Football season is almost here! Coming off an offseason where there was some of the most player movement in NFL history, there has never been more excitement for the games to begin. To celebrate NFL kickoff tomorrow, I am dropping another yearly edition of my fantasy football predictions for the 2022 NFL season. Here are ten hot takes and predictions I have for the year, so take note to hold me accountable!
Quarterbacks
Jalen Hurts will prove everyone wrong once again and finish as a top five fantasy quarterback.
Jalen Hurts had some ups and downs in his first full year under center, but he showed enough promise to earn another year proving he is the Eagles QB of the future. I personally am a big believer in Hurts’ abilities, and now that AJ Brown is a Philadelphia Eagle, Hurts gets his guy as a weapon and I think this will be a huge benefactor. I think AJ Brown and another year of DeVonta Smith developing will be great for Hurts, and his passing yard numbers will increase tremendously as a result.
Davis Mills will be fantasy relevant.
One of the biggest and least talked about surprises last season was how Davis Mills defied expectations and put up some solid rookie numbers in a year where nobody expected the Texans to be any good. While I don’t think he will put up crazy league winning numbers, I think he will be a good streaming option when quarterbacks are on bye and will finish inside the top 20 for quarterback points. I think him throwing for 3500 yards and 20 touchdowns is realistic for Mills’ sophomore season.
Running Backs
Travis Etienne is going to be a top five running back this season.
Call me crazy. But I see Etienne having a huge bounce back season and finishing in the top five. While coach Doug Pederson has never been known to use running backs, he has never had one as talented as Etienne on his roster. I expect Trevor Lawrence to still struggle a bit under center, so I think he will hand the ball off or throw to the backfield more than people think right now. While James Robinson is back in the fold as well, running backs have never really recovered from Achilles injuries, where the Lisfranc injury Etienne is recovering from has not currently seen much long term effects on careers. I’m running it with Etienne in every league I can get him in at his ADP of 36.
Elijah Mitchell will be a non factor in the 49ers backfield.
There are some traditions that carry on each year. Kyle Shanahan hating fantasy football managers is the latest one. The 49ers haven’t had the same number one running back since 2017, and I don’t expect that to change as long as Shanahan is coaching this 49ers team. I expect Tyrion Davis-Price to show out for his rookie year and lead the backfield in touches, as this would be in true 49ers fashion.
Tyler Allgeier will be the Falcons leading rusher and a top 15 running back.
Other than Dameon Pierce on the Texans, there is no rookie running back in a better driver’s seat to get immediate touches than Tyler Allgeier. I don’t expect Corderrelle Patterson to repeat his success from last season, and I see Allgeier taking over this backfield by week 4. In an offense that will be led by either Marcus Mariota or Desmond Ridder, I expect the Falcons to be playing from behind and running the ball a lot. It is Allgeier’s time to shine.
Saquon Barkley will finish with more points than Christian McCaffrey.
This may be the most far fetched one, but I’m rolling with it. CMC has not been able to stay healthy the past few seasons, and I think the Giants will be more run heavy this season when Daniel Jones inevitably struggles. I think Saquon has one more monster season in the tank in 2022 and I am all here for it.
Wide Receivers
Juju Smith-Schuster is in for a bounce back season and will finish inside the top 20 for the position.
I love the signing of Juju to the Chiefs. I think he has always had the talent in him, but with a washed Ben Roethlisberger under center, you can only have so high of a ceiling. Even though he is coming off a major injury, I think the spacing out of the Chiefs offense will be perfect for him and he will bounce back to an abbreviated form of his 2018 self. I think a 1000 yard season is perfectly in the cards for him.
Skyy Moore will be the top rookie receiver in fantasy points.
Another Chiefs receiver who is in for a big year is Skyy Moore. I think he was the perfect draft pick to replace Tyreek Hill in the offense. He is going to quickly show he is the most talented receiver on the roster with his speed and route running, and be a dangerous weapon for Mahomes out of the slot. Skyy Moore is going to put the league on notice.
Keenan Allen will finish outside the top 15 receivers.
Even though Justin Herbert is bound for another monster season, I don’t think Keenan Allen will be a huge part of that success. I think Mike Williams’ emergence last season will make him the second fiddle in Los Angeles, and Josh Palmer is a growing force in the offense as well. I think he is going to see a bit of a decline because of this, and while he will still be decent, I think Herbert is going to spread the ball out more, which will hurt his numbers a bit.
Tight Ends
David Njoku will finish as a top 10 tight end.
The tight end position has been pretty unspectacular recently if you don’t get your top guy, but every year there is a lone bright spot towards the end of the draft. Njoku has that spot this year. The Browns current fill in Jacoby Brissett has a history of throwing to tight ends, and last time he was under center was when Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle each got a 30% target share. As long as they both stay healthy for 11 weeks, that should translate to Njoku’s share and be enough to get him to the top ten. Definitely worth a late round flier.
These are my ten fantasy football hot takes for the season! I am fairly confident most of these will become a reality, and I think that some of these young guys in particular are going to shock the NFL world. What would you change in my predictions? Let me know in the comments.