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Week 1 of the NFL season is right around the corner, which means we are entering primetime for fantasy football drafts! Today we are back with our PPR wide receiver fantasy football rankings, specific to PPR scoring formats where players receive points for each catch they make.
Running backs are always a hot commodity in the early rounds of drafts, but it seems like the top wide receivers are flying off the board quickly this season, especially in full PPR leagues. RotoBaller's consensus PPR rankings will help you navigate the wide receiver landscape in your fantasy football drafts. The position is as deep as ever, but there are a select number of receivers that can separate themselves from the rest and become true difference-makers for your 2022 fantasy football teams.
These PPR wide receiver rankings are tweaked all preseason long, so bookmark the fantasy football rankings portal and check back regularly for updates. In addition to these WR draft rankings, be sure to also check out our team's fantasy football articles and analysis - we discuss draft sleepers, busts, NFL players to target and avoid, NFL rookies in the best landing spots, and so much more. Most importantly, our brand new free mobile app is a must have - download it and configure your notifications. We deliver all the top NFL news, injuries, and fantasy analysis 24x7 with our free push notification alerts! Without further ado, let’s break down the first three tiers right now.
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Fantasy Football Wide Receiver PPR Rankings
Tier 1 - Fantasy Football Wide Receiver PPR Rankings
Justin Jefferson, Cooper Kupp, Ja'Marr Chase
Just entering his third season, Justin Jefferson is only 23 years old and already has WR4 and WR6 overall finishes under his belt.
The Vikings have replaced defensive-minded head coach Mike Zimmer with former Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell. Adam Thielen will still be a red-zone threat, but the 31-year-old hasn't played a full season since 2018. Jefferson can easily accumulate the volume and production necessary to finish as the WR1.
Only player with 3,000 receiving yards in the last two seasons
? Justin Jefferson - 3,016
(? @Vikings) pic.twitter.com/lHSTj4TlEi
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) May 10, 2022
Cooper Kupp broke fantasy football last year when he led the league in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. The Super Bowl MVP was flat-out dominant and should continue to excel with another year of QB Matt Stafford at the helm.
Projecting Kupp to again finish on top seems like a safe bet, but it is interesting to note that only two wideouts in the past 20 years have repeated as the WR1 in back-to-back seasons. The Rams gave Allen Robinson a big payday in free agency and he should eat into Kupp's target share, specifically in the red zone. Still, Kupp feels like a lock for 150 targets and double-digit touchdowns.
Ja'Marr Chase comes in at number three after posting an absurd 1455-yard-and-13-touchdown rookie season. Chase will probably not see the volume that Jefferson and Kupp are practically guaranteed, but he is so efficient with his targets that it may not matter. Out of all receivers with over 50 targets in 2021, Chase finished second in yards per reception and will look to strengthen the mind meld between himself and Joe Burrow this season.
These players are together in tier one because they each have a great opportunity to finish as the WR1 on the season. With all three offering the combination of a high floor and tremendous upside, you really can't go wrong drafting any of them in the first round.
Tier 2 - Fantasy Football Wide Receiver PPR Rankings
Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, CeeDee Lamb
The Buffalo Bills acquired Stefon Diggs in 2020 and immediately reaped the benefits. In his two years in Buffalo, Diggs has ranked first and fifth in the NFL in total targets.
As the third receiver off the board last year, he disappointed a bit by finishing as the WR7. Diggs was second in the league in unrealized air yards, however, meaning he and fantasy QB1 Josh Allen failed to connect on numerous deep balls. If just some of these result in big plays this year, Diggs could easily find his way into the top three.
Tier one included receivers with new teammates and coaches, but Davante Adams is the first in our rankings who is in an entirely new situation in 2022. Adams has been the most consistent receiver in the league, finishing top-10 in fantasy points per game in each of the past six seasons. This consistency may have something to do with having Aaron Rodgers under center, but a Derek Carr-Davante Adams tandem already proved to be lethal once upon a time at Fresno State. Sure, this was in college, but the chemistry between the two was clear and they have remained close friends.
The Raiders passed the ball a ton last season, so the volume should still be there for Adams. He remains an extremely reliable option as a top-five fantasy receiver.
Derek Carr & Davante Adams at Fresno State from 2012-13:
◻️ Adams led the FBS in receptions, rec yards, & rec TDs
◻️ Carr led the FBS in pass yards & pass TDs
◻️ The Bulldogs won the inaugural MWC Championship Game(H/T @NFLResearch)
? @FresnoStateFB pic.twitter.com/CkmsN7yyOd
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 18, 2022
CeeDee Lamb was projected for a massive second-year breakout in 2021. He didn't exactly live up to the hype, but Lamb proved that he can be the de-facto WR1 in Dallas. He led the Cowboys in targets last season and should see quite the uptick in his volume this year with Amari Cooper out of town and Michael Gallup (knee) expected to miss time to start the year.
Dallas added Jalen Tolbert in the draft and James Washington in free agency, but Washington (foot) may begin the season on injured reserve, making Lamb the only healthy receiver on the roster to have scored an NFL touchdown. In an offense that ranked top-five in pass attempts per game last season, Lamb is poised to take the leap into superstardom.
Tier 3 - Fantasy Football Wide Receiver PPR Rankings
Deebo Samuel, Mike Evans, Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown, Keenan Allen, Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman Jr., Jaylen Waddle
Tier three has more than double the number of players in either of the first two, but all still project to be quality early-round options.
