2022 NFL Betting Preview: The Five Best Picks To Win the Receiving Yardage Crown

Brad Evans, the executive producer of gaming content for Bally Sports, posed a question to his Twitter followers on Tuesday morning: 

“You have a $100 bill in your pocket and have to decide on one player among the below group to lead this NFL season in receiving yards. What’s the bet?”

You have a $100 bill in your pocket and have to decide on one player among the below group to lead this NFL season in receiving yards.

What's the bet?

(Me: Davante Adams at +1200)

Sidebar, how on earth is DeAndre Hopkins listed at +2500? pic.twitter.com/0cj8vtklIz

— Brad Evans (@NoisyHuevos) June 14, 2022

Evans chose Davante Adams at +1200 odds, and the question led to a spirited discussion in his replies. 

After taking a look at the options, here are my five favorite choices to lead the NFL in receiving yards in 2022. Odds via BetMGM on June 14.

5. WR Hollywood Brown, Cardinals (+5000)

Brown’s career-high in receiving yards is 1,008, so the longshot odds are understandable, but the fourth-year wideout could be in line for a career year. He’s upgrading quarterbacks from Lamar Jackson in Baltimore to Kyler Murray in Arizona, and Murray’s deep ball ability and chemistry with Brown — his former college teammate — should lead to a large number of quality targets. 

DeAndre Hopkins is suspended the first six games of the year, and Brown will be the obvious top option in that stretch. If 32-year-old tight end Zach Ertz gets hurt, or if second-year wideout Rondale Moore doesn’t progress as hoped, Brown could be a huge part of the receiving game all season.

He averaged only 11.1 yards per catch in 2021 and his season long was only 49 yards, but those numbers seem primed to be improved on. If Brown can stack a few 70 or 80-yard receptions this season, all of a sudden he could compete for the receiving crown.

4. WR D.J Moore, Panthers (+4000)

Moore is one of the most underrated receivers in the NFL. He has surpassed 1,150 receiving yards each of the past three seasons and is in the prime of his career. Another solid year should be incoming, although there is the obvious question of quarterback play in Carolina.

There is a lot of smoke about Baker Mayfield eventually ending up with the Panthers, which wouldn’t be a terrible option for Moore. It’s certainly better than the Sam Darnold/Cam Newton duo from 2021. Moore averaged a career-low 12.4 yards per reception last season and still finished 11th in the league in receiving yards because he had 163 targets. With a few more big plays and a little more help from his quarterback, Moore could find himself in the running for the receiving yardage title.

3. WR Mike Evans, Buccaneers (+1800)

Evans is tied with Deebo Samuel for the seventh-best odds to finish with the most receiving yards, but this is still pretty good value. Tom Brady is not only an amazing quarterback, but he led the NFL in attempts, completions and passing yards last year. As long as new head coach Todd Bowles doesn’t drastically change the philosophy, Brady will be airing it out again in 2022.

Evans only had 114 targets last season – finishing with 1,035 receiving yards – but that’s because Tampa Bay had a ton of weapons offensively. This year, Antonio Brown and O.J. Howard are gone, Rob Gronkowski hasn’t yet said if he will retire, and Chris Godwin is making his way back from a torn ACL. Evans is going to be the clear-cut star receiver for some of the year, if not all of it. If his targets shoot up, Evans’ numbers will look gaudy at the end of the year.

2. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions (+5000)

This is a high placement for a player who didn’t crack 1,000 receiving yards a season ago, but I love the value. St. Brown had a great rookie season, catching 90 passes for 912 yards and five touchdowns. It would take a big leap for the former fourth-round pick to take his place among the game’s elite, but it’s not impossible.

St. Brown took some time to get his NFL footing but was dynamite down the stretch, catching 51 passes for 560 yards in Detroit’s final six games. He had at least eight catches and at least 10 targets in every one of those games, and if that can be the new standard in 2022, he’s going to be primed for a fantastic season.

The Lions drafted Jameson Williams in the first round, but he will take some time to recover from a torn ACL. D.J. Chark was added in free agency and T.J. Hockenson is a solid tight end, but St. Brown should have no problem getting ample targets. This is a longshot worth taking.

1. WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys (+2200)

My favorite value on the board is Lamb. He is on the brink of superstar status after catching 79 passes for 1,102 yards in Year 2 with Dallas. The Cowboys traded Amari Cooper this offseason and Michael Gallup is still making his way back from injury, which is going to give Lamb a tremendous opportunity to rack up the targets, catches and receiving yards this season.

Lamb might not be the best wide receiver in the NFL, but he’s in one of the top tiers, and the situation in Dallas is ideal. Dak Prescott will look for him early and often in 2022, and while the other pass-catchers on the list are formidable, grabbing Lamb at this price — he has just the tenth-best odds — is a solid value play.