2022 PRE-DRAFT ROOKIE TIERS
The Happiest Place on Earth (for adults)
Promises of drafted players being floated across the Bellagio fountain pool in that beautiful Las Vegas sunshine had to be postponed for two years, but lucky for us the watery stage is set and that time has almost arrived. Red carpet extravagance will be in full effect, and we’ll be treated to a nice blend of Rock (Weezer), Rap (Ice Cube) and EDM (Marshmello) performances on each of the three draft nights.
We’ll once again have dueling banjos vying for your attention with multiple mainstream channels covering the live event, as well as many internet channels with a more fantasy focused breakdown of each and every pick. My advise is to jump around and enjoy them all.
Trying to slot the 2022 draft class into ranked tiers without the knowledge of how BIG NFL values them is a difficult yearly task, but one where you can plant your flag in stone with timestamped proof of where you stood on valuation at that moment in time.
Dynasty player valuation is very fluid (in my opinion MUCH too fluid) but the process is rewarding when your analysis shows well over the passing years. Time to give it another go-round!
For those keeping track at home, 2022 pool season is now open and Vegas is BACK!
WIDE RECEIVERS
“Do not sleep on me.”
For dynasty fantasy football, the cream of the 2022 draft class is this wide receiver group. If the cream rises as it should, I can easily imagine six wideouts going in the first round, with a very small chance that up to eight make it into the first, which would be a new record! I’ll guess we tie the rookie record with seven going off the board in round one.
I often hear that this class doesn’t have a Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase in it, but I call bullshit on that. Jameson Williams has the upside to be as good as anyone and I’m willing to spend my premium rookie draft capital in order to find out if he can. Garrett Wilson seems to be a very safe and polished pro-ready wideout who is generally mocked to be the first WR drafted. I find it unbelievable how Ohio State had Jameson Williams prior to transferring, Wilson and Olave, and has both 2023 draft class darling Jaxon Smith-Njigba (sophomore) and Marvin Harrison Jr. (freshman) waiting in the wings. Burks rounds out my Tier 1 of wide receiver prospects I feel can have a big impact on dynasty football. Tier 2 is filled with more potential stars, but I’m reserving the premium location, bottle-service booth for these three alone.
Another pro-ready wideout who shouldn’t take long to gain enough of our confidence to slip into starting rosters is Chris Olave. Likely a team’s WR2, but has sneaky scoring upside and if NOT powering through tackles keeps him healthy and upright for the next play, so be it. With Jahan Dotson’s ranking we see the theme here is safe, solid and pro-ready. I see most want to push the bigger and taller guys up the rankings, but I’ll stick with drafting guys I seem to trust more and cannot find many red flags on or reasons to fade. On most lists, Metchie has fallen off the face of the Earth. He seems like someone who will lock down a WR2 job as well as offer plenty of fantasy upside.
Some folks have Drake London as their fantasy WR #1, but my eyes are telling me to fade him. I’ll let him slip a bit in rookie drafts, but may be tempted if he slips more than I think he actually will. Skyy Moore rounds out my final tier of wide receivers that I’ll be fairly thrilled to add to my dynasty teams.
TIER 1
JAMESON WILLIAMS WR1
GARRETT WILSON WR2
TREYLON BURKS WR3
TIER 2
CHRIS OLAVE WR4
JAHAN DOTSON WR5
JOHN METCHIE WR6
DRAKE LONDON WR7
SKYY MOORE WR8
From here on, we have two large groups that represent a smorgasbord of whatever floats your boat for dynasty receivers. From thick and stalky to tall and lanky. You want slow? We’ve got you! Fast with extremely impressive burst? Got that too. Field stretchers and chain movers in all shapes and sizes (and ages) to choose from. Step right up and take your pick.
TIER 3
GEORGE PICKENS
CHRISTIAN WATSON
CALVIN AUSTIN
JUSTYN ROSS
JALEN TOLBERT
TIER 4
DAVID BELL
DANNY GREY
TYQUAN THORNTON
ALEC PIERCE
KEVIN AUSTIN
JERRETH STERNS
KHALIL SHAKIR
MAKAI POLK
RUNNING BACKS
Hall has scored at least one touchdown in every game he’s played since December of 2019.
This running back class gets super interesting after the “BIG TWO” are drafted. They are fairly deep with NFL-level talent, and finding out which teams covet whom (and how much draft capital are they willing to spend on them) will be the biggest unknown puzzle piece needed toward solving our 2022 dynasty league rosters.
In my opinion, the only sure-fire players that I feel have the talent to force their way into a desirable fantasy role or carve out their own workload regardless of which team drafts them are Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker and James Cook.
After those three there are many players I feel will eventually work their way into our fantasy lineups, but my confidence level needs that draft capital to soothe my gut from stiff arming them in this pre-draft moment in time.
TIER 1
BREECE HALL RB1
KENNETH WALKER RB2
TIER 2
JAMES COOK RB3
ISAIAH SPILLER RB4
TIER 3
RACHAAD WHITE RB5
DAMEON PIERCE RB6
TYLER BADIE RB7
The rest of these guys have some pro-level qualities and many are early down or short yardage bangers, and I will respect their draft capital if BIG NFL drafts a few in the earlier rounds or if they land well on teams without too heavy of competition in front of them. These are loosely grouped without ranking considered.
TIER 4
ZAMIR WHITE
BRIAN ROBINSON
JEROME FORD
TYLER ALLGEIER
PIERRE STRONG
ABRAHM SMITH
KYREN WILLIAMS
TY CHANDLER
KEVIN HARRIS
TIGHT ENDS
The Quiet Killer, Jeremy Ruckert TE1.
I’m not hearing a lot of excitement surrounding this tight end class, but to my eyes, there are quite a few potential long term NFL starters in this group, and I’m especially interested to see where Jeremy Ruckert and Trey McBride wind up getting selected.
TIER 1
JEREMY RUCKERT TE1
TREY MCBRIDE TE2
TIER 2
CADE OTTON TE3
GREG DULCICH TE4
ISAIAH LIKELY TE5
TIER 3
JELANI WOODS TE6
CHARLIE KOLAR TE7
QUARTERBACKS
Anything Trey (Lance) can do, I can do better.
I could easily be proven very wrong with my assessment of this 2022 rookie quarterbacks class, but at the moment, the only QB I’d select in the first round of the NFL Draft would be Malik Willis.
TIER 1
MALIK WILLIS QB1
From here on you can take your pick or just follow the draft capital. IMO these guys below all seem more like temporary placeholder quarterbacks vs. face of your franchise stars. Unless you are desperately grasping for superflex starters, these are all fades in classic single QB leagues.
TIER 2
MATT CORRAL QB2
KENNY PICKETT QB3
DESMOND RIDDER QB4
SAM HOWELL QB5
CARSON STRONG QB6
BAILEY ZAPPE QB7
That puts a wrap on my PRE-DRAFT dynasty ranking for the Class of 2022. Finished with only five hours to spare before tonight’s fun begins! Hope you have scheduled yourself a few multi-hour windows of time to enjoy this weekend of complete bliss for us dynasty diehards.
HAPPY DRAFT NIGHT 2022!