The “Running Back Dead Zone” sounds like a horror movie, doesn’t it? Well, in the fantasy football world, it basically is. For those that are new to this term, the premise is that Rounds 3-6 in fantasy football drafts have a very poor hit rate for running backs. Hence, the running backs in this range will basically be dead when it comes to your fantasy team and ultimately hurt your chances for a league title.

The flip side to this debacle is that with the hit rate of running backs being so poor, the potential hit rate for wide receivers can become greater. Last year’s dead zone contained only one NFL first-round running back, and three that were undrafted. For reference, here are the notable running backs taken in the “RB Dead Zone” in 2021:

• Miles Sanders (RB – PHI)
• Josh Jacobs (RB – LV)
• Chris Carson (RB – SEA)
• Gus Edwards (RB – BAL)
• Myles Gaskin (RB – MIA)
• James Robinson (RB – JAC)
• Darrell Henderson Jr. (RB – LAR)
• Mike Davis (RB – BAL)
• Zack Moss (RB – BUF)

Now, there are the occasional hits (D’Andre Swift, David Montgomery, Joe Mixon), but for the most part, you get the idea. Most of the running backs in this area of the draft don’t deliver anything near their draft-day value. Conversely, here are the wide receivers that went in the Dead Zone last year:

• Cooper Kupp (WR – LAR)
• CeeDee Lamb (WR – DAL)
• Keenan Allen (WR – LAC)
• Mike Evans (WR – TB)
• Terry McLaurin (WR – WAS)
• Amari Cooper (WR – CLE)
• D.J. Moore (WR – CAR)
• Chris Godwin (WR – TB)
• Adam Thielen (WR – MIN)

That Cooper Kupp pick won people leagues last year. While the hit rate of wide receivers in this range will never be close to 100%, the wide receivers in this area of the draft, in general, did a lot better than the group of running backs.

That takes us to the 2022 season and the wide receivers that are going in the RB Dead Zone (Rounds 3-6) that should outperform their draft-day value and prevent you from overdrafting a running back here. The ADP listed below is the five-source consensus rankings for PPR formats on FantasyPros. This list is not limited to these players, but these are my favorites:

1. Michael Pittman Jr. (WR – IND) (WR15/FantasyPros ADP – 41.8): Michael Pittman Jr. enters his third year in the NFL with arguably the best situation in his career. Pittman’s 7.6 targets per game may have ranked 15th, but his 25.9% target share ranked 12th, and his 31% target share from Weeks 13-18 would’ve ranked top three in the NFL in a full season. Combine that with 57 more targets than the next-closest receiver on the team and that says to me that Pittman was truly becoming the “alpha” type of wide receiver that we’ve been waiting for him to be.

Not only will Pittman have this type of target share to build from, but he’ll have the best quarterback he’s played with in his career throwing him the ball in Matt Ryan. This same quarterback had his alpha wide receiver in Julio Jones score at least 15.5 fantasy points per game in every season they were together in Atlanta, with eight of those seasons seeing Jones score over 200 fantasy points. Ryan also has thrown the ball over three more attempts per game than when Rivers was quarterbacking the Colts and nearly eight more times per game than when Wentz was last season. Ryan knows how to get his players the ball to succeed. With Jonathan Taylor in the backfield being the focus of the defense and the Colts having one of the better offensive lines in the NFL, Pittman’s 88 receptions for 1,082 receiving yards and six touchdowns that we saw in 2021 could be just a taste of what’s to come for him and this Colts offense in 2022.

2. D.J. Moore (WR – CAR) (WR18/FantasyPros ADP – 46.2): A player that seems to frustrate fantasy managers every season, Moore is someone who has flashed potential but always seems to be plagued by poor quarterback play. Still, with the lack of a trustworthy quarterback, Moore put together his third straight season of at least 1,157 receiving yards. In fact, his 3,525 yards over the last three seasons trail only Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams, Stefon Diggs, and Travis Kelce for most receiving yards in the league. That’s led Moore to be a top-25 wide receiver in PPR formats each year over that time, despite only four touchdowns each of those seasons.

Bring in Baker Mayfield, who as crazy as it sounds, is the best quarterback Moore has played with in his short career. How big of an upgrade is Mayfield from Sam Darnold? Well, Darnold has never thrown 20 touchdowns in a season or even averaged seven yards per attempt in any of his four NFL seasons. He’s topped 60% accuracy only once and was sacked over 30 times each of the last four years. Mayfield has a Rookie of the Year to his name, has thrown 20+ touchdowns in every season but last year, and has much better completion percentages. We’ve also seen Mayfield support a WR1 when Jarvis Landry was the 12th-best WR in 2019. Moore should be in for a career season with Mayfield under center and should be drafted in the first three rounds of your redraft leagues.

