Six games into their sophomore seasons, the top players from the 2022 wide receiver class are being held back by their quarterbacks. Look at the players selected in the first couple rounds of that draft, and with a few exceptions, you will find that they are attached to quarterbacks and offenses that are at or near the bottom of the league.
Drake London was the first receiver off the board. The Falcons barely throw the ball, and Desmond Ridder has targeted wide receivers with only 37.9% of his passes, according to TruMedia -- by far the lowest rate among 33 qualified quarterbacks. (The next-closest is Justin Fields at 46.9%.) Garrett Wilson was next to be drafted, and he is once again attached to Zach Wilson. Chris Olave is dealing with Derek Carr in the worst season of his pro career. Jameson Williams has been held back by injuries and a suspension and Treylon Burks has dealt with injuries as well, but Burks is still working with Ryan Tannehill. Jahan Dotson has Sam Howell (taking sacks on nearly 14% of his dropbacks) throwing him passes, Christian Watson has Jordan Love (worst off-target throw rate in the NFL, per TruMedia), Wan'Dale Robinson has Daniel Jones (somehow has an even higher sack rate than Howell), and George Pickens has Kenny Pickett (worst off-target rate).
There are obviously other wide receivers who were drafted early, but not many of them are contributing. The ones who are, are seemingly all saddled with quarterbacks who cannot take them to the next level. This makes them outliers among young wide receivers in the current NFL landscape.
Compare the quarterbacks to whom the top receivers from the 2022 class are attached, to those from the 2021 and 2023 classes. One of these things is not like the others.
| Draft | Receiver | Quarterback |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Ja'Marr Chase | Joe Burrow |
| 2021 | Jaylen Waddle | Tua Tagovailoa |
| 2021 | DeVonta Smith | Jalen Hurts |
| 2021 | Kadarius Toney | Patrick Mahomes |
| 2021 | Rashod Bateman | Lamar Jackson |
| 2021 | Nico Collins | C.J. Stroud |
| 2021 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | Jared Goff |
| 2022 | Drake London | Desmond Ridder |
| 2022 | Garrett Wilson | Zach Wilson (Aaron Rodgers injured) |
| 2022 | Chris Olave | Derek Carr |
| 2022 | Jameson Williams* (injured/suspended) | Jared Goff |
| 2022 | Jahan Dotson | Sam Howell |
| 2022 | Treylon Burks* (injured) | Ryan Tannehill |
| 2022 | Christian Watson | Jordan Love |
| 2022 | Wan'Dale Robinson | Daniel Jones |
| 2022 | George Pickens | Kenny Pickett |
| 2023 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Geno Smith |
| 2023 | Quentin Johnston | Justin Herbert |
| 2023 | Zay Flowers | Lamar Jackson |
| 2023 | Jordan Addison | Kirk Cousins |
| 2023 | Rashee Rice | Patrick Mahomes |
| 2023 | Tank Dell | C.J. Stroud |
| 2023 | Josh Downs | Anthony Richardson* (injured) |
Whether this is correlation or causation is up for debate, the two draft classes sandwiching the 2022 receivers certainly have it better than their counterparts at the moment. Hopefully for their sakes, the Falcons, Jets, Saints, Commanders, Titans, Packers, Giants and Steelers (among others) find their way to better quarterback play in the future. We shouldn't have to watch these players be subjected to the type of poor passing, say, Andre Johnson experienced throughout his (hopefully Hall of Fame) career.
