2022 NFL Predictions: Fantasy's Under-the-Radar Stars and Duds at Every Position

Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields will be compared to each other for their entire NFL careers.

That's how it works when you get drafted in the first round in the same year as quarterbacks.

Both second-year quarterbacks have new head coaches for the 2022 season, but one has a clear advantage when it comes to progression and the potential to be an under-the-radar fantasy football star.

The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Doug Pederson after the Urban Meyer debacle and the Super Bowl-winning head coach could help the 2021 No. 1 overall pick develop into a solid quarterback in the NFL.

The Chicago Bears opted for a defensive-minded head coach in Matt Eberflus and they got worse at wide receiver with Allen Robinson's offseason departure. Fields could be in for a long season with no improvements around him. He could be one of the most avoided quarterbacks in fantasy football drafts for that reason.

The level of comparison between Lawrence and Fields will not happen at other positions, but there are some distinct differences between certain situations across the league that give us promise and misery for fantasy football prospects in 2022.

Under-The-Radar Star: Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville

The future seems to be bright in Jacksonville.

In all honesty, anything is better than the situation Urban Meyer created with the AFC South side.

Jacksonville made the right hire this time around with Doug Pederson, who should help Trevor Lawrence develop into a solid NFL quarterback. There's no need to slap the great tag on Lawrence's career yet. There will be plenty of time to hype that up next offseason if he improves in 2022.

Lawrence threw for 3,641 yards in his rookie season, but his fantasy downfall was his 12 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions. That ratio will never win anyone a fantasy football league.

Jacksonville improved its offensive skill positions in the offseason by adding Christian Kirk and Evan Engram. The Jaguars will also get Travis Etienne back after he missed the 2021 season with an injury.

A healthy running back duo of Etienne and James Robinson in which both players can catch the ball out of the backfield, a star No. 1 wide receiver in Kirk and a reliable tight end in Engram give Jacksonville potential to be a respectable team in Pederson's first season.

The improvements around Lawrence give him a chance to double, or maybe even triple, his touchdown output and cut down on the turnovers. If that happens, Lawrence could turn into a reliable starting quarterback in all fantasy formats by midseason.

Dud: Justin Fields, Chicago

It is hard to use the same excitement about Jacksonville when talking about the Chicago Bears.

Chicago's offense got worse in the offseason with the departure of Allen Robinson. Darnell Mooney could develop into a No. 1 wide receiver, but he does not have experience in being the main target for a full season yet.

Mooney and Byron Pringle headline a wide receiver corps that might be the worst in the league at the position, or at least in the bottom five.

A ton of pressure will be on Justin Fields to create magic on his own, whether it be extra time in the pocket, or with his legs.

Fields did not have more touchdowns than interceptions in any of the appearances in his rookie season. That alone is cause for concern going into his sophomore campaign. He finished with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Fields could show improvement from last season, but that is not a high bar to clear based on his stats from 2021. The ceiling for the Chicago offense is much lower than Jacksonville's ceiling and it could make Fields one of the starting quarterbacks on the waiver wire after your draft is over.

Under-The-Radar Star: Rashaad Penny, Seattle

The Seattle Seahawks are most likely going to be worse than they were in 2021 without Russell Wilson on the roster.

The arrival of a new quarterback could spell trouble for the wide receiver duo of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett and that may allow for the team's running backs to earn more touches.

Seattle's running back room has been avoided by fantasy football players for the last few years because of injuries and inefficiency. Rashaad Penny may switch that perception with a breakout season.

Penny recorded 749 rushing yards on 119 carries in 2021. He is currently slated to be the No. 1 running back after Chris Carson's injury retirement.

Penny faces competition from rookie Kenneth Walker, but he should get every chance possible to win the starting gig before the coaching staff shows more trust in the first-year back out of Michigan State.

The potential Penny displayed over 10 games last season and Seattle's offensive situation could make him a solid RB2 to start the fantasy football campaign. He is probably better suited for standard leagues at the moment since he had six receptions on eight targets in 2021.

