With most fantasy football leagues concluding after Week 17, there is no reason for you to be reading this if you weren't playing in your league's Championship Week.
Below you will find some players that could be starts or sits in your league, but my fantasy football rankings will better help you determine if I would start Player X over Player Y.
Etienne has scored 14-plus fantasy points in all but one game since Week 9. During that eight-game stretch, he has averaged the seventh-most fantasy points per game and has scored 10 total touchdowns (five rushing and five receiving). In fact, he's tied with Christian McCaffrey and Jahmyr Gibbs for the most touchdowns since that point. Nearly touchdown favorites over the Indianapolis Colts, the Jaguars have a top-six implied total this week.
Currently in the league's concussion protocol, TreVeyon Henderson is very likely going to sit in Week 17. That opens the door for Stevenson, who had eight carries for 51 yards and a touchdown and two catches for 27 yards last week against the Baltimore Ravens. As 12.5-point favorites over the New York Jets, it's likely that the Patriots have many more than the 13 running back carries they had last week.
Jaylen Warren vs. Kaleb Johnson? (Many fantasy managers made the wrong decision based on ADP — Johnson was RB27, Warren was RB29.) While the Steelers have had two productive backs this season, it's been Warren and Gainwell (not Johnson).
Gainwell has already been heavily involved as a receiver, and DK Metcalf has been suspended for the final two regular-season games. In fact, the running back leads the team in receptions (62) and trails only Metcalf (99) in targets (72). Over his past six games, Gainwell has averaged 8.3 carries, 6.3 targets, 5.5 receptions and 94.6 YFS per game.
Hall has a career-high 229 carries, but he has also set or tied career lows in YPC (4.2), yards per touch (4.9), and receptions per game (2.3). It's possible that you may still need to start Hall, and the good news is he should get enough touches to give you something. That said, the outlook is bad enough for the Jets that Hall is outside my top-24 fantasy running backs for the week and certainly not a must-start. He had 64 scoreless yards in the first matchup against the Patriots this season.
From Weeks 5 to 9, who was better than Dowdle? The free-agent addition had three top-two fantasy finishes in five weeks, and only Jonathan Taylor and Christian McCaffrey averaged more fantasy points per game over that stretch. Since then, Dowdle still has averaged 17.5 touches per game, but he has finished as the RB35 (or worse) in two of the past three games and faces the stingy Seahawks defense in Week 17.
At a minimum, he's clearly not happy with his role. He has eight or fewer carries for six weeks. During that stretch, he has averaged 6.0 carries and 1.2 receptions per game.
Aaron Rodgers: The Jets signed Mike Williams, a big upgrade opposite Garrett Wilson, and Tyron Smith in free agency while also drafting Olu Fashanu and Malachi Corley with their first two picks to help bolster the offense. Assuming better health in 2024 for Rodgers, who missed nearly all of last season with a torn Achilles, he should help raise the play of the offense in general — and the pass catchers in particular — even if he's only a mid-tier QB2 in fantasy.
Breece Hall: Not much went right for the Jets in 2023, although Hall was one of their few bright spots. Hall nearly rushed for 1,000 yards (994), led all running backs in receptions (76) and scored the fourth-most fantasy points (second-most in full-PPR formats) among running backs. With more competent quarterback play next season and being another year removed from his torn ACL, Hall is my clear favorite among non-Christian McCaffrey running backs.
Garrett Wilson: With Aaron Rodgers playing four snaps in 2023, it's no surprise that Wilson failed to live up to preseason expectations. Then again, fantasy managers expected more than a WR31 finish. Even so, the lack of scoring (three TDs) was a big factor, as Wilson finished with 95 catches for 1,042 yards. No receiver had a higher number of contested targets (37), per PFF. Assuming better quarterback play and barring injury, Wilson could take a big step forward in his age-24 season.
Mike Williams: Williams missed nearly all of the 2023 season with a torn ACL, but he's shown how productive he can be when healthy. While he has appeared in only 32 games over the past three seasons, he has averaged a 17-game line of 84/1,217/7 during that span. Earlier this spring, GM Joe Douglas said of Williams, "I would say he's not gonna be ready for the start of training camp," but "we do feel confident that he's gonna be ready for the year."
