We’ve been hearing this offseason that the 2023 rookie class is better than the 2022 class. I’m going to be doing a series of articles talking about the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. I’ll be ranking the 2021 rookies and the 2022 rookies together.
We’re now halfway through our series as we’ve completed the quarterback and running back portion of the series. I’ve enjoyed it up to this point, and to do the wide receivers portion here was very long. I can’t wait to do a reflection at the end of the season. I initially came up with ranking them, which you will see below, and tiering them was the hardest part.
Have you ever seen the movie Draft Day? If you haven’t, I highly recommend you do. For those of you who have, you will understand this quote, “Breece Hall no matter what”. He is easily the 1.01 in all 2022 rookie drafts. The fun now is the 1.02. Many of you have or will be taking Ken Walker. On the other hand, I am going wide receiver.
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Ranking all of these wide receivers for dynasty purposes:
- Ja’Marr Chase
- Jaylen Waddle
- DeVonta Smith
- Elijah Moore
- Amon-Ra St. Brown
- Rashod Bateman
- Drake London
- Jameson Williams
- Garrett Wilson
- Chris Olave
- Treylon Burks
- Jahan Dotson
- Kadarius Toney
- Wan’Dale Robinson
- Skyy Moore
- Christian Watson
- George Pickens
- John Metchie III
- David Bell
- Alec Pierce
- Rondale Moore
- Nico Collins
- Jalen Tolbert
- Danny Gray
- Romeo Doubs
- Velus Jones Jr.
- Tyquan Thorton
- Calvin Austin III
- Khalil Shakir
- Terrence Marshall Jr.
- Dyami Brown
- Anthony Schwartz
- D’Wayne Eskridge
- Tutu Atwell
- Amari Rodgers
- Dez Fitzpatrick
- Erik Ezuknma
- Kyle Philips
- Jalen Nailor
- Mike Woods
- Marquez Stevenson
- Shi Smith
- Tylan Wallace
- Jaelon Darden
- Ihmir Smith-Marsette
- Mike Strachan
- Simi Fihoko
Tier 1
- Ja’Marr Chase
First, and with no surprise having Ja’Marr Chase here at the top. He logged seven 100-yard-plus games, including two 200-plus yard performances which were records for most receiving yards by a rookie. He also set a franchise record of 1,455 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, which are also rookie records. What more is there? This kid will be elite for the next decade.
- Jaylen Waddle
Even though his stock takes a tumble with the signing of Tyreek Hill, I’m still keeping Waddle in my top tier, but barely. In his first season, Waddle set an NFL rookie record with 104 catches, while also seeing 140 targets, which is third among all rookies ever. He wasn’t playing with much around him outside Mike Gesicki and DeVante Parker.
With Parker traded, and Hill along with a few other additions, I see Waddle being more efficient with his targets. Tua Tagovailoa supported multiple wide receivers at Alabama, Waddle being one of them. Why can’t he do it now? This offense is going to be fun to watch this season.
Tier 2
- DeVonta Smith
My first player to kick off tier 2 is no other than DeVonta Smith. Even with an up and down season, Smith was able to put up 64 receptions, 914 yards, and five touchdowns. With the addition of A.J. Brown, Smith should see a target downtick from the 104 he received.
I like this as a mini buy-low window as now he won’t be pulling the coverage that Brown will. With his talent, he should be more efficient with his targets where he could match his 2021 totals.
- Elijah Moore
Through an injury-filled season, we saw flashes of Moore producing WR1 weeks (3), but also some WR3 or worse (6). With the new additions around Zach Wilson, I still see Moore as the WR1 for this team and rookie Garrett Wilson more as a compliment, than a threat. If Wilson(19/42; 45.2%) can be more consistent with Moore like the rest of the Jets quarterbacks (24/35; 68.6%), the upside that he possesses could take him to the next level, only if Wilson can do it.
