• The Chiefs’ WR1 role is up for grabs: Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown will battle for the spot in a wide receiver room with tons of question marks.

• Could a rookie be near the front of the pecking order in New England? Kyle Williams may be able to unseat Demario Douglas, Mack Hollins and Ja’Lynn Polk with a strong training camp.

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Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

NFL training camps are upon us, which means positional battles are officially underway. Detailed below are three fantasy-friendly passing offenses whose wide receiver rooms are fully in flux. Fantasy managers should follow each group throughout training camp to efficiently exploit mispriced average draft positions.

Third-year wide receiver Rashee Rice and second-year wide receiver Xavier Worthy enter training camp jockeying for position ahead of presumed No. 3 wideout Marquise Brown. Among 154 NFL wide receivers with at least 155 offensive snaps in 2024, Rice’s 85.1 PFF overall grade ranked 12th, Worthy’s 72.4 mark placed 49th and Brown’s 65.5 mark tied for 76th. 

Rice suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4 last season, but Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters that he will be a full training camp participant after fully participating in voluntary organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. 

Pending good health, Rice profiles as Kansas City’s de facto No. 1 pass catcher, lining up out wide in two-wide receiver sets and in the slot in three-wide receiver sets while earning targets voluminously via short-to-intermediate depth routes. Historically, he operates at a 5.0-yard average depth of target. 

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ 2023 and 2024 average target depths (6.9 and 7.0 yards, respectively) and yards per passing attempt (7.0 and 6.9, respectively) all register as the two lowest averages of his eight-year career. His 85.5 PFF passing grade in 2024 was just his fifth-best season-long PFF passing grade. Both Reid and Mahomes declared that generating explosive pass plays by increasing the team’s downfield throwing frequency and volume is a 2025 priority, which leaves Worthy with a path to the No. 1 pass catcher role. 

Worthy operated at a 9.2-yard average target depth and recorded an 18.4% deep-target rate across the full season, ultimately breaking out from Week 15 on by ranking first among Chiefs skill-position players in targets (51), receptions (40), receiving yards (477), receiving touchdowns (five), first downs and touchdowns (24), missed tackles forced receiving (five) and explosive pass plays (nine). Among Chiefs skill position players with at least 10 targets during that span, Worthy’s 2.28 yards per route run ranked first, and both his 24.4% target rate and 13.7% deep-target rate ranked second.

Brown debuted in Week 16 after dislocating his SC joint during preseason play. The 28-year-old veteran is no longer an above-average starter, but he should produce a flex-worthy season, operating in his No. 3 wide receiver, field-stretching role. 

Fantasy managers should closely monitor Rice and Worthy’s battle for No. 1 pass catcher duties while drafting Brown late as a matchup-based flex option. 

The 49ers enter training camp with significant availability concerns regarding three of their top four wide receivers, which could depress the three players’ ADPs. Fantasy managers should closely follow the shifting pecking order.

Brandon Aiyuk is a candidate to begin the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform (reserve/PUP) list, with a tentative return-to-play timeline falling in Weeks 5-6, though a Week 1 return is possible. He suffered a torn ACL and MCL in Week 7 last year.

Per Edwin Porras’ 2024 Injury Prone Draft Guide, 61.0% of wide receivers failed to reach 90.0% or more of their pre-injury, per-game points-per-reception average following ACL reconstruction. Aiyuk earned a 74.1 PFF receiving grade while averaging 1.74 yards per route run in his age-26 season last year, the former being a career low with the latter ranking third among his five NFL seasons. While Aiyuk could return fantasy value, based on a theoretical mid-round ADP, he should be approached with at least mild caution during summer drafts. 

No. 2 wide receiver Jauan Jennings reportedly requested a new contract on July 14, seemingly using Aiyuk’s expected absence as leverage, and asked to be traded if the front office is unwilling to meet his demands. Jennings is currently available via a 5.09, WR36 PPR ADP after finishing as the PPR WR25 last season while posting career highs in PFF receiving grade (83.7 PFF receiving grade) and yards per route run (2.26). Should the contract situation be resolved quickly, he has a case for being the most reliable 49ers wide receiver.