Tyler Conklin: Conklin has had exactly 87 targets with 58 to 61 receptions in three consective years including the past two seasons with the Jets. Conklin set a career high with 621 yards (but failed to score a touchdown) in 2023. The presence of Mike Williams and Malachi Corley as the team's WR2/WR3, respectively, could lead to a few less targets (than 87), but a healthy Aaron Rodgers should raise the overall performance of the offense.
Aaron Rodgers: After winning back-to-back NFL MVP awards in 2020 and 2021, Rodgers numbers (without Davante Adams) were well below his career averages across the board in 2022 — 64.6% (65.3% career average), 4.8 TD% (6.2%), 2.2 INT% (1.4%), 6.8 Y/A (7.7) and 91.1 passer rating (103.6). Regardless of how long the next era of his career lasts, Rodgers joins a Jets team that has a better supporting cast than he had last year in Green Bay.
Breece Hall: Before Hall tore his ACL, his NFL career was off to a great start. The rookie from Iowa State averaged 5.8 yards per carry and 11.5 yards per reception through seven games. His workload had jumped considerably in Weeks 4-6 (61 touches) from Weeks 1-3 (34). Who knows how good his rookie season would have been if the injury hadn't happened? There are lots of reasons for fantasy managers to be excited about Hall's long-term outlook, but it wouldn't be a shock if he starts the 2023 season slowly, especially with Dalvin Cook joining the Jets on a one-year deal.
Dalvin Cook: Cook appeared in all 17 games last season, and it was the first time that played more than 14 games in a season. Now a Jet, he's no longer the clear lead back, but it's possible that he starts the season with a larger share of the workload as the Jets ease Hall back from injury.
Michael Carter: Carter had double-digit touches in eight of the first nine games last season, but he had only 28 touches — 15 carries for 32 yards and 13 catches for 79 yards — over the final five games. The team kept him over Zonovan Knight, but his opportunities will be limited as long as both Hall and Cook are healthy.
Garrett Wilson: Despite poor quarterback play, Wilson was outstanding in 2022 as he finished with 83 receptions for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns and was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. More efficient quarterback play should help Wilson in his second season.
Allen Lazard: Lazard posted career highs in targets (100), receptions (60) and yards (788) last season. Although Lazard edged his Packers teammate Christian Watson in fantasy points scored last season, both of whom finished as top-36 performers, Watson outscored him on a per-game basis. While he benefits from continuing to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers, there's a clear talent gap between Garrett Wilson and Lazard.
Mecole Hardman: Hardman has the potential to have an occasional big week, but he'll be hard to trust as the team's third (or fourth?) receiver behind Wilson and Lazard (and Cobb?). He's never averaged more than 40.8 yards per game in his four seasons with Patrick Mahomes.
Tyler Conklin: Conklin followed up his breakout 2021 season (61/593/3, 87 targets) in Minnesota with nearly identical numbers (58/552/3, 87 targets) with the Jets last year. Given that the offense should be better in general in 2023, there's a chance that Conklin performs as a mid-tier TE2 once again.
Aaron Rodgers: After winning back-to-back NFL MVP awards in 2020 and 2021, Rodgers numbers (without Davante Adams) were well below his career averages across the board in 2022 — 64.6% (65.3% career average), 4.8 TD% (6.2%), 2.2 INT% (1.4%), 6.8 Y/A (7.7) and 91.1 passer rating (103.6). Regardless of how long the next era of his career lasts, Rodgers joins a Jets team that has a better supporting cast than he had last year in Green Bay.
Breece Hall: Before Hall tore his ACL, his NFL career was off to a great start. The rookie from Iowa State averaged 5.8 yards per carry and 11.5 yards per reception through seven games. His workload had jumped considerably in Weeks 4-6 (61 touches) from Weeks 1-3 (34). Who knows how good his rookie season would have been if the injury hadn't happened? There are lots of reasons for fantasy managers to be excited about Hall's long-term outlook, but it wouldn't be a shock if he starts the 2023 season slowly as he works his way back from injury. Clouding the outlook for the backfield was Dalvin Cook's visit at the end of July, even if there is "no timeline for a signing."
Michael Carter: Carter had double-digit touches in eight of the first nine games last season, but he had only 28 touches — 15 carries for 32 yards and 13 catches for 79 yards — over the final five games. Various other backs (Hall, James Robinson and Zonovan Knight) had games where they handled larger workloads than Carter last season and there is speculation that Carter could be the odd man out if the team signs Dalvin Cook.
Zonovan Knight: Knight wasn't active until Week 12, but he handled 98 touches (85/300/1 rushing and 13/100 receiving) over the final seven games of the season.