- Amon-Ra St.Brown
Next, we have a Day-3 “breakout” that did more than he should have as a rookie. Was it due to no T.J. Hockenson? No D’Andre Swift for the most part? Or just a lack of depth and talent?
Amon-Ra St.Brown had a tale of two stories for his rookie season. Through the first 11 weeks, he had 39 catches for 352 yards and zero touchdowns. The final six weeks are all we remember as he went on to catch 51 balls for 560 yards and five touchdowns. With the additions the Lions made this off-season and Hockenson and Swift coming back at 100%, expect St.Brown’s volume to take a dip (10+ targets over his final 6 games) to something more of 6-8 targets a game.
- Rashod Bateman
One of my favorite rookies last year was Rashod Bateman. He had one boom game (week 14), but never really materialized into what I was hoping as he played more of the deep threat for the Ravens. With Marquise Brown being traded and Sammy Watkins off the roster, it’s Batemans WR1 role to take. Now 146 targets are vacated, Mark Andrews will get his, and expect Bateman to get a little north of 100. He has WR2 written on him for me this season.
Tier 3
The first rookie and the first wide receiver d inrafted the 2022 NFL Draft where he will command targets in Atlanta’s passing game. With a massive catch radius, London should be perfect for whoever is the starter between Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder. With all the questions in Atlanta’s offense, due to the amount of volume which will be good for the young receiver. He’s my highest viewed wide receiver for this class, but I just have a gut feeling he’ll be a WR3 at best.
If you look at my rookie rankings, you will see I have Jameson Williams as my top wide receiver. So why is London listed first? Because I think London has the highest upside for 2022 this year.
If Williams never tore his ACL, he would probably be at the top of tier 2 here. His talent is undeniable as he finished with a 79-1,572-15 season in 2021. The question I have is what will he be for 2022? I don’t see the Lions pushing to bring him back, but more to bring him back slowly and then let him loose in 2023.
Viewed as one of the most NFL-ready wide receivers of the 2022 class is now paired up with Elijah Moore. The New York Jets added plenty of weapons for Zach Wilson to succeed, can Wilson take that step in the NFL?
A receiving core that was depleted with the loss of Michael Thomas, Chris Olave landed in the perfect spot. Last season Jameis Winston played a game-manager role more than his gun-slinging way. With the status of Thomas still in the air and the addition of Jarvis Landry, Olave has a chance to be that deep burner that can outrun corners. Winston has the arm talent to get the ball deep to Olave where he could lead this year’s rookies in yards and touchdowns.
The hype was real when the Tennessee Titans drafted the A.J. Brown clone after trading away Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles. I had Burks as my no.1 rookie wide receiver pre-draft. News coming out of the camp of him being out of breath (come to find out he has asthma) and looking like the WR3 on the Titans will be knocking him down people’s draft board.
Just because he’s at the bottom of my tier here, don’t think I still don’t like him, cause I do. Just being a little cautious. Let’s not forget that a couple of years ago Justin Jefferson was listed as the WR3 for the Minnesota Vikings, just saying.
Tier 4
After the questionable pick made by the Washington Commanders, Jahan Dotson has been the real deal at OTAs and is catching everything. Oh, let’s not forget, Terry McLaurin has not been on the field yet as he waits for a contract extension.
Kadarius Toney had a wow season, both in a good way and a bad way. The good was when he put up two weeks (weeks 4-5) with 16 catches for 267 yards. The bad, well…. How do I say this other than catching 23 passes for 153 yards? Hopefully, that two-game sample turns into 16-17.
- Wan’Dale Robinson
When you have the chance to draft a Kadarius Toney for your team you do it. Except when he’s already on your team and you draft Wan’Dale Robinson to compete. This kid is super athletic and could be on the field in week 1. One of these two Giants’ wide receivers will take the next step, it’s just hard to figure out who it is.
Many changes have happened to the Kansas City Chiefs, but Skyy Moore landed in a perfect spot. He’s a solid wide receiver and a great piece to build a rapport with Patrick Mahomes. Looking at all the contracts, Moore’s is the only one guaranteed after 2022.
