• Christian Watson has rebounded seamlessly from a torn ACL: Since his Week 8 return to the lineup, Watson ranks eighth in PFF receiving grade (88.5). He is also tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns (six) over the span.

• Jameson Williams’ explosive ability gives him top-five fantasy potential: Heavy target volume isn’t necessary for the speedster to achieve fantasy success. His speed makes him a threat to turn few catches into significant yards and frequent touchdowns.

• Get PFF+ for 30% off: Use promo code HOLIDAY30 to unlock the PFF Player Prop Tool, Premium Stats, fantasy dashboards, the PFF Mock Draft Simulator, industry-leading fantasy rankings and much more — everything you need to win your season.

Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

We always say that volume is king in fantasy football — targets plus catches plus red-zone usage equals a fantasy football monster. Mix in explosive plays, and you have a genuine league-winner on your hands. And in dynasty formats, you have the cornerstone of a roster for years to come.

The volume-explosive play combo has driven Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and Tyreek Hill to overall WR1 finishes in recent years. But it is possible to crack the upper echelons of fantasy football without that mix.

Possessing unadulterated raw speed and power and the ability to take the ball to the house on any given play, with some creative play calling, can net the same returns.

Looking ahead to 2026, there are two prime candidates to crack that top 10 at their position: Christian Watson of the Green Bay Packers and Jameson Williams of the Detroit Lions.

At a glance, they are much more in line with the boom-or-bust players, but there is reason to believe they could both be top-10 receivers in fantasy next season — and there is even a reasonable comparison to those who have already achieved the feat.

Explore Fantasy Rankings

Let’s start with Watson. Finally healthy, although he suffered a chest/shoulder injury scare in the Packers’ defeat at the Broncos, he has offered Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense a dimension it was missing before.

Since his Week 8 return to the lineup after suffering a torn ACL last season, Watson ranks eighth in PFF receiving grade (88.5). He is also tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns (six) over the span — and that distinction is important, as Watson has shown the ability to take the ball on jet sweeps and end-arounds and be highly effective.

The former second-round pass catcher places 12th in receiving yards (611) since his Week 8 return. This is notable because he’s hit that mark on just 35 catches this season. Only five players are averaging more yards per catch over the past five weeks.

In fact, Watson’s absurd 18.0-yard average target depth this season ranks behind only Alec Pierce and Tyquan Thornton among qualifying wide receivers. Add in the fact that Watson has dropped just one pass since he got back into the lineup, and you’re looking at one of the most explosive and reliable receivers in the NFL.

Watson’s 17-game pace is currently 93 targets, 60 catches, 1,039 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Not bad, right? It equates to about 224 PPR points, enough for the WR18 in the 2024 season — a solid WR2 in all formats.

His physical traits, strengths and weaknesses have parallels to a wide receiver whom his former Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, is now throwing to in Pittsburgh: D.K. Metcalf.

In 2020, his second NFL season, Metcalf finished as the WR6. He did that despite ranking 14th in targets (124) and 17th in catches (83), romping his way to 1,303 and 10 touchdowns. Metcalf finished the 2020 season with 15.7 yards per catch, more than a yard and a half below Watson’s current average (17.5). And he also logged the third-most drops (10) in the league that season.

Metcalf’s 273.3 fantasy points would have also been enough for WR6 status in 2024. All that is to highlight that his breakout fantasy campaign was not the result of a weak season; Metcalf was legitimately a monster.

The discrepancies between his numbers in that campaign and Watson’s 17-game pace this term feel big, but in actuality, they are not. Watson would need to average an extra two catches and 16 yards a game (based on his current 17-game projection) to match Metcalf’s catch and yards totals from 2020.

If you’re a dynasty player and took a chance on Watson last offseason while he was recovering from a torn ACL, well done. You have more than likely secured a bargain. Now is the time to hold him. He has gone from a boom-or-bust WR3 to a reliable WR2 in a matter of weeks, and next season, he could be a set-and-forget WR1.

Open Watson’s Profile

It’s a similar story for Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams. The former first-round pick is the current WR13 in PPR formats, and he’s just 15 points off Courtland Sutton in 10th place. But Williams has a chance to be a true top-10 wide receiver for years to come while doing it in a very different way than his running mate, Amon-Ra St. Brown.

While St. Brown ranks fifth in the NFL in targets (148), Williams sits tied for 31st (89). That’s only 12 more than Kansas City Chiefs wideout Rashee Rice, who missed the first six games of the season through suspension.

Williams doesn’t make his name through volume; he makes it through highlight-reel plays. His 17.7 yards per catch average ranks second among wide receivers with at least 75 targets, and his 13.5-yard average target depth ranks tied for sixth among the same cohort.

As part of one of the most deadly and dynamic offenses in the NFL, Williams is always going to stand a chance to have monster days in fantasy. His 17-game projections of 63 catches for 1,108 receiving yards and eight touchdowns also point to a player more at home racking up 12 fantasy points off one catch rather than across six receptions. At that pace, Williams’ 221.8 fantasy points would be enough for the WR21 in 2020 and the WR17 last season (he finished as the WR22 that year).

Williams’ eight drops are troublesome, considering he isn’t the volume target-getter in the Lions’ offense. However, the same was true of Metcalf in 2020. The current Pittsburgh Steeler finished nine targets and 17 catches behind Tyler Lockett (the WR8) and yet still had enough production to push for the top five at his position.

Now, although Williams is a more explosive threat than Metcalf was in 2020, he will still need more volume, which may be harder to come by with St. Brown and star running back Jahmyr Gibbs (88 targets this season) in the fold, as well as tight end Sam LaPorta. 

Since Week 13, only 10 players have seen more targets than Williams’ 38, though. Perhaps the dynamic playmaker could parlay his explosiveness across 80 or so catches to be in the running for the top five at his position in a season.

Both Watson and Williams have showcased week-winning and championship-winning potential since entering the NFL in 2022. The stigma that players of their profile are more boom-or-bust is being dispelled as they develop into some of the most dangerous all-around wide receivers in the league. It could be only a matter of time before they’re keeping elite company in fantasy circles.