Israel Abanikanda: NFL.com's Lance Zierlein comped Abanikanda to Kansas City's Isiah Pacheco before the NFL Draft, although it would be unreasonable to expect a such a large rookie contribution from the fifth-round pick. That said, The Athletic's Zach Rosenblatt wrote after OTAs that Abanikanda "has the explosiveness and home-run ability to make an impact right away, and I think he will."
Garrett Wilson: Despite poor quarterback play, Wilson was outstanding in 2022 as he finished with 83 receptions for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns and was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. More efficient quarterback play should help Wilson in his second season.
Allen Lazard: Lazard posted career highs in targets (100), receptions (60) and yards (788) last season. Although Lazard edged his Packers teammate Christian Watson in fantasy points scored last season, both of whom finished as top-36 performers, Watson outscored him on a per-game basis. While he benefits from continuing to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers, there's a clear talent gap between Garrett Wilson and Lazard.
Mecole Hardman: Hardman has the potential to have an occasional big week, but he'll be hard to trust as the team's third receiver behind Wilson and Lazard. He's never averaged more than 40.8 yards per game in his four seasons with Patrick Mahomes.
Tyler Conklin: Conklin followed up his breakout 2021 season (61/593/3, 87 targets) in Minnesota with nearly identical numbers (58/552/3, 87 targets) with the Jets last year. Given that the offense should be better in general in 2023, there's a chance that Conklin performs as a mid-tier TE2 once again.
C.J. Uzomah: After signing a free-agent deal with the Jets, Uzomah finished 2022 with a modest 21/232/2 stat line. Perhaps a new year with a new quarterback and offensive coordinator will be what Uzomah needs for a better season with Gang Green.
Jeremy Ruckert: The Athletic's Zach Rosenblatt called Ruckert "one of the biggest winners of OTAs." Meanwhile, coach Robert Saleh said that the third-round, second-year tight end "looks awesome."
Aaron Rodgers: After winning back-to-back NFL MVP awards in 2020 and 2021, Rodgers numbers (without Davante Adams) were well below his career averages across the board in 2022 — 64.6% (65.3% career average), 4.8 TD% (6.2%), 2.2 INT% (1.4%), 6.8 Y/A (7.7) and 91.1 passer rating (103.6). Regardless of how long the next era of his career lasts, Rodgers joins a Jets team that has a better supporting cast than he had last year in Green Bay.
Breece Hall: Before Hall tore his ACL, his NFL career was off to a great start. The rookie from Iowa State averaged 5.8 yards per carry and 11.5 yards per reception through seven games. His workload had jumped considerably in Weeks 4-6 (61 touches) from Weeks 1-3 (34). Who knows how good his rookie season would have been if the injury hadn't happened? There are lots of reasons for fantasy managers to be excited about Hall's long-term outlook, but it wouldn't be a shock if he starts the 2023 season slowly as he works his way back from injury.
Michael Carter: Carter had double-digit touches in eight of the first nine games last season, but he had only 28 touches — 15 carries for 32 yards and 13 catches for 79 yards — over the final five games. Various other backs (Hall, James Robinson and Zonovan Knight) had games where they handled larger workloads than Carter, but he's a talented back, especially as a receiver, and Hall should be eased in slowly.
Zonovan Knight: Knight wasn't active until Week 12, but he handled 98 touches (85/300/1 rushing and 13/100 receiving) over the final seven games of the season.
Israel Abanikanda: NFL.com's Lance Zierlein comped Abanikanda to Kansas City's Isiah Pacheco, and it would be unreasonable to expect a similar rookie contribution from the fifth-round pick. That said, The Athletic's Zach Rosenblatt wrote after OTAs that Abanikanda "has the explosiveness and home-run ability to make an impact right away, and I think he will."
Garrett Wilson: Despite poor quarterback play, Wilson was outstanding in 2022 as he finished with 83 receptions for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns and was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. More efficient quarterback play will definitely help Wilson, even though Rodgers' buddies (Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb) followed him to Florham Park.
Allen Lazard: Lazard posted career highs in targets (100), receptions (60) and yards (788) last season. Although Lazard edged his Packers teammate Christian Watson in fantasy points scored last season, both of whom finished as top-36 performers, Watson outscored him on a per-game basis. While he benefits from continuing to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers, there's a clear talent gap between Garrett Wilson and Lazard.
