The latest retirement of Rob Gronkowski makes an shallow tight end position even more barren of top options for your 2022 Fantasy football rankings. After the likes of Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Mark Andrews, there’s a high boom-or-bust factor with the rest of the positional player pool. Tight ends like Dalton Schultz and Dawson Knox burst onto the radar last season, but how early should you take either player with your 2022 Fantasy football picks?
No tight end had more touchdowns (nine) than Knox last year, while Schultz had more receptions, yards and touchdowns in 2021 than in his first three seasons combined. However, the Bills and Cowboys shook up their receiving groups during the offseason, which could affect their targets. How should you evaluate these two, along with another ascending tight end like Kyle Pitts, when starting your 2022 Fantasy football draft prep? Before setting your 2022 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2022 Fantasy football cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Last year, the model accurately predicted that Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was being dramatically undervalued. Taylor was being drafted behind running backs like Aaron Jones, Ezekiel Elliott and Austin Ekeler last season but the SportsLine projection model predicted that he’d outproduce all of those backs and be a fixture in your Fantasy football lineups. The result: Taylor led the NFL with 1,811 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns to finish as the overall RB1 in 2021.
The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, also identifying A.J. Brown as another sleeper in 2020 and players like Julio Jones and JuJu Smith-Schuster as Fantasy football busts last season. Additionally, it’s called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.
The model is powered by the same people who generated projections for all three major Fantasy sites, and it beat human experts last season when there was a big difference in ranking. The projections update multiple times daily, so you’re always getting the best Fantasy football advice.
Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2022, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2022 Fantasy football sleepers
One of the 2022 Fantasy football sleepers the model is predicting: Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert. He was overshadowed by Zach Ertz early in his career, but he had a breakout season in 2021. Goedert finished as the second-highest graded receiving tight end by Pro Football Focus after averaging 11.8 Fantasy points per game over his final 11 outings.
He finished the year with six catches for 92 yards in a loss to Tampa Bay, being targeted 12 times in that contest. Philadelphia is expected to show continued improvement on the offensive side of the ball, creating value on Goedert for your 2022 Fantasy football picks. He is being drafted behind Dalton Schultz and Pat Freiermuth in most drafts, but SportsLine’s model expects him to perform better than both of those tight ends. See more Fantasy football sleepers 2022 here.
Top 2022 Fantasy football breakouts
The model is also projecting Jaguars running back Travis Etienne as one of its top 2022 Fantasy football breakouts. The 2021 first-round selection missed his entire rookie year after he suffered a Lisfranc injury early in the preseason. He appears ready to make up for his lost season this year and was a full participant for nearly the entirety of the Jags’ OTA program.
Former head coach Urban Meyer envisioned Etienne as an all-purpose back when the team drafted him. Video released by the team and media has shown Etienne bursting in-and-out of cuts on passing routes and looking fluid in his movements. The team is banking on both James Robinson (Achilles) and Etienne to make full recoveries and contribute sooner rather than later, but Etienne has a much higher ceiling as a pass-catcher. That upside is why the model projects Etienne to have a better Fantasy season than others being drafted ahead of him like J.K. Dobbins, Miles Sanders and Elijah Mitchell. See more Fantasy football breakouts 2022 here.
Top 2022 Fantasy football busts
As for players to avoid, the model lists Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson as one of its 2022 Fantasy football busts. After getting his feet wet in the backfield over the last few years, Patterson dove into the deep end of the running back pool in 2021 while also maintaining his receiving chops. He set career-highs across the board with 618 yards and six scores on the ground while also posting a 52-548-5 stat line through the air. However, his volume is due to take a hit, especially as a running back following Atlanta’s drafting of Tyler Allgeier and signing of free agent Damien Williams.
Additionally, the Falcons are inclined to slot Patterson more at receiver than running back this year after he notably faded down the stretch. After averaging 44.5 rushing yards on 4.6 yards per carry through his first 11 games, Patterson could only muster 25.8 yards on 2.7 yards per carry over his last five games. With Atlanta losing both Calvin Ridley (suspension) and Russell Gage (free agency) from the wide receiver room, the team will be more reliant on Patterson at the position. After finishing 12th in the Fantasy football RB rankings last year, SportsLine’s model has Patterson outside the top 30 and behind the likes of Tony Pollard and Travis Etienne, despite those two being drafted later on average. See more Fantasy football busts 2022 here.
How to find proven 2022 Fantasy football football rankings
SportsLine is also extremely high on a surprising quarterback you aren’t even thinking about being taken in the middle rounds of 2022 Fantasy football drafts. This quarterback is listed as a shocking top-five option ahead of superstars like Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. You can only see who it is, and the 2022 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.
So which 2022 Fantasy Football sleepers, breakouts and busts should you target and fade? And which QB shocks the NFL with a top-five performance? Visit SportsLine now to get 2022 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called Jonathan Taylor’s huge season, and find out.
