Everybody knows what a Bust is in Fantasy Football, but what is a Grenade? More than just a bad pick, a grenade could be a good player drafted at his absolute peak, buying all the risk. He could also be a late-round dart-throw pick whose upside is so low he’s just taking up valuable roster space. I’ll rate each player on a scale from 1 to 5 💥 (think of these as grenade blasts, since we’re fresh out of grenade emojis). One 💥 means minimal concern, while five 💥💥💥💥💥 signals a player you should steer clear of entirely.
Predicting breakouts is fun, but steering readers away from overpriced landmines can be just as valuable. That was the goal of last year’s Fantasy Grenades series. Overall, I did pretty well predicting receiver grenades, outside of one rather large miss.
2025 Fantasy Grenade Wide Receivers in Review:
Jerry Jeudy was the best call of the bunch. The post-Jameis Winston quarterback situation was as ugly as expected, and Jeudy’s production was buried with Cleveland’s passing offense. Despite playing all 17 games and receiving 106 targets, Jeudy caught only 50 passes for 602 yards and two touchdowns, finishing as the WR52 in PPR scoring after being drafted around WR33. The volume survived. The valuable targets did not.
Verdict: Hit
It hit right in the feels as a fan of his, but concern with Chris Godwin’s comeback from his brutal ankle injury was warranted. Godwin suited up for just nine games, collecting 33 catches for 360 yards and two touchdowns. A second surgery kept him sidelined longer, and he was a mere ghost of himself when back on the field. With so many warning signs, his draft cost was impossible to defend.
Verdict: Hit
Then there was Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who took my two-blast grenade rating as a personal attack. Instead of losing fantasy value in Klint Kubiak’s offense, JSN caught 119 passes, led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards, scored 10 touchdowns and finished as the WR2 in PPR scoring. Sam Darnold didn’t hold him back, the offensive line didn’t sink the passing game, and Cooper Kupp wasn’t meaningful target competition. The only way this take could have been more wrong is if JSN retired to pursue competitive Hamster Racing.
Verdict: Miss
Although Tyreek Hill was trending toward giving me the W here, his season ended. Hill caught 21 passes for 265 yards and one touchdown through four games before suffering a dislocated knee and multiple torn ligaments. His 12.6 yards per reception remained well below his prime numbers, but out of fairness, four games isn’t enough of a sample size to truly declare him a bust due to decline.
Verdict: Push
A 2-1-1 record ain’t too shabby, although completely whiffing on the eventual Offensive Player of the Year has humbled me.
Now, let’s take a look at my 2026 Fantasy Football wide receiver grenades.
DeVonta Smith – Philadelphia Eagles
A theme you’ll notice through the fantasy grenades series is that a considerable number of players’ reasoning for being listed has more to do with their acquisition cost than it does their talent. DeVonta Smith is a perfect example of this. I think he’s a phenomenal receiver and someone who could and would contribute on 32/32 NFL teams. With A.J. Brown traded, many assume that Smith will wind up stepping into the Eagles’ WR1 role and instantly become a fantasy WR1 as well.
Smith has finished as a WR1 (in PPR points per game) just once in his career, and it wasn’t when he was atop the Eagles’ depth chart. His lone season as the alpha was 2021, the only season where he played a full 17 games and failed to accumulate 1,000 receiving yards. To be fair, it was his rookie season, and players can and do improve. But his singular WR1 season came in 2022, when Brown joined the team. Smith finished as the WR9 on a points-per-game basis, his only finish better than WR17 in his career.
Do I think Brown out of town will lead to Smith’s stats improving? Surely. But that doesn’t mean he’ll suddenly be a top 10 fantasy WR.
Smith does supply the occasional spike week, but produces far too many stinkers to be considered a threat to jump into the top tier. Last season, Smith had more games below double-digit fantasy points (10) than above (7).
Smith projects as a solid but inconsistent WR2 whose hype has him overpriced. I would take Zay Flowers, Tet McMillian, Emeka Egbuka, Ladd McConkey, Luther Burden, and a plethora of other receivers going after without hesitation.
Smith’s Fantasy Grenade Rating:
💥💥 (2/5)
Currently coming off the board as WR14, Smith’s being drafted at his ceiling.
Chris Godwin – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Despite being our first two-time Fantasy Grenade nominee, it was fantastic to see Chris Godwin get back on the field after the gruesome ankle injury he suffered in 2024. Godwin was able to return in Week 4 and also play in Week 5 before missing an additional five games due to a fibula injury. It was Week 13 before he had 10 or more fantasy points in a game, and he had just one game over 14 points (playing in nine total).
Godwin’s ADP isn’t much of an issue; he’s being drafted right around WR40 and the 100th pick overall. He won’t break your team if he winds up a bust, but that’s not my issue. It’s the potential upside you’re missing out on by drafting him. Godwin will have some big games and make for a fine FLEX, but what’s his ceiling? Is there any realistic scenario he’ll finish any higher than, say, WR20? (And that’s being super generous). He’s being drafted ahead of guys like Makai Lemon, Josh Downs, Jordan Addison, and several other receivers who admittedly have lower floors, but an actual shot at finishing inside the top 10-15. A long shot? Absolutely. But a long shot is much better than no shot. You don’t win fantasy championships by playing it safe.
player’s Fantasy Grenade Rating:
💥💥💥💥 (4/5)
Godwin’s age, durability, and lack of upside make him a safe-ish pick with little to no upside. No thanks.
Chris Olave – New Orleans Saints
One of the toughest things about fantasy football is remembering not to chase last week’s production for the current week’s matchup. I’d say it’s even more difficult to not chase last season’s production when so much changes year over year. That’s where Chris Olave comes in.
I was in on Olave last season, and he turned out to be an incredible value. His ADP generally sat outside the top 30 receivers, and a career year gave Olave his first WR1 finish. But it was a near-perfect scenario with little risk where you could draft him. 2026 is a different story.
Olave turned 151 targets into a career-high 100 receptions and his third 1,000-yard season in four years due to multiple factors. A weak Saints running game gave the team little reason not to throw the ball.
Olave had next to no competition for targets, especially after Rashid Shaheed was traded to Seattle. That’s ideal on a team that found itself in frequent pass-heavy game scripts.
Volume? Check.
Efficiency? Not so much.
Among receivers with at least 100 receptions, Olave finished:
- 17th in yards per target
- 20th in yards per reception
- Last in yards after the catch
Olave will open the season as New Orleans’ WR1, but first-round receiver Jordyn Tyson is showing out in training camp. Not only does he create additional target competition, I personally believe he’ll be the team’s WR1 by season’s end.
Olave’s Fantasy Grenade Rating:
💥💥💥💥💥 (5/5)