Few could have imagined Justin Jefferson finishing with a dramatically better season than his rookie year, when he had 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. Had Cooper Kupp not taken over the league, Jefferson’s 1,616 yards and 10 touchdowns would undoubtedly have been more noticed. There are plenty of 2022 Fantasy football breakouts to target in the 2022 Fantasy football rankings as you search for the next Jefferson or Kupp. Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney had moments of brilliance in his rookie season, but spent much of it on the injury report. New York is already being overly cautious with Toney this preseason, but what does that mean for him in your 2022 Fantasy football draft prep? Before putting together 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, SportsLine’s model accurately predicted that Dolphins rookie wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was being dramatically undervalued. He was being drafted around the same time as receivers such as Corey Davis, Tyler Boyd and Will Fuller, but the model predicted that Waddle would outproduce all of them and be a key breakout for Fantasy football lineups. The result: Waddle put together a strong 104-1015-6 receiving line and was a top-20 Fantasy receiver.
The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, also identifying A.J. Brown as a 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 breakouts
One of the 2022 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Steelers wide receiver George Pickens. Although he was a second-round pick in the NFL Draft, he has looked like a seasoned veteran in the preseason so far. Pickens was listed as a starter in the team’s first two preseason games and came away with five catches on seven targets for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has had wild plays through the first two games, but he has still managed to lead the offense. More importantly, first round pick Kenny Pickett has also looked comfortable at quarterback, which makes drafting Pickens a more attractive option. Pickens is a prototypical perimeter receiver and won’t have to deal with much added coverage throughout the season with Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool on the field as well. Those factors contribute to why the model projects Pickens to have more upside than others with higher 2022 Fantasy football ADP like Gabriel Davis, Elijah Moore and Allen Lazard.
Another breakout that SportsLine’s Fantasy football rankings 2022 have identified: Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman. Many expect the Ravens to return to a more deliberate style of football this season, one year removed from their catastrophic running back injuries to start 2021. However, Gus Edwards (knee) will start the season on the PUP list and the staff will be careful to not overwork J.K. Dobbins in his return from his own ACL surgery.
The Ravens unleashed Lamar Jackson as a passer out of necessity last year, and he showed he is capable of taking on that expanded role. In Weeks 3 through 10, Jackson completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,973 yards and 12 touchdowns. After Bateman came off of injured reserve in Week 6, he had two games in which he finished with 80 yards during Jackson’s impressive seven-game air assault. The Ravens traded Marquise Brown to the Cardinals in the offseason, which cleared the path for Bateman to become the featured receiver in the offense, and the model projects he will finish with a better season than others with a higher 2022 Fantasy football ADP like JuJu Smith-Schuster, DK Metcalf and Gabriel Davis. See which other Fantasy football breakouts 2022 to target here.
How to find proven 2022 Fantasy 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 breakouts should you be targeting? 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 Jaylen Waddle’s huge season, and find out.
