We’re rolling out our Annual Flagship piece, our 2022 Fantasy Football Team Outlooks series!
With high-stakes fantasy football legend Shawn Childs anchoring Sports Illustrated’s fantasy coverage, we decided to give our take on Shawn’s Team Outlooks. While we won’t always agree, Shawn’s pedigree speaks for itself. Shawn has been a high-stakes Fantasy Football legend since 2004 when he had success in his first season (three titles and $25,000 in winnings). Childs has competed and won six-figures in all different formats – auctions, draft championships, main events, and high-dollar leagues. We dare you to find an expert who knows the NFL player pool better than Shawn Childs — it can’t be done!
Please note, the Team Outlook series takes you to out legacy tools site FFToolbox. Please excuse the clumsy nature of the back and forth. We do plan to integrate these tools onto our new platform next season.
AFC East
- Buffalo Bills – The Bills are favorites to go all the way and have an elite offense but can we trust Gabriel Davis to be an every-week WR2? Will Isaiah McKenzie beat out Jamison Crowder for slot duties? How might Buffalo’s committee backfield play out between Devin Singletary and James Cook?
- Miami Dolphins – Is QB Tua Tagovailoa good enough to support TWO weekly WR2s? Will Tyreek Hill get anywhere near his usual target share in Miami? How will the new staff divide touches between all the newly-signed running backs?
- New England Patriots – Can QB Mac Jones repeat his solid rookie numbers? Will DeVante Parker buck the trend or continue the Patriots’ trend of underwhelming wide receiver numbers? How will the backfield shape up without James White?
- New York Jets – There continues to be a surplus of young talent in New York. Can second-round rookie RB Breece Hall contend for RB1 numbers right out of the gate? Is second-year QB Zach Wilson good enough to take advantage of the presence of Elijah Moore and Garrett Wilson?
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens – In a contract year, the Ravens will need QB Lamar Jackson to stay healthy and return to his 2019 form to remain contenders. Is Rashod Bateman good enough to be a team’s No. 1 wideout? Will RB J.K. Dobbins be able to regain his 2020 form after missing the entire 2021 campaign?
- Cincinnati Bengals – Fresh off of an AFC Championship, can the surging Bengals actually be better in 2022? Is QB Joe Burrow fully healthy? Will this offense again be able to maintain an RB1 and two superb starting wide receivers?
- Cleveland Browns – The Browns went all-in for Deshaun Watson but will be forced to march forward without him for 11 games. Can Jacoby Brissett keep Cleveland in contention or are the Browns doomed to miss the playoffs again? How will the Kareem Hunt trade demands impact the ground game?
- Pittsburgh Steelers – For the first time since 2004, the Steelers are breaking in a new quarterback. Can Mitch Trubisky hold down the fort or is first-round rookie Kenny Pickett going to take some starts in Year One? Will the new quarterbacks be able to keep Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and emerging rookie George Pickens relevant? Or will poor passing and a lousy offensive line doom RB Najee Harris to too many stacked boxes?
AFC South
- Houston Texans – Coming off of a surprisingly effective rookie campaign is QB Davis Mills the real deal? Will any other Houston pass catchers step up or is Brandin Cooks the only Texans receiver to target? How will Lovie Smith divide up carries between Rex Burkhead, Marlon Mack, and promising rookie Dameon Pierce?
- Indianapolis Colts – How much of an improvement will QB Matt Ryan be for an offense that just barely missed the playoffs in 2021? Can RB Jonathan Taylor come anywhere close to his amazing numbers from last season? Is this the year that Parris Campbell finally stays healthy?
- Jacksonville Jaguars – There’s nowhere to go but up for the Jaguars after a tumultuous one-year run for disgraced head coach Urban Meyer. How much improvement can we expect for all Jacksonville players with the arrival of Doug Pederson? It’s also the de facto rookie campaign for RB Travis Etienne. Our projections love his potential but how early should you target him in drafts?
- Tennessee Titans – Will RB Derrick Henry be able to recapture the momentum he had before his 2021 season was derailed? How about the passing attack? Was the club crazy to trade away A.J. Brown and try to replicate his role with Treylon Burks, who hasn’t exactly looked the part so far this summer?
AFC West
- Denver Broncos – It is a new day in Denver with QB Russell Wilson now under center. A perianal top-5 fantasy option, will Wison be a boon for the Broncos’ talented receiving corps? Will the club continue to utilize both Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon or will Williams emerge as the RB1 fantasy managers envisioned last season?
- Kansas City Chiefs – Lots of changes are also on the horizon in Kansas City. How will Andy Reid’s offense look without the threat of WR Tyreek Hill? What new wideout will lead the club in targets? Can any running back emerge in this offense or should fantasy managers just avoid this backfield altogether?
- Las Vegas Raiders – After giving up a first-rounder for Davante Adams and giving him a lucrative contract extension, will Adams and Derek Carr be able to rekindle their Fresno State chemistry? The Raiders don’t seem to want to keep RB Josh Jacobs around but should fantasy managers?
- Los Angeles Chargers – The surging Chargers have the potential to have the league’s most potent offense. Will they continue to give RB Austin Ekeler an extensive workload or can we expect the Chargers to work in rookie Isaiah Spiller? How will the club address tight end? Will Mike Williams maintain his solid 2021 showing now that he’s got a new contract
NFC East
- Dallas Cowboys – After trading away Amari Cooper and still dealing with Michael Gallup’s knee injury, will CeeDee Lamb emerge as the league’s next target monster? What other receiver will setup up for the Cowboys? Looking at you Jalen Tolbert…How about Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott? Will Dallas be able to work both backs into weekly fantasy prominence?