Deebo Samuel finally had his breakout campaign in 2021 and it was an incredibly special one. He finished as the WR3 despite placing 21st amongst receivers in total targets. You may think this is due to his involvement in the run game, but if you completely remove his rushing statistics (including all eight rushing touchdowns), Deebo still would've finished as the WR12.
After an offseason full of questions surrounding his desire to be used as a "wide back", Samuel returned to the 49ers on a huge extension that includes incentives for continued rushing production. Trey Lance will take over as quarterback, which does introduce some risk to selecting Samuel in fantasy, but he should still be the focal point of an explosive Kyle Shanahan offense.
DEEBO IS WIDE OPEN.
Trey Lance finds him for the 76-yard TD! #FTTB
?: #SEAvsSF on FOX
?: NFL app pic.twitter.com/9BRzRkYRNU— NFL (@NFL) October 3, 2021
There isn't much to say about Mike Evans that isn't common knowledge at this point. With eight consecutive 1000-yard seasons including two straight with double-digit touchdowns, Evans is all but guaranteed to reach these milestones once again with Tom Brady in 2022.
Finishing as the WR9 last season, Evans saw the fewest targets of any top-12 receiver but has the potential for more this year. The Buccaneers' wide receiver room will be loaded when healthy, but there are still over 16 targets per game vacated with the departures of Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski.
Tyreek Hill has had the privilege of catching passes from Patrick Mahomes for the past four years but now will run routes for Tua Tagovailoa in Miami. Tagovailoa is considered mostly unproven but did support a borderline WR1 last season in Jaylen Waddle, who also finds himself in this tier. This begs the question: are two Miami wide receivers capable of finishing in the top-14?
Miami's WR2 last year was DeVante Parker. In games in which Tua and Parker both played in full, Parker received eight targets per game. We'd have to rewind to 2017 to see the last time Hill received eight or fewer targets per game, but he still finished as the WR8. Better yet, this was with Alex Smith, not Mahomes.
The takeaway is that Tagovailoa should throw the ball enough to give both Waddle and Hill 130+ targets, and Hill has already proven that he can finish inside the top-10 with just 105. If Tua can step up in a new west-coast offense led by Mike McDaniel, both of his primary weapons should flourish.
.@Tua to @cheetah against the #Bucs top CB Carlton Davis.pic.twitter.com/s3LdMwaKQq
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 10, 2022
The Philadelphia Eagles had the second-heaviest rushing attack in the NFL last year, which could scare some drafters away from selecting A.J. Brown in 2022. Brown, however, is coming over from Tennessee, the only team with more rushing attempts in 2021. It was Brown's worst season as a pro, but he dealt with injury throughout the year and the absence of Derrick Henry didn't do the Titans' offense any favors.
Henry was healthy, however, for the 2020 season in which he led the league in carries. Brown missed two games and still finished as the WR12 on incredible efficiency.
The Eagles are expected to pass more this season after trading their first-round pick for Brown. It remains to be seen whether or not quarterback Jalen Hurts can lead the Eagles' receivers to the promised land, but Brown has proven he can be a fantasy WR1 on a run-centric team without elite quarterback play. Hurts, who had a limited number of weapons in his first full season as a starter, could be truly unleashed this season and Brown would be the main beneficiary.
Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen is about as dependable as it gets in PPR leagues. He has finished as a top-12 receiver in every season since 2016 except 2020, in which he finished as the WR13. Allen may have the highest floor of any receiver outside of the top five, but his ceiling is higher than his ADP of WR10 reflects.
He only had six total touchdowns in 2021, which was the fewest of any WR1. Running back Austin Ekeler is still an excellent selection in the first round, but he is bound to see some regression from his insane 20 touchdown season. Give a few of those to Allen, who had eight in Justin Herbert's rookie season, and he could easily outperform a few of the players ranked ahead of him. Even without additional touchdowns though, 140 targets and 1000 yards should come as automatic.
We have already discussed the possibility of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle both finishing inside the top 14 in 2022, but how about a duo that's already proven they can accomplish it? Last season, Tee Higgins was the WR13 in points per game but was overshadowed by the miraculous rookie season had by his teammate Ja'Marr Chase. Higgins actually accumulated more targets and receptions per game than Chase despite being hampered by a shoulder injury for much of the first half of last season.
A fully healthy Higgins exploded after the Bengals' week 10 bye, posting four 100-yard games in his final seven. Higgins is due for positive touchdown regression this year and has legitimate league-winning potential.
The Indianapolis Colts are yet another team that finished in the top-five in rushing attempts last year. Michael Pittman Jr., only in his second season, still managed to break out as the WR17. He turned 129 targets from Carson Wentz into 88 receptions for 1082 yards and six touchdowns.
The Colts are of course projected to be a run-first offense with Jonathan Taylor again in 2022, but they traded a third-round pick for Matt Ryan in hopes to improve the passing attack. We have seen receivers such as Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and Roddy White thrive with Ryan in the past.
Furthermore, Pittman's 25.7% team target share should persist if not increase, as the Colts added second-round rookie Alec Pierce but didn't bring in any established receivers as competition for Pittman. He can be drafted as a high-end WR2 with enormous upside.
I don’t care what they say but you should select Michael Pittman Jr. in the 3rd round of all of your fantasy football drafts: pic.twitter.com/UhcuHFi4AJ
— Moody (@EricNMoody) August 17, 2022
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