When it comes to building fantasy football teams identifying potential sleepers who can outperform their current ADP is crucial to finding success. Below, I will identify a full fantasy team of players I believe to be sleepers at their current ADP. Naturally, these players will rarely constitute your entire starting lineup. But this format allows us to identify sleepers at multiple positions that might be able to become starters for you or make for intriguing fill-in options when you do not have your starters available.
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All-Sleeper fantasy football team for 2022
Daniel Jones, QB | Giants
When it comes to being a starting QB in the NFL, the 2022 season is the big moment for Daniel Jones. The arrival of Brian Daboll as his head coach is a huge reason for optimism, given the growth we have seen by Josh Allen under his tutelage. Jones may not have the raw tools that Allen has, but in Daboll, he has a coach that masterminded the fifth-best passing offense in the NFL in 2021.
Jones is certainly talented as a QB, as his first-round pedigree demonstrates. There are clear signs of improvement. His completion percentage has increased in each of the past three seasons, while his interception percentage has dropped. His most dynamic year in terms of yards and touchdowns came as a rookie before the coaching change to the more conservative playstyle of Joe Judge.
This Giants offense has slowly been built over the past few years, and now there are some fantastic weapons around Jones. If they can keep Kenny Golladay healthy, the combination of him, Kadarius Toney, Wan’Dale Robinson, Sterling Shepard, and Saquon Barkley is an intriguing group.
Jones has all the pieces around him for success, and in a contract year, the motivation will never be higher. Currently being selected as the 27th QB off the board, Jones is, in essence, a free selection as a QB3, but he has the upside to be a solid QB2 with top-20 upside.
Cordarrelle Patterson, RB | Falcons
Normally, ADP largely reflects how players finished the previous year. However, Patterson appears to be an exception to that. In 2021, he finished as the RB12 in non-PPR and the RB9 in PPR. Yet, his ADP in 2022 is all the way down at RB32 and RB29, respectively. That is a huge discrepancy and leaves much room for Patterson to return value on his current ADP without repeating last year’s performance.
There has certainly been some talk of the Falcons managing Patterson’s workload this season. However, when you look at their offensive depth chart, there is still plenty of opportunities for Patterson to have significant touches. Behind Patterson at RB are Damien Williams and Tyler Allgeier. Both are solid options, but neither is likely to manage a substantial workload in 2022.
Additionally, the receiving depth chart is somewhat shaky. It would not be a surprise to see the Falcons utilize Patterson’s ability as a pass catcher and line him up as a receiver to provide additional pass-catching help.
By no means should you expect Patterson to be a top-12 RB this season, but there is every chance he returns RB2 value in a 12-team league. That makes him a nice value at his current ADP.
Kenyan Drake, RB | Raiders
It was not a pretty first outing of the 2022 season for Kenyan Drake in the Hall of Fame Game. Additionally, he appeared to leave with an injury. However, his return to the game indicated that whatever he was dealing with injury-wise was extremely minor. While it was surprising to see Drake on the field, as he looks to return from a broken ankle, getting him reps in the preseason makes a little sense from the Raiders’ coaching staff.
There have been reports coming out of camp that Drake is set for a significant role in a committee-type backfield. There are rumors that Josh Jacobs might be a potential trade option ahead of the season, and rookie RB Zamir White is unlikely to be given a full workload. Therefore, Drake could have a solid weekly role in this offense.
While it might not be mind-blowing numbers, at his current ADP as RB57 off the board, he does not need to be anything special to return value. Meanwhile, if Jacobs is traded or suffers an injury, we could see a larger role for Drake that could see him have RB2 or RB3 value during the 2022 season.
Jalen Tolbert, WR | Cowboys
Things have opened up nicely for Jalen Tolbert to be a fantasy-relevant option in the Cowboys’ offense this season. Michael Gallup is not guaranteed to be available for Week 1, and his main rival as the third wide receiver in this offense, James Washington, picked up an injury in training camp. Therefore, Tolbert has an incredible opportunity to start the year as the WR2 before slotting into a WR3 role for the remainder of the season when Gallup returns.
