Erickson: 2022 NFL Fantasy Football Rankings

It’s never too soon to start preparing for the 2022 Fantasy Football season. To get a head start on the competition, here are my way too early tiered 2022 Fantasy Football 0.5 PPR redraft rankings.

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These rankings are bound to go through numerous changes after the 2021 NFL playoffs, 2022 NFL Draft and 2022 NFL free agency, but it’s still a good exercise to get a grasp on what the field will look like when we start drafting best ball teams in January and February.

I’ll share some insights on players I may be higher or lower on than consensus.

2022 QB FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS

Lamar Jackson had a season to forget in 2021, as he dealt with a plethora of injuries/illnesses and regressed immensely as a passer. Two key metrics at PFF that are important to analyze for QBs are performance in a clean pocket and throwing at the intermediate level.

Jackson ranked 28th in passer rating from a clean pocket (90.4) and 22nd in PFF passing grade at the intermediate level (70.0). Despite all his shortcomings as a passer, Jackson still finished the season second in expected fantasy points per game (23.8) and seventh in fantasy points per game (21.3).

His expected fantasy point per game output marked the highest of his career thanks to the Ravens’ willingness to throw more in 2021. From 2019-2020, Jackson had 37 or more passing attempts in a game only four times. He did so five times in 2021, with Baltimore throwing at a 60% clip. If the pass-heavy approach continues into 2022, Jackson will be back among the top-five fantasy quarterbacks. 

2022 RB FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS

I faded Derrick Henry as a first-round pick in 2021, and the results were suboptimal. The Tennessee Titans running back led the position in fantasy PPR points per game (23.4) through eight weeks and bested his 2020 2,000-yard campaign by more than 2.5 PPR points per game. 

Henry getting hurt bailed me out, but I’m not willing to double-down on that happening again in 2022. 

Sony Michel owns the Rams’ backfield. For the third straight week, he was favored heavily over any other running back, out-touching his backfield teammates by a whopping 22 to 0 in Week 17.

The ex-Patriot also flashed more in the receiving game, posting a season-high 25 receiving yards. The pass-game numbers were always going to come based on Michel leading all running backs in route participation over the last four weeks, but it took a negative game script for him to finally convert his usage into targets.

Related content for you: 2022 Top-250 Fantasy Football Rankings via Nathan Jahnke

Michel is a high-floor fantasy RB1 even in a tough matchup against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18. Michel’s high-end usage is also a reminder that 2022 will be the year of Cam Akers. Michel is a free agent at the end of the season, so anticipate the highly coveted fantasy RB1 gig going straight back to Akers.

Darrell Henderson’s so-so and injury-stricken 2021 season wasn’t strong enough for the Rams to view him as their starter in 2022. Akers is already recovered from his Achilles injury sustained six months ago. 

2022 WR FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS

Before Calvin Ridley withdrew from the 2021 season to deal with mental health issues, he ranked second among all wide receivers in expected fantasy points per game (16.5). Ridley could end up being a great value just one year removed from a top-5 finish in 2020 if he ends up returning to the gridiron. 

Ja’Marr Chase is sure to be the buzziest wide receiver during the fantasy offseason, and my WR5 rank of him may even be too low. Still, don’t let Chase’s hype distract from the other top-tier wide receiver on the Bengals, Tee Higgins, who shouldn’t be drafted too far away from his talented teammate.

In the 15 games Higgins and Chase played together in 2021 — Higgins missed two games because of injury — the former led the way with a 25% target share and 23% target rate per route run. 

Michael Pittman Jr. was treated like a true alpha in 2021, running a route on 96% of offensive dropbacks — third to only Cooper Kupp (WR1) and Ja’Marr Chase (WR4). 

The only reason he didn’t finish higher than WR22 was because the Indianapolis Colts ranked 29th in pass-play rate and 27th in pass attempts. If Indy’s sixth-graded defense regresses to average or below average in 2022, Pittman is a lock to finish as a top-12 fantasy option with Carson Wentz forced to air it out. 

2022 TE FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS

Did Dalton Schultz’s 2021 TE4 finish really came out of nowhere? The Dallas Cowboys tight end actually finished 2020 as the TE12 but was left for dead in preseason rankings due to the return of Blake Jarwin. Jarwin getting hurt again solidified Schultz as the primary tight end in the Dallas offense, although he was already emerging as Dak Prescott’s preferred inline option before Jarwin was lost for the season.

Keep that in mind when people pound their chests for Irv Smith Jr. over Tyler Conklin in summer best ball drafts despite the latter finishing as TE15 in 2021. 

If Kyle Pitts’ ADP is lower than it was in 2021, he will be a screaming value. At just 21 years old, Pitts finished third among tight ends in receiving yards (1,018). The rookie fell short of expectations, though, as he scored just one touchdown. Per PFF’s expected fantasy points model, the Falcons tight end should have scored 5.6 touchdowns.

With positive regression for Year 2 in his favor, draft Pitts aggressively everywhere in 2022.