While a case could be made for the bulk of players in fantasy football, everyone has their list of “my guys.” This year is no exception, with a short list of players who I am going all-in on in 2022. Whether due to increased roles, likelihood of breakouts, or draft day values, these are some of the best players to draft in fantasy football for the 2022 season.
Best players to draft in fantasy football for 2022
Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
I have been a pro-Jalen Hurts guy since his time at Alabama. That continued when he was drafted into the NFL by the Philadelphia Eagles. All he needed and deserved was a fair shot at winning the job and showcasing his skills. While we saw a glimpse of this in 2020, last year, Hurts showed his true upside.
Finishing as the QB6 in 2021 (21.4 ppg), Hurts is arguably the second-best rusher in the NFL behind Lamar Jackson, according to PFN’s very own Jason Katz, after leading the position in attempts, yards, and touchdowns. But what is missed is Hurts was averaging 34.6 pass attempts per game in the first seven contests of the season as the Eagles ran one of the pass-heaviest offenses.
Head coach Nick Sirianni did the right thing by changing the offense’s approach to fit the roster, as the Eagles lacked adequate receiver depth. That’s not the case in 2022 with the addition of A.J. Brown to pair with DeVonta Smith and TE Dallas Goedert. You don’t go out and make a draft night trade to acquire Brown and still rush at the highest rate in the league.
I expect the Eagles to find a middle ground in 2022 with Hurts allowed to air it out and create a more balanced attack. Last season, only one quarterback averaged more fantasy points per game than Hurts did before his ankle injury in Week 12. That was Josh Allen, the overall QB1.
Also, only two QBs rushed for 700+ yards while passing for more than 3,000 yards: Allen and Hurts. Hurts has a legitimate shot at being the QB2 in fantasy in 2022. As the QB7 currently in ADP, I am all-in on Hurts as one of the best players to draft in fantasy football for 2022.
Cam Akers, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Much like the NFL, fantasy football is a “what did you do for me lately” business. Your most recent performance is what people remember the most. It’s why you see someone like Gabriel Davis receive all kinds of love during the offseason, but Cam Akers is talked about as if he is washed. I’m sorry, but I don’t get it.
Sure, Akers did not look good in the playoffs. No argument here. Yet, why are we only looking at the base yardage, not the sheer volume? After a five-carry “tune-up” in Week 18, the Rams thrust him into the RB1 role. Akers rushed 67 times for 172 yards in his four playoff games, catching eight of 10 targets for 76 yards.
That’s 19.25 opportunites per game with no ramp-up outside what he did during rehab. Akers was never even supposed to be on the freaking field, having torn his Achilles less than six months before this.
Also, look at who he played. Akers faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — the No. 1 rush defense last year — and the San Francisco 49ers (twice) in three of his five games (including Week 18). The Rams, regardless of who was touching the ball, could not run in the playoffs.
Akers’ 172 yards is actually kind of impressive with context, as 95% of his yards came after contact, meaning despite the lack of reps on his surgically repaired Achilles, the power was there to drive the pile.
The RB1 role in a Sean McVay offense carries 18-20 touch upside on a weekly basis. Hell, it’s how they ran Todd Gurley into the ground. Offensively, the Rams are who they are. Yes, Darrell Henderson played well in Akers’ absence, rushing 149 times for 688 yards and five touchdowns. But he will not impact Akers in a way that drops him in my rankings.
For what he lacks in receiving upside, Akers more than makes up for in volume. Add in the plethora of red-zone opportunities with Sony Michel gone, and Akers has RB1 upside and could be in the top four in per game volume. As a third-round pick and my RB2, it’s an easy choice for me in 2022.
Melvin Gordon, RB, Denver Broncos
Adding Melvin Gordon to this list of my guys who I feel are the best players to draft in fantasy football for 2022 has everything to do with value. By no means do I feel he is better than Javonte Williams. The second-year RB is going to be a star. What I have been arguing since Gordon returned to Denver is the projected volume many are using to assume his value is off.
No matter how much we want Williams to be the uncontested RB1, that’s not going to happen. Gordon could have signed anywhere but came back to the Broncos. Why? It’s because he knows there is a steady role to be had. He will undoubtedly have a significant role after the dead-even 203-to-203 split they saw last year.
