Welcome to Fantasy Six Packs 2022 Fantasy Football Round 1 Rookie WR Analysis!
The NFL Draft is over! We saw a lot of movement on Day 1 of the draft, including the most picks traded ever within the first round. Six wideouts were drafted in the first round, and two more (A.J. Brown and Marquise Brown) were traded to new teams in exchange for picks.
There were some surprise risers in the receiver group and some teams who surprised us by not drafting a wideout, namely Green Bay and Kansas City. Green Bay is known for not drafting WRs in the first round, but Kansas City we thought may make a move. Both teams eventually did, but we'll go over that later.
We're going to cover each wide receiver drafted in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Equipping yourself with an understanding of how their landing spot, competition, and talent will affect their Fantasy Football outlook will help you out tremendously come draft season.
We'll start at the first receiver picked in 2022 and work our way down. So let's start with the Atlanta Falcons' new WR1, Drake London.
2022 NFL Draft First-Round Rookie Wide Receivers
Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta has a wide-open wide receiver room. See what I did there? Anyway, he has no true competition for targets save for Kyle Pitts. When Marcus Mariota is your QB a narrow target tree is a good thing.
If you want to glance at what London and Pitts could be in for, look at Mariota back in 2016-17 with Rishard Matthews and Delanie Walker. Matthews wasn't incredible, finishing as the WR21 and WR37 in PPR formats those years, but that's still solid. Walker finished as the TE5 and TE4 in that same time frame. So a tight end and a wideout can both produce in a Mariota-led offense. Or who knows, maybe Desmond Ridder is the next Justin Herbert and London goes off.
I'm not saying Drake London is Rishard Matthews. London is a top ten draft pick who produced in college despite playing alongside Michael Pittman and Amon-Ra St.Brown. He is going to get a lot of targets this year in an offense devoid of pass catchers. London should be a fixture in this offense for years to come, draft him with confidence.
Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
I really liked Wilson before the draft. And not just because we share the same first name. Now he gets to pair up with Elijah Moore on the Jets as their one-two punch at WR.
Zach Wilson is a big winner from the Jets draft, who added not only Wilson but also top running back prospect Breece Hall, Garrett's teammate Jeremy Ruckert, and an additional offensive lineman. The Jets are adding weapons galore to the offense but protection for their young QB. If Wilson uses this to his advantage and takes the next step, that means big things ahead for Garrett Wilson.
The one negative I have for Wilson is there are so many mouths to feed in that New York Jets offense with Moore, Hall, Ruckert, Michael Carter, Corey Davis, CJ Uzomah, and more. However, I think his talent wins out and he becomes their WR1 with Moore as the WR2. He's my WR3 in rookie drafts right now so I really like his future, despite the crowded situation.
Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
Immediately after Wilson was drafted at the 10th overall pick, the Saints traded up to grab his teammate Chris Olave with the 11th pick.
It's been widely said he's the best route runner in the class and he's incredibly fast, running a 4.39 40-yard dash in the combine. He doesn't have to worry about top coverage either, Michael Thomas should be back healthy this year drawing the top opposing corner.
Jameis Winston in New Orleans doesn't scream "high-flying offense" as it did in Tampa, but I think there's potential for Olave. I don't see future WR1 in him, but a solid WR2 is well within reach for a man of his talent.
Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions
Williams joins a crowded situation just like Garrett Wilson is. However, even though he is dealing with the likes of T.J. Hockenson, Amon Ra St.Brown, and DeAndre Swift, there’s a lot of potential for Williams. It won’t surprise me if we have a Baltimore type of situation where the tight end is the top target, but that doesn't mean several wide receivers can't produce.
Had it not been for an ACL injury in the National Championship game, many believed that Williams would have been the first receiver off the board in 2022. The Lions saw his upside despite the injury and traded up to get him at the 12th pick.
Detriot is well on its way to becoming a good team with the improvements on both sides of the ball, they just need a QB upgrade. Grabbing Williams means you're riding Detroit's rise and netting a potential star at a value.
Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders
I'm sure a lot of us, including myself, were surprised when Dotson was drafted so high. The Penn State WR has incredible hands but was pegged as a late first-round/early second-round pick. However, the run of wide receivers early on prompted the Commanders to pull the trigger on Dotson at 16.
They had multiple trade offers that would have seen them move back, but they felt he would be gone by then. Washington desperately needed another receiver to play alongside Terry McLaurin, and Jahan should be a solid No. 2 for them.
I'm not particularly high on Dotson given his landing spot. In this Wentz-led offense, I can see a path for him as a WR4 for your fantasy team in his rookie season. I think he'll have a good career, however, I don't see a lot of upside in the short term.
Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans
In what turned out to be the blockbuster trade of the night, the Tennessee Titans traded away top wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles for the 18th overall pick, which they used to select Treylon Burks out of Arkansas. I like the pick, but why the Titans essentially swapped Brown for Burks is head-scratching. Nothing against Burks here, as he is a favorite of mine, but more just, what?
But we're here to cover Burks, not talk trades. With this landing spot, Burks has a massive opportunity to produce in his rookie year.
Robert Woods is older and coming off an ACL tear. Austin Hooper has struggled since leaving Atlanta. There's no player on the Titans to take away significant passing volume from Burks (though I'll admit I do like fifth-round pick, Kyle Phillips).
Titans HC Mike Vrabel always seems to get the best out of his players, and I think he'll find the best ways to utilize Burks. He's my favorite rookie WR at this point and I'm ok with taking him at the 1.02 in rookie drafts.
That is going to do it for the 2022 Fantasy Football Round 1 Rookie WR preview and analysis! That was a lot, I know, but we've got a lot more fantasy football rookie coverage coming for you on Fantasy Six Pack. Stay tuned!
Check out our 2022 Fantasy Football Rookie RB Analysis!
