What is Fantasy Football season for if you can’t release a bold prediction or a hot take? Today, we look at our five hot takes at the wide receiver position for 2022.
Stefon Diggs finishes the 2022 season as the WR1
Stefon Diggs is the lead pass-catcher in one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL. We have seen Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs get on the same page before–it was scary. Last year they were just a bit off. I am expecting that they return to the 2020 form. Diggs has compiled 160+ targets in back-to-back seasons, and he enters 2022 with less competition for targets. Everything clicks for Stefon Diggs in 2022, and he finishes the year as the WR1.
DJ Moore finishes the 2022 season as a top-five fantasy WR
As hard as it is to believe, the minute Baker Mayfield steps under center for the Carolina Panthers, Mayfield will be the best quarterback DJ Moore has ever played with. Baker Mayfield is not the dump-off type of quarterback, so I believe some passing volume that historically heads to Christian McCaffrey will go the way of DJ Moore. DJ Moore is the lead receiver for an offense that will have to throw a ton. DJ Moore finally puts it all together and puts up a top-five fantasy receiver season.
Deebo Samuel plummets outside of the top ten at fantasy WR
Deebo Samuel is a great football player–this prediction has nothing to do with his talent. The San Francisco 49ers will be one of the most run-heavy teams in the NFL. Trey Lance will eventually open up the 49ers offense, but in year one, anticipate a more conservative approach from Kyle Shanahan. Deebo Samuel remains a solid fantasy producer but fails to live up to lofty expectations.
Tee Higgins outproduces Ja’Marr Chase in 2022
If you listen to Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals coaching staff this off-season, they believe they will get the Kansas City Chiefs treatment, and defenses will begin to run a ton of Cover 2 against them. What does this mean? It means that the deep ball the Bengals thrived on in 2021 will be taken away–or at least that is the plan. The Bengals will have to work the ball down the middle of the football field. To me, this sounds like the type of offensive philosophy that will benefit the bigger-bodied Tee Higgins and could limit the big-play ability of Ja’Marr Chase.
Gabriel Davis finishes the 2022 season as a WR1
The great Gabe Davis debate continues. Gabe Davis is a talented, young receiver coming into his own. We are bullish on the Bills heading into 2022. Outside of Stefon Diggs, there is not much target competition for Davis. Gabe Davis fills the boundary need in this offense that no one else on the team can match. You combine a high-upside young receiver with one of the better quarterbacks in one of the better offenses in the league, and you have yourselves a breakout season. Gabe Davis finishes 2022 as a legit WR1.
