Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel and Ja’Marr Chase were fantasy’s top-3 receivers in 2021, but I submit to you these three candidates to potentially finish on top of the podium in 2022…

CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys
By most appearances, Lamb will be the only starting receiver in Dallas who’s ever played a snap for the Cowboys when the season begins. Michael Gallup is unlikely to open the season as an active player, leaving rookie Jalen Tolbert and former Steeler James Washington to fill out the starting three. There’s no question as to who the top dog is in this situation,with Lamb coming into the season a half inch taller and ten pounds heavier than he was in 2021. He’s also coming off of a 1,000+ yard, 6 TD season as part of a three-headed monster that included Amari Cooper and Gallup. As the most trusted cog in the Cowboys’ receiving corps, Lamb is in line to improve his stats across the board in one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses. A 1,500+ yard, double-digit TD season is well within reach for Lamb in 2022.

Justin Jefferson, Vikings
Former Rams OC Kevin O’Connell is bringing his offensive scheme with him to his new home in Minnesota, where Kirk Cousins will become his Matt Stafford, and Justin Jefferson will become his Cooper Kupp. Coming off of a 1,600+ yard 10 TD 2021 in a “conservative” Vikings offense, Jefferson’s ceiling can’t even be seen by the naked eye at this point, as O’Connell’s scheme has been described as “pass happy” through practices thus far. Jefferson was already a top 4 fantasy receiver in 2021. In 2022, the top spot is well within reach.

DJ Moore, Panthers
You know the Trashman had to muck things up a bit here at the end, but just hear me out. Moore has finished as fantasy’s 19th, 18th, and 20th best receiver in the last 3 years with Sam Darnold, Teddy Bridgewater and Kyle Allen as his QBs. New Carolina QB Baker Mayfield is arguably better than all of those signal callers – I guess there’s an argument Bridgewater isn’t worse, but Teddy is much more of a game manager – and Mayfield tends to fixate on one particular pass-catcher in the offenses he’s led. That receiver, other than Christian McCaffrey I suppose, is Moore, who is a much more dynamic playmaker than Mayfield’s former go-to, Jarvis Landry. I expect Moore to have his best season as a Pro in 2022, a year after he was in the top-10 in yardage. He would have potentially been a top-10 fantasy receiver last year, if he’d gotten into the end-zone more than 4 times, a feat I expect him to exceed in 2022.