Mecole Hardman: Hardman has the potential to have an occasional big week, but he'll be hard to trust as the team's third receiver. He's never averaged more than 40.8 yards per game in his four seasons with Patrick Mahomes.
Tyler Conklin: Conklin followed up his breakout 2021 season (61/593/3, 87 targets) in Minnesota with nearly identical numbers (58/552/3, 87 targets) with the Jets last year. Given that the offense should be better in general in 2023, there's a chance that Conklin performs as a mid-tier TE2 once again.
C.J. Uzomah: After signing a free-agent deal with the Jets, Uzomah finished 2022 with a modest 21/232/2 stat line. Perhaps a new year with a new quarterback and offensive coordinator will be what Uzomah needs for a better season with Gang Green.
Jeremy Ruckert: The Athletic's Zach Rosenblatt called Ruckert "one of the biggest winners of OTAs." Meanwhile, coach Robert Saleh said that the third-round, second-year tight end "looks awesome."
Zach Wilson: The second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Wilson was a major disappointment as a rookie. The former BYU Cougar completed only 55.6% of his pass attempts, averaged 6.1 yards per attempt and threw more interceptions (11, 2.9%) than touchdowns (nine, 2.3%). On a positive note, the Jets used four picks in the first four rounds of this year's draft on offense. While it would be difficult to be much worse, how much of an improvement will we see from Wilson in his second season?
Breece Hall: As the focal point of Iowa State's offense, Hall rushed for 3,044 yards and 41 touchdowns while adding 59 receptions for 482 yards and five touchdowns over the past two seasons. Hall is a patient runner with outstanding vision and contact balance and he's a reliable receiver out of the backfield. Even if Michael Carter starts the season as the RB1, Hall should earn a larger share of the workload as the season progresses.
Michael Carter: One of the few bright spots in New York's offense last year, Carter turned his 183 touches as a fourth-round rookie into 964 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns. Even though Hall has the higher draft pedigree, Carter goes into his second season as the starter and as an undervalued option available many rounds later than Hall in drafts.
Elijah Moore: Moore missed the final five games of 2021, but he had 34 catches for 459 yards and five touchdowns on 51 targets over his final six games played as a rookie. During that stretch, only Justin Jefferson scored more fantasy points than Moore, who was fifth on a per-game basis over that time period. The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt wrote early in camp that "Moore seems to have firmly established himself as this team's No. 1 receiver. He's in line for a big year."
Garrett Wilson: Wilson was my top-ranked receiver prospect in this year's draft class. Wilson has outstanding body control, ball skills and is dynamic after the catch.
Corey Davis: Davis had a breakout season in 2020 (65/984/5) that he parlayed into a three-year deal with the Jets. Missing roughly half of the season and plagued by poor quarterback play, Davis finished with 34/492/4 in nine games in his first season with the Jets. At this point, however, I'd prefer both Moore and Wilson over Davis in fantasy.
Tyler Conklin: Robert Saleh said last month (via NY Post's Brian Costello): "Conk is awesome. He's been fantastic for us. The whole [tight end] group really has been really good for us, but as far as he's concerned, just his ability on third down to create separation and win those one-on-one's and be a run blocker, he's an all-around tight end. He's been a pleasant surprise."
C.J. Uzomah: Uzomah set career highs in receptions (49), yards (493) and touchdowns (five) in his final season with the Bengals. Now with the Jets and in a less-potent offense, it's likely that his production declines year over year even if he leads the tight end group in snaps and production.
The best way to become good at something is to practice. So, what should you do if you want to draft a better fantasy football team?
Practice, of course!
Leading up to the start of the 2022 NFL season, we will use the 2022 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator (powered by FantasyPros) to complete fantasy football mock drafts.
We will use a variety of scoring formats -- PPR, half-PPR, standard scoring and even 2-QB leagues, league sizes and draft slots. The goal is to give you a good representation of the team that you may be able to construct given your league settings and the rationale of why we made the picks we did.
The NFL Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl LVI MVP, Kupp had an absolutely dominant season in 2021. Not only did he become the fourth player in the Super Bowl era to win the triple crown of receiving, leading the league in receptions (145), yards (1,947) and touchdowns (16), but his receptions and yardage totals each rank as the second-most ever. His historic numbers should come down a bit, but he remains the favorite to lead the league's wideouts in fantasy points in 2022.
