13 Best Wide Receivers in the NFL

In this article, we will use the data in the massive Pro-Football-Reference.com memory banks to find out who from the 2022 season were the best wide receivers in the NFL. We can achieve this by their production in the regular season for that year and determine who the leaders in each category make the cream of the position rise to the top of the best receivers in the NFL.

Catching Percentage

A great way to measure the proficiency of a receiver is to take their receptions divided by the number of times the passer targeted them. Here is the top player who had the most reliable set of hands at his position in 2022 with a minimum of 50 receptions.

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The New York Giants had a secret weapon when Richie James was on their roster in 2022. The receiver led the NFL in the percentage of balls caught per target for WRs, who corralled in at least 50 balls out of the air. 81.4% was his stat in 2022, and that gave him value on the open free agency market for the Kansas City Chiefs to snap him up for 2023.

Receptions

The first area of leaders in 2022 is in catching the ball. This group will look at the wide receivers with the yards per catch, most receptions, and more from the 2022 season. First up are the men who make the most of each catch in moving the ball downfield.

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Waddle may not have been the fastest man in his position on the Miami Dolphins or even the top receiver, but he played like he was. Jaylen’s League Leading 18.1 yards per reception earned some respect from the defensive secondaries around the NFL. He caught 75 balls for eight scores and over 1300 yards to help propel the Phins into the AFC Playoffs.

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Right behind Mr. Waddle in the yards per catch race was Philadelphia Eagles standout A.J. Brown, with an amazing 17.0-yard average. The Eagles offense was even more potent when Brown arrived in 2022, as he was shy of 1500 yards receiving and scored 11 touchdowns to help Philly get to the Super Bowl.

Yard Makers

If those yardage numbers impress, you want to know more about these next two playmakers. These guys put up the big numbers in yardage on the season. They are important contributors to their respective teams and are at the top of the production numbers of the NFL in 2022. This statistic could help determine who is the best WR in the NFL.

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Overall yards from receptions were by a player in purple from the Twin Cities area. The Minnesota Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson put up gaudy numbers in 2022 with 1809 yards on 128 catches, and he averaged 106.4 yards per game to lead the NFL in all three categories that season. The other amazing stat of Jefferson from 2022 was that he produced 80 first downs on the season. Think about that: it equates to just under two times every game his catches moved the chains for the Vikes.

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When one thinks of big yardage from the receiving corp, the Dolphins speedster Tyreek Hill comes to mind. In the 2022 season, Hill posted over 1700 yards and averaged just over 100 yards per game, second only to Jefferson. He was quite the 1-2 punch on the outside with Waddle in the Miami offense.

Scores on Passes

The only stat that matters is the scoreboard, and this next selection from 2022 crossed the goal stripe paint more than any other wide receiver catching a pass.

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The Las Vegas Raiders had a TD-scoring weapon in Davante Adams, as his 14 touchdowns on receptions were more than anyone else in the League. The 100 passes he hauled in for the Silver and Black produced over 1500 yards of offense in the desert.

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The Buffalo Bills had a scoring machine as Stefon Diggs took 11 passes to the endzone in 2022.  Diggs’s 1429 yards on the season from 108 catches was extremely productive.

The Wildcards Wideouts that make a difference

These last five wide receivers are also among the best wide receivers in 2022. They may not have led in the stats for the NFL in any particular category, but they are definitely in the realm of candidacy for a top wide receiver in the NFL. You will agree with these selections for NFL wide receivers near the top of their profession.

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In his second season as a pro, Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions told the rest of the league that he was a force to be reckoned with. Aman-Ra’s 106 receptions, producing over 1100 yards of offense with six scores, is just a glimpse of what this man can do as he gets more experience. The Lions fans are expecting big things from their young star WR.

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Deep in the heart of Texas, the Cowboys have a not-so-secret weapon in the receiving corps with CeeDee Lamb. Mr. Lamb produced 1359 yards of receiving and 9 TDs for the ‘Boys in 2022 and helped to make the Dallas offense as potent as they come.

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This next candidate has been a major producer in every franchise he has suited up for. The Cleveland Browns Amari Cooper crossed the stripe between the pylons with a reception nine times in 2022 and churned out 1160 yards on balls caught.

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The list of NFL top wide receivers in 2022 would only be complete with the Cincinnati Bengals young pass-catching specialist from LSU. Ja’Marr’s last name fits what opposing DBs are doing with this receiver rather than covering. His explosive quickness off the line regularly has the coverage in a trail position. In 12 games played in 2022, he still produced over 1000 yards and scored nine touchdowns.

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Christian Kirk of the Jacksonville Jaguars was very productive, too, in 2022. His 84 grabs produced 1108 yards and eight scores in J’Ville. This production from the standout wideout helped take the Jags into the AFC Playoffs.

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Our last of the candidates to determine who is the best wide receiver in the NFL for the 2022 season is a guy who produces, year after year, the Seattle Seahawks, Tyler Lockett. Lockett scored nine TDs and went over 1,000 yards with teammate D.K. Metcalf to make the Seattle passing offense a scary unit to defend.

Conclusion

These are just a baker’s dozen of outside pass catchers that set the NFL on fire in 2022, and there are more choices out there as well.

We invite you to consider one of these or use the tools in Pro-Football-Reference.com and Stahead.com to see how your frontrunner selections did compared to the ten thoroughbreds we have listed above. There are no wrong answers, but looking at what these amazing gridiron athletes do when the football comes their way is plenty of fun.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 29th, 2023 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Top Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.