Going into the next NFL fantasy season, managers have to consider many different things as they scour their options across all 32 NFL teams. Some teams have clear questions to address, while others have more speculations than set confusion. Here’s a list of the biggest questions for each NFL team going into the 2022 fantasy football season.<\/p>\n
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The team will be missing DeAndre Hopkins because he’s suspended for the first six games of the season. That’s quite a few games to consider for. Kyler Murray\u2018s production dipped last season without Hopkins in the lineup over the final four weeks of the season. He averaged 18.8 fantasy points per game and 6.3 yards per pass attempt. Murray averaged 24.9 fantasy points per game and 8.7 yards per attempt in the nine games with Hopkins fully healthy.<\/p>\n
Considered by many to be a once-in-a-generation TE prospect,\u00a0Kyle Pitts produced 1,026 yards as a rookie but scored only one touchdown in a moribund Falcons offense. Will a year of NFL experience and the arrival of WR Drake London to divert some defensive attention help propel Pitts to new heights, or will an uncertain QB situation keep this future superstar from reaching his potential?<\/p>\n
QB\u00a0Lamar Jackson\u2018s passing efficiency has declined each year since his 2019 MVP campaign (8.9 adjusted yards per attempt in 2019, 7.6 and 6.9 in 2020-21), and the Ravens traded away No. 1 WR\u00a0Marquise Brown this offseason, so they could lean more on the running game this year. If the Ravens run as much as they did in 2019, when they had a league-high 54.1% rush rate, then RBs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards will likely both offer fantasy value while TE Mark Andrews and WR Rashod Bateman could underperform expectations.<\/p>\n
The simple fact of the matter is that Davis is pegged as the No. 2 starter on the outside in one of the NFL\u2019s best offenses. And he\u2019s flashed big-play ability more than once. Those factors might be enough to fuel him to a Year 3 breakout.<\/p>\n
WR\u00a0D.J. Moore is the only wide receiver with 1,200-plus yards from scrimmage in each of the past three seasons \u2013 and he\u2019s just 25 years old. If the Panthers can actually trade for a competent NFL quarterback, then Moore\u2019s average draft position and production could explode \u2026 and RB Christian McCaffrey would likely challenge RB Jonathan Taylor for the No. 1 pick in more fantasy drafts.<\/p>\n
The Bears needed to add more WRs and OL this offseason, but hardly made any major moves at either position.\u00a0Justin Fields was frequently running for his life last season, and that doesn\u2019t project to change. However, he should be up for the task after he averaged 56 rushing yards per game over his last six contests.<\/p>\n
Keep in mind that the Bengals only ranked 20th in pass attempts per game last season, so there\u2019s more volume to be had for all these Bengals pass-catchers, especially ones flying under the radar like\u00a0Tyler Boyd and Hayden Hurst. With an upgraded OL and\u00a0Joe Burrow another year removed from a devasting injury, the passing volume could become similar to Burrow’s rookie season.<\/p>\n
We know he has only a six-game suspension, but that could change. If QB\u00a0Deshaun Watson plays for even half of the 2022 season, then the Browns have a shot of competing for a Super Bowl, and most of their skill-position players will offer value at their current ADPs. If, however, Watson misses a supermajority of the year, then not even RB Nick Chubb will be a good player to choose.<\/p>\n
Lamb already has back-to-back seasons with 1,000-plus yards from scrimmage, thanks in part to his\u00a0Robert Woods-esque jet sweep ability (19-158-1 rushing), and now he could see a significant bump in usage without WRs\u00a0Amari Cooper,\u00a0Cedrick Wilson and Malik Turner, who have vacated 182 targets with their departures from Dallas. If Lamb jumps up from 7.5 targets per game to 9.5 \u2014 or maybe even 10.5 \u2014 he could be the No. 1 overall fantasy receiver this year.<\/p>\n
