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Dynasty Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Tiers: DeVonta Smith and Brian Thomas are potential risers

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CitrixNews Staff
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Dynasty Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Tiers: DeVonta Smith and Brian Thomas are potential risers

Dynasty Tiers should generally be more stable than rankings. Within a given tier, guys might move around a lot throughout the year, but generally speaking, especially towards the top, there should be quite a bit of stability in terms of who is in what tier. And there has been at wide receiver, for the most part. But every year, I see one tier at wide receiver that I expect to completely change in the next year. For this update, that is Tier 4. The most difficult part of that expectation is that many of the players could be going either direction in the next 12 months. 

Rashee Rice probably belongs in Tier 2 based solely on what has happened on the football field, and it's possible he's back there if he plays 17 and matches his last 17 games over a full season. Jordyn Tyson is a rookie who may have had the most upside in the 2026 rookie class, but he also may have as much injury risk as any 2026 rookie, and he'll be playing with target hog Chris Olave. Marvin Harrison Jr. has one year to justify his high draft position, or his value is going to crumble. Ladd McConkey has a new offensive coordinator and is coming off a disappointing sophomore season. Zay Flowers, Chris Olave, and Garrett Wilson appear to be the most stable wide receivers in the group, but they certainly aren't bulletproof. 

Recently, I had Alfredo Brown on Fantasy Football Today Dynasty. We talked about the difficulty in ranking Rome Odunze, Jaylen Waddle, and more. Check it out:

With my guess that the Tier 4 occupants will be moving out in the next year, in one direction or the next, there is no shortage of candidates to replace them in the tier below. None is more likely than the guy at the top of the tier, DeVonta Smith. Over the last three years, Smith has played 346 snaps without Brown. He has a 38.1% target share on those snaps, and he has averaged 2.58 yards per route run. Of course, Makai Lemon wasn't on the team then; he's also in Tier 5 with Smith. If Smith comes anywhere close to those numbers, he is going to be a top 12 wide receiver this year, and he may be the rare wide receiver to see their Dynasty value increase after he turns 28. As of right now, I project Smith for 87 catches for 1,137 yards and 7.5 touchdowns in 2026, but his ceiling is much higher, especially if Jalen Hurts bounces back as a passer in a new system. 

The other guy who could rebound in 2026 is Brian Thomas Jr. He was miserable in 2025, but he also wasn't healthy. While Jacksonville has a lot of mouths to feed, no one in that offense can match Thomas' downfield ability when he is right. Early offseason reports have been positive, and Thomas has said he feels much healthier. It is rare that you get a chance to acquire a 23-year-old with a 1,200-yard season under his belt at a discount. I would at least make an offer you're comfortable with and see if the manager who is rostering him in your league is ready to get out.

Here are my updated Dynasty Wide Receiver Tiers:

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Originally reported by CBS Sports. Read the full story at the original source.