From Alec Pierce to Tyreek Hill: Ranking the wide receivers who could define 2026 NFL free agency
George Pickens, the projected top free agent WR, received the franchise tag
With NFL free agency contract negotiation window opening March 9 at noon ET, CBS Sports is providing a position-by-position look at the free agent landscape.
Wide receiver has had some big-ticket free agent items the past few years, with Davante Adams and Stefon Diggs both getting beyond $20 million per year on their contracts last offseason and Calvin Ridley also going over that mark the year before.
The 2026 class should be no different, with several potential standout contributors available.
Ranking top free-agent wide receivers
Alec Pierce led the NFL in yards per reception each of the last two seasons. The biggest difference between 2024 and 2025, though? Pierce excelled in the big plays. He made massive strides as an all-around receiver, too. His reception and yardage totals were both career highs. Pierce became one of just four players with the past 15 seasons to go beyond 1,000 yards receiving and 20 yards per catch, joining A.J. Brown (2019), Mike Williams (2019) and DeSean Jackson (2014). Pierce has the size/speed/strength combination that makes him the next potential member of the $20+ million per year club, and at just 25, he is on a strong upward trajectory.
Romeo Doubs is a sort of "jack of all trades, master of none" wide receiver. He has good size at 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds. He is solid in the red zone. He delivered his best year catching the ball in 2025 (though drops have been an issue before), and he can win on short, intermediate and deep routes. He can be inconsistent week-in and week-out, but he registered career highs in receiving yards and yards per reception in 2025, and he had an eight-catch, 124-yard, one-touchdown outburst in Green Bay's playoff loss to the Bears. Doubs is a solid No. 2 option for a team, and with good size and speed, he will be sought-after as one of the best wide receivers on the market.
After three years being used as a short-game slot target, Wan'Dale Robinson saw his yards per reception jump to 11.0 (up from 7.5 in 2024) and his air yards per target jump to 8.5 (up from 4.8 in 2024). Shifty with the ball in his hands, Robinson played more than 43% of his snaps out wide in 2025; he had never been above 30% previously. Robinson is small and played in all 17 games just once through four seasons, but if placed in the right situation, he can be a valuable, dynamic option.
Mike Evans' legendary 1,000-yard streak came to an end after 11 seasons due to a plethora of injuries, including a hamstring issue early and then a broken collarbone. He no longer possesses the elite downfield speed that made him one of the league's most feared receivers for the better part of a decade, but his huge size (6-foot-5 and 213 pounds) and catch radius still render him a terrific contested-catch option, especially in the red zone. Evans cannot just be peppered with targets like he once could, but plenty of teams would love a physical boundary wide receiver with the speed to win deep on occasion. Evans is still that.
Though it wasn't quite his breakout 2024 campaign, Jauan Jennings' 2025 season was a strong one. He continued to do the things that will earn him a nice payday this offseason. He plays with tremendous physicality in the run game and the pass game, is one of the NFL's most reliable third-down targets and scores a lot of touchdowns. He brings good size (6-foot-3 and 212 pounds) and tremendous competitiveness to the field. Oh, and as a former quarterback, he's a threat on trick plays, too: He threw a touchdown in this year's playoffs as well as Super Bowl LVII two years ago. Jennings is on an impressive since he entered the league as a 2020 seventh-round pick.
Rashid Shaheed only caught 18 passes in 12 games (including playoffs) with the Seahawks after a midseason move from the Saints, but he still made a massive impact with two kickoff return touchdowns and a punt return touchdown. The second kickoff return touchdown set the tone for a divisional round blowout of the 49ers. His punt return touchdown was a huge part of Seattle's comeback against the Rams in a crucial Week 16 showdown. His contributions as a pass catcher and offensive weapon in general shouldn't be completely forgotten, either; he's a deep threat as a receiver and a versatile threat with the ball in his hands.
Tyreek Hill appeared in just four games last season before a gruesome knee injury, similar to the one that cost Tank Dell all of the 2025 season. Whether Hill will also miss all of next season remains TBD, but there's no doubting it will have a significant impact. Plus, he just turned 32. He's likely in line for a one-year deal, and some contenders could be circling if the price is right.
Five teams to watch
- It's no coincidence that the Bills are still looking to get over the playoff hump and still looking to get over the hump of finding a No. 1 wide receiver ever since Stefon Diggs left town.
- The 49ers have a nearly blank slate at wide receiver. Brandon Aiyuk is all but officially gone, Jennings and Kendrick Bourne are free agents, and Ricky Pearsall has had trouble staying healthy throughout his career. Plus, tight end George Kittle will be coming off a torn Achilles.
- The Steelers tried a bevy of receiving options -- youngsters, veterans, journeymen, even tight ends split out wide -- opposite DK Metcalf but didn't find any answers.
- The Raiders are likely to pick quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall, and they'd certainly like to surround him with some receiving help.
- Regardless of whom the Browns roll with at quarterback, he needs some upgrades around him. The Browns got the fewest receiving yards in the NFL out of their wide receivers in 2025.
One big storyline
What happens with George Pickens?
The Cowboys franchise tagged George Pickens, meaning they have until July 15 to try to reach a long-term deal with the immensely talented pass catcher. Pickens made 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns in 2025, making the All-Pro second team in his first year in Dallas. But the Cowboys parted ways with stars in the prime of their career -- see Micah Parsons last year -- and the longer Pickens stays without a long-term deal, the longer other teams will hover seeing if they can make a trade for him.