The downfield role with\u00a0Russell Wilson is huge. Wilson has ranked second, tenth, and second over the last three seasons in deep ball rate (minimum 20 deep attempts, per PFF). Only 22.5% of Jeudy\u2019s career targets have been 20-plus yards down the field, where he\u2019s struggled with 55.7 and 67.1 passer ratings when targeted. Last season Sutton ranked second in aDOT and sixth in deep targets.<\/p>\n
In Weeks 13-18, St. Brown was among the best wide receivers in the NFL, ranking eighth in yards per route run, drawing a target on a ridiculous 31.3% of his routes. To put that figure into context, over a full season, St. Brown would have ranked sixth in targets per route run rate behind only\u00a0Davante Adams,\u00a0Antonio Brown,\u00a0Deonte Harty,\u00a0A.J. Brown, and\u00a0Cooper Kupp. The Detroit depth chart is congested with everyone healthy and the addition of Jameson Williams and D.J. Chark, but we can\u2019t rule out St. Brown simply being a next-level target earning receiver.<\/p>\n
The Packers\u2019 WR corps is quite the motley crew in the wake of the trade that sent target monster\u00a0Davante Adams to Las Vegas. Rookies Christian Watson,\u00a0Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure will compete for roles with a veteran group that includes Allen Lazard,\u00a0Randall Cobb,\u00a0Sammy Watkins and Amari Rodgers. Are any of these guys worth rostering in redraft leagues? Can Lazard emerge as a true No. 1 receiver in the absence of Adams? Can Watson leverage his size and speed into immediate NFL production? Are Watkins and Doubs worthwhile late-round picks?<\/p>\n
The Texans backfield was a\u00a0sea of darkness\u00a0in 2021.\u00a0Rex Burkhead led Houston\u2019s RBs with 427 rushing yards and three TD runs. The Texans spent an early fourth-round draft pick on Dameon Pierce, who\u2019s an intriguing prospect but was a committee back at the University of Florida. Pierce could quickly surge to the top of the depth chart, but he could also end up in a value-killing timeshare with Burkhead and\u00a0Marlon Mack. Even if Pierce becomes the clear No. 1, will the Texans offense be competent enough to make him a trustworthy fantasy asset?<\/p>\n
Already without longtime No. 1 WR\u00a0Julio Jones, QB\u00a0Matt Ryan last year lost new No. 1 WR Calvin Ridley in the middle of the season, and that drastically impacted his numbers. With Ridley, Ryan had 265.2 yards and 2.4 touchdowns passing; without Ridley, just 219.5 and 0.83. Perhaps Ryan is actually still a good passer \u2014 and if he is then the Colts offense could be a top-10 unit.<\/p>\n
RB\u00a0Travis Etienne missed his entire rookie season with a Lisfranc injury. He has a seemingly clear runway in Year 2 with fellow RB James Robinson recovering from a torn Achilles, but Robinson will be back at some point, and it\u2019s hard to tell how new Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson will deploy his running backs once J-Rob is healthy. Etienne has an appealing prospect profile, and it doesn\u2019t hurt that he played with Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence\u00a0at Clemson, but is Etienne worth his fourth-round price?<\/p>\n
it\u2019s unknown at the is point whether it will be a different guy every week based on gameplan\/matchup or if someone will actually carve out a consistent target share behind Kelce.\u00a0JuJu Smith-Schuster is probably the \u201csafest\u201d bet to lead the WRs in target share based on his career history and Mahomes\u2019 track record of targeting the slot without Tyreek Hill in the lineup. However, Skyy Moore is another player that many people believe has more upside over JuJu, who has fallen and has seen some of his stats decreasing.<\/p>\n
Derek Carr\u2018s 3.7 TD rate in 2021 was below his career average (4.3). His 23 total passing touchdowns were seven below expectations. He\u2019s never had a receiver catch double-digit TDs. Meanwhile, Davante Adams has averaged double-digit scores since 2016. Will he boost Carr’s numbers?<\/p>\n
