Overlooked Veterans with WR1 Upside: 2026 Underrated Wide Receivers

Sorting out the chaos with a big-picture look at fantasy-specific news, notes, and analysis from around the NFL.

Bob Harris's Overlooked Veterans with WR1 Upside: 2026 Underrated Wide Receivers Bob Harris Published 07/01/2026

With all this year's organized team activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamps behind us, the NFL is taking its annual month-long break before training camps start rolling out in the second half of July.

Ideally, there won't be much going on -- in terms of NFL news -- during this lull in the action. But for fantasy managers who take their preparation seriously, there is no downtime.

DON'T MISS OUT: Pre-Order the 2026 Footballguys Draft Guide before they are all gone.

That's why the Fantasy Notebook will keep rolling with a position-by-position series on underrated players. Last week it was Underrated Running Backs.

This week, it's Underrated Wide Receivers. We started Monday with First- and Second-Round Wideouts with WR1 Overall Upside. Tuesday, we looked at a pair of Fourth-Round Receivers Who Could Produce Like First-Rounders. Today, we'll take a look at . . .

Aging Superstars Still Capable of WR1-Level Play

It's easy to get caught up in the pursuit of younger talent. But there comes a point where ignoring aging stars will cost you. Here are a couple of prime examples.

The Red-Zone Machine

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Underrated Wide Receivers

Now that he's working opposite one of the top fantasy wideouts in the game, Puka Nacua, it's easy to forget just how great wide receiver Davante Adams is. 

As Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio notes, Adams' 60 catches in 2025, his first year with the Rams, put him at No. 16 on the career catch list with 1,017. Another 60-catch season would put Adams in the top 10, one reception ahead of Anquan Boldin and one behind Terrell Owens.

But the reception totals aren't why he makes this list (for me) on an annual basis. 

The touchdowns are.

Adams ranks seventh in career touchdown receptions, with 117. He has led the league three times -- and he's the only player to do that with three different teams (Packers, Raiders, Rams).

Last year, he pulled in 14 touchdown passes in only 14 games. 

As Barnwell noted, Adams was open for at least four or five more, only to be let down by some combination of poor throws, pressure, and drops. 

Adams had nine touchdowns inside the five-yard line last season, and Dallas Goedert was the only other player with more than four. That seems unsustainable in 2026, but again, Adams was routinely open time after time near the end zone.

And he has Matthew Stafford's attention when he's there. 

According to Clay, Adams' 27 end-zone targets were nine more than any other player, and he now sits second in that category (148) since entering the league in 2014. 

The Bigger Deal

More importantly, he's playing in a Rams offense so potent that even working opposite Puka Nacua, Adams managed a WR9 overall finish last season. 

That was his ninth top-10 campaign in his past 10 seasons. 

It's hard not to feel great when I land Adams at his WR22 Average Draft Position (ADP) in the fourth round (46th overall), given his long history of WR1 production.

Historic Talent at a Discount

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