A five-pack of fantasy football risers

These players are on the upswing in fantasy football drafts.

With training camps in full swing and teams starting to take the field for their preseason openers, it can only mean that we’re drawing ever closer to Week 1, and the start of another NFL season. Along with that, of course, comes the beginning of another year of fantasy football. While some leagues have already held their drafts, many more will do so between now and Sept. 7 when the Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions in the Kickoff Game.

With that in mind, here’s a look at five players to keep an eye on as they climb up draft boards.

KC’s crowded WR corps comes with more questions than answers

KC’s receiving corps, while talented, is full of question marks.

For a second consecutive year, the Kansas City Chiefs bid farewell to their leading wide receiver during the offseason, though the loss of wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (78-933-3), who signed with the New England Patriots, is hardly on par with the team’s decision to trade WR Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins before the 2022 campaign. The Hill move felt like KC was hitting the reset button on their receiving corps, whereas Smith-Schuster was more of a one-year rental to ease that transition.

That gave young receivers Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney a chance to learn the offense, and a pair of new additions, veteran Richie James and rookie Rashee Rice, will join Marquez Valdes-Scantling in what should be the top-five wideouts for MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Let’s examine who in that group will hold value for fantasy owners as the team’s secondary outlet behind tight end Travis Kelce.

Fantasy football pros and cons: Garrett Wilson vs. Chris Olave vs. Skyy Moore

Which of these three rookie receivers is the best fantasy option?

There was a time when it was deemed that wide receivers coming into the NFL learned the pro game as rookies, improved in their second year, and reached their full potential in their third season. That timeline has been sped up in recent years, and now the expectation is for a shorter learning curve as a rookie and hitting the ground running in the second year as the NFL becomes more pass-reliant.

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We take a look at the fantasy impact of three rookie receivers from the Class of 2022, their strengths and weaknesses and their potential to make an immediate impact – picks Nos. 10 and 11, respectively, in the draft Garrett Wilson (New York Jets) and Chris Olave (New Orleans Saints) as well as Skyy Moore (Kansas City Chiefs), taken with the pick No. 54.

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The case for and against Garrett Wilson

  • He is viewed as the best route-runner in a deep and talented 2022 wide receiver draft class and has a variety of release packages that allow him to get separation in different ways.
  • He had a breakout season as a junior at Ohio State last season, catching 70 passes for 1,058 yards and 12 touchdowns in a star-studded position room.
  • He is explosive in a short area with an incredible jab step and the ability to stack a defender.
  • He has a ton of natural athletic intangibles, including a big catch radius, the ability to run past defenders and exceptional body
  • Any expectations have to be tempered by the fact he is playing for the Jets, where Zach Wilson is still in the formative stages of his career and needs as many weapons as he can get.
  • Had too many concentration drops as he looked to make plays before securing the ball – a problem that can be solved with coaching, experience, and a commitment to mechanics.
  • He needs to be more physical, because he doesn’t consistently beat press coverage at the line.
Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The case for and against Chris Olave

  • A productive, four-year athlete, who caught 32 touchdown passes in 31 games over his last three seasons. He saved his best for last, catching 65 passes for 936 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior.
  • He’s a smart player who quickly picked up the Saints’ playbook and has looked the part from Day 1 of rookie minicamp by showing his football intelligence.
  • He has elite footwork, which creates routine separation from defenders that gives his quarterback open throwing windows.
  • Comes to an offense with a lot of firepower if the key component parts can stay healthy, with QB Jameis Winston, wide receivers Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry and do-it-all running back Alvin Kamara.
  • With Landry locked in as a slot receiver, Olave will likely draw a lot of single coverage on the outside if Thomas returns to form and demands added defensive attention that was required before he was slowed by injuries.
  • Olave struggled against physical coverage and will need to improve his core strength to become an elite receiver at the NFL level.
  • He is viewed by a lot of scouts as a player with a high floor and low ceiling, which has historically been the recipe for a long career but perhaps never being an elite receiver.
  • He doesn’t win enough 50/50 balls when in the red zone.
Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The case for and against Skyy Moore

  • In the post-Tyreek Hill era, Moore will be given an immediate opportunity to contribute as Patrick Mahomes deals with a completely revamped wide receiver corps.
  • Has an elite quarterback on his side
  • Moore has experience playing both inside and outside, which gives him an edge for playing more snaps because of his down-and-distance flexibility to line up anywhere.
  • He was the first freshman since 2014 to earn First-Team All-MAC honors and received such recognition twice in three years.
  • A prolific receiver who dominated lesser competition in 2021, catching 94 passes for 1,283 yards and 10 touchdowns.
  • He has a small frame and will likely need to add bulk to be optimally effective.
  • Moore didn’t run a full route tree at Western Michigan and hasn’t shown elite burst out of his cuts to achieve separation, which is a problem that will only be more pronounced in the NFL.
  • He is in a crowded receiver room with Mecole Hardman, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling likely starting training camp in front of him.

Fantasy football outlook

All three of the rookie receivers have the ability to make an immediate impact, but they are entering the league in very different situations.

Olave should have the opportunity to make the most immediate impact, because he plays in a division that is poor defensively, and he should step in to a significant role in the Saints offense early on. He is a borderline WR2 but more likely a WR3 with the chance to make the climb as the season progresses.

