Fantasy Football 2022: Sleeper Wide Receivers to Target in Late Rounds

The Kansas City Chiefs have had one of the most popular fantasy football offenses since Patrick Mahomes entered in the NFL.

For years, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and Mahomes were taken in the first few rounds of fantasy football drafts. That will still be the case in 2022, but Hill is now a member of the Miami Dolphins.

Kansas City comes into the 2022 campaign with a set of wide receivers who could have more fantasy value compared to their previous stops.

The big unknown surrounding the Chiefs is how those wideouts will be managed and that could lead to confusion about how high they should be drafted over the next month.

JuJu Smith-Schuster should be the No. 1 wide receiver, but after that, it is a bit of a guessing game between Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore.

Another AFC West franchise should have your late-round attention as well. Tim Patrick's torn ACL will open up a ton of production in the Denver Broncos offense.

The uncertainty around some players' roles will lead them to being late-round picks and potentially as steals this season.

Super Bowl contenders do not typically have a ton of glaring questions at a position as important as wide receiver.

But that is where the Kansas City Chiefs lie before their first preseason game Saturday at the Chicago Bears. Smith-Schuster, Valdes-Scantling, Hardman and Moore are the wide receivers you should be looking at to draft.

Hardman is the only returning wide receiver who had over 500 receiving yards for Kansas City last season. Hill was traded to Miami, Byron Pringle is in Chicago, and Demarcus Robinson plays for Las Vegas.

The 24-year-old Hardman increased his receptions and receiving yards over each of his three NFL seasons, but he only caught two touchdowns in 2021 after producing 10 in his first two seasons.

Smith-Schuster has experience as a No. 1 wideout from his time in Pittsburgh, but he has a single 1,000-yard season and played just five games in 2021. Valdes-Scantling played 11 games for the Green Bay Packers last season.

Their availability has been a big "ifs" in the last two seasons, which is why they should not be targeted with high draft picks.

Moore is the big wild card of the bunch. He caught the attention of NFL scouts with 1,292 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns at Western Michigan last season. The 5'10" rookie could be utilized in offensive packages as a runner, similar to how Hill was used during his time in Kansas City.

The potential could be through the roof for all four players because Mahomes throws at a high volume. They could have more value in points-per-reception leagues because of that.

One of them could break out over the next three weeks and take hold of the No. 1 job, but for now, they are all players who should be chosen in the mid-to-late rounds. This situation is a perfect example of why you should wait until the final week before the regular season to draft. One player's status could be completely different on Aug. 8 and Sept. 8.

Mahomes' talent in the pocket suggests at least one of them will have a breakout season, but the unknowns around their depth-chart order makes them all potential sleeper picks at the moment.

KJ Hamler is the natural replacement in Denver for Tim Patrick.

The Broncos lost Patrick to a torn ACL last week, and they will spend most of training camp working in Hamler and others behind Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy.

Hamler's potential is sky-high as a No. 3 wide receiver in an offense with Russell Wilson at the helm, but we should put some emphasis on "potential" here.

The second-rounder out of Penn State has six NFL starts in his NFL career and was injured for most of his first two seasons in the league. He has 35 catches, 455 receiving yards and three touchdowns in his career.

His career statistics combined with the potential of others in the Denver offense put him at risk of having a disappointing season, which is why caution should be applied to his fantasy football status.

Hamler could emerge as a favorite target of Wilson in the slot and on deep balls, but he could also get hurt or get lost in the shuffle behind Sutton, Jeudy, Javonte Williams and Albert Okwuegbunam.

Hamler is worth a late-round flier because of the role he could play in Denver, but using him as anymore than a late-round sleeper for depth early in the season is a bit of a risk.

Corey Davis has been forgotten in fantasy football circles.

Any talk of the New York Jets offense goes directly to Zach Wilson, Garrett Wilson and Elijah Moore. Davis is the less-talked-about veteran who could have a major impact on the Jets offense.

Davis had 492 receiving yards and four touchdowns over his nine games in his first season with the Jets.

If Davis stays healthy and builds a strong connection with Wilson, he could turn into one of the underappreciated fantasy football stars of 2022.

Just two years ago, Davis averaged 15.1 yards per catch and recorded career bests of 984 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

The arrival of Wilson and Moore's continued development means Davis' production has a lower ceiling than other No. 2 wideouts, but his experience could be vital in certain weeks.

If Wilson or Moore struggle, Davis could be relied upon more in certain games and give you solid production in a WR3 or flex role. He would be ideal for standard leagues since the Jets offense is still a work in progress and a high volume of receptions per game may not happen.

Davis could be worth a late-round gamble to fill out your wide receiver depth chart. If he rediscovers his 2020 form, he could be a sneaky good sleeper pick when you look back on the season.