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Five fantasy football wide receiver values and sleepers to target in the middle rounds of 2022 drafts. Can these wide receivers surpass their ADP expectations?
Once you reach the middle rounds of drafts, everyone wants to draft high-upside players that can provide a great return on value. You can afford to take some risks on a variety of different players, including forgotten veterans, players returning from injuries, or even skilled players with potential playing time concerns.
It's essential to have at least a handful of these players at each position heading into your fantasy football drafts, no matter the format. Here are some mid-round wide receivers for you to consider drafting this season.
Our editors have hand-picked these specific NFL players for your draft prep enjoyment. Normally only available to Premium subscribers, the outlooks below are meant to give you a taste of the in-depth analysis you receive with our industry-leading 2022 Draft Kit. Be sure to subscribe today and start reading all 300+ of our 2022 player outlooks, along with many other premium articles and tools available exclusively in our 2021 Draft Kit.
Editor's Note: Discover RotoBaller’s top Fantasy Football Sleepers to gain an edge in your drafts. Our free who to draft tool and expert picks spotlight undervalued players, breakout candidates, and late-round gems for all league formats.
Gabriel Davis, Bills, Fantasy Football Outlook
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabriel Davis didn't make headlines much during the 2021 season but showed a massive glimpse of his potential in the playoff loss to Kansas City in January. The youngster erupted for eight receptions for 201 yards and four scores on only 10 targets and certainly put himself on the fantasy radar heading into 2022.
Still only 23, Davis will only be entering his prime and is in a position to be a strong fantasy player in the years to come. He is on an offense with a prolific passing game, led by elite QB Josh Allen. While Davis only posted 35 receptions for 549 yards and six scores on 63 targets during the 2021 regular season, he certainly has room to improve those numbers in 2022.
While Stefon Diggs will draw a massive amount of targets, Davis enters the season as the team WR2 and doesn't have to worry about Cole Beasley or Emmanuel Sanders, guys who took away targets from him last year.
With two years of NFL experience under his belt and Josh Allen with another year of experience as well, this offense is more of a well-oiled machine now and Davis' expected bigger role in the offense will put him in line for more fantasy success. He enters 2022 as a solid WR2 option with room for upside and should be considered a breakout candidate.
Rashod Bateman, Ravens, Fantasy Football Outlook
Baltimore Ravens second-year wide receiver Rashod Bateman is entering his 2022 season as the team's alpha wide receiver. The Ravens traded Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals during the NFL Draft, making Bateman the WR1 for the Ravens.
This trade also indicates that the team is ready to move on, with Bateman being the team's WR1. Browns' departure creates 137 vacated targets in the passing offense. Bateman is expected to see a large share of those vacated targets. What we saw from him during his rookie season was very encouraging.
His 2021 season started slow due to him coming back from an injury. Once he was inserted into the offense, he was making big plays on almost a weekly basis. The 22-year-old caught 46 passes for 515 yards and a touchdown over 12 games in 2022.
Baltimore drafted him in the first round, hoping that he would develop into a key contributor to the offense. Bateman currently has an 88.39 average draft position, making him a cheap acquisition in the back half of your draft. He could be a massive value if he breaks out this season.
Michael Thomas, Saints, Fantasy Football Outlook
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas is expected to make his much-anticipated return to the field following a year-and-a-half absence from an ankle injury and complications in his recovery. In his last healthy season in 2019, he commanded an astronomical 34.4% target share, leading the league and giving him an overall WR1 finish by a near 100-point margin in PPR formats.
Since that time, the team has a new quarterback in Jameis Winston, a new head coach in Dennis Allen, and new surrounding wide receivers in Jarvis Landry and No. 11 overall pick Chris Olave of Ohio State. Thomas is one of the most intriguing players in 2022 drafts.
His upside could make him a league-winner, but he could also be a complete non-factor coming back from such a debilitating injury at age-29 with a quarterback downgrade from now-retired Drew Brees. His ADP seems to be weighing his ceiling and floor appropriately, right around 70 overall as the WR31.
This places him just behind Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney. If Thomas can re-establish himself as a healthy alpha receiver, he could be one of the biggest bargains in drafts, but it remains a huge question.
Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers, Fantasy Football Outlook
Brandon Aiyuk overcame a surprisingly slow start to his 2021 regular season and re-established his role as San Francisco's unquestioned WR2. The limitations in his usage and output from Weeks 1-7 were excruciating for anyone who selected him during the 2021 draft process, as it was clear that Kyle Shanahan was initially disenchanted with his second-year receiver.
Aiyuk was limited to just 26 snaps, failed to register a target during the 49ers' season opener, and only exceeded three targets once from Weeks 1-4. His snap share was 66.6% from 1-7, and he was operating with minuscule averages of 2.7 targets and 19.2 yards per game. However, his snap share rose to 92.6% from Weeks 8-18, while his yards per target also improved from 6.0 to 10.7.
Aiyuk also averaged 6.2 targets per game during that span while soaring to ninth in yardage (730/66.4 yards per game) and tying for third in receptions of 20+yards (15). Aiyuk possesses the talent to maintain the numbers that he assembled during his statistical surge, and the eventual transition to Trey Lance should not deter him from functioning as a high-end WR3 for fantasy managers.
This positions him to outperform the expectations of his ADPs in best-ball drafts (100/WR40) and dynasty startup leagues (97/WR39). His outlook would improve even further if either Deebo Samuel or George Kittle would be sidelined during the season.
Jerry Jeudy, Broncos, Fantasy Football Outlook
Denver Broncos third-year wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is looking to build a rapport with the team's new quarterback, Russell Wilson. Injuries impacted Jeudy's 2021 campaign, but things are trending up for this season. He missed six games last season due to a high-ankle sprain.
The 23-year-old could not find the end zone and caught 38-of-56 targets for 467 receiving yards across 10 in 2021. During his last two seasons, Jeudy owned a 21 percent share of the team's passing targets. With Wilson under center, the quality of targets will dramatically increase, which should help Jeudy's production.
He is currently being drafted at a 63.09 average draft position, making him a mid-round option in fantasy drafts. He is considered a cheap speculative asset this year. If the addition of Wilson can improve the passing game, then Jeudy will see a step up in production.
This is what many fantasy gamers are betting on. Wilson is one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league, and his ability to spread the ball around and keep the chains moving should only help the offense. This could be the year we see Jeudy take a step forward in his development.
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