I do not see the 70/30 split some are pushing when even the beat writers and those with the team every day are saying it’s at max at 60/40 with a genuine likelihood of it being 50/50 or around that range again.
If that is the case, then why is the RB20 of last year (RB24 in PPR/game) going 84 picks after his counterpart in a vastly more potent offense? There are not 36 running backs who are more valuable than Gordon in fantasy. If Gordon is on the board in the eighth round or later, he is a virtual auto pick for me. Williams has the upside, no question, but Gordon has far more value than some want to admit. He has a place on my roster anytime as one of the best picks to make for fantasy football in 2022 at his current value.
Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos
At this point, no one should be surprised by this one. The minute Russell Wilson stepped foot in Denver, it has been nothing but Courtland Sutton propaganda coming out of my mouth. And you know what? I don’t feel bad about it one iota.
It was so nice this offseason when Sutton was going in the WR30-35 range. I was laughing every time I clicked the draft button. However, as time progressed, the industry joined in the Sutton love as his ADP has risen to 52 as the WR22. Yeah, that has a ways to go before we see eye to eye.
With drafts right around the corner, Sutton is sitting comfortably as my WR9 in seasonal rankings. In our recent bold predictions article, I said there is top-five upside with Sutton being this year’s Cooper Kupp. Nothing has changed my opinion.
Sutton had a breakout year in 2019 with 72 catches for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns, earning his first Pro Bowl selection. Now, over a full year removed from a 2020 torn ACL, Sutton is Russell Wilson’s new version of DK Metcalf. He has a proven ability to be an alpha on an offense.
Last year, only 51% of Sutton’s air yards (1,509) were converted into actual yards (776). That won’t be the case with Wilson, who is one of the NFL’s best deep-ball passers and led the NFL in intended air yards per attempt last year at 9.9.
Throw in Nathaniel Hackett’s offense plus the unfortunate injury to Tim Patrick opening up more volume, and everything screams Sutton is set to explode. If there is one name from this list of best players to draft for fantasy football in 2022 to remember, it’s Sutton.
Allen Robinson, WR, Los Angeles Rams
“He’s old. He didn’t play well last year. He’s washed.” That is all I have heard when it comes to Allen Robinson from the majority of people. Maybe we have just been watching a different game on Sundays because Robinson is one of the most underrated elite receivers in the entire league.
After averaging 152.5 targets, 100 receptions, 1,198.5 yards, and 6.5 TDs in 2019 and 2020, Robinson was the WR82 last year (12 games). He caught just 38 passes (66 targets) for 410 yards with one touchdown. But if we are putting all the blame on Robinson and not on Matt Nagy, that feels like a bad process.
“But there isn’t enough volume in this offense after Kupp.” That’s another argument I hear. Interesting because in his nine games alongside Kupp, Robert Woods averaged 7.7 targets, five receptions, 61.8 yards, 0.56 TDs, and 15.9 PPR points a game. That’s a 17-game pace of 130 targets, 85 receptions, 1,050 yards, 10 TDs, and 250 PPR points, which would have been good enough for WR12 ahead of Mike Williams and inside the top 20 in points per game.
In the most explosive offense of his career and with the best quarterback he has played with, I expect Robinson’s efficiency to come back in 2022. Those saying the return of Akers and the steady running game will decimate the passing upside of this offense are mistaken. Since 2017, when the Rams hired McVay, they have been within +3% of the league average passing rate in neutral script games every year, sticking between 58 and 61%. They are who they are, which makes them predictable.
Currently the WR29 in ADP (63), Robinson is a top-20 receiver for me and has had times where he was in the upper-teens before calmer heads prevailed. Robinson is far closer to a high-end WR2 than a low-end WR3.
Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts
Michael Pittman Jr. is another name that shouldn’t shock anyone to see on my list of best players to draft for fantasy football in 2022. I loved him at USC, and that hasn’t changed in the NFL. This is not just a me thing. Pittman is on this list for many people, and for a good reason.
