JuJu Smith-Schuster should be fantasy football priority in 2022

Since signing with the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has been the assumed top target on the roster. There is plenty of evidence to support that claim, both in regard to what he has accomplished throughout his career and the versatility that he brings to the field. Thus far, by all accounts, he is the most likely suspect to lead the wide receiver target share in 2022 and should be a priority in your fantasy football draft.

Currently, per FantasyPros, Smith-Schuster is the consensus WR34 and has an average draft position of 76th overall. Given what we know about this wide receiver unit in Kansas City, there is plenty of reason to support taking him at the top of the sixth-round in fantasy drafts.

Kansas City Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster will have a monster fantasy football season in 2022 and should be a priority pick in your draft.

Marquez Valdez-Scantling, although a big, shiny new weapon for Patrick Mahomes, has been one-dimensional throughout his career. Mecole Hardman, while expected to take on a bigger role, is a gadget guy. Skyy Moore, while extremely reliable in college, is a rookie from a small school; and Justin Watson, while receiving a ton of hype, has yet to do a damn thing in the NFL. Mahomes will have ol’ faithful in Travis Kelce to lean on, of course, but of all the members of the Chiefs’ wide receiver room, JuJu Smith-Schuster is by far the most polished.

Patrick Mahomes will spread the ball out and keep the offense lively, just like he did in week one of the preseason, but he’s going to have a favorite target among the wideouts. It may take some time for that favorite to become clear, and that may be orchestrated, but at one point or another JSS will become the leading receiver and he will be a massive value in fantasy football.

2018 was the last time that the world saw JuJu Smith-Schuster at his peak. It was his lone Pro Bowl season and a year in which he averaged 11.6 fantasy points per game. Since then he has battled with injuries and fought for targets in a run-heavy Steelers scheme that featured few to zero complementary receivers.

The 2022 season, while he is playing alongside versatile weapons and catching passes from Mahomes, should be the very best of JuJu’s career. When he averages 12 points per game, you’ll be the envy of your league for having taken him 15 spots ahead of his ADP.