NFL Wide Receiver Depth Charts Analysis - NFC West and NFC North

July 16, 2022

Antonio Losada looks at the wide receiver corps for teams in the NFC West & NFC North divisions and provides analysis on WR sleepers and busts for fantasy football.

Today we're looking at the fantasy football wide receiver depth charts for the NFC West and NFC North. The regular season is right around the corner and each team's depth chart is mostly complete! Before diving into the fantasy season, RotoBaller has you covered with some wide receiver depth chart recaps for each team, including some useful bits of analysis for players you want to keep on your radar.

Please note that the charts below are based on individual team depth charts and come from RotoWire's projected starting units. The DCs project the real-life pecking order expected to be used by head coaches at the respective franchises, not where RotoWire projects those players to finish in fantasy leagues.

Here are the current preseason depth charts at wide receiver for teams in the NFC West and NFC North

Fantasy Football Depth Chart Takeaways: NFC West

Fly High, Hollywood Cards: Marquise Brown, Arizona Cardinals

I'm not highlighting Cooper Kupp because that's too obvious. I am not picking Deebo because TE George Kittle's target share projects to be higher. I am not stressing D.K. Metcalf's name because of the louder-by-the-day trade rumors. But man, what's to hate about Marquise Brown!?

The Cardinals have a very clear WR1 in DeAndre Hopkins, but of course, Nuk will start the season on the sidelines after getting suspended by the NFL. That's probably why the Cards traded for Brown in the first place, and that's why Hollywood is now the bona fide WR1 of the time at least until Hop is back.

While definitely not the highest-projected WR in the division in the fantasy realm (via PFF) and only pegged for a borderline top-100 OVR finish, Brown has everything to eat in 'Zona. TE Zach Ertz is the only other teammate projected to more than 74 targets next year and Kyler Murray should keep raising the bar when it comes to his quarterbacking skill set. Brown is going a little bit high in terms of ADP (around 47th overall) but he's also the WR with the clearest path to a WR1 role at least until Hopkins returns.

Alternative value-play: Tyler Lockett , Seattle Seahawks

With DK in Seattle fantasy GMs are always going to forget about veteran Lockett, but the projected WR18 finish at the price of just a 93rd-overall pick is currently the best value in terms of ROI among wide receivers in the NFC West.

Fantasy Football Depth Chart Takeaways: NFC North

Put your money where your mouth is: Darnell Mooney, Chicago Bears

The NFC North is getting a facelift with Adam Thielen, Sammy Watkins, and Randall Cobb getting reps but aging out of the league slowly but surely... and the likes of Justin Jefferson, Darnell Mooney, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Allen Lazard becoming the top dogs. Of course, Justin Jefferson is the tried and tested guy among those young guns, and he also has a legit QB1 in Kirk Cousins throwing him the rock.

The value isn't that great, though, as the ADP is sky-high with JJ getting off draft boards at the 4.4th pick on average (that doesn't mean the outcome doesn't project to be huge, as PFF has him hitting 330+ PPR points in 2022 for a WR2 finish).

The one player boasting loads of value: Bears wideout Darnell Mooney. Yes, Justin Fields will scare you and everyone else, but don't fear anything, folks. Mooney is the legit WR1 of the team--by a mile--having a target share of 24.4% in PFF's latest run of projections. He is expected to reach 221 PPR points to the tune of a 127/83/973/6 season and that would make him the WR22 (low estimation if you ask me) for the price of a 65th-overall pick in fantasy drafts.

Alternative value-play: Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers

As impossibly ridiculous as it sounds, Lazard's ADP at the time of this writing sits at the 121st overall pick in PPR drafts. That's double the ADP of Mooney, and 30-times Jefferson's.

For someone playing WR under the golden arm of QB Aaron Rodgers in an offense completely barren of talented pass-catchers in which Lazard will be north-and-south, left-and-right the clear and go-to WR1. Lazard projects to 192+ PPR points and a WR40 finish with upside for much more if Rodgers has one of his not-so-rare otherworldly seasons.

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