- Tyreek Hill takes the top spot: The Miami Dolphins receiver was outstanding in his first season with the team, as his 3.09 yards per route run led the league.
- Justin Jefferson lands inside top three: The Minnesota Vikings star led the league in receptions and receiving yards to help power his team to the playoffs.
- Ja'Marr Chase lands at No. 10: The Cincinnati Bengals‘ big-play machine finished with an impressive 84.0 grade.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
This list is based almost entirely on PFF’s final offense grades for every wide receiver during the 2022 regular season. The grades take into account every offensive snap played in every game. This list also allows for some wiggle room in the final rankings based on the number of snaps or games played but leans heavily into the final grades from the end of the regular season.
1. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins (2022 PFF grade: 92.1)
Tyreek Hill finished with the highest overall PFF grade among wide receivers despite being on a new team and playing with three different quarterbacks in 2022. Furthermore, he was by far the most efficient receiver in the NFL as he finished with 3.09 yards per route run, which was the highest of his career by a wide margin and also led the league.
2. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions (90.7)
St. Brown had the ball going his way on 28.4 percent of his receiving snaps, which ranked the third most among wide receivers. The fact that his 6.5-yard average depth of targets was 83rd out of 90 wide receivers with at least 50 targets is telling.
3. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings (90.2)
After finishing with the most receptions and most receiving yards in the NFL, Jefferson also won the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award in 2022. He accumulated 47 receptions that went for 15-plus yards, which was the third most in the NFL. His play was key for the Vikings, as Minnesota went 9-1 in games when Jefferson had at least 100 receiving yards.
4. Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders (90.1)
In his first year in Las Vegas, Adams led all wide receivers with 14 receiving touchdowns in 2022. He also averaged 15.0 yards per reception, which was the highest of his illustrious career by a wide margin.
5. Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills (89.1)
Diggs recorded 72 receptions that went for a first down or a touchdown in 2022, which was the third most among wide receivers in the NFL. In addition, he lined up in the slot on 34.0 percent of his snaps, which was the second-most in his career since 2016.
6. A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles (87.7)
Brown capped off his first season in Philadelphia with a highlight catch in the Super Bowl, where he made a late adjustment to Jalen Hurts‘ deep pass to score a touchdown. He also averaged 2.53 receiving yards per route run in the regular season, which was the second most among wide receivers.
7. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams (86.3)
Last year’s Super Bowl MVP played just 553 snaps in 2022, which was the second-fewest in his career, as his season was cut short due to an injury. However, Kupp was his reliable self up to that point, as he dropped just one of his 76 catchable targets for the lowest drop rate of his career. Furthermore, he was targeted on 28.5 percent of his receiving snaps, which was the second-highest rate among wide receivers.
8. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys (86.2)
Dallas’s No. 1 receiver finished with the fourth-most receptions among wide receivers with 107. Furthermore, he was a big play threat, as 42 of his receptions went for at least 15 yards, which was the third most among wide receivers in 2022.
9. Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers (84.4)
Allen played his second-fewest snaps in a season in 2022 as he was battling injuries and was on the field for just 526 snaps in the regular season. However, he finished with his highest receiving yards per route run (2.11) since the 2018 season. Furthermore, Allen had the most receptions (66) among wide receivers without a dropped pass in 2022.
10. Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals (83.9)
Chase set the bar very high in his rookie season; however, he finished with the exact same receiving grade in the 2022 regular season as he did in the 2021 regular season: 84.0. The former LSU Tiger had to miss some time due to injury, which changed his play, as he went from 39 explosive receptions (15-plus receiving yards) in 2021 to just 24 in 2022. Regardless, he was still one of the NFL's best wide receivers last year.
11. Drake London, Atlanta Falcons (83.2)
Atlanta’s wide receiver finished with the highest PFF grade among all rookie wide receivers. In addition, he was a huge part of the Falcons offense as he was targeted on 27.2 percent of his receiving snaps, which was the fourth among all wide receivers and the highest rate among rookies.
