The Patriots are going through a major transition in offensive philosophy after the departure of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. The 6-2, 210-pound third-year receiver will now be one of the starters in the Bills' high passing offense. -- Ben Baby, Anyone who watched the Bengals for five minutes last postseason knew the offensive line needed to improve its pass blocking. At the heart of their season was Christian Kirk proving everyone wrong who said the Jaguars. 2 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson will lead all rookies in sacks. We can look at his composure, repetitive mechanics, timing and more. -- Eric Moody. No matter who's throwing the football, Pickens will undoubtedly make plays. Brady is still Brady, and there is no counting him out, even if he is facing more difficult opposing quarterbacks than last season. -- Erin Dolan. -- Eric Moody, The Buccaneers are tied for the highest win total after going 13-4 last season. He's also a deft pass-catcher who connected with former college teammate and current Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence on 95 passes for 1,083 yards and seven receiving TDs from 2018 to 2020. Which first-round prospects should Raiders focus on at combine? It was eating him up inside watching the Rams, who narrowly defeated the Bucs in the playoffs, in the Super Bowl. The defensive front seven and the offensive line will dictate the Steelers' success this season. 1. He's a fluid route runner who ranks third in Ohio State history with 176 receptions and fifth in receiving yards with 2,711. Fantasy managers just need to forget about last season's dysfunctional clown show that was the Jacksonville Jaguars and see all the potential in a new, competent coaching staff with a tantalizing, young offense. He can get loose at the second and third level of the Ravens' play-action passing game too. -- Bowen. When Jackson threw a career-worst 13 interceptions last season, he received lackluster protection from his blockers up front. -- Josh Weinfuss, The Cardinals traded for the receiver on the first day of the NFL draft, reuniting him with his college quarterback, Kyler Murray. Depending on the size of your league, Freiermuth (TE11 ADP) isn't being counted on to start across the board in fantasy this year. Chubb hasn't really had everything go his way since his rookie year -- when he finished with 12 sacks -- due to a number of injuries. He has earned the trust of quarterback Kirk Cousins, whose advocacy last season helped spur Osborn to seven touchdown receptions. -- DJ Bien-Aime. Our panel comprises the following ESPN Fantasy writers and editors: Stephania Bell, Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Daniel Dopp, Joe Kaiser, Eric Karabell, Keith Lipscomb, Liz Loza, Eric Moody, Kyle Soppe and Field Yates. Field Yates: Gabriel Davis, WR, Buffalo Bills Another breakout that SportsLine's Fantasy football rankings 2022 have identified: Falcons wide receiver Drake London.He was the first wide receiver taken in the NFL Draft this year, but he only . Tua Tagovailoa is my favorite QB2 to target this season. -- Matt Bowen, It's a rebuilding season. Every season since his blockbuster rookie campaign in 2018 . -- Barshop, The right tackle is going into the final season of the four-year, $32.5 million contract extension he signed in 2018. Washington eased Samuel into training camp as the team wanted to be extra cautious about some hamstring tightness after a year in which soft-tissue injuries limited him to five ineffective games. Howard and Gronkowski combined for 110 targets, 937 yards and seven touchdowns last season. -- Raanan, Fantasy breakout candidate: Kadarius Toney, WR, A first-round pick in 2021, Toney has as much potential to make you regret drafting him -- or make you regret missing out -- as anyone on this list. Olave's talent and position with the Saints, who desperately need help at wide receiver, certainly justify selection at his ADP. -- Mike Triplett, The Saints face some stiff competition in the AFC North and NFC West, but the offense and defense should still be solid after hitting nine wins last season. The surrounding players are there, but it's hard to see 11-plus wins with the unproven Lance. But he hasn't done enough in Pete Carroll's view to overtake former Wilson backup Geno Smith, who will start Week 1. Gordon provides clarity at a position that has been rife with uncertainty. Most important discovery at camp: Kyle Philips emerged as the top slot receiver and punt returner. -- Keim, Fantasy breakout candidate: Jahan Dotson, WR, It is fair to say that Dotson had one of the best performances among offensive skill players during OTAs and minicamps, and that has continued into training camp and the preseason. 3. -- McManus. 