jr.? The former Cardinals' playcaller drew polarizing opinions over the last few seasons before leading a top fantasy offense last season and drawing the attention of Detroit. The halfway mark of the season was a breaking point for Williams in 2025. One could say he turned it around when Dan Campbell took over playcalling, nearly doubling his fantasy points and increasing his target share by 5%, although his air yard share decreased, showing a much different utilization after the firing of their last offensive coordinator.
You could also argue his fantasy PPG skyrocketed because, around that same time, TE Sam LaPorta got put on injured reserve, a position Petzing has obviously made a focus in Arizona. Williams' targets are more important than anyone's, ranking first in yards per target with a very low target share of 17% in each of the last two years with Detroit. The Jacoby Brissett-led Cardinals were second in receiving fantasy points, a major win if that sticks with Jared Goff, but keep an eye out for news for a prediction of an increase or course reversal in Williams' volume.
Matthew Golden's role is…?
The 2025 first-round rookie struggled in his first season when the Packers receivers were healthy. If Christian Watson was out, he had a small role as a deep threat. If Jayden Reed was out, he became the primary slot receiver. It was always in replacement, though. With Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks out of town, how will Golden be utilized in his second year? If it is similar to Doubs, his red-zone target share would certainly increase from 3%. Even so, Doubs' team-high in red zone targets once Watson returned only led to one touchdown, almost all without Tucker Kraft available. It may be tough to become a fantasy starter if the other three options stay healthy.
Will Malik Nabers be healthy to start the season?
Nabers is not going on the PUP list before training camp, which is great news already. After undergoing surgery on Oct. 28, with a second surgery in April, the Giants WR was able to have his first major positive news in rehab. It being an ACL and meniscus injury makes it more difficult, and the buildup of scar tissue in the knee didn't help. A limited Nabers early in the season is okay for fantasy as long as he's out there. Camp reports will be huge for his fantasy stock before August drafts, with the worst-case scenario being they are very negative, and he misses or is heavily limited for the first half of the season. If it becomes all systems go in camp, he should enter back into Round 2 of fantasy drafts.
How healthy is rookie Jordyn Tyson for NOLA?
The departure of Rashid Shaheed wasn't nothing in New Orleans. Chris Olave was getting good volume, but his air yard share jumped from 35% to over 50% in the second half of the season. He led the NFL in air yards and was second in percent of end zone targets to Davante Adams. The addition of top-10 pick Jordyn Tyson can make a dent. Even the small hits in valuable targets become considerable. Tyson's long history of injuries, currently hamstring issues, will be the primary news to note in training camp. If he comes on slow and can't get established early, Olave's volume should stay at an elite range in the fast-paced New Orleans offense.