3. Brandin Cooks (WR – HOU) (WR20/FantasyPros ADP – 57.2): Why does Brandin Cooks feel like the “middle child” of fantasy football? What I mean by that is, that he seems to always be disrespected in terms of his ADP or his perceived value in fantasy football, despite 1,000-yard seasons in six of the last seven seasons. What’s even more impressive is that Cooks has only missed four games over that time.

Cooks has averaged 114.5 targets, 1,052 yards, and 6.1 touchdowns per season since 2015. If that’s not consistent, then I don’t know what is. Cooks has also averaged a WR13 finish over that period. There’s a lot more to be encouraged with as Davis Mills starts again for the Texans, as Cooks was Top 10 in fantasy points per game over his final four games with Mills, and had an overall 24% target share on the season. He’s a great target to grab in the Dead Zone this year.

4A. Courtland Sutton (WR – DEN) (WR24/FantasyPros ADP – 63.4): The first of the two Broncos receivers on this list, Sutton has a real opportunity to flash with Russell Wilson under center in 2022. Sutton finished 10th in total air yards last season and loves to catch the deep ball. That should pair well with Wilson, who had the sixth-highest passer rating on throws of 20 or more air yards downfield.

Sutton is now another year removed from his torn ACL and should be primed and ready to go as the lead vertical threat in this new Broncos offense. If we saw 72 receptions on 124 targets for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns with Drew Lock, imagine what we can see with Russell Wilson.

4B. Jerry Jeudy (WR – DEN) (WR26/FantasyPros ADP – 65.4): Jeudy, of course, like Sutton, has been a victim of poor quarterback play in his two seasons with Denver. Not just that, but Jeudy’s high-ankle sprain in 2021 caused him to miss seven games and he never quite looked like himself. Now healthy, Jeudy should be ready to explode as the top intermediate passing option in this new Denver passing attack.

Jeudy is one of the best route runners I’ve ever seen and is also dangerous after the catch. Player Profiler has Jerry Jeudy No. 1 among ALL wide receivers in the NFL in terms of target separation. His footwork skills with being able to separate from defenders should pair well with Wilson’s skill set, giving Jeudy WR2 upside for the upcoming season, while I wouldn’t be scared to say a WR1 season isn’t crazy to say if he becomes the go-to option for Wilson in this offense.

5. Darnell Mooney (WR – CHI) (WR25/FantasyPros ADP – 64.2): The Bears’ wide receiver room features Byron Pringle, Velus Jones Jr., and N’Keal Harry as the top three wide receivers behind Mooney. Even with the expected leap from TE Cole Kmet, it’s hard to not get excited about Mooney and his 24% target share last season. Mooney from Week 8 on last season averaged over 15 fantasy points per game. He was the WR12 over that time in PPR formats. We also saw Mooney completely dominate targets at the end of the season, with 19 receptions on 29 targets and 195 yards over his last two games.

With Allen Robinson missing for a chunk of the season, we saw Mooney become the No. 1 wide receiver for the Bears, upping his yardage by over 400 yards from his rookie season while adding nearly three more yards per reception. Justin Fields is going to need Mooney early and often as he continues to progress in his second year, so expect Mooney to be peppered with even more than his 140 targets and be a major fantasy asset.

6. Allen Robinson II (WR – LAR) (WR29/FantasyPros ADP – 70.4): Robinson might have been the biggest disappointment in fantasy football in 2021. Allen Robinson finished as the WR81, while only scoring double-digit PPR points just twice all season. What became even more troubling is his yards per target rate hit a scary low last season. Over Robinson’s first three years in Chicago, his yards per target rates were 8.0, 7.5, and 8.3. Last year, that number dipped to 6.2. Among wide receivers with 50 or more targets last year, that ranked in just the 11th percentile.

There’s newfound optimism with Robinson signing with the Rams, as he’s expected to take over the Robert Woods/Odell Beckham Jr. role. That role saw Woods as a WR2 before his injury and double-digit fantasy points per game from Beckham Jr. from Week 12 on. Kupp will still be the alpha of this offense, but there’s no reason Robinson can’t maintain a near-20% target share while Beckham rehabs his injury and be a very solid WR2/high-end flex in fantasy football.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.