Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Josh Palmer flashed upside as a rookie but remains buried on the depth chart. What can fantasy football managers expect from Palmer in the 2022 season, and is he a good value at his current ADP in fantasy drafts?
Josh Palmer’s fantasy outlook for 2022
The Chargers selected Palmer in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. On the surface, there’s nothing special about him. He has average athleticism across the board and wasn’t overly productive in college. His 475 receiving yards as a senior in 10 games marked his best performance.
As a rookie, Palmer barely played to start. Over the first 10 games of last season, he averaged just 8.1 routes run per game. But this isn’t about what Palmer did — it’s about what he can do.
Palmer played exactly two games with a full snap share (90% or above). In those two games, he scored 17.6 and 15.3 PPR fantasy points. Palmer established that, if given the opportunity, he could be a productive wide receiver.
How the Chargers’ depth chart impacts Josh Palmer’s fantasy projection for the season
Despite proving to be a capable receiver, Palmer’s biggest issue will be playing time. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are the top two wide receivers on this team. The problem for Palmer is he may not even be the WR3.
Although Palmer looks like a better player than Jalen Guyton, the WR3 role went to Guyton last season. Guyton just profiles better for what the Chargers need with his field-stretching ability.
In Palmer’s two 90% snap share games I mentioned above, one of Williams or Allen was out in each of them. In the second, Guyton was out as well. However, Guyton did play in the first one, proving Palmer can earn targets and playing time ahead of him.
Justin Herbert is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league. He’s capable of supporting three fantasy-viable wide receivers. Unfortunately, Palmer is in a unique spot where he’s never the WR3. He’s the WR2 if one of Allen or Williams misses time, but he’s the WR4 behind Guyton when everyone is healthy.
Palmer is the rare handcuff wide receiver. He’s probably not worth drafting in standard-sized 12-team leagues, but I would be surprised if he didn’t pop up as a waiver wire add at some point during the season.
Palmer’s ADP for 2022
Palmer’s ADP is just outside the top 72 wide receivers. It’s about 50/50 as to whether he will be drafted in 12-team leagues. For us, he’s our consensus WR86, so we’re probably not taking him outside of super deep leagues.
I’m not particularly interested in drafting Palmer. He’s not going to open the season as a starter. While it’s likely he will be on the streaming radar during the season, you’re not going to be able to hold him through the early part of the year.
Roster spots are valuable, and there will inevitably be surprise players that you want to take shots on after Week 1. There are better shots to take with your final skill position selection in fantasy drafts.