When Tyron Smith tore his hamstring, Dallas lost a pillar of its offensive line. Over the last two years, Smith has missed 20 games and the Cowboys have averaged 0.7 fewer yards per carry and 0.7 fewer yards per pass attempt in those contests. Those are substantial drop-offs and could have ramifications for Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard and Dak Prescott in the 2022 Fantasy football rankings, potentially making them 2022 Fantasy football busts. Which players are upgraded or downgraded in the Fantasy football rankings 2022 due to the quality of their linemen, and how should you approach the Cowboys during your 2022 Fantasy football draft prep? Before setting your 2022 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2022 Fantasy football cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Last year, the model accurately predicted that Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was being dramatically undervalued. Taylor was being drafted behind running backs like Aaron Jones, Ezekiel Elliott and Austin Ekeler last season but the SportsLine projection model predicted that he’d outproduce all of those backs and be a fixture in your Fantasy football lineups. The result: Taylor led the NFL with 1,811 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns to finish as the overall RB1 in 2021.
The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, also identifying A.J. Brown as another sleeper in 2020 and players like Julio Jones and JuJu Smith-Schuster as Fantasy football busts last season. Additionally, it’s called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.
The model is powered by the same people who generated projections for all three major Fantasy sites, and it beat human experts last season when there was a big difference in ranking. The projections update multiple times daily, so you’re always getting the best Fantasy football advice.
Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2022, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2022 Fantasy football sleepers
One of the 2022 Fantasy football sleepers the model is predicting: Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks. The former Oregon State standout has racked up over 7,900 receiving yards in his career and will enter the 2022 NFL season as Houston’s clear-cut No. 1 receiver.
Cooks has recorded over 1,000 receiving yards in six of his last seven seasons, making him one of the most consistent Fantasy wideouts over that span. Despite those impressive statistics, Fantasy owners are sleeping on Cooks again this year. In fact, Cooks is currently being drafted in the eighth round according to the latest 2022 Fantasy football ADP. However, SportsLine’s model is expecting Cooks to outperform fellow wide receivers like Courtland Sutton (sixth-round ADP), DK Metcalf (seventh) and Michael Thomas (seventh), making him one of the top 2022 Fantasy football sleepers. See more Fantasy football sleepers 2022 here.
Top 2022 Fantasy football breakouts
The model is also projecting Jets running back Breece Hall as one of its top 2022 Fantasy football breakouts. He is expected to open the season splitting reps with Michael Carter, but he could wind up taking over the starting role early in the year. Hall has the size and speed to excel as an NFL running back, especially after putting together a strong college career.
Hall totaled more than 4,500 yards from scrimmage, 50 touchdowns and 80 receptions across three seasons at Iowa State. Hall has a three-down skillset, so he will not necessarily come off the field on third down. Carter averaged 19 touches per game when Tevin Coleman was out with an injury, and Hall could wind up getting that many opportunities at some point this season. See more Fantasy football breakouts 2022 here.
Top 2022 Fantasy football busts
As for players to avoid, the model lists Jaguars running back Travis Etienne as one of its 2022 Fantasy football busts. The 2021 first-rounder essentially got a redshirt year, when he missed all of last season due to injury. Now healthy, Etienne will split time in the backfield alongside James Robinson, who’s been the team’s best player the last two years. Besides splitting time with Robinson, also working against Etienne is the expected game flow that hampers all running backs on losing teams.
With Jacksonville trailing so often in games, it is forced to rely on the pass in order to get points in a hurry. Thus, the run game suffers and the Jags ranked 30th in rushing attempts last year. No one is expecting a substantial leap in 2022, so Etienne will be in a timeshare for a team that won’t run that often. That’s a situation to avoid and the SportsLine model has taken that into account, putting Etienne on par with Miles Sanders, despite the Eagles‘ running back being drafted two rounds later than Etienne according to the 2022 Fantasy football ADP. See more Fantasy football busts 2022 here.
How to find proven 2022 Fantasy football football rankings
SportsLine is also extremely high on a surprising quarterback you aren’t even thinking about being taken in the middle rounds of 2022 Fantasy football drafts. This quarterback is listed as a shocking top-five option ahead of superstars like Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. You can only see who it is, and the 2022 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.
So which 2022 Fantasy Football sleepers, breakouts and busts should you target and fade? And which QB shocks the NFL with a top-five performance? Visit SportsLine now to get 2022 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called Jonathan Taylor’s huge season, and find out.