In 2021, the Cowboys’ offense supported two top-30 WRs on a per-game basis in PPR scoring. As the third option, Gallup was the WR47 in terms of points per game. As a third-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, Tolbert has a somewhat rare opportunity to make an immediate impact from that level of draft capital.
His current ADP has him being selected outside the top 60 WRs. From that value, he carries potential WR3 potential to start the season and then WR4-5 opportunity once Gallup returns. At his current ADP, there appears to be a perfect path to Tolbert returning value on any investment.
Kenny Golladay, WR | Giants
Calling a player of Kenny Golladay’s caliber a sleeper is a bit confusing. However, after two tough seasons, the Giants’ WR is being somewhat forgotten about in fantasy drafts. We have seen the upside that Golladay presents with his WR21 finish in 2018 and WR3 finish in 2019. Of course, we have also seen the downside in the past two seasons.
Nevertheless, the cost it takes to acquire Golladay makes him a potential sleeper in fantasy drafts. Depending on where you draft, his ADP varies from the 11th round to being undrafted. Investing double-digit round selections in players that have proven themselves to have top-24 upside is rarely a mistake.
If Golladay struggles, the investment made him makes him an easy player to move on from. However, if he finds his health and old form, he could be a valuable weekly starter at a relatively minimal cost.
Jamison Crowder, WR | Bills
Jamison Crowder always seems to be underestimated for fantasy football purposes. While the results have never been outstanding, he has been a top-40 WR on three occasions and twice in the past three years. It was a tough season with the Jets in 2021, but a change of scenery to Buffalo has huge potential.
Initial reports out of camp have suggested that Isaiah McKenzie may have the early head start in the race for the WR3 slot, but Crowder’s experience cannot be underestimated. Cole Beasley filled that role nicely for the Bills, with 100-target seasons in each of the last three years. In two of those, Beasley was a top-36 WR option before dropping off last year as his average depth of target sunk.
The intriguing element for Crowder is whether that depth of target increases from the 5.6 that Beasley managed last year. Another element of Beasley’s role that Crowder would hope to assume is his 11.4% red-zone share. Beasley was one of just two pass catchers to have more than 10 red-zone targets and not score a touchdown. Therefore, the expectation would be that if Crowder assumes that role, he will find the end zone at least a couple of times during the season to boost his overall value.
Crowder is an intriguing selection in PPR formats at his current price. He should have a solid weekly floor as a potential Flex option. Meanwhile, his current ADP sees him going largely undrafted in most 12-team formats with a range between the 171st and 250th selection, depending on what site you play on. As a late-round choice, Crowder could be a reliable starting option, especially through bye weeks. If he doesn’t beat out McKenzie, it costs you nothing to find out.
Albert Okwuegbunam, TE | Broncos
Tight end is a strange position to find fantasy football sleepers. At the back end of drafts, everyone is firing for upside. Thus, pinning down exactly when a tight end may be selected is difficult. We can see that in Albert Okwuegbunam’s current PPR ADPs. The prices range from the 124th selection down to the 194th.
In those leagues where Okwuegbunam is going very late or undrafted, his upside makes him an intriguing late-round selection. The news that he and Greg Dulcich are competing for the starting role has somewhat dampened any excitement over Albert O.
However, the injury to Tim Patrick has raised the intrigue level a little more. Patrick was expected to play a major role in the offense, and there is no sure-fire WR3 replacement. That could mean we see more targets for Okwuegbunam and Dulcich if the Broncos go to more two-tight end sets.
At his current ADP, Okwuegbunam is a very cheap upside play. Last year, he caught four of his five red-zone targets and all four inside the 10-yard line for two touchdowns. There is also the potential for the tight ends to pick up some of the red-zone targets that were seen by Noah Fant (12). Between Fant and Okwuegbunam, they saw 17 red-zone targets and pulled in six touchdowns.
There is a lot to be excited about at tight end in Denver, and Okwuegbunam is an ideal candidate to take a shot on late in drafts if you are searching for upside at the position.