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Finding the Most Efficient and Inefficient Wide Receivers



By Steve Schwarz | 7/14/22

We can find easily the most efficient and inefficient wide receivers from last season. That in itself is a fun exercise and seen in the two tables below. But the question fantasy owners really want to know is; can this help them build their fantasy team in 2022?

The answer is, yes, these numbers can help you and here is how.

The most efficient wide receivers can only improve their fantasy totals if they see more opportunities. For the most efficient, those in Table 1, that may be tough to do since they already see at least six targets and in the case of a player such as Cooper Kupp, almost 11.5 per game. It will be difficult for Kupp to be better than last season. Not impossible, but difficult.

Given Kupp’s extremely high ADP (4.3) is based on last year’s record-setting 145-1947-16, the most likely outcome for 2022 will be that you will get “fair market value” or slightly below “fair market value.”

For the most efficient wideout in Table 1, Mike Evans, his 7.13 targets does leave him some room for improvement, particularly early in the season with Chris Godwin likely sidelined or less than 100-percent. If Evans were to catch just 13 more passes at his same level of proficiency, he’d be as productive as Ja’Marr Chase. Twenty more receptions and he’d be equal to Justin Jefferson.

Seattle teammate DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett were both top-10 in efficiency, but hardly anyone expects them to keep up at the same level in 2022. First, because Geno Smith isn’t Russell Wilson. In his three starts he averaged 190.3 passing yards. Lockett, in particular, saw his production fall 23-percent with Smith under center. Second, because the Seahawks appear to be returning to the “run-first” years of the past with Rashaad Penny, talented rookie Kenneth Walker and possibly Chris Carson if he can overcome his neck issues.

The inefficient wide receivers at the bottom of Table 1, should probably not be expected to make big improvements given that they are already seeing a decent level of opportunities. Obviously, if there is a change at quarterback, then improvement would still be possible. Example; if you believe a healthy Baker Mayfield in Carolina is much better than Sam Darnold/ Matt Corral and will help Robby Anderson or D.J. Moore produce significant gains.

Table 2 are more “lightly-used” wideouts. All saw less than six opportunities per game. Its why there is so much hype around Gabriel Davis. Fantasy owners are seeing his league-best 3.59 FPts/touch and dreaming of his seeing a 100-percent increase in opportunities with Cole Beasley (112 targets) and Emmanuel Sanders (72 targets) gone. At the same level of efficiency and doubling his targets from 63 to 112 would produce a receiver at 16.8 FPts/G. That’s what Stefon Diggs produced in 2021.

Also on Table 2 is proof that DeAndre Hopkins is still elite. Don’t overlook him because his numbers were low last season … he only played 10 games. Given his six-game suspension, he won’t have league-leading statistics in 2022 either, but he could still be valuable down the stretch and into the fantasy playoffs. If you draft “Nuke” my suggestion is add A.J. Green later in the draft who should see plenty of action in Hopkins’ absence.

Will Allen Lazard see a big usage increase with Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target now calling Las Vegas home? Lazard’s 3.31 FPts/Touch was sixth-best last season, but it won’t be easy with defenses no longer keying on Adams.

I’d also suggest finding a late round to draft the Rams’ Van Jefferson (ADP 191, currently WR 69). Jefferson produced an efficient 50-802-6 on 3.23 fantasy points per touch. He’s also the perfect handcuff for either Kupp or Allen Robinson.

Meanwhile, barring extraordinary circumstances, those at the bottom of Table 2 should probably be ignored in all but that last couple rounds. Included in that group is the oft-injured Sammy Watkins, now in Green Bay, who might be Rodgers’ No. 1 target … or a summer roster cut.

Also in Table 2, notice the most effective wideout in Denver last season wasn’t Jerry Jeudy (2.13) or Courtland Sutton (2.54) … it was Tim Patrick (2.95) by a significant margin. With Wilson under center, Patrick should become a much bigger factor. Meanwhile, Sutton is going first (ADP 62.7), Jeudy second (69.3) and Patrick should be the best bargain of the trio at ADP 169.

