Bold Predictions for Each NFL Team (2022 Fantasy Football Speculations)

It’s one thing to keep it safe and have a relatively good team based on past performances. However, in order to be at the top of your fantasy league, sometimes you have to be bold and make some steep predictions in order to try and go against the chances and end up at the top. These are the type that most people would heavily disagree with. Of course, these aren’t definite statements, but some “outside the box” possibilities. With that being said, here’s a list of bold predictions for each NFL team.

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Buffalo Bills: Gabriel Davis finishes as a top-12 fantasy WR

Davis has produced for two years with the Bills (9.9 yards per target, including playoffs). He’s a legitimate end-zone weapon (6-foot-2, 227 pounds, 12.1% touchdown rate), and he’s just 23 years old. With QB Josh Allen, he might just be able to do it.

Miami Dolphins: Chase Edmonds is RB1 in fantasy

As the RB1 in Arizona over the last two seasons, he’s logged 15 games in which he’s played at least 50% of the snaps. In those contests, he’s finished as a top 24 running back in 67% of games. Behind a revamped offensive line with Terron Armstead and Connor Williams leading the way, Edmonds should have no issues putting his explosiveness to good use. He’s ranked 11th and 20th over the last two seasons in yards created per touch.

New England Patriots: Rhamondre Stevenson finishes as top-12 fantasy RB

Stevenson ranked as PFF’s highest-graded rookie running back in 2021. The last four rookie RBs to do that — Alvin Kamara, Nick Chubb, Josh Jacobs and Jonathan Taylor — finished as top-8 fantasy RBs in Year 2.

New York Jets: Breece Hall finishes as a top-5 fantasy RB

Breece Hall is a better prospect than Najee Harris was and will be running behind a better offensive line this year. Hall was wildly productive at Iowa State and put on a show at the NFL Scouting Combine. All he needs is a 60% snap share to be a monster.

Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson finishes as QB1

Jackson may need to do even more of the running than usual, so a 1,000-yard, 10-TD rushing season isn’t out of the question. What if it’s still a below-average defense and the Ravens face more negative game scripts than we’re envisioning? That could juice up Jackson’s passing volume. It could create a perfect situation for Jackson to be a one-man offense and generate crazy numbers.

Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow finishes as a top-3 fantasy QB

Joe Burrow finished QB10 in fantasy points per game last season, but every QB who finished ahead of him averaged more pass attempts per game, with the exception of run-minded Lamar Jackson. Burrow averaged 8.9 yards per pass attempt. Tom Brady has never averaged 8.9 yards per pass attempt or better in a single season, and Aaron Rodgers has only done it once. You think Burrow is good, but he’s probably better than you think.

Cleveland Browns: D’Ernest Johnson finishes as a top-24 RB

Johnson could get sustained action if either Nick Chubb or Kareem Hunt misses time or if Hunt is traded. The sample is small and skewed, but in his three games last year with 10-plus combined carries and targets, Johnson had 458 yards and two touchdowns. He has significant upside as a lead back or change-of-pace option.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Chase Claypool outscores Diontae Johnson

Claypool has been lining up inside in camp while Diontae Johnson and George Pickens are flanking him outside. Last year Claypool ranked 30th in slot yards per route run and 16th in slot YAC per reception (minimum ten slot targets, per PFF). The talent that led him to 27th in yards per route run in his rookie season immediately ahead of Chris Godwin isn’t gone.

Houston Texans: No Texans RB finishes in the top 50 at the position

This isn’t the boldest prediction because it happened to the Texans last year — Rex Burkhead was the top-finishing Texans running back at RB55 (0.5 PPR). Rookie Dameon Pierce is the team’s best hope at the position, but he wasn’t a workhorse in college, he’ll be running behind a bad offensive line, and he’ll be playing in an offense that won’t score many touchdowns.

Indianapolis Colts: Michael Pittman Jr. finishes as a top-8 fantasy WR

Pittman finished the 2021 season with the league’s eighth-highest target share and got a QB upgrade this offseason with a history of fueling WR1 seasons. It’s all wheels up for the WR16 in half-point scoring from last season.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence finishes as a QB1

Everyone talks about the rushing ability of Trey Lance and Justin Fields, but Trevor Lawrence can also really move and is a far better passer at this stage of his development. Last year, this coaching staff was woefully underprepared to get anything out of Lawrence. This season, Lawrence may start to realize his full potential.

