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2022 Dynasty Wide Receivers Rankings

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Gaining experience is realizing top wide receivers in a league is what gets the job done. Who are the top five wide receivers in dynasty football?

Wide receivers are the best thing in the NFL. There is so much talent at the position that rankings have gotten extremely tough. One thing for certain is that the NFL is in good hands with the talent of receivers the league has today.

5. D.J. Moore

Now, people will say whoever wrote this is clinically insane and that is okay. D.J. Moore is a “my guy” player. Someone who is quarterback proof and has produced three straight seasons over 1100 yards.

Moore was the WR4 one month into the 2021 season with Sam Darnold being his quarterback. Darnold ended up regressing to his New York Jets days after that and STUNK it up.

Moore finished as the WR18 in 2021 but with good cause. The Panthers are not a good football team. Fantasy value, Moore is a buy-low candidate as the future of Carolina’s quarterback situation is a bit foggy.

With the questionable quarterback play, Moore still finished seventh in most targets a game and sixth overall in most targets by wide receivers in 2021. Additional numbers to convince the public about how great he is,

He finished fifth in target share at 28.4%, fifth in air yards, and top 11 in both receptions and yards this past season. As with Sam Darnold, Cam Newton and P.J. Walker produced these high-level stats.

The time is now to buy before the Panthers end up with a top-tier quarterback or even a middle-of-the-pack guy like Jimmy Garoppolo.

4. Jaylen Waddle

After his rookie season, everyone was trying to waddle their way to Jaylen. The former Alabama receiver impacted the Miami Dolphins and had so much VOLUME, which is king in fantasy football.

Waddle broke Anquan Boldin‘s rookie reception record — 101 yards — with 104 receptions this past season and was used in a plethora of ways similar to a Deebo Samuel role. Now, there is only one Samuel, but the 49ers offensive coordinator is now the Dolphins head coach.

Waddle had the tenth most targets with a defensive-minded coach this past season. What is most exciting about Waddle is the fact his new coach said “I’d start him in fantasy”. With that being said, it is safe to say even if Miami brings in another receiver, Waddle is their WR1 and is one of the best five dynasty wide receivers.

3. A.J. Brown

Listen, even with knee surgeries, A.J. Brown is still top tier in all aspects of football. As repeated, volume is everything and he sees almost all of it. Brown this past season, in 13 games, saw a ninth-best target share at 27%.

Brown and Ryan Tannehill have a great connection as Brown saw a 40.8% air yards share (ranked third), and the fourth-highest target rate on routes ran at 32.4%.

As a rookie, Brown saw the second-most yards per catch. Although that number has gone down the next two seasons, the Titans have no other weapons they can rely on. No shots to Julio Jones, but his hamstring is made from silly string and just can’t seem to stay healthy. Brown brings that explosiveness for the Titans at six feet and over 220 pounds.

In the upcoming season, he will be fully healthy and expecting a big bounce-back season after missing four games in 2021.

2. Ja’Marr Chase

Attack the writer for numbers five through three, but numbers one and two can go either way. There is truly no wrong answer for how these two former teammates are ranked. Just know, they are the dynasty WR1 and WR2.

Looking at Ja’Marr Chase’s opportunity numbers, it looks like he would not be that great. A lot of people wrote him off just because of some drops in meaningless preseason games.

Since that, Chase arguably produced the best rookie season in NFL history as a whole. Chase finished number two in receiving yards and touchdowns by a rookie. He finished four touchdowns behind the legend, Randy Moss, and just 18 yards behind Bill Groman.

Chase had just the 17th most targets in 2021, the 23rd best target share %, and the 18th most receptions by wide receivers. Looking at that, it would seem Chase did not have such a great season, but he makes the most of his opportunities.

The most intriguing stat is Chase had the fifth-most fantasy points per target among wide receivers at 2.38 points.

Chase had the ninth most air yards, the fourth most receiving yards, and fifth in yards after the catch in 2021. Playing with his college quarterback, Joe “MONEY” Burrow, the numbers are going to continue to rise for Chase in his second season.

1. Justin “Griddy” Jefferson

As stated before, the dynasty WR1 and WR2 can go either way. Justin Jefferson is my WR1 and it is simply my preference. Want to talk about elevation? Jefferson increased his receptions from his rookie season with 88 to 108 in 2021.

He also went from 125 targets to 167 which ranked him fourth. Jefferson might not have a Joe Burrow throwing the ball, but he does have one of the most underrated quarterbacks throwing it to him in Kirk Cousins.

Enough with the Cousins hate. He has proven himself time after time and this season with a new head coach, the world will see how deadly the combo can be.

Jefferson has had the most receiving yards since entering the NFL ahead of wide receivers such as Cooper Kupp and Davante Adams. Want to make a Justin Jefferson league manager’s heart warm? Just look at the in-depth numbers that Jefferson produced in 2021.

Jefferson finished number one in air yards, air yards share, deep targets, and completed air yards. He also finished top-five in targets, target share %, receiving yards, routes ran, and routes participation.

No need to bore with so many numbers, but the point is Justin Jefferson is THAT GUY. An increase in practically everything from his rookie season should get league managers jumping for joy with Rams former offensive coordinator, Kevin O’Connell becoming the head coach.

 

Top 15 dynasty wide receivers:

Top 15 Dynasty wide receivers
Justin Jefferson
Ja’Marr Chase
AJ Brown
Jaylen Waddle
DJ Moore
Cooper Kupp
Deebo Samuel
Davante Adams
Diontae Johnson
Ceedee Lamb
Tee Higgins
DK Metcalf
Tyreek Hill
Chris Godwin
Elijah Moore

Thank you for checking out my dynasty wide receivers rankings article, part of my dynasty series! You can read all of my articles on my IDP Guys’ author page. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @NBF_Clo and @IDPGuys (we have offense too) and please check out our website at idpguys.org.

 

 

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