2022 WR Strategy Guide
League-wide pass attempts were down in 2021 to their lowest mark since 2017, as Matt pointed out in the 2021 QB Scoring Review. That followed 3 straight years of increases in that category.
We’ve seen a similar trend in QB fantasy scoring. The top 24 QBs last year combined for the fewest total fantasy points since 2017.
How did that impact WR scoring? Let's see.
Despite the dip in pass volume and QB scoring, WRs totaled their 2nd most half-PPR fantasy points among the last 5 seasons.
How have those fantasy points been distributed? Here’s a look at the percentage of total fantasy points WR1s (top 12), WR2s (13th through 24th), WR3s, WR4s and WR5s have accounted for over the past 5 seasons.
We saw more condensed scoring last year, with WR1s and WR2s both accounting for their 2nd biggest percentage of total points over the last 5 seasons. WR4s and WR5s, meanwhile, posted their 2nd lowest shares.
If that trend continues, it means that we should be looking to accumulate as many of those top-36 WRs as possible, with a particular focus on the top-24.
And, after analyzing and projecting the WR position all offseason, it does feel thinner than usual. There are a handful of elites and a nice 2nd tier that gets us to around 25 WRs. But the WR3 and WR4 range is full of question marks.
Here’s how we’re attacking the WR position in 2022 fantasy drafts.