Table 1

  Fantasy Points per Touch
Player Tm Gm Tgt Rec Yds TDs Ru FPts Op/Gm FPts/Tch
Mike Evans TB 16 113 74 1035 14 1 262.5 7.1 3.50
Ja'Marr Chase CIN 17 128 81 1455 13 7 306.6 7.9 3.48
Mike Williams LAC 16 129 76 1146 9 0 244.6 8.1 3.21
DK Metcalf SEA 17 129 75 967 12 1 244.3 7.7 3.21
Tyler Lockett SEA 16 107 73 1175 8 2 239.4 6.8 3.19
Amari Cooper DAL 15 103 68 865 8 0 202.5 6.9 2.98
Tee Higgins CIN 14 110 74 1091 6 0 219.1 7.9 2.96
Adam Thielen MIN 13 95 67 726 10 1 199.8 7.4 2.94
Cooper Kupp LAR 17 191 145 1947 16 4 437.5 11.5 2.93
Justin Jefferson MIN 17 167 108 1616 10 6 331.0 10.2 2.90
DeVonta Smith PHI 17 103 64 916 5 0 185.6 6.1 2.90
Elijah Moore NYJ 11 77 43 538 5 5 138.2 7.5 2.88
Odell Beckham Jr. CLE 14 82 44 537 5 2 129.1 6.0 2.81
Davante Adams GB 16 169 123 1553 11 0 344.3 10.6 2.80
A.J. Brown TEN 13 105 63 869 5 2 180.9 8.2 2.78
Stefon Diggs BUF 17 164 103 1225 10 0 285.5 9.7 2.77
Terry McLaurin WAS 17 131 77 1053 5 1 213.5 7.8 2.74
CeeDee Lamb DAL 16 120 79 1102 6 9 232.8 8.1 2.65
Christian Kirk ARI 17 103 77 982 5 1 206.3 6.1 2.65
Tyler Boyd CIN 16 94 67 828 5 2 182.0 6.0 2.64
Robert Woods LAR 9 69 45 556 4 8 135.2 8.6 2.55
Michael Pittman Jr. IND 17 129 88 1082 6 5 236.6 7.9 2.54
Darnell Mooney CHI 17 140 81 1055 4 6 219.7 8.6 2.53
Russell Gage ATL 13 93 66 770 4 0 137.0 7.2 2.53
Brandin Cooks HOU 16 133 90 1037 6 2 231.8 8.4 2.52
Deebo Samuel SF 16 120 77 1405 6 59 338.0 11.2 2.49
Tyreek Hill KC 17 159 111 1239 9 9 298.5 9.9 2.49
Marquise Brown BAL 16 145 91 1008 6 1 228.3 9.1 2.48
Diontae Johnson PIT 16 169 107 1161 8 5 276.4 10.9 2.47
Marvin Jones JAC 17 118 73 832 4 0 180.2 6.9 2.47
Robby Anderson CAR 17 110 53 519 5 3 138.5 6.7 2.47
Hunter Renfrow LV 17 128 103 1038 9 3 261.1 7.7 2.46
Chris Godwin TB 14 128 98 1103 5 4 246.4 9.4 2.42
Keenan Allen LAC 16 157 106 1138 6 0 255.8 9.8 2.41
Jarvis Landry CLE 12 85 52 570 2 6 137.0 7.6 2.36
D.J. Moore CAR 17 162 93 1157 4 8 237.5 10.0 2.35
Jaylen Waddle MIA 16 142 104 1015 6 2 247.8 9.0 2.34
A-Ra St. Brown DET 16 119 90 912 5 7 223.3 7.9 2.30
Chase Claypool PIT 15 105 59 860 2 14 166.6 7.9 2.28
Jakobi Meyers NE 16 126 83 866 2 1 182.5 7.9 2.17
Jamison Crowder NYJ 12 72 51 447 2 0 107.7 6.0 2.11
Cole Beasley BUF 16 112 82 693 1 0 157.3 7.0 1.92
Corey Davis NYJ 9 59 34 492 4 0 107.2 6.6 1.82
Laviska Shenault JAC 16 99 63 619 0 11 129.0 6.9 1.74
Michael Gallup DAL 9 62 35 445 2 0 91.5 6.9 1.48
Sterling Shepard NYG 7 53 36 366 1 1 77.7 7.7 1.44
DeVante Parker MIA 9 73 40 515 2 0 103.5 8.1 1.42
Kadarius Toney NYG 9 57 39 420 0 3 81.6 6.7 1.36
Touch = receptions + rushing attempts
Opportunities = targets + rushing attempts
Table 1 = greater than 6.0 opportunities per game