2022 NFL Draft: Day 2 fantasy football recap. Having that kind of familiarity -- Brown and Murray throw often in the offseason -- should help Brown hit the ground running in Week 1. In Los Angeles, he'll take over the veteran TE role that Jared Cook filled in 2021. Kyle Pitts, Jalen Hurts, Travis Etienne, Breece Hall, Michael Pittman, Marquise Brown. He only costs an RB3 price to acquire. We projected stats for 544 starts by 37 QBs: Who will wear the 2022 passing crown? You don't currently have any notifications. Wilson still has the uncanny ability to extend plays, and Jeudy has the talent to find open space in such situations. I do not see a losing season, so I will take the Over -- Doug Kezirian. -- Marcel Louis-Jacques, Jones began training camp on the PUP list after offseason Achilles surgery and missed the entire preseason. His only real target competition is Kyle Pitts, but it's easy to picture both of those two having a 25-percent target share. Eric Moody: Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks Freiermuth ranked 13th among tight ends in scoring as a rookie last season, and he'll be aiming to take a step forward in Year 2. The 2021 NFL Draft class looks poised to go down as an all-timer, and that's based solely on those who hit the ground running as rookies, namely Ja'Marr Chase and Micah Parsons, among others.There's still a good number of players who had ho-hum rookie seasons but look poised to be impact players in 2022. After another year of leading one of the NFL's best offenses, Leftwich will have his pick of the top jobs available in 2023. Derek Brown (FantasyPros). The Lawrence breakout is coming; its just a matter of when. Him not starting over Sanders was the biggest head scratcher to me, but the Bills elected to ease the second-year receiver along until later in the season. 2 WR over the final five weeks of 2021. -- Jordan Raanan. Luckily for you drafters, there are plenty of those, as well. Eric Moody: Chris Olave -- Liz Loza, The Colts have one of the easiest schedules in the league after a 9-8 season, and don't forget that Jonathan Taylor led the league with 1,811 rushing yards last season. How long will it take? He has established trust with quarterback Jared Goff through their offseason work together, and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has confidence in Chark's attention to detail and playmaking ability. Bold prediction for 2022: Derrick Henry will top 1,700 rushing yards. The offseason acquisition of Brown boosts the pass game for Hurts, and Philly's defensive upgrades give this unit a much more physical and versatile profile. Bold prediction for 2022: Smith-Schuster will have more than 100 receptions. Kmet caught 60 of 91 targets last season. He has been healthy this offseason, and new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero plans on being aggressive in the pass rush. -- Eric Moody, I do not believe in Lance, but I do believe in Shanahan. Jalen Hurts, Deebo Samuel and Cordarrelle Patterson were just a few players who broke out in a big way for fantasy managers last year. Take advantage as he is pure upside when on the field. -- Erin Dolan. The former Wolverine averaged six looks per contest from Weeks 14 through 18, managing two efforts above 65 yards and a score over that span. "Rare" as in here is the list of players who have ever done that: LaDainian Tomlinson, Jim Brown, Adrian Peterson and Emmitt Smith. They have to keep Wilson out of harm's way, and he has to be willing to get the ball out more quickly than he has at times previously in his career. It's an answer we won't know for at least two months, if not the whole season. Chase Edmonds is going to be a big beneficiary of Hill and Waddle. Given that financial investment and more than 150 targets vacated in Indy (including 40-plus via TE Jack Doyle's retirement), the converted basketball star (VCU) could emerge as one of the team's primary pass-catchers. Get started >>. Kyle Soppe: AJ Dillon That's not me putting unfair expectations on them. I like his chances to exceed draft value more than tight end Irv Smith Jr., who has been dealing with a thumb injury. The addition of defensive playmakers will give Staley's unit a boost, but it's the high-octane offense, led by Herbert, that gets L.A. to the doorstep of Super Bowl LVII. In spite of a strong running game, offensive line and defense, I'm leaning toward the Under -- Eric Moody. The Saints have the ability to push the ball down the field with a healthy Jameis Winston at quarterback. The Cowboys are asking a lot of Prescott, but that is what's expected of a $40 million quarterback. He has overhauled his staff to add more experience and strengthened the overall roster. I mean, you draft a player in the middle to later rounds, and if they hit, they change the landscape of your fantasy team. -- Bowen. Lions fans might have higher expectations, but a truly successful campaign would be hitting that benchmark and improving Detroit's standing