As we approach the end of the fantasy football season, and you (hopefully) make it to the playoffs, it’s only natural to start looking toward next year’s draft picks. If you’re like me, you’ve already begun researching NFL players who will be rising in popularity as they find their spot in the league (and on your team). Here are my top five players to watch in 2022!
Running Backs
– Lamar Miller, ARI @ DET, $4.7K (ESPN) –
Miller had over 1,800 total yards last season and should be productive with a healthy quarterback this year.
– Giovani Bernard, CIN vs ATL, $3.8K (ESPN) –
Bernard racked up almost 900 total yards and 5 touchdowns last season but was battling injuries most of the year. With a clean bill of health in 2018, he will be fighting to make Fantasy starters across all formats.
– Adrian Peterson, WAS vs NYG, $5.6K (ESPN) – – Peterson is an obvious start this week as he is going against a defense that just surrendered 45 points to Mitchell Trubisky and the Bear’s passing attack. Peterson has been getting his touches so far and if there are no setbacks coming off his injury he should be very productive in Week 2. – Jamaal Williams, GB @ CHI, $2.9K (ESPN)
Williams could get even more work than usual this week as Aaron Jones is still recovering from his knee injury from Week 1. He rushed 13 times for 53 yards on Sunday and could have success against a team that gave up 4 rushing touchdowns last weekend to Detroit’s RBs.
Wide Receivers
Tom Brady won’t be around to carry them to victory anymore, but these receivers will keep up the Pat’s legacy. Receivers have a tougher time of things without Brady’s passing prowess, but they will be helped by Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon’s return from suspension.
The most promising receivers are Chris Hogan, Zach Ertz ข่าวบอล, and James White. These players are in a position to thrive with Jay Ajayi as their new workhorse back in the wake of LeGarrette Blount’s release.
In short, dynasty league owners should buy stock in these players now before prices rise this offseason. You’ll regret it if you don’t!
Tight Ends
Rob Gronkowski – LAC 18.4, 7th
Travis Kelce – KC 16.8, 12th
Mark Andrews – BAL 16.5, 13th
George Kittle – SF 16.3, 14th
Quarterbacks
It’s easy to envision guys like Newton, Wilson, Luck, and Watson being fantasy relevant by then but here are a few others who might be undervalued today.
I think Mason Rudolph is going to have a breakout year in 2019 and not many people have paid much attention to him yet. After an injury-plagued 2018 season, Josh Rosen will rebound as one of the best rookie quarterbacks. Lastly, Josh Allen could be really good in 2022 if he can improve his accuracy and decision-making. He had some potential flashes last year that makes me think that it would be foolish to count him out already. We’ll see what happens this year with Winston as well. Running backs: Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara, David Johnson, and Joe Mixon all project to still be top-tier players in 2022 but there are some young ones who could also provide a boost.
Penny has been turning heads during training camp so far and there’s no doubt that he will play on Sundays sooner rather than later. Kalen Ballage was a sleeper favorite among many this past draft class because of his size/speed combo and Dion Lewis’ contract situation is something worth monitoring too.
Kickers and Defense/Special Teams
In order to successfully defend your fantasy football team, you need to make sure that you are scouting for kickers and defenses. Defense/Special Teams players help take the pressure off of your other positions because they help pick up all of the points that their offense couldn’t manage in a given week. When picking a kicker, look at teams with home-field advantage and high-scoring offenses because those are matchups that you want. All kickers can vary, but on average it’s best to go with someone who has 70% accuracy from inside 50 yards and has converted a field goal from at least 50 yards twice this season. For a defense, pick someone who is conceding 18 points or less per game and force two turnovers per game while giving up 20 points or less on average.