Last season Palmer ranked 83rd out of 103 wide receivers in yards per route (minimum 40 targets, per PFF). In the six games he ran at least 20 routes, he could only muster a 14.4% target per route run rate. If an injury strikes this roster, the Chargers also have\u00a0Austin Ekeler, an elite receiving back, and\u00a0Gerald Everett, who ranked 23rd among tight ends with a 19.6% target per route run rate last season.<\/p>\n
Akers played at least 53% of snaps in three of his four games in the playoffs, with a high of 81% against the Buccaneers. Sean McVay had no issues leaning on his young back, but the offensive line offered him no help up front. 94.8% of his rushing yards during this stretch came after contact. Add in that Akers faced four teams that ranked 17th, fifth, second, and ninth in adjusted line yards allowed last year, and it\u2019s no wonder he struggled.<\/p>\n
The biggest hindrance to these wideouts paying off at their current ADPs is the Dolphins\u2019 pace and passing rate projection, not\u00a0Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa was among the most accurate passers in the NFL last season. He ranked 17th in fantasy points per dropback while also finishing top ten in deep, pressured, and clean pocket completion rates. If Mike McDaniel deploys a slower run-heavy scheme, the overall passing volume could suffer.<\/p>\n
New Vikings HC\u00a0Kevin O\u2019Connell\u00a0coordinated the Rams offense that funneled a league-high 191 targets to WR\u00a0Cooper Kupp last year, and now he has WR Justin Jefferson, who is No. 1 with 3,016 yards receiving in his first two NFL seasons. Like Kupp, Jefferson can play in the slot and on the perimeter, and he could legitimately build on his 167 targets from last year as the Vikings shift toward a more pass-focused offense. Regularly selected as a top-three receiver in fantasy drafts, Jefferson could lap the field \u2014 as Kupp did last year \u2014 if he gets Kupp-like usage.<\/p>\n
Kendrick Bourne was an efficiency monster last season that teases a high upside if the volume moves in his direction. He was 14th in yards per route run and sixth in yards after the catch per reception (minimum 50 targets, per PFF). If you\u2019re making a bet on any wide receiver taking the number one spot in the target tree away from Jakobi Meyers, Bourne is where your chips should be.<\/p>\n
Sort of a weird question, but the last time we saw WR Michael Thomas, he was one of the best receivers in the league \u2014 but that was almost two years and one Hall-of-Fame coach-quarterback combination ago. Thomas is now 29, and he\u2019s still not fully recovered from his ankle injury. If he\u2019s still the player he was in 2020, he will offer massive value at his ADP. If he isn\u2019t, then WRs\u00a0Chris Olave and Jarvis Landry\u00a0could be underappreciated sleepers.<\/p>\n
Saquon Barkley\u00a0was the RB1 in PPR leagues as a rookie, and he followed that up by finishing RB10 in 2019 despite missing three games. He missed 14 games in 2020 after a devastating knee injury and didn\u2019t look himself in 2021, averaging 3.7 yards per carry and 4.6 yards per target. He also missed four games with a sprained ankle. After two injury-plagued years, Barkley is more affordable than ever in fantasy drafts, and the arrival of new head coach Brian Daboll offers hope for a livelier NYG offense, but can Barkley still be the fantasy colossus he was in his first two NFL seasons?<\/p>\n
The Jets offense has all the pieces to be awesome for fantasy football. It\u2019s just up to\u00a0Zach Wilson\u00a0to take a step forward in Year 2 to make it happen. His rookie year was horrible, but he did at least improve in the second half. And although he never seemed to support fantasy viable weapons, he actually did pepper his No. 1 target.\u00a0Corey Davis,\u00a0Elijah Moore\u00a0and\u00a0Braxton Berrios\u00a0\u2013 when operating as the clear No. 1 \u2013 combined for a 24% target share (7.5 targets per game) and 14.2 fantasy points per game (WR25 last season) in the 11 games that Wilson started\/completed last season.<\/p>\n
