We’re a mere week from the NFL draft, and dynasty owners are finally on the cusp of learning the landing spots for each prospect. To that end, today I’m going through the Day 2 hopefuls at wide receiver and discussing the best hypothetical landing spot for each.
For this tier of wide receiver, it will be imperative for them to land on teams that will ask them to perform fantasy-relevant roles, or at least that give them a legitimate shot of developing into that kind of player. From here on out, players risk being buried on depth charts, receiving part-time roles, or running cardio as a vertical X receiver.
Chris Brazzell - Buffalo Bills
Perhaps my favorite prospect-team fit, the Bills would be a perfect spot for Chris Brazzell. To become an impactful dynasty asset, Brazzell essentially needs to follow the Alec Pierce route. As a very raw route runner, he should be brought along slowly, first as a vertical X receiver before becoming a full-service route runner. Similar to Pierce, he can use his elite size-speed combination to catch the occasional shot play and stretch out defenses vertically in his rookie season.
While D.J. Moore and Khalil Shakir should be expected to carry the load as the Bills’ primary pass catchers in 2026, Brazzell will be free to be an efficient role player until he develops his route tree going into his second and third seasons.
Unlike many size-speed demons, Brazzell actually has very promising fluidity and agility to snap off his vertical stem and make an in-breaking or out-breaking cut. As he develops, he can play off the threat of his vertical game to force corners to give him a large cushion, at which point he can feast on dig and out routes. On a team with uninspiring competition to be their long-term WR1, Brazzell could eventually become the top dog in his receiver room.
Zachariah Branch - Atlanta Falcons
If Branch is ever going to become a real dynasty asset, two things need to happen. First, he needs to get his foot in the door as a gadget player with value on punt and kick returns. Then, he’ll need enough runway to earn more responsibility and potentially develop into a full-service wide receiver who runs routes downfield.
Enter the Falcons, who fit for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, their receiver room is wide open aside from Drake London, which means Branch will have the runway to earn a role as a downfield route runner if he ever shows that he deserves a shot there.
Secondly, head coach Kevin Stefanski has shown interest in this type of player in the past, often against his own best interest. Under his leadership, the Browns gave (too much) playing time to Kadarius Toney and Malachi Corley. They also experimented with using Elijah Moore as their jet sweep and gadget touch guy, often to mediocre results.
In Branch, Stefanski gets to keep trying to make this type of player work. In a wide-open receiver room with a head coach who is interested in his archetype, Branch would get early chances to flash with plenty of runway to become a real WR2 if he develops as a downfield route runner. That’s about all we can ask for.
Germie Bernard - Baltimore Ravens
Germie Bernard had one of the most min-maxed skillsets I’ve ever scouted. Everything about his playing style is geared towards beating zone coverage. For what it’s worth, he’s also a solid blocker.
Cue the Baltimore Ravens, who face the most zone coverage in the NFL thanks to the threat of Lamar Jackson’s rushing ability, value blocking at the receiver position, and sometimes struggle to find consistency and reliability out of their receiver room. Bernard is a perfect fit to complement Zay Flowers’ mercurial nature.
Antonio Williams - New Orleans Saints
Antonio Williams is a ready-made starting NFL slot receiver, but on tape he moves like a slot-only player. He takes short, choppy strides that help him change direction on a dime, particularly when gearing down, but he’s not explosive out of his breaks in the way a starting outside receiver is.
For this reason, he absolutely needs to go to a team that uses three receiver sets regularly in order to become a factor for fantasy. With Kellen Moore, Williams would be paired with an offensive play caller who utilized 11-personnel at the 4th highest rate in the league last season, isn’t afraid to call a pass-heavy offense, and who could use a WR2 to complement Chris Olave. Williams’ best chance at both volume and impact could well be in New Orleans.
Elijah Sarratt - New York Giants
A lackluster separator with good zone beating ability, great hands, and reliable leverage, Sarratt is this year’s winner of the “would be better as a big slot” award ™ . On the Giants, he would get plenty of chances in the slot whenever Malik Nabers works outside, but could also move over to the X whenever the Giants want to deploy Nabers inside. Having just lost their starting slot receiver in Wan’Dale Robinson, the Giants would be all too happy to replace him with a more reliable catcher of the ball.
Last season, rookie quarterback Jaxon Dart was not afraid to challenge tight windows, and he made several big-time throws, only for his receiver to fail to hold on to the ball. In Sarratt, he might finally have a receiver with the physicality and hands to start hauling those balls in.
Chris Bell - Los Angeles Rams
Chris Bell will likely miss much of his rookie season due to his season-ending knee injury. On the Rams, he could be brought along slowly without pressure to contribute immediately, and then step in once Davante Adams departs in a year.
As far as his stylistic fit, I don’t love Chris Bell as a downfield route runner, but he can be devastating on runway routes such as crossers, slants, and posts. If I have to play a game of “Is this prospect A.J. Brown or Xavier Legette?”, I’d much prefer it’s Sean McVay calling the shots. A master of forcing the defense into unfavorable personnel packages, he can make Bell one of the most efficient WR2’s in the league by leveraging Bell’s ability to erase angles and turn an underneath throw into a house call.
Deion Burks - Philadelphia Eagles
To become the best version of himself, Burks needs to more or less redshirt for a year, but his ceiling is essentially limitless. Let me explain.
Deion Burks is one of the most twitched-up, explosive route runners I’ve ever seen, but he’s not a great separator yet. The issue with Burks is that his pacing and footwork are all over the place, which means he can’t gear down quickly or change direction crisply. He struggles on stop and comeback routes because it takes him so many wasted steps to stop and turn back to the ball. And on horizontally-breaking routes, he can’t stop his vertical progress, so he drifts a few feet towards the closing corner rather than executing a sharp 90-degree turn.
If Burks could just get in the lab and learn the footwork to snap off his stem and break more crisply, he could genuinely be one of the best man coverage beaters in the entire NFL.
For this reason, the Eagles might be a great fit. In the short term, they have Devonta Smith, A.J. Brown, Hollywood Brown, and Dontayvion Wicks on the roster. Even assuming they trade away A.J. Brown, they won’t need to force Burks to start, instead leaning on their veterans.
In the meantime, Burks would be free to develop his game and then form a formidable tandem with Smith in his sophomore year. This fit makes even more sense due to Howie Roseman’s tendency to address his roster’s needs a year in advance.
Malachi Fields - Las Vegas Raiders
Fields is a classic vertical X receiver who likely doesn’t have the burst to become a star in the NFL. However, he has incredible ball tracking and hands to high-point tough throws deep down the field outside the numbers. While he’s not twitchy enough out of his breaks, he does have very efficient footwork with little wasted motion.
Considering I don’t believe very strongly in Fields’ movement ability, he needs a confident quarterback who is willing to give him chances to make plays downfield. While Fernando Mendoza is just a rookie, at Indiana he excelled at finding one vs one coverage deep downfield and delivering a catchable ball, giving his receiver a chance to make a play for him. Fields has the skillset to reward that trust. As a bonus, he leaves the light on for Jack Bech to succeed as a big slot, and for whatever they’re doing with Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor at the Z.
Honorable mention: Dallas Cowboys
If George Pickens were to leave in a year, Fields would fit right in with Dak Prescott, who is perhaps the most confident quarterback in the league in terms of fitting in bucket throws deep outside the numbers. His “f— it, Pickens down there somewhere” mentality can translate immediately to Fields.