Many had high hopes for Green Bay and its offense as they had two first-round picks. That didn’t happen, but they did trade up to the beginning second round (pick 34) and selected Christian Watson. This whole offense will look different with Allen Lazard being viewed as the WR1.
Watson is a really good run blocker, which is what he did at North Dakota State. He is very athletic, but it just seems hard for him to make a year-one impact, as most rookie wide receivers never do with Aaron Rodgers. I hope he proves me wrong.
To tell the truth, we really shouldn’t be surprised that the Pittsburgh Steelers took a wide receiver. To have George Pickens fall into their lap is a blessing in disguise. Mike Tomlin has had success with the wide receiver position from Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and more recently Dionte Johnson. Pickens could have been the WR1 of the 2022 class had he never tore his ACL, let alone been one of the best rookies of this class.
- John Metchie III
Just like Jameson Williams, John Metchie also tore his ACL. Notably, we haven’t heard much out of camp if he will be cleared to start or not. Considering what he did in college at Alabama, that’s exactly what we are hoping to get here once cleared. He could be the no.2 behind Brandin Cooks as this Texans team is rebuilding on the fly.
- David Bell
In all honesty, I am glad the Cleveland Browns didn’t re-sign Jarvis Landry because they landed the updated version of him in David Bell. He should easily be the slot receiver they need. Will it be Watson throwing him the ball? Probably not, but if he can build chemistry with whoever throws him the ball, he could make an immediate impact.
- Alec Pierce
To tell the truth, I was very excited when I was watching the tape on Alec Pierce. I saw a version of Jordy Nelson in him with just the way he plays, not to mention that there is a gap at the wide receiver two spots in Indianapolis. This position is wide open, and we’re hearing a lot of Paris Campbell buzz, but I feel I would rather have Pierce over Campbell.
- Rondale Moore
Finally, Rondale Moore wraps up as my last player in tier 4. Don’t automatically assume he is the worst, as tiering is different than ranking. With DeAndre Hopkins being suspended for the first six games, I am hoping Moore can step up and take the next step.
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Tier 5
- Nico Collins
- Jalen Tolbert
- Danny Gray
- Romeo Doubs
- Velus Jones Jr.
- Tyquan Thorton
- Calvin Austin III
- Khalil Shakir
- Josh Palmer
This tier is interesting in itself. First, Nico Collins made a highlight catch pass from Davis Mills, but can he take that next step before we drop him? second, I love Jalen Tolbert, don’t get me wrong, but while Michael Gallup is out, can the division two-star make a name for himself here? Furthermore, the next set of wide receivers here is all in the same boat. As in, can they do something?
Tier 6
- Terrence Marshall Jr.
- Dyami Brown
- Anthony Schwartz
Whenever we get excited about players (Terrence Marshall Jr), we sometimes get let down. I like to call this the dart throw group that I can’t drop but want to drop. At this instant, they are a must-hold because of that “what if” but after this, that what if will either turn into something good or will be immediately dropped if someone pops off the waiver wire.
The Rest
- D’Wayne Eskridge
- Tutu Atwell
- Amari Rodgers
- Dez Fitzpatrick
- Erik Ezuknma
- Kyle Philips
- Jalen Nailor
- Mike Woods
- Marquez Stevenson
- Shi Smith
- Tylan Wallace
- Jaelon Darden
- Ihmir Smith-Marsette
- Mike Strachan
- Simi Fihoko
In all honesting, this is my hail mary group, concluding my final tier of a group of players who could do something, but the majority of them won’t. looking at this guys are a lot of Day 3 players, and if you see the amount of day 3 players that hit compared to missing, you would understand. Some of these guys are on the waiver wire, and others were immediately claimed off waivers and put on taxi squads.
What are some players you love/hate? Did I miss someone? Am I too low or too high on someone? Hit me up on Twitter @RyanMiner_FFB and let’s discuss!
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