Tennessee Titans: Derrick Henry finishes outside the top-10 running backs

Last year was the first season where Derrick Henry couldn’t hold up to his elite workload. He also finished outside the top-5 in rushing yards over expectation per attempt for the first time since 2018. Ergo, his volume has nowhere to go but down, and he’s showing signs of dependency on his offensive situation more than ever. And that’s not ideal for the 28-year-old coming off a foot injury that doesn’t catch passes in an offense primed for regression.

Denver Broncos: Courtland Sutton is this year’s Cooper Kupp

Russell Wilson has an affinity for attacking receivers in the red zone; a Seattle WR has finished top-five in red-zone targets for three straight seasons. Sutton can easily lead the league in red-zone targets like Kupp did in 2021.

Kansas City Chiefs: JuJu Smith-Schuster finishes as a top-12 WR

For the past three years, Smith-Schuster has been hindered by injuries and the diminishing ability of former QB Ben Roethlisberger. But in his first two seasons, he amassed 2,343 yards receiving, which puts him No. 4 on the all-time receiving list for players under the age of 23, behind only Justin Jefferson, Randy Moss and Josh Gordon. Turning 26 in November, Smith-Schuster is still young, and now he has a chance to be the No. 1 wide receiver for QB Patrick Mahomes. WRs Tyreek Hill, Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson have vacated 260 targets.

Las Vegas Raiders: Davante Adams won’t finish as a top-12 WR

Adams gets a downgrade at quarterback and maybe even at offensive play caller, given that HC Josh McDaniels has had limited success without QB Tom Brady and outside New England. Adams has more competition than he has ever had as a No. 1 receiver, and the offense almost certainly won’t be as good as that of the 2020-21 Packers, which likely means he’ll get fewer touchdown opportunities and maybe fewer targets. There are a lot of paths toward underperformance for Adams this year.

Los Angeles Chargers: Mike Williams finishes as top-10 fantasy WR.

The skills have been there. The health has not always been there, nor was the QB play earlier in his career. However, if everything goes as planned for once, Williams has the potential for a true breakout, star-studded season.

Dallas Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard both finish as top-15 RBs

The last running back tandem to pull off this feat was Melvin Gordon (RB15) and Austin Ekeler (RB6) in 2019. We know Jerry Jones is determined to run Ezekiel Elliott into the ground as long as his legs still function, so it’s not hard to envision Elliott holding up his end of this bargain. Tony Pollard is the wild card in this scenario. Pollard has the talent to get there as the only running back last season to finish top five in yards after contact per attempt and yards per route run.

New York Giants: Saquon Barkley finishes as a top-5 RB.

When you consider how little Barkley has delivered of late, this counts as a bold prediction, despite the potential and hype he has. Brian Daboll has a chance to finally put together a real offensive game plan and the offensive line is improved year over year.

Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Hurts plays like MVP Lamar Jackson

Before injury struck, Hurts was the QB6 in fantasy points per game, pacing toward 1,000 rushing yards. With the rushing likely to remain and passing touchdown regression poised to pounce, Hurts could vault into superstar status. Last year among 33 quarterbacks with 200 or more pass attempts, Hurts was 23rd with a 3.7% passing touchdown rate.

Washington Commanders: Antonio Gibson finishes outside the top-30 RBs

Despite opening his career with back-to-back seasons of 1,000-plus yards and double-digit touchdowns from scrimmage, Gibson carries significant downside in 2022. He possesses a true three-down skill set, but the Commanders seem more desirous than ever to limit Gibson’s workload after he played last year with an assortment of lower-body injuries. Even though they had Jaret Patterson, Wendell Smallwood, and Jonathan Williams on the roster, the Commanders went out of their way this offseason to re-sign J.D. McKissic and to invest a top-100 pick into Brian Robinson.

Chicago Bears: Darnell Mooney is a WR1

Darnell Mooney was operating as a WR1 last year in a number of his metrics already. Last year in the five games without Allen Robinson, Mooney averaged 78.2 receiving yards which would have ranked seventh among wide receivers. He also ranked 11th in route win rate against man coverage (per Playerprofiler.com), showing the ability to operate as an X receiver. Mooney is primed for a boatload of targets this year from Justin Fields, with many coming downfield.

Detroit Lions: Jameson Williams leads the Lions in receiving TDs.

