Top Rookie on Each Team : 2022 NFL Fantasy Football Speculations

Rookies have an interesting position, because fantasy managers have to predict how rookies will be able to switch from a college playstyle to an NFL one. It’s more drastic than switching teams within the league, and sometimes, some rookies just can’t do it. However, there are some that are expected to be the face of the franchise in later years. Here’s a list of the top rookie players on each team.

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Buffalo Bills

James Cook – Josh Allen has traditionally sunk, not lifted, the value of his running backs. While Cook does not have the best chance of replacing Devin Singletary, he is his team’s best rookie and can easily share workload with a top offense.

Miami Dolphins

Channing Tindall – The linebacker finished as PFF’s eighth highest-graded linebacker in 2021 and tested off the charts at the Combine. Miami got a steal with Tindall’s sure tackling and imposing presence outside the top 100 picks.

New England Patriots

Pierre Strong – Strong is likely to contribute at some point for the Patriots. With his athletic profile (4.37-second 40-yard dash, 207 pounds), Strong has the ability to be a big-play producer, and with his three-down skill set (240-1,686-18 rushing, 22-150-0 receiving in 15 games as a senior) Strong has the capacity to be a lead back.

New York Jets

Breece Hall – Hall is locked in as the Jets’ RB1 and is one of the more overall hyped rookies going into the next season. He totaled over 4,500 yards from scrimmage, 50 touchdowns and 80 catches over three seasons in the college ranks.

Baltimore Ravens

Kyle Hamilton – He can play deep, at linebacker, in the slot against wide receivers and tight ends, and on the edge as a situational rusher. Next to veteran safety Marcus Williams, Hamilton will be a versatile playmaker a la 2002-07 Roy Williams.

Cincinnati Bengals

Daxton Hill – Hill’s addition gives the Bengals flexibility to potentially move on from franchise-tagged safety Jessie Bates. He’s a versatile safety and slot cornerback.

Cleveland Browns

David Bell – A consensus All-American as a junior, Bell broke out as a true freshman and balled out for the entirety of his college career with 232-2,946-21 receiving in 29 games. Ready to inherit the “Jarvis Landry role” as a big-bodied Anquan Boldin-like power slot, Bell could be an immediate fantasy contributor.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Kenny Pickett – The only quarterback in the first round of the 2022 draft, he has good footwork, surprising speed, and the ability to extend plays. He won’t be perfect in year one, but he should absolutely be seen as the QB who will start more games for the Steelers in ’22.

Houston Texans

Dameon Pierce – Pierce is already arguably the best pass protector on the depth chart and will be Davis Mill’s best friend in that regard. He lined up in the slot or out wide on 23.7% of his snaps during his collegiate career and finished 15th in yards per route run (minimum 19 targets, per PFF) last season.

Indianapolis Colts

Alec Pierce – He could replace T.Y. Hilton as the Colts’ designated lid-lifter. With his combination of size (6-3, 208) and speed (4.41), Pierce profiles as sort of a discount Jordy Nelson. Considering his draft capital, he’s expected to play more.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Devin Lloyd – Could be an immediate impact player in IDP leagues. Named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year last season, Lloyd ended his college career at Utah by racking up 111 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss (the second-highest total in FBS), seven sacks, and four interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns.

Tennessee Titans

Treylon Burks – Can offer immediate fantasy football appeal as a top-30 fantasy option. There’s hardly any target competition outside of Robert Woods, who is coming off a torn ACL.

Denver Broncos

Greg Dulcich – Dulcich has ranked 20th and eighth over the last two seasons in yards per route run among collegiate tight ends (minimum 20 targets, per PFF). As recently as 2020, he was PFF’s ninth-highest graded college tight end. The talent is there for Dulcich to show out, even if it’s in a limited capacity this season.

Kansas City Chiefs

Skyy Moore – He has the opportunity to be this year’s breakout rookie WR. He’s playing with an elite QB in Patrick Mahomes with a HOF coach. Travis Kelce is showing some small signs of decline and the rest of the WR corps is has more questions than answers.

Las Vegas Raiders

Zamir White – He has near-elite athleticism (4.40-second 40-yard dash as 6-0, 214 pounds) and was the No. 1 running back recruit of the 2018 class. Although White never had a full-on Nick Chubb-style breakout at Georgia, he did lead the team on the ground in each of the past two years with a combined 304-1,635-22 rushing in 25 games.

Los Angeles Chargers

Isaiah Spiller – Could easily give Austin Ekeler some relief ever since Melvin Gordon left and would be in line for a massive workload if Ekeler missed any time.

