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Fantasy drafts are starting to ramp up as we get closer to the start of the 2022 NFL season. Having done over 200 bestball drafts so far this season, I believe I have a pretty good idea on how I plan on drafting in my season long leagues, as well as what the good and bad values are for all your favorite players. Over the next few days, I will be giving my overall strategy and other bits of advice on drafting the 4 Primary Fantasy Football positions in 2022. For more tools to help you during your draft, including, rankings, tiers, and Depth charts, be sure to check the Draft Hustle Season-long One Stop Shop here.
General Thoughts
The Wide Receiver position in fantasy football seems to be getting deeper and deeper every season. With the league favoring passing more than ever and the devaluing of the running back position, more pass catchers are becoming start-worthy, making the need to spend premium draft capital on elite WRs less necessary. More fantasy sites should require 3 starting WRs in their default settings to offset the plethora of WRs, but they are usually slow to adjust. As far as the position as a whole, there is a consensus top 4 at the top, followed by a consensus next 5-6, depending on how you feel about A.J. Brown. After that, the next 20-30 guys can be arranged in nearly any order based on personal preference.
Draft Strategy
The odds of me drafting a WR with my 1st round pick increase the closer I get to picking at the end of round 1, as I can grab an elite RB with an early 2nd round pick. Once that Bell cow RB is on my roster, I like load on a 3-4 of WRs in the next few rounds to get those starters locked in. If I feel the itch to take on a Zero-RB draft approach, once I get my top 5 WRs early, I won’t draft many more after that, allowing my bench to room for plenty of RB depth.
How Many WRs can finish as WR1? – 9
My top 9 WRs all are the top dawg on their respective team in target share and TD share, and they each can have a Cooper Kupp-type explosion in targets to be the Overall WR1. My WR10, A.J. Brown, has the talent to do it, but I don’t see the Eagles passing enough to get him there, even if he manages to stay healthy all season.
I prefer to draft ____ of my top ___ WRs? 4 of my top 25
A lot of the WRs at the end of top 24 are outside of the top 25 of current ADP, so tend to get at least 4 of my top 24 in first 6 rounds of most drafts. I would much rather take WRs in rounds 5 & 6, when most guys are taking the high-end RB handcuffs like Kareem Hunt and A.J. Dillon.
Where do I draft first rookie WR? Drake London in Round 6/7.
The Falcons drafted Drake London with their first pick in the draft, and he will get plenty of targets early and often. I love getting him as an WR4 on my fantasy teams, and I can even live with him as a WR3 if I draft RBS early.
Favorite WR after round 10 (according to FantasyPros ADP)? Marquez Valdes-Scantling, KC
The departure of Tyreek Hill has opened a lot of deep targets in the Kansas City Chiefs offense. Juju Smith-Schuster will work the intermediate routes, allowing Marquez Valdes-Scantling to take over the deep targets that Mahomes loved using Tyreek Hill for. Getting a Patrick Mahomes deep target in round 10+ as a flex option sounds like a league winning type pick to me.
Breakout – Michael Pittman. IND
Michael Pittman will build on his 2nd year in the league and become a top 10 fantasy WR this season. Matt Ryan will lock on to him and his fantasy owners will reap the rewards.
Sleeper/ Lottery Ticket – Amari Rodgers, GB
I have loved taking Amari Rodgers in the last round of my bestball leagues. The Romeo Doubs hype has taken a bit of the shine off of Rodgers for me, but like the 2nd year second rounder to get a lot of slot work in Green Bay.
Bust – Chris Godwin, TB
Chris Godwin coming off an ACL tear in December, and surgery in January, should not be getting drafted in the 5th round of any draft. If he turns into 2019/202 Godwin thus year, then I will just be wrong about him, and I can live with that.
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