A quarterback’s best friend is his number one wide receiver. The NFL is filled with talented wide receivers that can take over games, and in a pass-heavy league, most of the top NFL QBs have a bona fide No. 1 WR to rely on. Below, we will give away our NFL WR rankings and predict the top-20 NFL wide receivers by the end of the 2022 season.
Projecting the Top-20 NFL Wide Receivers Before the 2022 Regular Season
The NFL has changed dramatically over the last few years, becoming a pass-first league. As a result, the wide receiver position has never been as important than it is right now. Many teams have a true No. 1 wide receiver with some teams paying the price for two top-tier WRs on offense.
Davante Adams has been largely recognized as the top WR in the NFL for some time. However, he won’t have Aaron Rodgers throwing him the football anymore and will be rejoining forces with his former college teammate, Derek Carr, as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Meanwhile, Rams’ wide receiver Cooper Kupp had a historical season last year and was unstoppable, especially during the Super Bowl. He has great chemistry with Matthew Stafford and will look to build on last year’s record-breaking campaign.
The NFL has also had some excellent up-and-coming talents on the outside.
In just two years, Justin Jefferson has already established himself as a top-flight WR.
Fresh off of a Super Bowl appearance, Ja’Marr Chase set the league on fire in his rookie season with Joe Burrow under center and he will look to take another leap forward in his sophomore year.
On the other hand, a few wide receivers are dealing with new situations in 2022.
Tyreek Hill was traded to Miami and will no longer catch passes from Patrick Mahomes.
49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel did it all last year but will he show up and play this season? He is currently unhappy with the 49ers.
Below, we’ll take a look at the top NFL wide receivers and predict which WRs will have the best 2022 season.
Ranking the Top 20 NFL Wide Receivers in 2022 (11-20)
20. Mike Williams
19. Diontae Johnson
18. Tee Higgins
17. Amari Cooper
16. DK Metcalf
15. CeeDee Lamb
14. Terry McLaurin
13. DJ Moore
12. Mike Evans
11. DeAndre Hopkins
With Russell Wilson gone, Seattle Seahawks WR DK Metcalf falls out of the top-10 WRs in the league and teammate Tyler Lockett does not crack the top-20 list.
DeAndre Hopkins is always a reliable target. With Hollywood Brown on the Cardinals and Hopkins getting up there in age, he falls outside the top-10 WRs for the 2022 season.
While Mike Evans is an excellent WR, Brady seems like he prefers Chris Godwin. We are predicting Evans to have a strong year but will not rank among the top-10 WR in terms of production for the 2022 NFL season.
Predicting the Top-10 Wide Receivers in the NFL in 2022
Now, we get to the best of the best.
A few talented WRs failed to make our top-10 list, including DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans, and DK Metcalf.
Find out who beat them out for a spot in our top-10 list below.
10. AJ Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
AJ Brown is a big, physical WR, who is very difficult to tackle in the open field.
Brown was part of a huge blockbuster deal that sent him from the Titans to the Eagles. He will go from one team that loves running the ball to another team that loves to run the ball but that has not stopped Brown from producing at an all-pro level.
Brown will enter just his fourth year in the NFL in 2022.
He had over 1,000 receiving yards in his first two seasons but had a hard time staying on the field in 2021. Brown dealt with injuries last year and only played in 13 games, but still had 869 receiving yards and averaged 13.8 yards per reception.
Having Devonta Smith as his WR partner will help limit the amount of double coverage that he sees from defenses, which should ultimately boost his outlook in Philadelphia.
Look for Brown to have a good season in Philly and propel himself back into top-10 status.
9. Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers’ WR Keenan Allen is one of the most reliable wide receivers in the league.
He has a superstar and one of the top MVP favorites in Justin Herbert throwing him the football.
Allen is a great route runner and technician. Since 2017, Allen ranks top five among WRs in separation rate against single coverage.
He may not be able to breakaway from defenders or score a long TD but Allen is adept at converting on third downs and does a better job than most WRs in the league at running his routes to the sticks.
With Justin Herbert throwing him the football, Allen will once again have another very good season.
8. Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In Tampa Bay, Chris Godwin has emerged as Tom Brady’s favorite target over the last two years.
He tore his ACL late in the 2021 season but still had 98 catches for 1,103 receiving yards in 14 games. Usually, an ACL tear will lead to a down-year at the WR position but Godwin is just 26 years old and is a great route runner.
Brady also loves throwing short passes and Godwin excels at creating separation in close quarters.
Godwin was well on his way of catching over 100 passes last year and should be able to pick up where he left off in 2021. In fact, he will be even busier this year with the departure of Antonio Brown and the retirement of Rob Gronkowski.
There is a strong possibility Godwin leads the league in receptions if he can stay healthy.
Godwin is set to have a big 2022 season.
7. Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
In San Francisco, Deebo Samuel had himself a monster 2021 season.
He had 77 catches on 121 targets for 1,405 receiving yards and six receiving TDs.
However, it was not just through the air where Samuel excelled.
Unlike most NFL WRs, Samuel was also used as a running back with the 49ers last season. He added 365 rushing yards and a whopping eight rushing TDs in 2021.
Trey Lance will be the new starting quarterback for the 49ers but this will not hurt Samuel’s production.
The biggest question mark for Samuel this upcoming season: Will he actually show up and play?
The 49ers WR has been very vocal about not being happy with his contract situation in San Francisco.