Jameson Williams is an extraordinary talent. The ACL could mean a slow start, but he could be in line for a massive second half once he’s 100%. His playmaking ability is extraordinary, and he could help win fantasy championships.

Green Bay Packers: Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon both finish as top-15 RBs.

Dillon has averaged 3.5 more carries a game more than Jones. But Jones’ usage as a pass catcher has usually spiked in games Adams missed due to injury — an encouraging omen. With Davante Adams gone and a patchwork collection of wide receivers, the Packers are going to run the ball at a higher rate, and Aaron Rodgers is going to target his RBs at a higher rate.

Minnesota Vikings: K.J. Osborn outscores Adam Thielen.

Adam Theilen is on the downside, and although he’s still strong in the red zone, the more touchdown dependent he becomes, the less appealing of an investment he becomes. K.J. Osborn showed he could handle a bigger workload last year when called upon, and the new offense seems to be more pass-heavy.

Atlanta Falcons: TE Kyle Pitts breaks Zach Ertz’ (2018) record of 116 catches in a season and Travis Kelce’s 1,416 yards (2020)

The last two 21-year-old rookies (Justin Jefferson, JuJu Smith-Schuster) to average at least 60 receiving yards per game as rookies — which Pitts also did — reached 1,400 yds in their second seasons. And Marcus Mariota peppered Delanie Walker with targets en route to 94 receptions in 2015.

Carolina Panthers: DJ Moore finishes as a top-five WR

Moore is the only wide receiver with at least 1,200 yards from scrimmage in each of the past three seasons — and he’s just 25 years old. He has the best quarterback of his career with Baker Mayfield, and Moore is clearly still in the ascension phase of his NFL trajectory.

New Orleans Saints: Rookie WR Chris Olave scores 10 touchdowns

The Saints were uber-conservative on offense last year, but we know that Jameis Winston doesn’t mind taking shots downfield. If Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael uses Olave to stretch the field, we could see some big plays from the rookie. Who else is going to take the top off defenses for the Saints? Michael Thomas? Jarvis Landry? No and no. Tre’Quan Smith or Marquez Callaway? Those guys are why the Saints drafted Olave.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Julio Jones finishes as a top-24 WR

Even though he missed significant time over the past two years, when he was on the field he averaged an elite 10.4 yards per target, which suggests that he’s still the player he used to be — except maybe more fragile. With the Buccaneers, Jones won’t have the pressure of needing to play every snap, so he has a better chance of staying healthy, but he’ll likely be targeted heavily as a specialist when he’s on the field. As the No. 3 wide receiver, Jones will face the softest coverage of his career, and he’ll also have the best quarterback of his career in Tom Brady.

Arizona Cardinals: Marquise Brown leads the NFL in deep receiving yards

Marquise Brown has been highly utilized as a deep receiver with little to show for it up to this point. Over the last two seasons, he’s ranked sixth and seventh in deep targets among receivers, but he’s only climbed to 14th and 40th in deep receiving yards (per PFF). This can be traced to Lamar Jackson’s deep ball inconsistencies, who has ranked 20th and 23rd in deep ball completion rate over the same span. He won’t have that problem with Kyler Murray, who has ranked 19th, sixth, and first in deep ball completion rate since entering the NFL.

Los Angeles Rams: Cam Akers leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns

Last season the Rams were an explosive offense that could support this scoring output. They ranked sixth in points per game and third in red zone scoring attempts per game. Last year’s rushers were left holding the bag as Sean McVay ran an offense with the ninth-highest passing rate inside the 20. This could easily continue in 2022, but it’s equally possible that McVay will revert to his previous ways. From 2018-2020 the Rams ranked sixth, fifth, and second in red zone rushing rate. If that returns, Cam Akers’ touchdown output will be immense.

San Francisco 49ers: Trey Lance finishes as a top-3 fantasy QB

Lance only started two games in 2021 but flashed the rushing that should excite fantasy managers. The 49ers’ first-year signal-caller averaged 22.4 expected fantasy points and 60 rushing yards per game, good for QB4 last season.

Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks will have no WR1 or RB1 fantasy finishers

The Seahawks are in serious trouble without Russell Wilson. The remaining QB options are far from appealing, and that spells disappointment for Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf. Rashad Penny had a nice finish to 2021, but his injury history is checkered, to say the least, and rookie Ken Walker has a lot to prove in terms of receiving skills.

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