The Candidates to Be the Overall WR1 in 2022

Rostering the highest-scoring player at a position feels a lot like having a superpower in fantasy leagues. You just know that player is going to deliver for your fantasy squad every week.

We’ve taken a look at the top candidates to be overall fantasy QB1 in 2022, and the WR1 candidates too. Now it’s time to review which WRs have the best chance to finish at the top.

Keep in mind these are not fantasy WR rankings, but a tiered list of players most likely to finish as the overall fantasy WR1 in 2022. 

Tier 1 overall fantasy WR1 candidates

• Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
• Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
• Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

Kupp was the best chance to keep the crown after posting arguably the best season by a WR in NFL history (145 catches, 1,947 yards, 16 TD — and that’s not even counting his playoff heroics and Super Bowl MVP). The Kupp-Matthew Stafford connection with thrive again in 2022.

Jefferson and Chase are still Tier 1 contenders, however. Chase averaged nearly 5 more yards per reception than Kupp and finished with only three fewer TDs — in his rookie season. Justin Jefferson has topped 15 yards per reception in back-to-back years and opened his career with 88-1400-7 and then improved across the board with 108-1616-10. The sky is the limit for both of these players. 

Tier 2 overall fantasy WR1 candidates

• Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
• Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills

We really don’t have to move Adams down the fantasy rankings much with his move to the Raiders. Derek Carr is perfectly capable of supporting elite WR production. Don’t forget, Darren Waller posted a 107-1,200-9 year in 2020 on this team. Adams should be able to best those figures.

Diggs is an obvious contender for the throne, too, having caught 230 passes for 2,760 yards and 18 TDs over the last two seasons. He remains Josh Allen’s No. 1 target.

Tier 3 overall fantasy WR1 candidates

• A.J. Brown, Tennessee Titans
• Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
• CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
• Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins

Brown, Samuel and Lamb all fall into the category of “talented enough to make this happen, but we need to see more volume.” Those three players finished with between 100 and 120 targets last season. They’ll need to see 160-plus to have a true shot at the top of the heap.

Hill may be due for the reverse. He was in the 160-plus group with Patrick Mahomes. Now he’s in an unknown target tree with Tua Tagovailoa. He still lands in Tier 3 as the most explosive player in football.

Tier 4 overall fantasy WR1 candidates

• Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers

Evans is the WR1 on the best offense in football that currently has other questions at the pass-catching position (Chris Godwin tore his ACL late in the year, Rob Gronkowski might retire). He has caught 27 TDs over the last two seasons. The yardage hasn’t been elite (just barely over 1,000 yards both seasons), but if targets elsewhere are vacated, they will go Evans’ way. If he catches 90 passes instead of 70, this becomes a legit possibility.

Allen is a monster in PPR leagues, catching 102, 97, 104, 100 and 106 passes over the last five years. He’s maxed out between 6-8 TDs per year, though. If he has a career year in TDs, a leap up the WR rankings will happen.

Tier 5 overall fantasy WR1 candidates

• DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
• Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
• Terry McLaurin, Washington Football Team
• DJ Moore, Carolina Panthers
• Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns

This is a list of players talented enough to finish as the overall fantasy WR1 but who have major questions about their situation and/or recent injuries push them all the way down to the Tier 5 group. Hopkins and Thomas fall into the health-question category, while McLaurin, Moore and Cooper fall into the situation-question group.

Consider all of them long shots to finish as the overall WR1, but it’s within their range of outcomes.