Erickson: 2022 NFL Fantasy Football Rankings

Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) runs after a catch during the second half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

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

Player Team Rank Tier
Josh Allen BUF 1 1
Patrick Mahomes II KC 2 1
Kyler Murray ARI 3 1
Justin Herbert LAC 4 1
Lamar Jackson BAL 5 2
Joe Burrow CIN 6 2
Jalen Hurts PHI 7 2
Tom Brady TB 8 2
Aaron Rodgers GB 9 3
Deshaun Watson HOU 10 3
Trey Lance SF 11 3
Dak Prescott DAL 12 3
Russell Wilson SEA 13 3
Matthew Stafford LAR 14 4
Justin Fields CHI 15 4
Ryan Tannehill TEN 16 4
Kirk Cousins MIN 17 4
Mac Jones NE 18 4
Trevor Lawrence JAC 19 5
Tua Tagovailoa MIA 20 5
Zach Wilson NYJ 21 5
Derek Carr LV 22 5
Jameis Winston NO 23 5
Taysom Hill NO 24 5
Carson Wentz IND 25 5
Daniel Jones NYG 26 5
Matt Ryan ATL 27 5
Jared Goff DET 28 5
Baker Mayfield CLE 29 5
Ryan Fitzpatrick WAS 30 5
Jimmy Garoppolo SF 31 5
Teddy Bridgewater DEN 32 5
Ben Roethlisberger PIT 33 5

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

Player Team Rank Tier
Jonathan Taylor IND 1 1
Derrick Henry TEN 2 1
Austin Ekeler LAC 3 1
Dalvin Cook MIN 4 2
Christian McCaffrey CAR 5 2
Alvin Kamara NO 6 2
Joe Mixon CIN 7 2
Najee Harris PIT 8 2
Javonte Williams DEN 9 2
Leonard Fournette TB 10 2
D'Andre Swift DET 11 3
Antonio Gibson WAS 12 3
Cam Akers LAR 13 3
David Montgomery CHI 14 3
Nick Chubb CLE 15 4
Saquon Barkley NYG 16 4
Aaron Jones GB 17 4
J.K. Dobbins BAL 18 4
Travis Etienne Jr. JAC 19 4
Josh Jacobs LV 20 4
Elijah Mitchell SF 21 4
James Conner ARI 22 4
Damien Harris NE 23 4
AJ Dillon GB 24 4
Rashaad Penny SEA 25 4
Ezekiel Elliott DAL 26 5
Miles Sanders PHI 27 5
Michael Carter NYJ 28 5
Clyde Edwards-Helaire KC 29 5
Kareem Hunt CLE 30 5
Devin Singletary BUF 31 5
Chase Edmonds ARI 32 5
Tony Pollard DAL 33 5
Darrel Williams KC 34 5
Sony Michel LAR 35 5
Rhamondre Stevenson NE 36 5
James Robinson JAC 37 6
Melvin Gordon III DEN 38 6
Cordarrelle Patterson ATL 39 6
Darrell Henderson Jr. LAR 40 6
Alexander Mattison MIN 41 6
Gus Edwards BAL 42 6
Chris Carson SEA 43 6
Ronald Jones II TB 44 6
Khalil Herbert CHI 45 6
D'Onta Foreman TEN 46 6
Devonta Freeman BAL 47 6
Raheem Mostert SF 48 7
J.D. McKissic WAS 49 7
Chuba Hubbard CAR 50 7
Myles Gaskin MIA 51 7
Trey Sermon SF 52 7
Zack Moss BUF 53 7
Jamaal Williams DET 54 7
Kenneth Gainwell PHI 55 7
Justin Jackson LAC 56 7
Boston Scott PHI 57 7
Devontae Booker NYG 58 7
Tarik Cohen CHI 59 7
Jeff Wilson Jr. SF 60 7
Kenyan Drake LV 61 7
Ke'Shawn Vaughn TB 62 7
James White NE 63 7
Nyheim Hines IND 64 7
Tevin Coleman NYJ 65 7
David Johnson HOU 66 7
Phillip Lindsay MIA 67 7
Mike Davis ATL 68 7
Ty Johnson NYJ 69 7
Latavius Murray BAL 70 7
Damien Williams CHI 71 7
Mark Ingram II NO 72 7
Marlon Mack IND 73 7
Breece Hall FA 74 7
Isaiah Spiller FA 75 7
Kenneth Walker FA 76 7
Samaje Perine CIN 77 7
Joshua Kelley LAC 78 7
Le'Veon Bell TB 79 7
Matt Breida BUF 80 7
Darrynton Evans TEN 81 7
Wayne Gallman Jr. MIN 82 7
Salvon Ahmed MIA 83 7
Carlos Hyde JAC 84 7
Malcolm Brown MIA 85 7
Jerick McKinnon KC 86 7