If Samuel shows up and plays in the 2022 NFL season, he is set to have another big year in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
6. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
If Tyreek Hill remained on the Kansas City Chiefs, he would have easily cracked the top-five list.
Unfortunately for Hill, he suffers a significant QB downgrade, and thus, we were forced to adjust his ranking on our top-10 list.
Hill goes from having Patrick Mahomes throwing him the football to Tua Tagovailoa under center in 2022.
No matter who is throwing to Hill, he is still one of the most electric and fastest WRs in the league.
Hill has led the NFL in basically every deep receiving stat, including receptions (65), yards (2,574) and touchdowns (27) — since 2017.
He will still have a big season but with the QB downgrade, Hill will not be a top-five performer among WRs in the 2022 NFL season.
Who Will Be The Top-Five NFL Wide Receivers in the 2022 Season?
Tyreek Hill will be dealing with a huge downgrade at quarterback in 2022, which caused him to just miss out on cracking the top-five list.
Buffalo Bills WR Stefon Diggs kicks off the top five list. Meanwhile, the WR that we are predicting to have the best 2022 season appears ready to assert himself as the best wide receiver in the league.
Check out our list of the top-five wide receivers in the NFL ahead of the 2022 season below.
5. Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
Stefon Diggs is one of the best route runners in the NFL.
He is also one of the best at the catch point.
Since joining the Bills in 2020, Diggs ranks seventh or higher in separation rate against single coverage, contested catch grade, and grade versus man coverage.
It also helps Diggs that he has Josh Allen, the odds on favorite to win the NFL MVP award at BetOnline.
Diggs has had back-to-back seasons with over 100 receptions and over 1,200 receiving yards on the Bills.
When the play starts to break, Diggs is one of the best at finding a way to get open for Allen to throw to him for a big play.
Diggs’ 26 receptions on plays outside of the structure of the offense since 2020 are six more than any other WR or TE in the NFL.
This season will be no different and Diggs will have a top-five WR season in 2022.
4. Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
Over the last few years, Davante Adams has been widely recognized as the best WR in the NFL.
If he remained on the Packers with Aaron Rodgers, Adams would have been listed as one of the top two WRs on the list.
However, he gets a QB downgrade going from Rodgers to Derek Carr.
The Raiders also have better weapons than the Packers with Darren Waller at tight end and Hunter Renfrow in the slot.
Both players should complement Adams’ skill set and make it harder for defenses to zero in on one of the NFL’s top WRs. However, they may also steal a few looks from Carr in the process.
As a result, Adams may not see the typical targets he is accustomed to seeing in the 2022 NFL season.
Still, Adams remains one of the best and most productive wide receivers in the league. He often faced double and even triple coverage in Green Bay and still managed to get open.
Adams is very difficult to contain and is a great route runner, so don’t expect his production to fall off of the map completely.
While his stats may dip a bit on the Raiders in 2022, he will still be among the top-five performers at WR this season.
3. Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
Ja’Marr Chase set the league on fire in his rookie season.
In his first season, Chase had 81 catches on 127 targets for 1,455 receiving yards and 13 receiving TDs.
Chase was fourth in receiving yards and third in receiving TDs and Rec YAC/r.
He led the league in deep receiving touchdowns as a rookie with eight and finished second in total deep yards with 576 deep yards.
Joe Burrow is a bona fide star at QB. Him and Chase have a connection dating back from their college years, where they won a National Championship together at LSU.
Chase was a big reason for the Bengals’ success last year that saw them go to the Super Bowl.
The sky is the limit for Chase with Burrow under center.
Our prediction is that Chase will have an even better year in his second season and end up a top-three receiver in the 2022 season.
2. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Cooper Kupp was by far the best WR in 2021.
He was a triple crown winner last year, ranking first in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TDs.
Kupp understands coverages, how to set up defenders, and find space after the catch.
Kupp was clearly Matthew Stafford’s top target and Sean McVay’s offensive scheme is a perfect fit for Kupp. He seemed unstoppable and uncoverable last year.
Will he replicate his 2021 season in 2022?
Unlikely.
Not because he won’t have a great season, but considering the numbers he put up, some regression is very likely in 2022.
Kupp will have another monster season with Stafford under center and McVay calling the plays, which still makes him one of our top-two WRs in 2022.
The Best NFL Wide Receiver in 2022 Will Be…
1. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
The WR who will have the best 2022 NFL season will be Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson.
In his rookie year, Jefferson had 88 receptions for 1,400 receiving yards and seven receiving TDs,
He managed to follow that up with 108 receptions for 1,616 receiving yards and 10 receiving TDs in his sophomore campaign.
Jefferson is the definition of a big-play threat at the position. Not only can he catch the underneath routes but he is also huge deep threat.
He finished last season second in receiving yards.
Jefferson has been excellent against press-man coverage.
He is averaging 3.55 yards per route run, which ranks second and 21 explosive receptions of 15 or more yards, which is tied for first.
Only Davante Adams ranked higher against press-man coverage since Jefferson entered the league in 2020.
The only issue with Jefferson has nothing to do with his own play. Instead, the only thing holding him back is his quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins is not as skilled as most of the QBs in the league, especially when compared with other top WRs.
Still, Jefferson is a monster and has been amazing in his first two seasons.
In Year 3, Jefferson will take another huge leap.
Look for Jefferson to have the best season out of any WR in the 2022 NFL season.
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