Wilson has the best chance to get the most reps of any of the three. The depth on the Jets at wide receiver is markedly less than the Saints and Chiefs, so he will get more snaps, which translate into more opportunities. The question is whether the Jets offense can consistently create enough big-play opportunities. He has solid WR3 potential, but in most leagues he will more than likely be a WR4 with strong upside.

Moore is the wild card of the group. He was the 13th wide receiver taken in the draft, so clearly other teams thought more highly of others than him. But, he has Mahomes throwing the ball, and he has made fantasy-relevant players out of a lot of receivers in his short career. Moore is making a big jump to the NFL from the MAC, so he will likely take more time than the others, making him an end-of-the-draft stash player on the back end of rosters in hopes of delivering early in the high-powered Chiefs offense.

Fantasy football team previews: AFC West

Huge changes with Denver and Vegas look to turn the division on its head.

The 2022 fantasy football draft season is starting to heat up now that we’ve gone through the height of free agency and all of the chosen rookies have been assigned to their professional home cities.

The landscape has changed a great deal for many franchises after a whirlwind offseason, and our divisional preview series will help you stay on top of all of the changes to date.

AFC divisional previews

East | North | South | West

NFC divisional previews

East | North | South | West

2022 NFL Draft Scouting Report: WR Skyy Moore, Western Michigan

Can Moore be the latest Western Michigan receiver to thrive?

It’s not all too common to see a true freshman win first-team Associated Press all-conference honors, but that’s exactly what Western Michigan wide receiver Skyy Moore accomplished in 2019. He started a dozen games and lead the Broncos in aerial yardage (802) while tying for first place with 51 catches.

In 2020, the pandemic limited his season to five games, and Moore still managed second-team recognition after scoring three times. He’d save the best for his final season in Kalamazoo, Mich., going for an eye-opening 95 catches, 1,292 yards and 10 scores in 12 appearances.

Height: 5-foot-9 5/8
Weight: 195 pounds
40 time: 4.41 seconds

Once again, Moore was named to the AP’s all-conference squad, and his stellar play thrust him up more than a few draft boards. His 95 grabs ranked ninth in FBS, and no receiver on Western Michigan’s roster came even close to matching his production. The next closest receiver for catches checked in at just 46, and Moore’s yardage was only 227 behind the next two players combined. For context, he put up 206 yards and four scores vs. Northern Illinois alone last year!

Technically, Moore could have stayed in college another two seasons, but he opted for the pros, and his draft stock has been on the rise during the process. With that out of the way, it’s time to dive into what he does well and not so effectively.

Table: Skyy Moore NCAA stats (2019-21)

Year School Class Gm Receiving Rushing
Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD
*2019 Western Michigan FR 13 51 802 15.7 3 1 2 2.0 1
2020 Western Michigan SO 5 25 388 15.5 3 1 0 0.0 0
*2021 Western Michigan rSO 12 95 1,292 13.6 10 1 10 10.0 0

*includes postseason/bowl games

Pros

  • Exceptional burst off the line — since 1987, only 0.7 percent of all wide receivers had a faster 10-yard split in the 40, and Moore’s entire run was in the 90th percentile
  • Consistently capable of beating press coverage — effectively uses body lean and varied release speeds to set up defenders
  • Mindful of helping his quarterback and working back to the ball
  • Quality hands and coordination. Not too many passes reach the body — hands-catching most effective when he extends on vertical routes
  • Precision footwork with route-running acumen — ran just about every work imaginable
  • Dedicated, team-first leader
  • Versatility to play from the slot and on the outside
  • Capable, willing blocker who does a better job than his size suggests
  • Good body control and spatial awareness
  • Unafraid over the middle
  • Offers tremendous upside for growth when exposed to NFL-level coaching

Also see: 2022 NFL Draft Central

Cons

  • Obviously lacks prototypical size — take this with a grain of salt. He has been this size his entire collegiate career and remained effective. The only real concern in the NFL is elevated risk of injury
  • Faced weaker competition and struggled vs. the only true test when Michigan held him to 2-22-0 in 2021. Finished with 4-41-0 vs. Michigan State in 2019
  • Lacking catch radius of many other upper-echelon receivers
  • Limited experience on special teams — not necessarily a knock, but he’s rather untested for a player with his caliber of ball skills
  • Probably doesn’t fit every system as well a spread design

Fantasy football outlook

Moore has some aspects of his game and physical traits that compare favorably to Christian Kirk, but there’s a grittier element present in the soon-to-be rookie. He does a better job of doing the dirty work.

It will be surprising if Moore falls out of the top 100 selections, and even in this deep class, he could go as early as the 50s. Without knowing where he’ll end up, his 2022 value is a total crapshoot. Follow along with our real-time draft coverage for an instant reaction on his placement and subsequent fantasy stock.

The long-term outlook is exceedingly favorable, and Moore profiles as a reliable WR2 in fantasy within the first three seasons, if granted a reasonable opportunity to shine. That said, it’s less likely he will develop into a true No. 1 target. Playing opposite a stud receiver would solidify his worth as a weekly lineup consideration.