Our own Sam Ryner recently dug into previous wide receiver breakouts in order to understand and better predict future breakout candidates. Andrew Erickson and Derek Brown took to the task as well, sharing their candidates on a recent fantasy football podcast. Let’s take a look at one player they identified as a potential breakout WR1 candidate for 2022: DeVonta Smith.

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The case for DeVonta Smith to be the next WR1 breakout

DeVonta Smith 2022 Fantasy Football Outlook

DeVonta Smith concluded his rookie campaign as the WR36 in weekly fantasy scoring. Smith was productive in yards per route run, ranking 30th (1.77) among all wideouts with 50 or more targets and third amongst rookies with 25 or more targets (per PFF). He surpassed fellow highly touted receivers Elijah Moore (1.75) and Jaylen Waddle (1.75) in this metric. With A.J. Brown in town, the Eagles could return to the pass-heavy ways from the beginning of 2021. If this happens, Smith’s low-end WR3 status from last season could be the floor if he can increase his touchdown output. Smith was the WR37 last year in receiving yards per game.
– Derek Brown

FantasyPros Staff Consensus 2022 Redraft Fantasy Football Rankings