Fournette missed three games in 2021, but he more than doubled up Ronald Jones II in touches (249 to 111), scrimmage yards (1,266 to 492) and touchdowns (10 to four). With Jones now in Kansas City, there is an opportunity for Fournette to handle an even larger share of the workload in 2022. Fournette finished last season as fantasy's RB7 in half-PPR formats.
Allen's volume has allowed fantasy managers to take his consistency to the bank. The veteran receiver has a minimum of 97 receptions and 992 yards in five consecutive seasons, although he has scored more than six touchdowns only once during that stretch. During those five seasons, he's finished as fantasy's WR14 (or better) in half-PPR scoring every season.
As the focal point of Iowa State's offense, Hall rushed for 3,044 yards and 41 touchdowns while adding 59 receptions for 482 yards and five touchdowns over the past two seasons. Hall is a patient runner with outstanding vision and contact balance and he's a reliable receiver out of the backfield.
Cooks has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in back-to-back seasons and six of the past seven. In addition, he has finished as a top-20 fantasy receiver in six of the past seven seasons. As the team's clear go-to receiver, he'll be a reliable WR2 for (most) fantasy managers in 2022 (and offers me plenty of upside as my WR3).
With Jamaal Williams off to Detroit, Dillon finished as fantasy's RB23 in half-PPR scoring formats in 2021. While he played two more games than Aaron Jones, his touches (221) and scrimmage yards (1,116) were nearly identical to Jones (223, 1,190) last season. If Jones were to miss any time, Dillon's upside is through the roof.
Hurts threw only 16 touchdowns in 2021, but only one quarterback -- Justin Herbert (12) -- had more QB1 weekly finishes last season than Hurts (11). Hurts was tied for second with Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady and Josh Allen. His elite rushing upside (10 rushing scores in 2021) matters more than his modest passing numbers, but the trade for A.J. Brown to join Devonta Smith and Dallas Goedert should lead to more prolific passing stats in 2022.
Penny was a surprise first-round pick in 2018. Partly due to his durability issues, the former San Diego State Aztec has only 280 rush attempts over four seasons. Despite the limited workload, Penny has been productive and efficient with 1,580 rushing yards (5.6 YPC) and 11 touchdowns on those 280 carries. Fantasy managers got a glimpse of how productive a healthy Penny can be down the stretch last season. Over the final five weeks of 2021, Penny posted a 92/671/6 (7.3 YPC) rushing line and led all running backs in fantasy points (half-PPR) per game (21.54). In addition, Penny has eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark in six of seven career games with at least 12 carries.
Zach Ertz was traded in October, and Goedert had back-to-back 100-yard games in December. If it weren't for the addition of A.J. Brown, who I project to lead the team in receiving, Goedert would be poised for another big leap forward. Topping the team's depth chart at tight end, Goedert is a mid-tier TE1 and my top-ranked TE still available at this spot.
Boyd posted a 67/828/5 line on 94 targets to finish as a top-33 fantasy receiver in 2021, but he also set four-year lows in targets, receptions and yards. Boyd enters 2022 as a solid (but relatively low-upside) WR4 and provides a bye-week replacement or depth in the event of injury.
Similar to Boyd, Meyers provides depth at WR although I'd almost certainly start the trio of Kupp, Allen and Cooks every week. Meyers finally scored an NFL touchdown, actually two of them, to go along with 126 targets, 83 catches and 866 yards in 2021.
Like D'Andre Swift, Williams missed four games in 2021 but set a career high in rushing yards (601) and tied a career high in rush attempts (153). While his targets per game (2.15) was near a career low, he set a career high in catch rate (92.9%) and finished with 2.0 receptions per game, his career average. Swift has missed three and four games, respectively, in his two NFL seasons, and Williams has plenty of upside if/when Swift misses a few games in 2022.
Herbert showed what he could do during David Montgomery's four-game absence, as the rookie totaled 78 carries for 344 yards and a touchdown with nine receptions for 44 yards. Herbert was fantasy's RB16 over that stretch. Outside of that four-game span, however, Herbert never exceeded four carries or five touches. With a new coaching staff in place, the gap betwen Montgomery and Herbert is unlikely to remain as large in 2022 as it was last season.
Anderson's second season with the Panthers was a huge disappointment as his production plummeted. He finished with 53/519/5 in 17 games in 2021 after posting a 95/1,096/3 line in 2020. While he suggested he could retire, the addition of Baker Mayfield should only increase his odds to bounce back from last year's dismal performance.