Dallas Cowboys

Jalen Tolbert – He could offer immediate value with Michael Gallup unlikely to be ready for Week 1 coming off a torn ACL. He’s got big-play ability that should go well with quarterback Dak Prescott.

New York Giants

Wan’Dale Robinson – Robinson was fourth in yards per route run, sixth in missed tackles forced, and the fifth-highest graded wide receiver per PFF (minimum 50 targets). Robinson should be a starter in three-wide sets in Week 1, barring some shocking turn of events in camp.

Philadelphia Eagles

Nakobe Dean – Dean has a high football IQ and was a huge playmaker on the Georgia National Championship squad. Smaller linebackers like Devin White have proven that they can make an impact at the NFL level, so as long as Dean is healthy, he will fill that gaping LB void the Eagles have had for a while.

Washington Commanders

Jahan Dotson – He should step right in as Washington’s No. 2 receiver behind Terry McLaurin and has a chance to immediately command a significant target share. Dotson has 4.4 speed and terrific hands. He’s 5-11 and 181 pounds, but like Tyreek Hill, Dotson punches above his weight (and height) on contested catches and comes down with more than his fair share of them.

Chicago Bears

Velus Jones – He enters the NFL with third-round draft capital and a playmaking athletic profile (4.31-second 40-yard dash at 6-0, 204 pounds). However, he’s already 25, and he never had 1,000 scrimmage yards in a season despite playing into a double-redshirt senior campaign. Be cautious on this pick.

Detroit Lions

Jameson Williams – One of the most hyped picks expected to outperform the rest of his draftmates, Williams’ No.1-ranked 13.1 yards per target last season suggests he will have a couple of massive games that will dramatically shift the tides of fantasy matchups as the season progresses.

Green Bay Packers

Christian Watson – Watson led the nation in yards per route run among all FBS and FCS wide receivers with 50 or more targets last season (per PFF). Now, pile on top of that, he was also 23rd in yards after the catch per reception, and you have a player that has the talent to produce from Day 1.

Minnesota Vikings

Lewis Cine – He finished with the most tackles on Georgia’s loaded defense in 2021. Considering the plethora of NFL talent that played on college football’s best defense, the box-stuffing safety should have no problem racking up double-digit tackles on the Vikings defense.

Atlanta Falcons

Drake London – Another hyped pick and expected to outperform draftmates, London finished last season as the second-highest graded collegiate wide receiver behind only Jaxon Smith-Njigba (minimum 50 targets, per PFF). London has the size, versatility, and raw talent to immediately take the league by storm.

Carolina Panthers

Matt Corral – Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo was the major driving force behind Carolina selecting Corral in the first place, and equipped with a revamped offensive line along with D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson, and Christian McCaffery, Corral could make some noise in a relatively weak NFC.

New Orleans Saints

Chris Olave – The healthiest wide receiver the Saints have right now, Olave has NFL polish and should hit the ground running with Jameis Winston. Olave seems like the best draft ROI on that whole team right now.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Rachaad White – Entering his age-45 season, Brady will once again be quick to dump off to his RBs rather than take hits. That led to a receiving windfall for Leonard Fournette in 2021, and if Fournette were to go down in 2022, White would likely inherit that windfall.

Arizona Cardinals

Trey McBride – Considered the best tight end in his class, McBride is one Ertz injury ding from a full-time role in one of the league’s most dangerous offenses. McBride’s receiving upside is huge. In his final season at Colorado State, he ranked fifth in yards per route run, first in receiving yards, and was the highest-graded collegiate tight end per PFF (minimum 20 targets).

Los Angeles Rams

Kyren Williams – Williams did have a disastrous combine. He probably won’t be taken in many 2022 fantasy drafts, but it’s not inconceivable that he could become a waiver-wire darling if the Rams run into injury problems at the position.

San Francisco 49ers

Tyron Davis-Price – Davis-Price isn’t a prospect that will blow the doors off your prospect model, but at 6’0″ 219 lbs, he can be an early-down battering ram for a team that wants to run the ball a ton in 2022. Davis-Price and his 90th percentile speed score ranked 36th in runs of 10-plus yards last season (per PFF).

Seattle Seahawks

Kenneth Walker – Rashad Penny had a strong finish to ’21 after disappointing for years. If his injury history teaches us one thing, it’s that Penny is no lock to play 17 games. Therefore, Walker should get opportunities, but he’s more intriguing in dynasty than redraft.

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