Justin Jefferson
vs Chris Olave

“Jefferson looked especially miserable last year while enduring the worst season of his career. With J.J. McCarthy completely overwhelmed as an NFL quarterback, Jefferson finished with 84 catches, 1,048 yards, and two touchdowns.”

“Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN) | ADP: 11.8 (WR6) While he has been a fantasy superstar since entering the NFL, Justin Jefferson is coming off a massively disappointing season.”

“Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN) Finishes Outside the Top 20 Wide Receivers The prediction: Jefferson, currently going as a top-six receiver, finishes this season outside the top 20 at his position. This is partly a skepticism play on his new starting quarterback’s fit in this specific offense, particularly real questions about accessing the middle of the field effectively. Even last year, on a per-route basis, Jefferson already graded as only a fringe top-15 to top-17 receiver in efficiency metrics, not a true elite option, once poor quarterback play is set aside.”

“Jefferson has been a fantasy superstar since he entered the NFL. Unfortunately, the veteran is coming off a massively disappointing season, finishing last year as the WR21, averaging 11.9 PPR fantasy points per game despite finishing seventh in the league with 141 targets.”

“With a better quarterback, Justin Jefferson is a top-five pick, but with J.J. McCarthy ‘s past poor play and the uncertainty of Kyler Murray , we get a discount on one of the best wide receivers in the league.”

“Last year, Jefferson was still sixth in target share (28.5%) and seventh in first-read share (35.1%), so we should all expect the Minnesota passing attack to run through their alpha wide receiver again in 2026.”

“Last year, Justin Jefferson had a horrible runout as the WR28 in fantasy points per game (WR14 in expected fantasy points per game). Obviously, a ton of his season was impacted by the level of quarterback play, but Jefferson also slid to 36th in separation score and 38th in route win rate (among 109 qualifying receivers, per Fantasy Points Data).”

“Justin Jefferson is the fifth-best wide receiver in the Madden universe, apparently”

“This wasn’t Jefferson’s fault, however. Among wide receivers with 50+ targets, Jefferson ranked 58th in catchable target rate (71%). J.J. McCarthy stunk, and all indications are that Kyler Murray is the clear favorite to be the starter in 2026, and possibly beyond.”

“Jefferson should immediately become Murray’s go-to receiver, making an overall WR1 finish well within reach.”

“The Ballers agree that if Kyler takes the leading QB role, they are confident that Jefferson will be back as a top-tier WR. However, they see him more as a back-end WR1.”

“Murray/Hockenson with Olave is my shot at MIN scoring through the air instead of through Jones.”

“Saints Fantasy Wide Receiver Preview Chris Olave (TRUST) Olave has double-digit targets in every game, leading to lines of 10-182-0, 8-86-1, and 9-107-0. He has run 132 routes (2nd only to his teammate Devaughn Vele ) but has seen 29% of the targets (WR5) and 47.7% of the air yards (WR4). He has play volume and front-end usage on his side, which has made him a front-end WR1 for fantasy.”

“Olave has had at least 10 targets in each game this season. Olave will be somewhat popular, but with his price the sixth-highest on DraftKings, rostership shouldn’t be too aggressive. He’s a strong stack with Shough and playable as a one-off as well.”

“Chris Olave is second in the league in both catches and receiving yards. Olave is also tied for second with DK Metcalf in total routes run. And yet, Olave is actually second on his own team in routes run.”

“Chris Olave – 13 targets, 10 rec Devaughn Vele – 9 targets, 7 rec Travis Etienne Jr . – 9 targets, 7 rec The Saints fell to Detroit in that overtime game, but it was not for lack of trying, especially from Tyler Shough , who attempted 56 passes. With that many passes going around, it is not surprising to see a trio of Saints with at least nine targets. Olave averaged 9.8 targets/game last season, while Vele tied his career-high with the nine targets.”

“Playing with a guardian cap in an effort to stave off concussions that have plagued him in the past, Olave is easily Tyler Shough ‘s favorite target and will look to repeat as a mid-range WR1 this season.”

“Chris Olave averaged 18.8 fantasy PPG with Tyler Shough. Only Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ja’Marr Chase and Amon-Ra St. Brown averaged more in 2025.”

“Whenever he is on the field opposite Chris Olave (who has his own injury history), Tyson has tremendous upside, offering elite separation ability and versatility across the field.”

“Chris Olave (WR – NO) | ADP: 27 (WR11) Chris Olave is in the bucket of players I discussed in the intro who have a high floor and a high ceiling, hence Olave’s average draft position (ADP) at the beginning of the third round in 12-team leagues.”

“Chris Olave is my answer because the market is still pricing him as a back-end WR1 while I see a legitimate path to a top-five season.”

“Round 4: Chris Olave (WR – NO) With Tyler Shough as his quarterback and Rashid Shaheed not on the field, Olave had a near 30% target share.”