The TRUTH: Top WRs in 2022 Part 2 (Fantasy Football)

The TRUTH series is back, and so are Andy, Mike, and Jason as they tackle WRs 11 and up to break down how much these players helped fantasy managers during the 2022 season. Make sure to check out The TRUTH about WRs 1-10 as well!

Before we begin, 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

11 Christian Kirk | Jaguars

Age: 26.2 | ADP 9.05 | WR42
2022 Consistency Rank: 16
1^st Half: 17 / 2^nd Half: 21

17 games – 133 targets for 84/1108/8 receiving
Defenses:  +2.37 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: +0.56 at Home

Kirk signed a four-year, $72 million dollar deal in the off-season and had a solid first year in Jacksonville. The bust games hurt him, but he still had the fifth most red zone targets, and with the addition of Calvin Ridley next year, Jason thinks you might be able to get him at a value in drafts.

12 Ja’Marr Chase | Bengals

Age: 22.9 | ADP 1.10 | WR3
2022 Consistency Rank: 3
1^st Half: 10 / 2^nd Half: 2

12 games – 134 targets for 87/1046/9 receiving
Defenses:  -4.64 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: +5.62 at Home

Even with missing several games, Ja’Marr Chase comes in with a consistency rank of third. Chase never busted ONCE. He was number one among WRs in expected fantasy points per game and despite missing five games, had the third most red zone targets. He could be a top-five overall pick in 2023.

17 Tee Higgins | Bengals

Age: 24 | ADP 3.11 | WR13
2022 Consistency Rank: 15
1^st Half: 27 / 2^nd Half: 14

16 games – 109 targets for 74/1029/7 receiving
Defenses: -4.64 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: -5.43 at Home

While discussing Chase, you must talk about Tee Higgins. Although we do not count missed games against a player, Higgins had several games where he was active, but he destroyed you by playing a small percentage of snaps. If you remove those games, he was quite an asset for your fantasy team. He has led the NFL in contested catches since 2020, and we are left waiting to see if the Bengals can maneuver in a way that allows them to keep him on the roster.

13 Tyler Lockett  | Seahawks

Age: 30.3 | ADP 9.09 | WR43
2022 Consistency Rank: 10
1^st Half: 13 / 2^nd Half: 6

16 games – 117 targets for 84/1033/9 receiving
Defenses:   -2.27 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: -5.89 at Home

A pair of Seahawks WRs are up next, with Lockett first. Geno Smith was given a great set of weapons to succeed in this offense – Lockett had a consistency rank of tenth this season. He has had incredibly consistent finishes the past five years and should be the better value over Metcalf next season.

18 DK Metcalf | Seahawks

Age: 25.1 | ADP 5.02 | WR20
2022 Consistency Rank: 17
1^st Half: 22 / 2^nd Half: 19

17 games – 141 targets for 90/1048/6 receiving
Defenses: -0.91 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split:  -3.1 at Home

The big story with DK Metcalf this year was his small number of TDs, even though he led the league in end zone targets. He is more volatile than you think from year to year, so he is not a guaranteed top-20 WR in next year’s draft.

14 Terry McLaurin | Commanders

Age: 27.3 | ADP 4.06 | WR15
2022 Consistency Rank: 14
1^st Half: 20 / 2^nd Half: 17

17 games – 120 targets for 77/1191/5 receiving
Defenses:  +1.57 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split:  -0.9 at Home

Terry McLaurin finished as WR14, the highest fantasy finish of his career. McLaurin has now played with eight different starting QBs in the four years he has been in the league and the 2022 season might have been his ceiling. Prove us wrong, Sam Howell.

15 Brandon Aiyuk | 49ers

Age: 24.8 | ADP 8.10 | WR40
2022 Consistency Rank: 30
1^st Half: 32/ 2^nd Half: 28

17 games – 114 targets for 78/1015/8 receiving
Defenses -1.74 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: -4 at Home

Brandon Aiyuk’s season certainly did not feel like the season of a top-15 WR who played 17 games. Nevertheless, it was. He benefitted greatly when Deebo was out, even with the QB carousel in the Bay area, and he could be drafted higher next season than we are used to seeing based on this finish.

