2022 ‘This or That?’ Fantasy Analysis: Tyler Lockett vs JuJu Smith-Schuster

2022 ‘This or That?’ Fantasy Analysis: Tyler Lockett vs JuJu Smith-Schuster

Must Have: JuJu Smith-Schuster (ESPN Rank: 35; SDN Rank 24)

JuJu missed 12 games last season due to injury, but his performances before the injury were pretty lackluster. He didn't record any touchdowns and the most receiving yards he put up was 52 in week 1. While JuJu's first few weeks were pretty bad last year, most blame can be put on Ben Roethlisberger who was arguably one of the worst starting quarterbacks last year. JuJu still performed pretty well in 2020 when he put up 97 receptions, 831 yards and 9 touchdowns. Not only is JuJu now fully healthy, but he will be the Chiefs' WR1 with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback. KC's receiving corps is lacking a lot of talent with Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman playing alongside JuJu. With JuJu set to be Mahomes' #2 guy behind Kelce, he should finish the season as a mid 20s receiver in fantasy with the potential to be within the top 20.

Must Avoid: Tyler Lockett (ESPN Rank: 29; SDN Rank: 35)

Lockett had one of the best seasons of his career last year when he put up a career-high 1175 yards. He also recorded 8 touchdowns and put up an incredibly efficient 16.1 yards per reception. The only problem was that his performances were very inconsistent. Lockett had 5 games where he posted over 100 yards, but he also had 7 games where he recorded 35 or fewer yards. There is a very good chance we will see more inconsistency in 2022 with the huge downgrade Seattle is facing at the quarterback position. With Lock at QB, there is a good chance that we may not see Lockett surpass 100 yards in any game this season. With Lock not being a very confident player, he may turn to Metcalf to be his main target, leaving Lockett to have a down year.