NFL fan in 2022 Your draft is finished, your roster is finalized, and the way is now clear for you to win (yet another) fantasy football title.
Right?
Wait a minute.
Spectacular “running back” Cordarrelle Patterson comes to mind. How about elite tight ends Dalton Schultz and Zach Ertz or PPR darling Hunter Renfrow? Know what they shared going into Week 1 of the last campaign? Give yourself a round of applause if you read the article’s headline and guessed that “they were available on the waiver wire.” To discover the needles in the waiver wire haystack this NFL season, we’re going to need that kind of meticulous attention to detail. Week 1 waiver wire in fantasy football
Every path to greatness starts with a grainy, unattractive photo of you wearing white gym shorts. Tom Brady’s, at least, did. The Week 1 waiver wire is where we start our ascent to greatness. It’s a gold mine out there for late depth chart climbers, unsung veterans, and exceptional rookies with opportunities. Grab a pickaxe, a pan, or whatever they use to find gold. We’re entering.
(Rostered percentages are from NFL.com’s fantasy football player trends.)
Running backs
ROSTERED: 46%
What if the best club in the league selected a pass-catching rookie running back in the second round of the NFL draft despite not having a clear-cut RB1 on the squad and a QB MVP favorite? He happens to be a Georgia product and the younger brother of Dalvin Cook (see: Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb, D’Andre Swift, etc.). On a depth chart for Buffalo, James Cook has a chance to start out as a pass-catcher (smells like PPR value) behind 5-foot-7 Devin Singletary and 5.7-second-40-yard dash Zack Moss. Cook might become the Bills’ (and your) RB1 if he performs well early in the season since he can run the 40-yard dash faster than he can (an impressive 4.42 seconds).
ROSTERED: 35%
Miles Sanders officially joined the team again last week after missing several weeks while recovering from a hamstring ailment. Nevertheless, despite his talent, Sanders has missed nine games over the past two seasons and probably played a few more at a subpar level. Gainwell, the quarterback of a potentially explosive offense, may move up the rankings by more than 30 spots if Sanders is sidelined in 2022. And here’s a stat for you: In 2021, only Austin Ekeler averaged more fantasy points per touch (1.24) than Gainwell among the 55 running backs with 100+ touches (1.22). In addition, the team names compose themselves. NOTE: Boston Scott (0.6% rostered) and newly acquired Trey Sermon (0.4%) are both valuable players in deeper leagues Additionally, make a speculative addition in case they are able to jump ahead on the depth chart.
ROSTERED: 3%
In Chicago last season, Herbert took over as the starting running back for four games after David Montgomery was forced to leave with a knee injury. In all four games, the then-rookie out of Virginia Tech racked up 18+ carries, 70+ rushing yards, and finished as an RB1 in two of them. While it would be a stretch to demote Montgomery on the depth chart based on one report, the new general manager Ryan Poles (who did not draft Montgomery) has not given him an extension as he enters his contract year, and Herbert may actually be a better fit for the new offense (under head coach Matt Eberflus) than Montgomery. For the time being, Herbert is a very precious shackle “extremely,” but a sudden change in Weeks 2 or 3 might make him a tremendous bargain.
Wide receivers
ROSTERED: 52.5%
A Week 1 Waiver Wire column is being written by Jones. Is this the wrong way around? Jones has missed 14 games over the past two seasons, I suppose. And yes, he did only average 43 receiving yards a game last year (at the age of 32), which is significantly less than his average during his career. Okay, I think I’m beginning to get it. But bear with me. As strange as it may sound, Julio Jones has appeared to be somewhat like Julio Jones throughout the Bucs’ camp. And Tom Brady is his quarterback. And even if Chris Godwin gets cleared, he won’t be 100% ready for Week 1 anyhow. At 32 years old and alongside Brady, Randy Moss was the WR2 overall in 2009. in addition to Jerry Ric was the 1995 WR1 overall at the age of 33. Jones is unironically closer to Jerry Rice and Randy Moss than he is to Emmanuel Sanders or even A.J. Green, but I’m not suggesting he’ll be a Top 12 wideout in 2022.