37 Deebo Samuel | 49ers

Age: 27 | ADP 2.11 | WR8
2022 Consistency Rank: 23
1^st Half: 15 / 2^nd Half: 37

13 games – 94 targets 56/632/2 receiving – 42/232/3 rushing
Defenses:  -3.06 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: -3.1 at Home

Deebo did not deliver this season like we expected him to, and Jason will avoid buying into the San Francisco receiving core on this run-heavy team in general. He feels the lack of consistency will let fantasy owners down.

16 Mike Evans | Buccaneers

Age: 29.4 | ADP 3.02 | WR9
2022 Consistency Rank: 36
1^st Half: 21 / 2^nd Half: 55

15 games – 127 targets for 77/1124/6 receiving
Defenses: +6.15 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: +7.8 at Home

Mike Evans was somehow the WR16 but felt much more like his consistency rank of 36th. If you happened to start Evans in the last six weeks of the year – minus the fantasy finals – you probably had a tough time keeping your lunch down. Despite his poor consistency, Evans still managed his classic 1,000+ receiving yards; he just did not get the TDs.

20 Chris Godwin | Buccaneers

Age: 26.9 | ADP 6.06 | WR26
2022 Consistency Rank: 20
1^st Half: 39 / 2^nd Half: 6

15 games – 142 targets for 104/1023/3 receiving
Defenses: +0.53 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: +1.7 at Home

Godwin was the more consistent WR for the Buccaneers in 2022 and probably your best bet moving forward. He was targeted on 23% of his routes, and questions surrounding Godwin with the QB situation in Tampa Bay remain in the air.

19 Garrett Wilson | Jets

Age: 26.9 | ADP 6.06 | WR26
2022 Consistency Rank: 20
1^st Half: 39 / 2^nd Half: 6

15 games – 142 targets for 104/1023/3 receiving
Defenses: +0.53 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: +1.3 at Home

Garrett Wilson was the best rookie WR that we saw last year, even when he did not deliver in fantasy. He had the most targets by a rookie WR since Anquan Boldin in 2003 and should benefit greatly from a potential Jets QB change.

Some quick mentions…

23 Michael Pittman Jr. | Colts

Age: 26.9 | ADP 6.06 | WR26
2022 Consistency Rank: 20
1^st Half: 39 / 2^nd Half: 6

15 games – 142 targets for 104/1023/3 receiving
Defenses: +0.53 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: +0.9 at Home

Don’t you remember…we built this city, but apparently, the walls did not hold up this year in Pitty City. Our breath is held to see what the future will hold for Mike’s poster boy.

31 Mike Williams | Chargers

Age: 28.2 | ADP 4.07 | WR16
2022 Consistency Rank: 13
1^st Half: 14 / 2^nd Half: 25

13 games – 93 targets for 63/895/4 receiving
Defenses: +0.53 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: -4.6 at Home

Mike Williams had some fantastic fantasy finishes but, as usual, missed several games due to injury. If Keenan Allen does indeed move on from the Chargers, Williams could benefit greatly.

42 Keenan Allen | Chargers

Age: 30.8 | ADP 3.06 | WR11
2022 Consistency Rank: 6
1^st Half: 61 / 2^nd Half: 3

10 games – 89 targets for 66/752/4 receiving
Defenses: +6.44 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: -8.7 at Home

Keenan also missed some time this year, highly unusual for him, but when he returned, he delivered as a PPR machine.

32 Allen Lazard | Packers

Age: 27.1 | ADP 8.06 | WR37
2022 Consistency Rank: 24
1^st Half: 10 / 2^nd Half: 43

15 games – 100 targets for 60/788/6 receiving
Defenses: +0.65 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: -0.03 at Home

Lazard had a solid first half of the season but was unstartable as the year progressed.

34 Christian Watson | Packers  

Age: 23.7 | ADP 12.12 | WR56
2022 Consistency Rank: 35
1^st Half: 67 / 2^nd Half: 10

14 games – 66 targets for 41/611/7 receiving
Defenses: +2 vs Top-16
Home/Road Split: +0.04 at Home

The yin to Lazard’s yang, Watson was only startable in the second half of the season, at least until the fantasy playoffs. Apparently, it takes two WRs to make one Davante Adams. The math checks out.