Second-year pass catcher Ricky Pearsall suffered his second recorded hamstring strain on May 29. He is expected to be ready for training camp and could function as the de facto No. 1 wide receiver indefinitely, pending Aiyuk’s health and Jennings’ status. Pearsall made his rookie season debut in Week 7 last season after successfully recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest. He performed erratically through Week 16 but caught 14 of 17 targets for 210 receiving yards and two touchdowns while averaging 2.63 yards per route run in Weeks 17-18.

Pearsall could assume No. 1 wide receiver duties even with Aiyuk and Jennings active. Among 154 NFL wide receivers with at least 155 offensive snaps in 2024, Pearsall’s 63.9 PFF overall grade tied for 83rd.

49ers No. 4 wide receiver Demarcus Robinson faces a potential suspension after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge, entering his age-31 season. Robinson could be considered a matchup-based flex option were he to fill in as a top-three wide receiver. Among 154 NFL wide receivers with at least 155 offensive snaps last season, his 65.0 PFF overall grade ranked 80th.

The Patriots will use training camp and preseason play to determine their revamped wide receiver corps’ pecking order. Fantasy managers should closely follow the No. 2 wide receiver battle, featuring third-round rookie Kyle Williams, incumbent slot receiver Demario Douglas and free-agent signee Mack Hollins. New England’s new offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, runs a relatively fast-paced, fantasy-friendly passing offense.

Stefon Diggs underwent ACL reconstruction in early November, and New England’s Week 1 game against the Las Vegas Raiders comes just over 10 months into his recovery. Per Edwin Porras’ 2024 Injury Prone Draft Guide, the “average return to sport time for players coming off an ACL tear in the NFL is approximately [11-to-12] months,” though 8-10 months is common and retear rates are stable from 9-12 months. Diggs is penciled in as the team’s top wide receiver for Week 1.

The table below shows the following:

• Receiving and deployment data for Diggs, Douglas and Hollins among 80 NFL wide receivers with at least 55 targets in 2024. Diggs’ deployment data is calculated from Houston Texans data from Weeks 1-8.
• Williams’ receiving and deployment data among 28 Power Five wide receivers with at least 95 targets in 2024.

Diggs’ two-wide receiver set snap share ranked first among Texans wide receivers last season. Hollins’ qualifying snap share ranked second among Bills wide receivers.

Williams’ two-wide receiver set snap share tied for his team’s positional team high. He is one of the 2025 rookie wide receiver class’ most intriguing prospects. Among 28 Power Five wide receivers with at least 95 targets in 2024, Williams ranked 14th in average target depth (11.5 yards), 10th in catch rate (69.4%), tied for eighth in explosive pass plays (26), tied for fifth in missed tackles forced (21), second in yards per reception (17.1) and first in yards after the catch per reception (8.4).

New England second-year wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk earned a 45.4 PFF receiving grade in his 2024 rookie season, and ESPN’s Mike Reiss believes he is not a lock to make the 2025 roster.

McDaniels previously served as the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach from Week 1 of 2022 through Week 8 of 2023. 

The table below shows data for McDaniels’ 2022-2023 seasons with the Raiders among regular-season NFL teams from Week 1 of 2022 to Week 8 of 2023.

Should Douglas remain stuck in a slot-dependent role, he will continue to score fantasy points unreliably. While Hollins offers the requisite downfield speed to sufficiently stretch the field, the 31-year-old wide receiver cannot be expected to improve his pass-catching play. 

Williams possesses immense upside if he can secure the primary starting role opposite Diggs and box Douglas out of two-wide receiver sets. Williams’ year-one potential is enhanced by risks associated with Diggs’ injury recovery, creating an injury-based path to the No. 1 wide receiver role. Fantasy managers should particularly monitor Williams this summer in training camp.