in the NFC North. Penny's long injury history and the presumed plan to not overwork him means Walker should get plenty of touches once he's back. That might be all it takes to supplant one of several ordinary veteran wide receivers. . It's the highest bar to clear for a team with title expectations. He's a top-20 fantasy player at the position and worth a dart throw in the late rounds. Wentz still has a strong arm and seems comfortable in Washington -- he also has much to prove. Chase will find the end zone plenty of times this season given his explosive-play juice, but it will be Higgins who will stretch the seams in the red zone and use his vertical matchup ability to rack up touchdowns. Those players are all great, but the middle to later rounds is when everyone is really searching for a player that can greatly exceed expectations. -- Liz Loza, This is their time. Sanders YPA has improved each season (5.5 in 2022), and the expectation of touchdown progression is there. Matt Bowen: James Conner These 10 players could reach an elite fantasy level in 2022. And he'll be needed with Hopkins out for the first six games. By Tommy Garrett June 1, 2022 Jump Around This Article Click to show Jalen Mills has emerged as the team's No. Mike Clay: Allen Robinson II, Los Angeles Rams -- Kevin Seifert. Trevor Lawrence, who has a better supporting cast and a much better head coach in QB developer Doug Pederson, has a shot to remind the world why he was a generational talent. And with more play-action and misdirection concepts, the Bears can set the table for Fields on schemed throws to the second and third level of the defense. They signed Duane Brown, 37, and moved Fant to right tackle, where he's not as good. -- Doug Kezirian. -- Anita Marks. -- DiRocco, Fantasy breakout candidate: Travis Etienne Jr., RB, He has elite acceleration and an uncanny ability to spin and slip through a variety of tackles. Cousins has a coach in Kevin O'Connell that not only believes in him, but has the kind of even-keeled personality that almost certainly fits him best. After attending every training camp practice and watching every preseason game, here are last-minute tips for players you could select in your draft. He has looked good this summer while developing a rapport with Stafford. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Field Yates: Noah Fant. It sounds odd to expect better things from the former Bear, but if were talking about a best shot to break out, you couldnt ask for a better culture of excellence to surround you than the Pittsburgh Steelers. The time is right to go all-in on a rookie wide receiver. -- Eric Moody, The Titans have won at least nine games in each of Mike Vrabel's four years at the helm. He has to prove on the field that he can be a consistent high-end starter. If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. He hasn't done that so far. While there are still injury concerns, you already get a discount baked into his ADP with him going as an RB3. -- Matt Bowen, This offseason, the Ravens improved their offensive line to further protect Jackson and solidify their running game. Brown's ability to operate over the middle and create after the catch is making Hurts' job easier. That said, there are several reasons to expect bigger things in 2023 from the 24-year-old sophomore. Most important discovery at camp: RB Dameon Pierce is going to be a force. I expect the now 100% healthy Akers to be dialed in as the top RB in Sean McVays consistent 1-RB offense, where the teams lead back averages 20-plus touches per game. Also, the Texans' offensive roster is better than most think. No one expects a title or even the playoffs this year; we're talking about 2023 and beyond. -- Erin Dolan. -- Bowen. He had 10.5 sacks and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2019 but has had just 10 sacks in the 24 games since. Over the last six games of the 2021 season, he averaged 19.5 fantasy points for a Seahawks team that relies heavily on the running game. Before that, the second-round pick had been playing his way into a significant role alongside Rashaad Penny in Seattle's post-Chris Carson backfield. (Sam Darnold was 3-0 with McCaffrey to start 2021.) Gabe Davis is the only player in NFL history to have over 200 yards and four touchdowns in a playoff game. 2 target for Josh Allen. The 2022 NFL season kicks off Thursday night, . With Jimmy Graham gone, the third-year tight end can expect to inherit those red zone opportunities and cement himself as a foundational player in the Bears' offense. Clay's projections and unit grades: Stacking all 32 teams, plus best offenses, defenses and schedules, Which quarterback could have a historic Year 2? But I will lean to the over because they still have Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, despite losing Hill. 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