Fantasy Football 2022: Players To Target Early In Drafts

Though draft strategies vary from casual fantasy football managers to savvy veterans who've played for decades, most of us know the top names. Obviously, Jonathan Taylor, Cooper Kupp, Najee Harris and Justin Jefferson belong atop your list of potential early-round picks this year.

As the clock ticks in the fourth and fifth rounds, you may start to sweat as opponents pick off blue-chip players from your list. Don’t panic.

Several players will outperform their middle-round average draft positions (ADPs). You don’t have to take a wild swing at a pivotal point in the selection process with some surefire high-end contributors on the board.

Each of the seven players below has an ADP (provided by Fantasy Football Calculator) later than the fifth round, but fantasy managers should pick them up at least one round in advance for 12-team point-per-reception leagues. They all have great upside because of their supporting cast or potential for increased scoring opportunities in the upcoming season.

ADP: 6.04

Jalen Hurts has a stable offensive line that features familiar faces from the 2021 campaign, and the Philadelphia Eagles acquired Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans this offseason. Hurts should progress well in his third campaign.

Last season, he threw for 3,144 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions while leading the Eagles in rushing with 784 yards and 10 scores.

This year, Hurts has a high-end wide receiver duo with Brown and Devonta Smith, who caught a team-leading 64 passes for 916 yards and five touchdowns last season. Coming off his most productive term, with 56 receptions for 830 yards and four touchdowns, tight end Dallas Goedert should remain a viable target in the passing game.

Despite his talented pass-catching group, Hurts isn’t likely to lose a significant chunk of his rushing production from the previous campaign. He had a key role in the team's No. 1 rushing offense in 2021.

While Hurts’ rushing numbers may drop a bit with the addition of Brown, he’s still likely to rack up 600-plus yards on foot.

Hurts’ overall numbers could top last year’s QB10 in Kyler Murray, who threw for 3,787 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and rushed for 423 yards and five touchdowns in 14 games.

Stat predictions: 3,869 passing yards, 28 TDs, 13 INTs, 612 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns

ADP: 6.04

This offseason, the Dallas Cowboys traded Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns and lost Cedrick Wilson Jr. to the Miami Dolphins in free agency. Michael Gallup is on the mend from a torn ACL and doesn’t expect to suit up for Week 1.

Despite the losses and a key injury at wide receiver, the Cowboys haven’t added a player at the position. Instead, they can feature running back Tony Pollard in a receiving role more so this year than in the past.

Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore seems confident that Pollard can fill the slot position.

“At Memphis that really was his primary position, at slot receiver,” Moore told reporters. “And then he would kind of go into the backfield, that was his secondary role. He's not going to just run the running back route tree. He can stretch people vertically.”

Last year, Pollard accumulated 1,056 yards (719 rushing and 337 receiving) and two touchdowns from scrimmage. He may not handle a huge rushing workload because owner Jerry Jones still believes Ezekiel Elliott “has to be the focal point” of the offense, but the fourth-year pro should see more targets this year.

In 2021, Austin Ekeler led all running backs in receiving yards with 647. Though Pollard is the Cowboys' No. 2 back, his expanded role could push him close to that number.

Stat predictions: 617 rushing yards, three touchdowns, 64 receptions, 598 receiving yards, two touchdowns

ADP: 6.03

The Denver Broncos lost a key playmaker for the season when wide receiver Tim Patrick tore his ACL during practice a few weeks ago. Last year, he converted 85 targets into 53 receptions for 734 yards and five touchdowns. Without him, quarterback Russell Wilson will have more targets to spread around.

Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy should see plenty of looks in the passing game as KJ Hamler works his way back into a groove after missing all but three games last year because of a torn ACL.

Though running backs Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon III along with tight ends Greg Dulcich and Albert Okwuegbunam will have some involvement in the aerial attack, Jeudy has the upside to break out in 2022.

In his first two seasons, Jeudy played with two low-end starting quarterbacks in Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater. Yet as a rookie, he caught 52 passes for 856 yards and three touchdowns. Last year, he missed seven games because of an ankle injury and a one-week stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

With good health, a significant upgrade at quarterback and a prominent role at wide receiver, Jeudy should begin to fulfill first-round expectations.

Stat predictions: 71 receptions, 1,096 receiving yards, eight touchdowns

ADP: 6.04

The Minnesota Vikings’ shift from defensive-minded head coach Mike Zimmer to new lead skipper Kevin O’Connell, who’s a former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, boosts the value of prominent players in this team’s passing and ground attacks.

SKOR North's Darren Wolfson asked tight end Johnny Mundt about O’Connell’s offensive philosophy.