In 2021, Pittman was No. 3 in the NFL in route participation at 96%, trailing only Kupp and Ja’Marr Chase. He is also a target hog, ranking eighth in the NFL in target share last season (24%). Between Weeks 11 and 18, that vaulted to 31% as he became the go-to No. 1 option for Carson Wentz. Not only that, but Pittman was one of just 11 wide receivers with at least 25% and 30% of their team’s respective targets and air yards.
The breakout started last year. He was tied for eighth in target share and over 11% higher than the next closest Colts WR, Zach Pascal, at 13%. That also leads us to the depth chart. Matt Ryan replaces Wentz at QB and just needs to have a season similar to Philip Rivers in 2020 for it to be a success. T.Y. Hilton and Pascal are gone, and Pittman Jr. is competing for targets with rookie Alec Pierce, oft-injured Parris Campbell (please stay healthy), and an unproven Ashton Dulin.
Pittman Jr. is the unrivaled No. 1 target for Ryan. That’s a pretty darn good role considering Ryan hyper targets that position in excess of 150 targets or more. After all, it worked out pretty well for Roddy White, Julio Jones, and Calvin Ridley. Even last year, before he stepped away, Ridley had the sixth-highest target rate per route run. Pittman Jr. sits inside my top 10 for the position and is one of my guys to draft for fantasy football in 2022.
Dalton Schultz, TE, Dallas Cowboys
It’s not the easiest to have complete faith in a tight end once outside the Tier 1 group. Yet, for me, Dalton Schultz is someone who, this time next year, will be in that very conversation thanks to his absurd 2022 season.
What Schultz did last season was impressive. But in reality, it started the year before. With Blake Jarwin out due to a torn ACL in Week 1, Schultz had an impressive campaign, recording 63 receptions on 89 targets for 615 yards and four touchdowns as the TE11. However, he drew little fanfare.
In 2021, Schultz took his game to another level. Playing in 17 games, Schultz caught 78 passes for 808 yards and eight touchdowns on a staggering 104 targets. Among tight ends, Schultz ranked sixth in targets and yards, third in receptions, and second in touchdowns. That performance helped place him as the TE3 on the season in points per game (12.3). He also finished as a TE1 or better in 11 of 17 games in 2022 despite playing in a loaded offense.
In fantasy, you need one of two things for a tight end. Either 90+ targets or 10+ touchdowns. Every top-six TE in PPR formats since 2003 has hit this. The only outlier in half-PPR is Mark Andrews in 2020 (88 targets). With Amari Cooper gone and both James Washington and Michael Gallup injured, who is stopping Schultz from being the No. 2 target for Dak Prescott? Noah Brown? Simi Fehoko? I don’t think so.
Over the last two seasons, the only player on Dallas with more red-zone targets than Schultz (15) was Cooper (22). But as noted, he’s in Cleveland. Averaging 4.4 yards after the catch per reception, Schultz can move the chains. He is my TE4 over George Kittle and Darren Waller.
With an ADP of 62, Schultz is someone I can draft in the middle rounds but end up with a player with a similar floor to the Travis Kelce, Andrews, and Kyle Pitts. Schultz will be a positional advantage against over 80% of your fantasy league.
Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears
I brought up opportunity and volume with Schultz. The very same applies to Cole Kmet. I wanted this breakout to happen last year, but I’ll settle for being a year too early.
And he is the clear No. 2 target for a team that has the worst group of pass catchers in the NFL. Last year, Kmet blocked on just 11.7% of the passing plays while carrying an 84% route participation. Kmet also saw 93 targets, a comfortable second-most on the team behind Darnell Mooney. He’s also averaged a respectable 7.1 aDOT in his two seasons. He is being targeted down the field instead of only as a safety valve.
If Kmet had just had the average TD rate of the top five TEs last year (6.2%), he would have been the TE12 with 155.8 points, clearing Pat Freiermuth. But he had zero and was the TE21. Luke Getsy’s offense will utilize the TE, and Justin Fields in Year 2 should be more accurate.
As a later-round TE, I love walking away with Kmet to add some upside in what can be a difficult place to find any. Although they can be streaky, Kmet certainly makes my list of “my guys” and best players to draft for fantasy football in 2022.