12. Garrett Wilson, New York Jets (82.7)
Wilson graded slightly below London; however, he ended up with the most receiving yards among rookies with 1,103 and won the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year award as well. He also recorded just two drops, leading to the 13th-best drop rate (2.2 percent) out of 90 receivers with at least 50 targets.
13. Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins (82.6)
Waddle makes the Dolphins the first team to have two players on this list, as he had a breakout season in 2022. Although he finished with just the 30th-highest average depth of target, Waddle led all wide receivers with 18.1 yards per reception and ranked third among wide receivers with 7.0 yards after the catch per reception.
14. Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints (82.5)
While London and Wilson ranked ahead of Olave in PFF grade, the Saints rookie beat both in efficiency, as he led rookies with 2.42 yards per route run, which also ranked seventh among all wide receivers.
15. Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns (81.2)
Cooper’s performance flew under the radar in 2022, as he went from Dallas to a team that had issues at the quarterback position last season. Regardless, he still finished with the 11th-most receiving yards among wide receivers in the regular season. Furthermore, his 2.06 yards per route run was the second-highest of his career.
16. DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles (80.4)
Brown's and Hurts' improvement led to Smith bringing his game to a new level in his second season. Passes going his way resulted in a 114.3 passer rating for quarterbacks, which ranked ninth among all wide receivers in 2022.
17. Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders (79.9)
McLaurin remained a reliable and elite wide receiver despite playing with three quarterbacks in 2022. Furthermore, he finished with the most explosive receptions of his career with 31 and also caught 95.1 percent of his catchable targets, which was the highest rate in his career and the 12th-highest rate among wide receivers in 2022.
18. Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers (78.9)
While most might associate Williams with ridiculous contested receptions, his sure hands also need to be highlighted. He posted a 1.5 percent drop rate in 2022, which was tied for the 10th-lowest rate among wide receivers last year. In addition, he also caught 57.7 percent of his contested targets, which was tied for 16th among 90 wide receivers.
19. Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers (78.7)
Aiyuk had the best year of his young career en route to earning a higher grade than teammate Deebo Samuel. He took a big step forward in yards per route run, going from 1.61 in 2021 to 1.92 in 2022. Furthermore, passes going his way resulted in a 118.0 passer rating, which was the eighth-highest among wide receivers in the regular season.
T20. Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals (78.4)
Higgins took a minor step back in most counting stats and PFF grade, yet he still remained an elite wide receiver and has a place among the top 20 in the NFL. He did post the lowest drop rate of his career while passes going his way resulted in a 121.0 passer rating, which was the fifth-highest among wide receivers.
T20. Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos (78.4)
While the Broncos offense struggled for most of the season, Jeudy did put together his best season to date. He added six touchdown receptions and was targeted deep on 26.0 percent of his targets, which was the ninth-highest rate in the NFL.
22. Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks (77.9)
Lockett continued his consistent stretch, as he recorded more than 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth straight season and at least eight receiving touchdowns for the fifth straight year. In addition, he caught 95.5 percent of his catchable targets, which ranked ninth among wide receivers with at least 50 targets.
23. D.K. Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks (77.7)
Metcalf checks in on this list right after his teammate and while he had a career-high in receptions, he picked up fewer first downs and touchdowns than in the previous seasons while also finishing with his lowest grade since his rookie season. While he has been considered a deep threat, Metcalf’s deep target rate was at a career-low of 16.6 percent, which ranked just 43rd in the NFL.
24. Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers (77.1)
Watson put together a solid rookie season after a slow start. His 27.7 percent deep target rate ranked fifth in the NFL while hauling in nine of his 12 contested targets, as his 75.0 percent contested-catch rate was tied for the second-best in the NFL. Furthermore, his 6.4 yards after the catch per reception ranked fourth in the league.
25. Isaiah Hodgins, New York Giants (76.9)
Hodgins came on strong in the second half of the season with the Giants after starting the year with the Bills. He became one of the league's most reliable receivers down the stretch, as passes going his way had an 82.0 percent completion rate, which was the second-highest in the NFL. Additionally, Hodgins did not drop a single pass all season.
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