"It’s a great marriage of the run and the pass, and some very urgent play-calling," Mundt said. "Just an uptempo offense, and it’s going to be very exciting."

As an offensive coordinator, under Los Angeles Rams lead play-caller and head coach Sean McVay, O’Connell coached Mundt. Based on the sixth-year tight end’s insight, Minnesota should have more offensive possessions.

Last year, the Vikings ran 1,083 plays, which ranked 12th leaguewide. Expect them to creep into the top 10 for the 2022 season, resulting in more scoring opportunities.

Adam Thielen isn’t a flashy fantasy selection in the first five rounds, but he’s scored more touchdowns than rising star wide receiver Justin Jefferson (24 to 17) while playing fewer games (28 to 33) over the past two years. The two-time Pro Bowler has also registered 141 receptions for 1,651 yards in that span.

In an offense set to operate at a quicker pace, Thielen may eclipse 925 receiving yards for the first time since the 2018 term if he avoids significant injuries. As quarterback Kirk Cousins’ reliable red-zone target with 22 touchdowns scored within 20 yards of the goal line, he’s an early-round target.

Stat predictions: 76 receptions, 1,010 receiving yards, 11 touchdowns

ADP: 6.12

The Arizona Cardinals acquired Marquise Brown from the Baltimore Ravens during this year’s draft, and he could have his best pro season in a contract term.

Unless the NFL suspends Brown for an arrest that stems from criminal speeding, which seems unlikely, he’ll start the season as the Cardinals' No. 1 wide receiver. Remember, DeAndre Hopkins will serve a six-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

Brown played with quarterback Kyler Murray at Oklahoma, and the tandem had an electric connection through the 2018 term. The wideout caught 75 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns that year.

Fantasy managers should feel confident that Murray and Brown pick up where they left off at Oklahoma.

“It’s going to be a good relationship there,” Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said to reporters about the connection between Murray and Brown. “The way they work out together throughout the offseason, there’s already that bond.”

Hopkins’ absence coupled with Murray’s built-in rapport with Brown should allow the former Raven to jump out to a quick start in 2022. A.J. Green (34 years old) and tight end Zach Ertz (31 years old) are past their respective primes. Rondale Moore has more to prove after he caught 54 passes for 435 yards and a touchdown as a rookie last year.

A week or two before Hopkins returns to action, fantasy managers can try to sell high on Brown or ride his momentum through the campaign.

Stat predictions: 79 receptions, 1,168 receiving yards, seven touchdowns

ADP: 7.01

This year, fantasy managers should watch out for Gabe Davis’ breakout season.

The Buffalo Bills have a high-powered passing offense with quarterback Josh Allen at the helm. The front office didn’t re-sign Cole Beasley or Emmanuel Sanders, who finished second and third on the team, respectively, in targets last year.

New slot wide receiver Jamison Crowder, Isaiah McKenzie and rookie fifth-rounder Khalil Shakir will soak up some of the extra targets, but Davis will likely start alongside star wideout Stefon Diggs.

The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia expects Diggs and Davis to play 90-plus percent of the offensive snaps in 2022. If that’s the case, both wideouts could rack up big receiving numbers in an aerial attack that ranked within the top nine in yards and touchdowns for the 2021 term.

On Saturday against the Denver Broncos, Allen hooked up with Davis on a 28-yard play that resulted in a touchdown. The third-year wideout also caught a 19-yard pass from backup quarterback Case Keenum.

Following a historic playoff performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 AFC divisional round (eight catches for 201 yards and four touchdowns), Davis projects as a high-end, big-play WR2 this year.

Stat predictions: 64 receptions, 1,007 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns

ADP: 6.07

With the departure of Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson Jr. along with Michael Gallup’s recovery from a torn ACL, Dalton Schultz can top his numbers from the 2021 season (78 receptions for 808 yards and eight touchdowns).

If you’re worried about George Kittle's new quarterback situation with Trey Lance or Darren Waller’s 2022 fantasy outlook because of the Las Vegas Raiders’ move to acquire star wide receiver Davante Adams, pick up Schultz early in the draft.

Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore will likely feature Schultz (along with running back Tony Pollard) in the passing game to make up for the team's losses at wide receiver.

Coming off a significant knee injury, Gallup may take some time to produce at a high level as WR2 behind CeeDee Lamb. In the meantime, quarterback Dak Prescott can rely on Schultz, who posted career highs with a loaded pass-catching group last year.

Schultz could finish within the top five in fantasy points among tight ends for the 2022 season because of his established rapport with Prescott and the possibility of an increased target share.

Stat predictions: 84 receptions, 924 total yards, 11 touchdowns

Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.