The 2022 NFL Draft has come and gone, and that means it’s time for dynasty rookie and startup drafts to really take off. We’ll have you covered throughout the draft season. You can find our full dynasty startup, dynasty rookie, and dynasty superflex rookie rankings that will be updated through draft season.
Below, we take a look at the order of the top wide receivers in our staff consensus dynasty rookie draft rankings.
1) Drake London (ATL – WR)
Drake London landing in Atlanta has been my hope all along. London will compete with Kyle Pitts for the team lead in targets immediately. London is a force to be reckoned with after ranking fifth in yards per route run and sixth in missed tackles last year (per PFF). This landing spot allows him to see a boatload of targets from Week 1 and cements him as a top 24 dynasty wide receiver.
2) Jameson Williams (DET – WR)
Jameson Williams continues the Detroit Lions’ obsession with speed from their receiving depth chart. Kalif Raymond, D.J. Chark, and Williams give the Lions a few players that can burn up the turf. Williams’ injury could lead to a slow start, but his lid lifting ability will be evident as soon as he’s ready to roll. This season, the Lions could see an uptick in their neutral passing rate with Williams, Chark, T.J. Hockenson, and Amon-Ra St. Brown filling out the target tree. Chark is only on a one-year deal, which will clear up room for Williams’ target volume moving forward in 2023. Williams has the raw talent and big-play potential to lead this team in targets and is a formidable dynasty asset.
3) Garrett Wilson (NYJ – WR)
Garrett Wilson‘s yards after the catch ability will be a godsend for Zach Wilson. His production profile against top competition at Ohio State is impeccable. He’s been top 30 in yards per route run in each of the last two seasons (minimum 50 targets, per PFF). This team needed to add talent around their young franchise quarterback, and this accomplishes that goal. Elijah Moore and Wilson give Zach Wilson a versatile pairing to pepper with targets. Wilson’s talent isn’t in question, but his dynasy ceiling could be capped unless Zach Wilson can take a step forward in year two.
4) Treylon Burks (TEN – WR)
This is a best-case scenario for Treylon Burks‘ dynasty hope. Burks now assumes the possible top spot in the Titans’ passing attack. This scheme was designed for a similar archetype of wide receiver before him in A.J. Brown. Burks, the question has never been raw talent, but how that talent would transition to the NFL. The A.J. Brown treatment with screens and yards after the catch opportunities should be paramount for Todd Downing.
5) Skyy Moore (KC – WR)
Pop the champagne and break out the party hats. Skyy Moore landing in Kansas City is a near-perfect outcome. Moore lands on a talented offense with an elite quarterback and an offensive genius. Yes, JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s presence will hurt his projected target upside, but Moore has the talent to emerge as the number two option in this passing offense behind only Travis Kelce. I know I sound ridiculously bullish on Moore, but for a player that converted to wide receiver when he arrived at Western Michigan and then proceeded to post a 91st college dominator rating and soak up a 99th percentile target share, the ceiling is enormous. Moore is a tackle-breaking machine and will be a YAC maven. I’ll draft him aggressively in dynasty rookie drafts not only because of the landing spot but his talent profile warrants it.
6) Chris Olave (NO – WR)
The Saints made an aggressive move to climb up the board to curiously select Chris Olave with a talent like Jameson Williams still on the board. It’s a head-scratcher, to say the least. Olave is a talented player in his own rite, though. He flashed game-changing speed at the combine with this prowess as a route technician. Olave is a good stylistic fit with Michael Thomas in the Big Easy. If Thomas moves in the near future, Olave could be their WR1 heir apparent.
7) Christian Watson (GB – WR)
The Green Bay Packers traded up to the top of the second round with the Minnesota Vikings to select Christian Watson with the 34th overall selection.
The North Dakota State product joins a lackluster Packers receiving corps of Sammy Watkins, Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Amari Rodgers, so there’s an opportunity for Watson to earn an immediate role from the get-go.
Watson’s rise to the second round starter at the 2022 Senior Bowl. The North Dakota State prospect showed that his 35% dominator rating and No. 1-ranked 4.33 yards per route run were no fluke, even if they came against an easy schedule of opponents.
And his draft stock continued to ascend with a blazing 4.36 40-yard dash (92nd percentile) during Combine testing. That speed at Watson’s size.
Combine that with his 38.5-inch vertical (84th percentile) and 136-inch broad jump (98th percentile), and all that’s left is calling the dude a certified stud that will benefit greatly from having Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback.
But be prepared for some growing pains as Watson makes the leap to stiffer competition at the next level. He’s not a fully refined product that has had issues with focus drops – 11 over the last two seasons. Best not to get in Rodgers’ doghouse.
8) Jahan Dotson (WAS – WR)
Jahan Dotson landing in Washington is a better NFL move than it is for our purposes in fantasy football. Carson Wentz is a barbed wire turnover-prone mess with questionable ability at this stage of his career of supporting multiple receiving options in fantasy. Dotson will compete with Logan Thomas and J.D. McKissic for targets behind Terry McLaurin. His dynasty outlook is rosier than his redraft prospects. McLaurin is an unrestricted free agent in 2023, so Dotson could assume the top spot in the wide receiver room as soon as next season. Then we pray that Wentz is at least a league-average starter, or the team can find a suitable upgrade.
9) George Pickens (PIT – WR)
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected George Pickens at pick No. 52, with WR3 an area of need and Diontae Johnson slated for free agency in 2023. I absolutely love the fit for Pickens here with the Steelers, who seem to never miss selecting wideouts on Day 2.
It remains to be seen how much Pickens will do as a rookie competing for targets alongside Johnson, Chase Claypool and Pat Freirermuth, but his long-term outlook with future franchise quarterback Kenny Pickett looks bright.
The Georgia Bulldog WR broke out as a true 18-year old freshman, finishing 2019 as PFF’s the 17th-highest-graded receiver in the nation (88.0) – ahead of future NFL wideouts like Jerry Jeudy, Justin Jefferson, DeVonta Smith, and Jaylen Waddle.
His 2.64 yards per route run were identical to Jefferson’s. George Pickens‘ unbelievable first year generated a 27% dominator rating – the No. 1 age-adjusted mark among the WRs in this draft class.
And it’s so clear that Pickens plays with a dog mentality. Part of his highlight tape is him putting opposing cornerbacks on the ground in the run game. Mike Tomlin is going to love that.
Injuries and off-field issues plagued Pickens’ draft stock, but he looks fully healthy based on his testing at the NFL Combine. And Pittsburgh seems like the right spot for him to get his head on straight.
I will be drafting a lot of Pickens in my dynasty rookie drafts with his future looking bright.
10) Alec Pierce (IND – WR)
The Colts are gearing up to throw the ball more with their quarterback upgrade in Matt Ryan. Alec Pierce fills a huge need for this franchise. Parris Campbell hasn’t been able to stay on the field despite his raw talent, and the franchise lost Zach Pascal in the offseason. Pierce is an athletic freak who will help stretch the field from Day 1. While his route tree was limited at Cincinnati, he has the raw talent to develop into a player that can contend with Michael Pittman for the team lead in targets yearly if he hits the upper range of his outcomes. His blend of athletic profile and surprising draft capital is worth taking a shot on aggressively in dynasty rookie drafts. 
2022 Dynasty Rookie Rankings
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS | YouTube