The way the Eagles started last season, coupled with beat writer buzz and their offseason moves, suggest so. Adding one of the NFL\u2019s most efficient wide receivers in A.J. Brown\u00a0to\u00a0DeVonta Smith\u00a0and\u00a0Dallas Goedert\u00a0is a godsend for\u00a0Jalen Hurts\u00a0and should have this coaching staff inclined to dial up the passing. Philadelphia was sixth and first in neutral passing rate and pace through their first six games before they realized they didn\u2019t have the personnel to keep it up. With the players now in house to help maximize the Eagles\u2019 offense, look for them to revert to passing in 2022.<\/p>\n
According to camp reports, Mitch Trubisky is the favorite to start right now. If he performs badly, though, he will be immediately replaced with Pickett. In 2019 and 2020, Trubisky finished with the fifth and seventh-lowest PFF grades for quarterbacks with at least 200 dropbacks. He also logged the seventh and fourth-lowest adjusted completion rates among the same quarterback sample.<\/p>\n
In the first half of last season, Deebo Samuel had 81 targets in eight games. In the second half, he shifted to the \u201cwide back\u201d position and had just 40 targets in the same number of contests. He had almost as many yards (904 vs. 866), but he did it with unsustainable efficiency (13.1 yards per target, 6.5 yards per carry) and an unlikely rushing workload (53 carries). If Samuel is to repeat as a top-10 fantasy receiver in 2022, he will almost certainly need to have more target volume than he did to close the 2021 season.<\/p>\n
The Seahawks spent a second-round draft pick on Michigan State\u2019s\u00a0Ken Walker, widely regarded as one of the two best running backs in this year\u2019s draft. However, the oft-injured Rashaad Penny\u00a0went on a late-season rampage in 2021, producing four 100-yard rushing days and six TD runs over Seattle\u2019s last five games. Penny reportedly will enter camp as the clear No. 1, but can he keep the talented rookie in a backup role?<\/p>\n
Chris Godwin\u00a0tore his ACL in Week 15 and reportedly didn\u2019t have surgery until Jan. 3, so it\u2019s very possible he won\u2019t be ready for Week 1. TE Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement in June. If Godwin misses time, will Buccaneers WRs\u00a0Mike Evans\u00a0and\u00a0Russell Gage\u00a0soak up the vast majority of the vacated targets and further boost their fantasy value? Will we see an under-the-radar receiver like\u00a0Tyler Johnson,\u00a0Cyril Grayson\u00a0or\u00a0Jaelon Darden\u00a0become fantasy-relevant early in the season?<\/p>\n
Derrick Henry\u00a0was viewed as nearly invincible but finally broke down in the middle of last season with a foot injury after averaging nearly 30 touches per game. At 28 years old coming off a season with a career low in yards per carry (4.2) and rushing yards over expectation per attempt (0.05) is this the beginning of the end of his supreme reign in fantasy football?<\/p>\n
It seems likely that Terry McLaurin\u00a0will again be the lead receiver for the Commanders. Should fantasy managers be interested in any other Washington pass catchers with QB Carson Wentz now running the offense? The Commanders aggressively drafted Penn State WR\u00a0Jahan Dotson\u00a0in the middle of the first round, and WR\u00a0Curtis Samuel\u00a0was a dangerous multipurpose threat for the Panthers before having most of his first season with Washington wiped out by injury. Can either Dotson or Samuel earn a big enough role to move the needle as a fantasy asset? And can TE\u00a0Logan Thomas\u00a0bounce back from an injury-plagued year at age 31?<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/fantasysportsso\/status\/1544326560252956678<\/p>\n
\nThe biggest question for each team entering NFL training camps. #Titans<\/a> had quality options. https:\/\/t.co\/isTKHWXe9R<\/a><\/p>\n
— Joe Rexrode (@joerexrode) July 25, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n