Zach Wilson: The second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Wilson was a major disappointment as a rookie. The former BYU Cougar completed only 55.6% of his pass attempts, averaged 6.1 yards per attempt and threw more interceptions (11, 2.9%) than touchdowns (nine, 2.3%). On a positive note, the Jets used four picks in the first four rounds of this year's draft on offense. While it would be difficult to be much worse, how much of an improvement will we see from Wilson in his second season?
RUNNING BACKS
Player
Att.
Yards
TD
Rec.
Yards
TD
Points
Breece Hall
221
961.4
6.3
32.7
263.8
1.6
186.27
Michael Carter
92.9
399.5
2.32
37.9
295.1
1.8
113.13
Tevin Coleman
22.7
95.3
0.57
5.5
43
0.3
21.8
Ty Johnson
15.7
66.7
0.35
5.8
44.9
0.3
17.96
Nick Bawden
0
0
0
2.1
15.6
0.1
3.21
Breece Hall: As the focal point of Iowa State's offense, Hall rushed for 3,044 yards and 41 touchdowns while adding 59 receptions for 482 yards and five touchdowns over the past two seasons. Hall is a patient runner with outstanding vision and contact balance and he's a reliable receiver out of the backfield. Even though Michael Carter will remain involved as well, Hall should be drafted as an RB2 in fantasy drafts.
Michael Carter: Carter was one of the few bright spots in New York's offense last year, as he turned his 183 touches as a fourth-round rookie into 964 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns. With the team using the 36th overall pick on Hall, Carter becomes relegated to a change-of-pace role behind their new featured back, but he'll especially make an impact in the passing game.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Player
Rec.
Yards
TD
Rush
Yards
TD
Points
Elijah Moore
65.4
855.9
4.6
8.3
62.3
0.42
154.64
Garrett Wilson
48.3
646.8
3.6
6.2
40.3
0.31
116.32
Corey Davis
43.9
598
3.5
0
0
0
102.75
Braxton Berrios
26.6
332.2
1.8
7
48.3
0.46
64.91
Denzel Mims
2.4
33.2
0.2
0
0
0
5.72
Jeff Smith
2.1
27.4
0.2
0
0
0
4.99
Elijah Moore: Moore missed the final five games of 2021, but he had 34 catches for 459 yards and five touchdowns on 51 targets over his final six games played as a rookie. During that stretch, only Justin Jefferson scored more fantasy points than Moore, who was fifth on a per-game basis over that time period. The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt recently wrote, "Moore seems to have firmly established himself as this team's No. 1 receiver. He's in line for a big year."
Garrett Wilson: Wilson was my top-ranked receiver prospect in this year's draft class. Wilson has outstanding body control, ball skills and is dynamic after the catch.
Corey Davis: Davis had a breakout season in 2020 (65/984/5) that he parlayed into a three-year deal with the Jets. Missing roughly half of the season and plagued by poor quarterback play, Davis finished with 34/492/4 in nine games in his first season with the Jets. At this point, however, I'd prefer both Moore and Wilson over Davis in fantasy.
TIGHT ENDS
Player
Rec.
Yards
TD
Rush
Yards
TD
Points
Tyler Conklin
31
336.1
2
0
0
0
61.11
C.J. Uzomah
29.6
318.5
1.9
0
0
0
58.05
Jeremy Ruckert
9.4
97.7
0.6
0
0
0
18.07
Tyler Conklin: Per NY Post's Brian Costello, Robert Saleh has recently said: "Conk is awesome. He's been fantastic for us. The whole [tight end] group really has been really good for us, but as far as he's concerned, just his ability on third down to create separation and win those one-on-one's and be a run blocker, he's an all-around tight end. He's been a pleasant surprise."
C.J. Uzomah: Uzomah set career highs in receptions (49), yards (493) and touchdowns (five) in his final season with the Bengals. Now with the Jets and in a less-potent offense, it's likely that his production declines year over year even if he leads the tight end group in snaps and production.
The best way to become good at something is to practice. So, what should you do if you want to draft a better fantasy football team?
Practice, of course!
Leading up to the start of the 2022 NFL season, we will use the 2022 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator (powered by FantasyPros) to complete fantasy football mock drafts.
We will use a variety of scoring formats -- PPR, half-PPR, standard scoring and even 2-QB leagues, league sizes and draft slots. The goal is to give you a good representation of the team that you may be able to construct given your league settings and the rationale of why we made the picks we did.
