Wide Receiver is one of the most hotly debated position groups in the the entire league. There are so many ways to look at the players and rank them one through ten. I did my list entering the 2021 season, and it looked very different. In fact, there are only 6 guys that remained in the top-10 NFL wide receivers list from 2021 to 2022.
Looking back on the guys who fell out of the list of top-10 wide receivers in the NFL, Calvin Ridley, Michael Thomas, Mike Evans, and DK Metcalf all have their own reasons for dropping out. Calvin Ridley will miss the entire season for wagering on NFL games last season. I could create an entire new post on how ridiculous that suspension is while guys like Deshaun Watson will be on the field at some point this fall, but I digress. Michael Thomas’s health is his only question mark. DK Metcalf will have Drew Lock throwing him the ball- that’s not good news for him. And Mike Evans cares too much about winning to put up gaudy stats.
It seems like we get breakout rookie wide receivers every year now. Justin Jefferson in 2020, Ja’maar Chase in 2021, and this year the rookie crop is as deep as ever. Ohio State standouts Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, Bama speedster Jameson Williams, and USC big man Drake London, just to name two thirds of the first round guys. I won’t put them on this list yet, but it would not surprise me if one, or multiple, of these guys are being talked about at top-10 guys going into next year.
Without further adieu, I present the definitive list of the top-10 wide receivers in the NFL entering 2022.
10. Deebo Samuel (San Francisco 49ers)
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It’s not often an All-Pro player at his position is barely in the top-10, but as a true wide receiver, this is where Deebo belongs. He is just as valuable as a running back as a wide receiver. This might come off as a slight, but it shouldn’t.
9.CeeDee Lamb (Dallas Cowboys)
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This guy has the talent to be top-5 in the league. I was stunned when I saw that he was 16th in the league in receiving yards and only registered 6 touchdowns last year. The Cowboys lost Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson, so maybe the increased volume will help CeeDee get the stats to push him up next year.
8. Keenan Allen (Los Angeles Chargers)
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Keenan Allen is criminally underrated, and I don’t know why. He has surpassed 1,100 yards in 4 of the last 5 seasons (the one season he didn’t hit 1,100 he registered 992 yards), while scoring at least 6 touchdowns every season. He is critical to the early success Justin Herbert has had. There are a lot of mouths to feed in the Chargers offense, but he is one that needs to get his.
7. DeAndre Hopkins (Arizona Cardinals)
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The #1 receiver entering 2021 took a big tumble entering 2022. There is no doubting how talented D-Hop is, but there are a few more variables entering 2022 that we couldn’t foresee in 2021. The biggest being his six game PED suspension. He’s only going to have 11 games this season at most, so his stats will not be top of the league. He only played in 10 games last year in his most disappointing season since entering the league, but still managed to reel in 10 TDs. This is a respect placement. Hopefully he comes out of the blocks fast in October and proves he deserves to be on this list.
6. Stefon Diggs (Buffalo Bills)
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This is the start of the elite tier of receiver. The next 6 guys are the absolute game changers and could have a case made being number 1. Diggs is a stud and has a top-3 guy throwing him the ball. Diggs was 7th among receivers in yards last year, but still managed 10 touchdowns. As long as Diggs has Josh Allen throwing him the ball, he will continue to put up stupid stats.
5. Tyreek Hill (Miami Dolphins)
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Tyreek Hill changes games, and keeps defensive coordinators up the week leading up to their games. All the Tua haters will fire back with “let’s see what happens when Patrick Mahomes isn’t throwing him the ball.” well we’ve seen him without Mahomes, and he still put up 1,183 yards and 6 touchdowns with Alex Smith throwing him the ball. The Miami Dolphins will be a run first team this year, but Tyreek will still be a focal point of the offense.
4. Ja'Marr Chase (Cincinnati Bengals)
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Remember the reports this time last year that Ja’Marr was having a tough time catching the NFL ball because it didn’t have lines like the college football? That was pretty stupid lol. As a rookie he was 4th in the league in receiving and had 13 touchdown receptions. As a rookie he put up those numbers!!! He’s got the connection with Burrow from their LSU days, can’t gain too much double teams because of other talent on the offense, and should only get better.
3. Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings)
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I feel weird gassing all these dudes up, but it’s a top-10 list, what did you expect? Justin Jefferson is top-3 in the league simply because the registered 1,616 yards with Kirk Cousins throwing him the ball. Justin Jefferson= 2022 All-Pro.
2. Cooper Kupp (Los Angeles Rams)
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His 2021 was one of the best seasons any wide receiver has ever had. He led the league in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, targets, and yards per game. He put the charry on top of his season winning the Super Bowl MVP. I an mot here for the haters saying he is a system player. He is a stud and you put him with any competent quarterback and he will replicate his 2021 numbers.
1. Davante Adams (Las Vegas Raiders)
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I don’t think this is really an argument. Adams has has finished top-5 in the NFL in receiving yards in 3 of the last 4 seasons with the lone exception being 2019 when Adams only played in 10 games. The change in quarterback from Aaron Rodgers to Derek Carr is a slight downgrade, but last year Carr out-threw Rodgers 4,804 to 4,115. Adams will be elite in Vegas and might see an uptick in production now that he gets to reunite with his quarterback from college.