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

Player Team Rank Tier
Cooper Kupp LAR 1 1
Davante Adams GB 2 1
Justin Jefferson MIN 3 1
Ja'Marr Chase CIN 4 1
Tyreek Hill KC 5 1
Stefon Diggs BUF 6 2
A.J. Brown TEN 7 2
CeeDee Lamb DAL 8 2
Diontae Johnson PIT 9 2
Deebo Samuel SF 10 2
Keenan Allen LAC 11 2
D.K. Metcalf SEA 12 3
Tee Higgins CIN 13 3
Mike Evans TB 14 3
Jaylen Waddle MIA 15 3
Tyler Lockett SEA 16 3
Chris Godwin TB 17 4
Calvin Ridley ATL 18 4
DeAndre Hopkins ARI 19 4
Michael Thomas NO 20 4
Michael Pittman Jr. IND 21 5
Elijah Moore NYJ 22 5
DJ Moore CAR 23 5
Terry McLaurin WAS 24 5
Brandin Cooks HOU 25 5
Hunter Renfrow LV 26 5
Odell Beckham Jr. LAR 27 5
Gabriel Davis BUF 28 5
Mike Williams LAC 29 6
Darnell Mooney CHI 30 6
Amari Cooper DAL 31 6
DeVonta Smith PHI 32 6
Robert Woods LAR 33 6
Cordarrelle Patterson ATL 34 6
Amon-Ra St. Brown DET 35 6
Jerry Jeudy DEN 36 6
Chase Claypool PIT 37 6
Brandon Aiyuk SF 38 6
Rashod Bateman BAL 39 6
Marquise Brown BAL 40 6
Courtland Sutton DEN 41 6
Allen Robinson II CHI 42 6
Christian Kirk ARI 43 6
Jakobi Meyers NE 44 6
Russell Gage ATL 45 6
Tyler Boyd CIN 46 6
Kenny Golladay NYG 47 7
Kadarius Toney NYG 48 7
Sterling Shepard NYG 49 7
DeVante Parker MIA 50 7
Van Jefferson LAR 51 7
Adam Thielen MIN 52 7
Jarvis Landry CLE 53 7
Rondale Moore ARI 54 7
Laviska Shenault Jr. JAC 55 7
D.J. Chark Jr. JAC 56 7
JuJu Smith-Schuster PIT 57 7
Michael Gallup DAL 58 7
Corey Davis NYJ 59 7
Joshua Palmer LAC 60 7
Cole Beasley BUF 61 8
Julio Jones TEN 62 8
Robby Anderson CAR 63 8
Will Fuller V MIA 64 8
Curtis Samuel WAS 65 8
Terrace Marshall Jr. CAR 66 8
Donovan Peoples-Jones CLE 67 8
Marquez Valdes-Scantling GB 68 8
Parris Campbell IND 69 8
Allen Lazard GB 70 8
Nico Collins HOU 71 8
Tim Patrick DEN 72 8
Marquez Callaway NO 73 8
Marvin Jones Jr. JAC 74 9
Emmanuel Sanders BUF 75 9
Antonio Brown TB 76 9
Jameson Williams FA 77 9
Tre'Quan Smith NO 78 9
A.J. Green ARI 79 9
Braxton Berrios NYJ 80 9
Treylon Burks FA 81 9
Garrett Wilson FA 82 9
Chris Olave FA 83 9
Dyami Brown WAS 84 9
Kendrick Bourne NE 85 9
Byron Pringle KC 86 9
Laquon Treadwell JAC 87 9
Zay Jones LV 88 9
KJ Hamler DEN 89 9
Ihmir Smith-Marsette MIN 90 9
Mecole Hardman KC 91 9
Nelson Agholor NE 92 9
Jalen Reagor PHI 93 9
Bryan Edwards LV 94 9
Jamison Crowder NYJ 95 9
Darius Slayton NYG 96 9
Josh Reynolds DET 97 9
Quintez Cephus DET 98 9
Demarcus Robinson KC 99 9
Tyrell Williams FA 100 9

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. 

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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

Player Team Rank Tier
Mark Andrews BAL 1 1
Travis Kelce KC 2 1
Darren Waller LV 3 1
George Kittle SF 4 1
Kyle Pitts ATL 5 1
Rob Gronkowski TB 6 1
Dallas Goedert PHI 7 2
T.J. Hockenson DET 8 2
Dalton Schultz DAL 9 2
Dawson Knox BUF 10 2
Pat Freiermuth PIT 11 2
Zach Ertz ARI 12 2
Logan Thomas WAS 13 3
Noah Fant DEN 14 3
Cole Kmet CHI 15 3
Hunter Henry NE 16 3
Mike Gesicki MIA 17 3
Adam Trautman NO 18 3
Tyler Conklin MIN 19 3
Tyler Higbee LAR 20 3
Gerald Everett SEA 21 3
Evan Engram NYG 22 4
Robert Tonyan GB 23 4
Jonnu Smith NE 24 4
Austin Hooper CLE 25 4
Jared Cook LAC 26 4
Mo Alie-Cox IND 27 4
Dan Arnold JAC 28 4
John Bates WAS 29 4
O.J. Howard TB 30 5
Irv Smith Jr. MIN 31 5
David Njoku CLE 32 5
Anthony Firkser TEN 33 5
Kylen Granson IND 34 5
Eric Ebron PIT 35 5
Hayden Hurst ATL 36 5
Blake Jarwin DAL 37 5
Chris Herndon IV MIN 38 5
Jack Doyle IND 39 5
Jimmy Graham CHI 40 5
Kyle Rudolph NYG 41 5

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. 

PFF’s TE Matchup Chart is a fantasy football tool you can use to help set the best lineups. You can toggle between the Matchup Advantage column or advanced stats like targets, catch rate and yards per route run.

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. 

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