Mixon has eclipsed the 1,100-yard rushing mark in three of four seasons with his six-game 2020 campaign being the exception. While he has averaged 4.1 yards per carry (or less) in each of the past three seasons, the Bengals have upgraded their offensive line this offseason, which should help both Joe Burrow and Mixon. He set a career high in touchdowns (16) in 2021 and the Bengals should once again rank among the league's top-scoring offenses.
In an uneven season, Lamb's year-over-year numbers improved to 79/1,102/6 in 2021 from his 74/935/5 rookie season. Lamb finished as a top-24 fantasy receiver in six of nine games through Week 10 and was tied with Tampa's Mike Evans for the sixth-most fantasy points (half-PPR scoring) during that stretch. (Michael Gallup missed Weeks 2-9.) Lamb was a top-30 receiver only once over his final seven games, however, and tied with Amari Cooper as fantasy's WR42 over that span. There should be no shortage of targets for Lamb with Cooper traded to Cleveland and Gallup's Week 1 status (ACL) in doubt.
Closing his rookie 2020 campaign with 94 touches for 436 yards from scrimmage over his final four games, Akers was poised to enter 2021 as the team's featured back before an Achilles injury forced him to miss nearly all of last season. Provided his health cooperates, Akers has tremendous upside as the lead back in one of the league's most potent offenses.
In spite of Washington's mediocre quarterback play, McLaurin has averaged a 17-game pace of 82/1,142/6 through his first three NFL seasons. While Carson Wentz may not do wonders for Washington's passing attack, it is technically an upgrade over what McLaurin has had so far in his career.
As the focal point of Iowa State's offense, Hall rushed for 3,044 yards and 41 touchdowns while adding 59 receptions for 482 yards and five touchdowns over the past two seasons. Hall is a patient runner with outstanding vision and contact balance and he's a reliable receiver out of the backfield. I'd be comfortable drafting him as my RB2, but I love the upside with him as my flex here.
As the team's clear No. 1 wide receiver, Mooney is coming off an 81/1,055/4 season in 2021 despite Chicago's passing game struggles overall. Depending on how much improvement we see from Justin Fields in his second season, there is plenty of upside with Mooney.
The dual-threat quarterback has QB1 overall upside, when healthy. Even though he'll be without DeAndre Hopkins to start the season, the additions of Marquise Brown, his former Oklahoma teammate, and Trey McBride, the first tight end drafted in 2022, give Murray a talented group of pass catchers when the team's at full strength.
Even though Elliott played a full 17-game slate in 2021, Pollard earned an expanded role with career highs in touches (169) and scrimmage yards (1,056). Pollard is one of my favorite backs to target in 2022, as he has enormous upside if Elliott misses any time, but he has stand-alone flex value even if Elliott doesn't.
Boyd posted a 67/828/5 line on 94 targets to finish as a top-33 fantasy receiver in 2021, but he also set four-year lows in targets, receptions and yards. Boyd enters 2022 as a solid (but relatively low-upside) WR4.
Moore led the Broncos in both receptions (51) and yards (802) as a true freshman in 2019. He had a 95/1,292/10 line in 2021 and PFF credited Moore with 26 broken tackles after the catch, which led FBS wide receivers last season. There is a path to Moore being the team's most productive wide receiver as a rookie, so at a minimum, he's worth a roll of the dice as my WR5.
Henderson has struggled to stay healthy himself, but he especially offers upside if Akers were to miss any time. Henderson averaged 14.8 touches and 72 scrimmage yards per game last season.
Like D'Andre Swift, Williams missed four games in 2021 but set a career high in rushing yards (601) and tied a career high in rush attempts (153). While his targets per game (2.15) was near a career low, he set a career high in catch rate (92.9%) and finished with 2.0 receptions per game, his career average.
More productive than the typical rookie tight end, Freiermuth finished 2021 with 60 receptions for 497 yards and seven touchdowns on 79 targets. He's ranked as a top-10 fantasy tight end in our early 2022 rankings.
Gibson rushed for 1,037 yards in 2021, but he also had six fumbles. Especially if those fumbling issues are not resolved, Robinson could be in store for a bigger workload than many anticipate. Like with Gibson, the Commanders have used a third-round pick on Robinson, who ran for 1,343 yards and 16 touchdowns for Alabama last season.