ROSTERED: 37%
Only Marquez Valdes-name Scantling’s is longer than his career yards per reception, which stand at a startling 17.5 and are the highest in the NFL since his 2018 draft (min. 100 receptions). Mike Williams, Kenny Golladay (oof), A.J. Brown, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, and Justin Jefferson are the following six names on that list for context. a symbol for eyes. In Kansas City, MVS will compete with players like JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman, and rookie Skyy Moore to succeed Tyreek Hill (less than invincible competition). At least one of these guys will become significant in fantasy football thanks to Patrick Mahomes. Jackson won’t be dancing on TikTok if it turns out to be MVS and you’ve rostered him; instead, it will be you.
ROSTERED: 32%
McKenzie may end up being the bigger bargain in the Bills wide receiver room, even if Gabe Davis has received most of the attention on Twitter this offseason (if healthy). According to Next Gen Stats, McKenzie ran 48.2% of his routes out of the slot last season, second on the club only to the recently-departed Cole Beasley. He is presently expected to start ahead of Jamison Crowder. This summer, rave reviews about McKenzie have been pouring in from Orchard Park, and like James Cook before him, he will be collecting passes from Josh Allen, which is a pretty good job. Still not convinced? Lil Dirty is his nick name. Thank you very much.
Tight ends
ROSTERED: 59%
Kmet had 93 targets, 60 catches, and no touchdowns in his second season. No results. Nothing tuddies. Just one tink-tink or less. You see what I mean. Try to guess how many other tight ends in the NFL have 60 or more receptions but failed to score a touchdown. The answer is in NFL history, specifically. Steve Jordan, a Pro Bowler for the Vikings, achieved it in 1985; the following year, he scored six touchdowns and would have been the TE3 in fantasy football had it existed. Kmet should experience improved quarterbacking in 2022 (Justin Fields’ second season), along with possibly more targets (Allen Robinson off to the Rams). You have a standout tight end on your hands if you factor in the mathematically guaranteed rebound in touchdowns.
ROSTERED: 20%
Rewind with me to the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, when Missouri tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 258 pounds, ran the 40-yard sprint in 4.49 seconds and had a 99 Next Gen Stats Athleticism Score (the maximum). Sadly, since then, “Albert O” has only appeared in two weeks as a top-12 tight end, missing 18 of a possible 33 games. Why then the enthusiasm about 2022? Let’s bike because this is Broncos Country! Okwuegbunam is graduating from Drew Lock, Jeff Driskel, and Brett Rypien to Russell Wilson, but in all seriousness, tight ends often need a few years to develop into fantasy relevance. There are not many backup TEs with as much potential if you have room on your bench.
Quarterbacks
Jameis Winston
ROSTERED: 26%
Winston wasn’t exactly a fantasy superstar, but showing signs of improvement as an NFL quarterback in his seven starts last year (5-2 record, 14-3 TD-INT ratio, and 102.8 passer rating were all career highs). Before being hurt, Winston only twice finished among the top 12 quarterbacks and averaged 16.8 fantasy points per game (QB15). He was also throwing to a cast of characters, including Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Tre’Quan Smith, and Marquez Callaway (no offense, guys). Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry, and rising star Chris Olave are Winston’s primary wide receivers this season. I have a feeling that was the biggest receiving room upgrade in documented history, season after season. Don’t be shocked if 2022 brings out the finest Winston we’ve ever seen.
Baker Mayfield
ROSTERED: 13%
In 2022, Mayfield won’t be featured in any advertisements for Progressive Insurance, but he will be in charge of the Panthers’ offense in Charlotte. This season, Mayfield might finally make the transition from QB3 to QB1 status thanks to a chip on his shoulder, Christian McCaffrey on his hip, and the combination of DJ Moore and Robbie (with a “ie”) Anderson downfield. Keep in mind that this player established the rookie throwing TD record for a single season with 27 back in 2018. (before it was unceremoniously shattered by Justin Herbert in 2020). If everything comes together, there is a surprisingly positive outcome.
Here are a few guys worth a speculative’stache (see what I did there) if you have the space because it’s the brand.
Isiah Pacheco of the Chiefs, Jamaal Williams of the Lions, Tyler Allgeier of the Falcons, D’Onta Foreman of the Panthers, Michael Gallup of the Cowboys, Skyy Moore of the Chiefs, Romeo Doubs of the Packers, Gerald Everett of the Texans, Evan Engram of the Jaguars, Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars, Matt Ryan of the Colts, and Malik Willis of the Titans