Dud: Chase Edmonds, Miami

Chase Edmonds' move from Arizona to Miami could be viewed as an upgrade for his fantasy potential, but the Dolphins may have overfilled their backfield in the offseason.

Edmonds is listed as the No. 1 running back on the depth chart, but Raheem Mostert and Sony Michel are on the roster. Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed are also there in training camp.

Edmonds could fall into a similar situation that he faced in Arizona last season with James Conner dominating all the red-zone touches. Mostert, Michel, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Mike Gesicki will all command the ball in the red zone.

The fifth-year running back may not see a significant increase from his two rushing touchdowns last season and that could be a downfall to his fantasy potential.

Edmonds does have an advantage over Mostert and Michel when it comes to pass catching. He had 96 receptions in the last two seasons, but he only has five receiving touchdowns in his career.

He could be a nice RB2 in points-per-reception leagues, but the running back room is too crowded at the moment to trust what Edmonds can do inside the Miami offense.

Under-The-Radar Star: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit

Most of the wide receiver buzz in Detroit is about new arrival DJ Chark, but let's not forget what Amon-Ra St. Brown did at the end of the 2021 season.

St. Brown finished his rookie season with back-to-back 100-yard receiving yard performances and a four-game touchdown streak.

The Lions wide out hauled in eight or more receptions in each of his last six games and all of his receiving yard totals in that span were over 70.

Chark appears to be the No. 1 wide out in Detroit, but the Lions need more than one productive pass-catcher to improve in Dan Campbell's second season in charge.

St. Brown can be a mid-to-late-round draft pick that fills in the WR3 or FLEX position to start the season. A Detroit wideout likely will not land your WR1 spot at all this season, but St. Brown could provide reliable depth that makes the difference in weekly matchups, especially in PPR leagues if his target rate comes close to the six-game stretch at the end of 2021.

Dud: Amari Cooper, Cleveland

Amari Cooper could fall in a lot of fantasy drafts because of the Cleveland Browns quarterback situation.

Deshaun Watson is suspended for at least the first six games and he might miss more contests depending on what happens with the NFL's appeal of his suspension.

Jacoby Brissett is a serviceable backup, but not one that is going to put up a ton of stats every week.

Brissett has three performances with three or four touchdown passes in his career. He only has nine appearances with two touchdown passes.

To make matters worse for Cooper, Brissett has five 300-yard passing games in his career. Brissett has played in 60 games and started 37 of them.

Forget any Cooper stats, the lack of explosiveness on a weekly basis from Brissett suggests that the former Dallas wideout can't be trusted as a WR1 in any fantasy format.

Under-The-Radar Star: Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers made one of the most under-the-radar offensive signings this offseason by bringing in Gerald Everett.

Everett only had 478 receiving yards and four touchdowns in Seattle last season, but they were both career high totals. Now he enters an offense that was friendly to tight ends last season.

The Chargers got eight touchdowns out of Jared Cook, Donald Parham Jr. and Stephen Anderson at tight end last season.

The tight end trio hauled in 84 receptions on 129 targets from Justin Herbert. Imagine if those totals were streamlined to one person and you have a sneaky good situation for a mid-to-late-round fantasy draft pick.

Everett will not match the top tight ends when it comes to receptions or yards, but his red-zone presence could be important on a weekly basis and that may firmly place him in the second tier of fantasy tight ends.

Dud: Hunter Henry, New England

Hunter Henry can still be a productive tight end in 2022, but do not come into the season with expectations of another nine-touchdown output.

Henry recorded four or five touchdown catches in each of his last three seasons with the Chargers. He followed up an eight-score campaign in his rookie season with four trips to the end zone in 2017.

The Patriots tight end will be chosen above most other tight ends because of what he did in 2021, but that could turn into flawed reasoning in his situation.

New England added DeVante Parker and there could be a push to give Jakobi Meyers more red-zone targets after barely scoring for most of his Patriots career.

Add in the presence of the Damien Harris-Rhamondre Stevenson running back tandem and you have ample touchdown vultures for Henry to compete with in 2022.

Henry could still have his fourth straight 50-reception and 600-yard season, but the touchdown total could sink and that would crater part of his fantasy value.