Fantasy football is all about finding those sleepers that can blossom into something. Here are three wide receiver sleepers that will finish as a WR1.
Wide receivers are extremely fun to cover, and there are so many talented wide receivers in the NFL. With that being said, fantasy football is all about making bold takes and standing out. At the end of the day, it is fantasy — anything can happen.
An example can be Deandre Hopkins having a top-five wide receiver ADP before 2021 startups. With injuries playing a factor, he finished as WR46. Anything can happen, so let the spicy takes fly out.
Wide Receiver Sleepers for 2022
1. Darnell to the Mooney
Darnell Mooney established a great connection with the Bears' quarterbacks last season. Especially with the franchise quarterback, Justin Fields. Mooney is the first of three wide receivers I see finishing as a WR1 in 2022.
In 2021, when Allen Robinson became a nonfactor in the offense, Mooney took advantage of that and has not looked back. From his rookie season with 98 targets, Mooney saw 140 targets in 2021. That ranked him 11th among wide receivers.
Darnell Mooney 📈🌛2022
@DynastySons @Darnell_M1 pic.twitter.com/akfI6XPROV— Dan Brown (@DanBrownNFL) January 20, 2022
Mooney finished top 12 in targets, route participation, and snap share. The most impressive stat Is that he finished number 11 in target share percentage in the entire NFL. That was higher than star wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Tyreek Hill.
As it stands right now, Mooney is the guy in Chicago and Justin Fields looks to prove to the world why it was always Trevor Lawrence and himself as the two quarterbacks from the 2021 class.
2. The Moore I say it, the Moore it makes sense
Elijah Moore was on a tear before getting injured which allowed him to play in only 11 games. From week 7-13, Moore was the WR3 overall in fantasy posting 123.6 of his 138.2 points in that span.
Establishing a connection with what should be the franchise quarterback for the Jets is going to set up Elijah Moore nicely in the 2022 off-season. The New York Jets just re-signed Braxton Berrios who will not threaten Moore's targets whatsoever.
Since 2015, here are all the WRs to average 12.5 PPR/game (200 points over 16 games) in their rookie seasons (minimum 12 games).
*Elijah Moore played 11 games, averaged 12.6 PPR
Courtesy of @RotoViz ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/slS1XZxjSg
— Sam Wallace (@SWallace_FF) March 6, 2022
Also, Corey Davis was signed in the 2021 off-season to be the team's WR1 but was not able to stay healthy during the regular season. Opportunities are everything in life and Elijah Moore capitalized on them. He has fantasy managers — including myself — ecstatic and impatient to see what the second year wide-out will produce in 2022.
Elijah Moore will be one of the elite wide receivers in the NFL for the next generation and a WR1 finish is on the horizon.
3. Wanting More Moore
To the readers who consistently view my writing, this is a D.J. Moore truther typing at the moment. Moore is someone with poor quarterback play year after year and still delivers. He has three straight seasons of over 1,150 receiving yards. Moore also had top ten finishes in targets, target share percentage, routes ran, air yards, and air yards shared.
Moore's target share of 28.5% was the FIFTH highest in the NFL and that was with quarterback play from three different guys — Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker, and Cam Newton. Those three are not starting quarterbacks at this point in their career.
Came for Za’Darius Smith and stayed for DJ Moore pic.twitter.com/fP4SJArzsF
— Fitz (@LaurieFitzptrck) March 14, 2022
Nonetheless, Moore was able to do what he did and was even the WR4 one month into the NFL season. All of these numbers look juicy and that is without a top ten, even a top 15 quarterback.
This off-season the Panthers have freed up around 24 million in the past two weeks and it is clear that they are all for a trade to Houston to get Deshaun Watson. The D.J. Moore hype train will already have left, so go acquire one of the most consistent wide receivers in the past three years.
Thank you for checking out my wide receiver sleepers for the 2022 season! You can read all of my articles on my IDP Guys' author page. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @NBF_Clo and @IDPGuys (we have offense too) and please check out our website at idpguys.org.