- New York Giants – It is now or never for QB Daniel Jones. Will he finally be able to live up to his first-round billing or are the Giants destined to start over once again with the promising 2023 QB class? Will RB Saquon Barkley be able to return to form? Which wideout will lead New York in targets, Kenny Golladay or Kadarius Toney?
- Philadelphia Eagles – Will the addition of A.J. Brown be the catalyst that launches QB Jalen Hurts into the top-5 fantasy signal-caller ranks? Will RB Miles Sanders figure out how to get into the end zone or are the Eagles destined to trot out a frustrating committee backfield? Speaking of Brown, will he get enough targets to contend for weekly WR1 numbers, or is a decline in order?
- Washington Football Team – The Carson Wentz Reality Bus Tour stops off in the nation’s capital this season. Is Wentz actually underrated or is he merely a modest improvement over what Taylor Heinicke did for the Commanders a year ago? Will any other Washington pass-catchers step up to take some pressure off of Terry McLaurin?
NFC North
- Chicago Bears – Chicago’s lack of offensive talent is disconcerting. Especially for us Justin Field believers. Will Fields be able to stay upright and get the most out of a lackluster supporting cast to contend for QB1 numbers or will the Bears be in the market for a new quarterback next April? Is Chicago’s new regime really going to take touches away from RB David Montgomery or is that just preseason gossip? Let’s check the tape:
- Detroit Lions – The Lions play hard for Dan Campbell and appear to be building a roster the right way. Will the team show enough improvements to keep positive momentum or will they collapse because…Lions? Can D’Andre Swift contend for top-5 fantasy numbers? Was Amon-Ra St. Brown a fluke or can he remain fantasy-relevant with the addition of Billy Muzio favorite D.J. Chark?
- Green Bay Packers – Will life without Davante Adams be dreadful for QB Aaron Rodgers or will the future Hall-of-Famer be able to rely on his new receivers to remain a viable QB1? Can A.J. Dillon out-carry Aaron Jones and if he does, will both backs be weekly fantasy starters? How about that receiving corps? Can fantasy managers rely on any Green Bay pass-catchers in 2022?
- Minnesota Vikings – He’s already one of the game’s best young wideouts but will Minnesota’s new high-octane approach be the catalyst that launches Justin Jefferson into the overall No. 1 fantasy wideout? Assuming he can stay healthy, can Dalvin Cook return to prominence? Is Adam Thielen a raging value at his depressed ADP?
NFC South
- Atlanta Falcons – In the midst of a massive rebuild, can fantasy managers rely on any Atlanta players other than elite young TE Kyle Pitts? How long will Marcus Mariota be able to remain the club’s starter? And what is with this backfield? Can Tyler Allgeier take work away from Cordarrelle Patterson? Feels like fantasy managers might want to familiarize themselves with the rookie rusher.
- Carolina Panthers – There’s talk of a QB competition but we’re not buying that. Will Baker Mayfield be a significant upgrade under center for the Panthers? How much will that impact D.J. Moore and Robbie Anderson? After two injury-riddled seasons, can fantasy managers fully trust RB Christian McCaffrey?
- New Orleans Saints – You see lots of talk of QB Jameis Winston’s sterling 14-to-3 TD-to-INT ratio a season ago, but was that all smoke and mirrors? Is Winston a viable QB2? What will life be like for the New Orleans offense without Sean Payton calling the plays? And how are we approaching RB Alvin Kamara with legal issues pending?
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Are the Bucs still an elite offense or a trap waiting to happen? Losing Bruce Arians was huge but Tom Brady has been absent for much of the preseason and Tampa’s elite offensive line has been riddled with injuries. How long will it take Chris Godwin to get up to full speed? Does Julio Jones have anything left? How will Brady and the club fare without TE Rob Gronkowski?
NFC West
- Arizona Cardinals – The Cardinals made headlines on the NFL Draft’s opening day. Will the acquisition of Marquise Brown give Kliff Kingsbury the weapons he needs to avoid another second-half collapse? How will Arizona’s offense look without DeAndre Hopkins for the first six games? Now that he’s the unquestioned starter, what can we expect from RB James Conner in 2022?
- Los Angeles Rams – Can we expect a huge leap out of WR Allen Robinson now that he’s playing with a legitimate NFL quarterback for the first time in his career? Just how early should fantasy footballers target A-Rob? Is TE Tyler Higbee a solid sleeper or destined to drop off now? Cam Akers’s playoff usage was encouraging but his lack of production was not. Will Akers maintain that kind of workload or is Sean McVay eyeing a timeshare with Darrell Henderson?
- San Francisco 49ers – It is Trey Lance #SZN. We all saw Lance’s potential last season but there was still plenty of room for improvements. Can fantasy managers trust Lance to put up QB1 numbers or is he destined to struggle in this first season as the starter? Will another running back emerge or will Elijah Mitchell contend for 20-plus touches per game?
- Seattle Seahawks – The biggest question for the Seahawks is just who will take over for Russell Wilson. Will Pete Carroll stick with Geno Smith or can Drew Lock win the job? Actually, does that really matter? Can either replacement get the ball to DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett enough? How will Carroll divide carries between promising rookie Ken Walker and fantasy hero Rashaad Penny?
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Now that you’ve read our 2022 Fantasy Football Team Outlooks, you know everything there is to know about the upcoming fantasy season. Ready to dive right in? Jump into a Fulltime Fantasy league today for as low as $25 and start your quest to become the next Fantasy Football World Champion.
Other useful links:
- ADP (average draft position) based on our Fulltime Fantasy leagues.
- Billy Muzio’s Tiered Cheatsheet (#1 Ranker in the country)
- Draft Rankings
- Dynasty Rankings (by Scott Atkins)
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