Table 2
  Fantasy Points per Touch
Player Tm Gm Tgt Rec Yds TDs Ru FPts Op/Gm FPts/Tch
Gabriel Davis BUF 15 63 35 549 6 0 125.9 4.2 3.59
DeAndre Hopkins ARI 10 63 42 572 8 0 147.2 4.2 3.50
Marquez Valdes-Scantling GB 11 55 26 430 3 0 87.0 5.0 3.35
Allen Lazard GB 14 60 40 513 8 3 142.5 4.5 3.31
Marquez Callaway NO 17 84 46 698 6 0 151.8 4.9 3.30
Donovan Peoples-Jones CLE 13 58 34 597 3 0 111.7 4.5 3.28
Van Jefferson LAR 17 89 50 802 6 2 168.2 5.4 3.23
K.J. Osborn MIN 17 82 50 655 7 1 158.5 4.9 3.10
Byron Pringle KC 16 60 42 568 5 0 128.8 3.8 3.07
Cedrick Wilson DAL 14 61 45 602 6 2 142.3 4.5 3.03
Tim Patrick DEN 16 85 53 734 5 0 156.4 5.3 2.95
A.J. Green ARI 16 92 54 848 3 0 156.8 5.8 2.90
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine TEN 15 56 38 476 4 0 109.6 3.7 2.89
Deonte Harty NO 13 59 36 570 3 5 115.1 4.9 2.81
Brandon Aiyuk SF 16 85 56 826 5 5 170.3 5.6 2.79
Kendrick Bourne NE 17 70 55 800 5 12 177.5 4.8 2.65
Quez Watkins PHI 17 62 43 647 1 1 114.0 3.7 2.59
Courtland Sutton DEN 17 98 58 776 2 0 147.6 5.8 2.54
Kalif Raymond DET 16 71 48 576 4 4 132.4 4.7 2.54
Kenny Golladay NYG 14 74 37 521 0 0 89.1 5.3 2.41
Randall Cobb GB 11 39 28 375 5 1 95.6 3.6 2.39
Rashod Bateman BAL 12 67 46 515 1 0 103.5 5.6 2.25
Allen Robinson CHI 12 66 38 410 1 0 85.0 5.5 2.23
DeSean Jackson LAR 14 34 20 454 2 1 77.8 2.5 2.22
Braxton Berrios NYJ 15 65 46 431 2 7 117.1 4.8 2.21
Mecole Hardman KC 17 83 59 693 2 8 144.9 5.4 2.16
Jerry Jeudy DEN 10 56 38 467 0 2 85.0 5.8 2.13
Jauan Jennings SF 13 39 24 282 5 0 82.2 3.0 2.11
T.Y. Hilton IND 10 37 23 331 3 0 74.1 3.7 2.00
Freddie Swain SEA 16 40 25 343 4 5 86.5 2.8 1.92
Josh Palmer LAC 15 49 33 353 4 1 92.9 3.3 1.86
Bryan Edwards LV 16 58 34 571 3 1 109.1 3.7 1.79
Jalen Guyton LAC 16 48 31 448 3 7 97.2 3.4 1.77
Tre'Quan Smith NO 10 50 32 377 3 0 87.7 5.0 1.75
Julio Jones TEN 10 48 31 434 1 0 80.4 4.8 1.68
Olamide Zaccheaus ATL 15 53 31 406 3 1 89.8 3.6 1.66
Josh Reynolds TEN 10 49 29 396 2 0 80.6 4.9 1.64
Laquon Treadwell JAC 12 51 33 434 1 0 82.4 4.3 1.62
Keelan Cole NYJ 14 50 28 449 1 0 78.9 3.6 1.58
Nelson Agholor NE 14 63 37 473 3 3 103.4 4.7 1.57
Rondale Moore ARI 14 65 54 435 1 18 111.1 5.9 1.54
Sammy Watkins BAL 11 49 27 394 1 0 72.4 4.5 1.54
DeAndre Carter WAS 15 43 24 296 3 10 80.5 3.5 1.52
Zay Jones LV 15 70 47 546 1 2 107.9 4.8 1.50
Devin Duvernay BAL 15 47 33 272 2 7 77.2 3.6 1.43
Nico Collins HOU 14 61 33 446 1 0 83.6 4.4 1.37
Zach Pascal IND 16 69 38 384 3 2 96.5 4.4 1.36
Adam Humphries WAS 17 62 41 383 0 0 79.3 3.7 1.28
Jalen Reagor PHI 17 57 33 299 2 10 78.1 3.9 1.17
Touch = receptions + rushing attempts
Opportunities = targets + rushing attempts
Table 2 = less than 6.0 opportunities per game