Jalen Coker’s Late-Season Breakout
Coker’s modest 2025 totals of 33 receptions for 394 yards and three touchdowns do not tell the full story after a quad injury cost him the first six games. Including the playoffs, he closed the year with 28 catches for 378 yards and four touchdowns over his final six appearances, posting a 20% target share, 2.30 yards per route run and a 28.3% first read share. A 20% target share is solid WR2-level involvement but it’s not elite volume. For context, Puka Nacua, Ja’Marr Chase and Amon-Ra St. Brown were all above 30% last season, while Tetairoa McMillan finished at 25.4%.
However, Coker’s late-season share still compared favorably with WRs being drafted in his neighborhood, including Romeo Doubs at 18.9%, Rashid Shaheed at 16.7%, and Jalen Nailor at 11.3%. His 2.30 yards per route run was even more encouraging, closely resembling the full-season marks of George Pickens (2.35) and Chase (2.23), although it remained below Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba at 3.70 and 3.62.
Coker’s 2026 Fantasy Upside
Bryce Young set some nice career highs with 3,011 passing yards and 23 touchdowns last season, but his 6.3 yards per attempt and Carolina’s run-heavy approach could limit the overall receiving volume that Coker will see. Coker nevertheless enters 2026 as a starter and is being drafted around WR55, in the same general range as Doubs, Jerry Jeudy, Shaheed, and Calvin Ridley.
Coker’s 76.7% catch rate was substantially better than all of these WRs in his vicinity, although his smaller workload makes that efficiency more difficult to project over a full season. McMillan remains the clear No. 1 target, while Xavier Legette and Darren Waller could prevent Coker from maintaining the 20% share he recorded down the stretch.
If Coker settles in around an 18-20% share, that’s a realistic path to WR3 production, while most of the receivers around his ADP would require a more dramatic role change. He’s a solid dart throw at this stage of the draft.
