The TRUTH: Top-10 WRs in 2022 (Fantasy Football)

It is a new month, and Andy, Mike, and Jason are back with their TRUTH series – today, the guys tackled the top-10 WRs to dissect how much these players helped fantasy managers during the 2022 season.

Before we jump in, here is a quick reminder on how the TRUTH scores are calculated. Using a half-point PPR scoring format:

• Great Games are more than 21 points
• Good Games are more than 12 points
• Bust Games are fewer than 7 points
• Missed Games don’t count against the consistency score

As with QBs and RBs, WR scoring was way down this past season. We saw the fewest WR receiving TDs since 2017 and the second-fewest over the last decade. There were some teams with significant changes in WR target shares – the Eagles and the Dolphins increased the most, whereas the Texans and Ravens decreased the most. There are a couple of players in the top-10 WRs from the same team, so the guys discussed those players together.

1  Justin Jefferson | Vikings

Age: 24.0 | ADP 1.08 | WR2
2022 Consistency Rank: 4
1^st Half: 5 / 2^nd Half: 5

17 games- 184 targets for 128/1809/8 receiving – 4/24/1 rushing
Defenses:  +2.5 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: +1.91 at Home

Justin Jefferson is good at football – he tied for the 3^rd highest percentage of great games since the TRUTH series started in 2016. He also had the 6^th most receiving yards of all time this season; however, he was held under 50 receiving yards seven times. There is an excellent argument for Jefferson being the surefire WR1 next year, but do not forget about that guy Cooper Kupp coming back from injury.

2  Tyreek Hill  | Dolphins

Age: 28.8 | ADP 2.08 | WR7
2022 Consistency Rank: 2
1^st Half: 3 / 2^nd Half: 1

17 games- 170 targets for 119/1710/7 receiving – 7/32/2 rushing
Defenses:  -9.93 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: -9.29 at Home

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Great Games	Good Games	Bust Games
41%	76%	12%

Any questions surrounding Tyreek Hill’s move to the sunshine state were immediately squashed with two great games right out of the gate. Even with multiple QBs throwing to him and dealing with injuries, he only busted 12% of the time. Hill never really let you down.

3  Davante Adams  | Raiders

Age: 30.1 | ADP 2.01 | WR4
2022 Consistency Rank: 7
1^st Half: 8 / 2^nd Half: 11

17 games- 180 targets for 100/1516/14 receiving
Defenses:  -4.04 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: +1.1 at Home

Another WR changing teams was Davante Adams, and people were split on how he would perform. He did pretty well – he had a league-leading 14 receiving TDs and has had double-digit TDs in six of his last seven seasons. Adams’ consistency did drop over the last five games of the season, and if he was on your roster, you felt that hard. He did bounce back during championship week if you were lucky enough to get there with him.

4  Stefon Diggs | Bills

Age: 29.2 | ADP 2.01 | WR5
2022 Consistency Rank: 7
1^st Half: 2 / 2^nd Half: 13

16 games- 154 targets for 108/1429/11 receiving
Defenses: -4.5 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split:  +3.1 at Home

Diggs had a phenomenal season, delivering for you almost the entire season until the fantasy playoffs, where you needed him the most. Despite that, he was fourth in red zone targets, third in yards per route run, and third in receptions.

5  AJ Brown | Eagles

Age: 25.6 | ADP 3.04 | WR10
2022 Consistency Rank: 5
1^st Half: 5 / 2^nd Half: 9

17 games- 146 targets for 88/1496/11 receiving
Defenses:  -7.87 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split:  +1.57 at Home

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Another pair of WRs crack the top ten, and AJ Brown is up first. Jalen Hurts made the leap this season, and Brown came along for the ride. He led the NFL in receiving yards on vertical routes and finished fourth in both air yards and yards per target.

Getty Images / Sarah Stier

6  CeeDee Lamb | Cowboys

Age: 23.8 | ADP 2.08 | WR6
2022 Consistency Rank: 11
1^st Half: 23 / 2^nd Half: 4

17 games- 156 targets for 107/1359/9 receiving – 10/47/0 rushing
Defenses:  +2.62 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: -0.92 at Home

It was a breakout season for CeeDee Lamb (finally), and despite a slightly rocky Dak-free slate of games, he proved himself nicely in the second half of the season when his QB returned. Lamb led the league in slot receiving yards, and from Week 8 on, he was the WR2 in fantasy points per game. He showed he could be the alpha on a team.

7  Jaylen Waddle | Dolphins

Age: 24.2 | ADP 4.12 | WR18
2022 Consistency Rank: 15
1^st Half: 9 / 2^nd Half: 40

17 games- 117 targets for 75/1356/8 receiving
Defenses: -3.97 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: -0.12 at Home

Jumping to number seven in our rankings is the second half of the Miami duo. Jaylen Waddle’s season was slightly more up and down than Hill’s, and you truly felt his bust games. Waddle led all WRs in yards per reception and has the 6^th most receptions ever through two years in the NFL.

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8  Amon-Ra St. Brown | Lions

Age: 23.2 | ADP 6.05 | WR25
2022 Consistency Rank: 22
1^st Half: 31 / 2^nd Half: 14

16 games- 146 targets for 106/1161/6 receiving – 9/95/0 rushing
Defenses: +0.86 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: +8.2 at Home

The confusion abounds around who Amon-Ra truly is, and this will no doubt continue through the off-season. Jason reminds us that St. Brown was injured in Week 4, and the next two games where he “played,” he kind of didn’t, playing a much lower snap percentage. If you remove those games, he would have had a consistency score of 12 and one of the lowest bust rates in the league. He was a PPR machine, tying for the most receptions through the 1^st two years in the NFL.

9  Amari Cooper | Browns

Age: 28.6 | ADP 6.09 | WR31
2022 Consistency Rank: 17
1^st Half: 12 / 2^nd Half: 35

17 games-  132 targets for 78/1160/9 receiving
Defenses: +4.47 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: +5.4 at Home

Against all odds, Amari Cooper makes an appearance in the top-10. His success depended greatly on his QB, performing much better with Jacoby Brissett than Deshaun Watson, and he was also significantly better when he played at home.

10  DeVonta Smith | Eagles

Age: 24.2 | ADP 8.05 | WR36
2022 Consistency Rank: 12
1^st Half: 30/ 2^nd Half: 8

17 games- 136 targets for 95/1196/7 receiving
Defenses: +7.99 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: -2.97 at Home

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Great Games	Good Games	Bust Games
12%	47%	29%

Smith started the year a little rocky but took off as soon as TE Dallas Goedert went down. Jason thinks that Smith has leveled up and proven that he is an awesome WR and doubts his numbers will go down next year.