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Rankings are fun, but they don’t always tell the whole story. In this series, I’ll take a closer look at my 2022 Redraft Rankings, providing context for a handful of players that I have ranked well above or below ADP consensus. This time around, I’ll be focusing on the RB position. Make sure you check out my full Redraft Rankings before your draft gets underway!
Rankings are fun, but they don’t always tell the whole story. In this series, I’ll take a closer look at my 2022 Redraft Rankings, providing context for a handful of players that I have ranked well above or below ADP consensus. We’ll start with the QB position. Make sure you check out my full Redraft Rankings before your draft gets underway!
I haven’t done a mock draft in years, aside from a couple of rookie mocks for DFF earlier this offseason where we published our results. I have been doing cheap $10 and $35 dollar buy-in best ball leagues for years and pretended as though I was mocking. I was experimenting, I was reaching, and I was trying to see how far I could take a certain strategy from an early, mid, or late draft slot before that strategy breaks (in my pre-September mind). I have treated those best ball drafts as research. It’s what most people call mocking, but I do it with live drafts with real money.
Jameson Williams was a four-star prospect out of St. Louis, MO who broke Ezekiel Elliott’s 300-meter hurdle state record in high school. He starred both on the football field and the track and after a difficult decision between Alabama, Oregon, and Ohio State, eventually committed to the Buckeyes. Williams played sparingly as a reserve and special-teamer during his true freshman season. Williams started six games in 2020 but caught just nine passes for 154 yards and two scores as the fourth option in a loaded wide receiver depth chart that included Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave, and Garrett Wilson at the time.
Welcome to the second installment of Tournament Drafting, the series in which I break down my entries for Underdog’s Best Ball Mania III and The Puppy. As I did in the first installment, I will be sharing my thoughts on roster construction, stacking, game theory, ADP, and everything in between. Let’s dive into this bizarre and frustrating draft.
Allen Robinson at WR32 was just silly value. Robinson is still in his prime and one year removed from back-to-back WR1 seasons with Mitchell Trubisky. Now he’s playing with Matthew Stafford in a high-powered offense. He can easily post high-end WR2 numbers playing alongside Cooper Kupp, and the sky is the limit if an injury occurs.
The DFF Army banded together once again for another 2022 DFF Superflex Rookie Mock–post Draft! Now that we have seen where all of the top talent that college football has to offer has landed, it’s time to update those draft rankings. Below is the breakdown from every author on the final round!
With the NFL Draft in the rear-view mirror and Rookie minicamps underway, Redraft season is soon approaching. While the average draft position of many players will fluctuate as the summer rolls along, here are two names I’m currently targeting in Redraft leagues.
A talented back who boasts NFL-ready size, strength, and speed, Jerome Ford landed in a decent spot with Cleveland. Though his fifth-round draft capital is lower than desired, he will have an opportunity to learn behind a talented stable of RBs in Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and D’Ernest Johnson. Ford does have more than adequate hands, so he could potentially be used in a change of pace, two-minute, or third down role this season if there is an injury or two ahead of him. He will most likely never serve as a lead back in the NFL, but pass-catching backs who garner 10-15 touches a game (which could be in his future as early as 2023) carry fantasy value. Expect to see him selected in the middle of the third round of your dynasty rookie drafts.
As a true freshman, Christian Harris was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, starting 12 of 13 appearances (63 tackles, 7.5 for loss). Harris played through a shoulder injury during the Crimson Tide’s run to the 2020 national championship, making 79 tackles, seven TFLs, 4.5 sacks, and one INT. He started all 15 games of the 2021 season, again making 79 stops, 12.5 TFLs, and 5.5 sacks. He also recorded three pass breakups and two forced fumbles. Harris has shown reliability and toughness throughout his collegiate career.
Jaquan Brisker should leapfrog all the safeties taken ahead of him except Kyle Hamilton in rookie safety ranks. His only competition to start alongside rangy Eddie Jackson is a career back-up, Deandre Houston Carson. Better yet, the Bears have a new defensive coordinator in Alan Williams, most recently the Colts’ defensive backs coach. He and Matt Eberflus, the 2021 Colts defensive coordinator and 2022 Bears head coach, demonstrated a preference for a disparity in deployment between safeties. Julian Blackmon played the vast majority of his snaps deep while Khari Willis more frequently played closer to the line of scrimmage. The veteran Jackson can reasonably expect to be relied upon in a single-high role more often than the rookie Brisker. Brisker’s toughness in the box compares favorably with that of Jackson.
Anderson joins a thin LB corps in Atlanta and a group of players that have struggled in the NFL. Deion Jones was once considered a rising star, but 2022 is likely his last chance to avoid the fate of an NFL journeyman. The other starter is likely Rashaan Evans, a former first-rounder that couldn’t earn a second contract in Tennessee. The presumptive third linebacker, Mykal Walker, hasn’t gained any traction. Anderson might not seem ready to overtake any of them this summer. Besides, the Falcons’ 2021 second-rounder, safety Richie Grant, couldn’t earn a significant role as a rookie. Anderson, however, has succeeded at everything he’s tried and is a far superior athlete to any of his aforementioned teammates.
Nakobe Dean came in and produced as a true freshman at Georgia, earning the team’s Co-Defensive Newcomer of the Year Award (25 tackles, 1.5 for loss, two pass breakups). He led the Bulldogs with 71 tackles (1.5 sacks) in his first season as a full-time starter as a sophomore. Dean played through a torn labrum in his shoulder that season. In 2021, Dean was a first-team Associated Press All-American and All-SEC selection after recording 72 tackles, a team-high 10.5 for loss with six sacks, two interceptions (one returned for a TD), six pass breakups, and two forced fumbles in 15 starts for the national champions.
Walker was a four-star recruit from Cordele, Georgia, and ESPN’s second-ranked recruit at his position. He opted to play for his home-state team, the Georgia Bulldogs, where he took time to develop and emerge. After three years in Athens as a rotational piece, he established himself as a starter for UGa’s 2022 national championship defense. He started all 15 games, collecting 67 tackles including 5.5 for loss and 1.5 QB sacks along with three passes defensed and a fumble recovery.
Mafe was a three-star recruit from Hopkins, Minnesota who opted to play for his home-state team, the Golden Gophers. The redshirt senior took time to develop and emerge at the University of Minnesota despite an athletic profile extraordinary in the Twin Cities. He started 13 of a possible 19 games in his last two seasons according to The Football Database, collecting 61 tackles including 15.5 for loss and 11.5 QB sacks.
Ebiketie was a three-star recruit from Kensington, Maryland who began his college career at Temple. He didn’t emerge until his junior year but parlayed his performance in a pandemic-shortened season into a scholarship at Penn State. He replaced Odafe Oweh, a first-round pick of the Ravens last year, and capitalized on his opportunity. Ebiketie collected 62 tackles including 18 for loss and 9.0 sacks while starting all 12 games for the Nittany Lions in 2021.
While at first, you may wonder about the landing spot, since Jacksonville just signed Foye Oluokun to a big deal, let us consider the entire picture. Foye is an undersized weakside LB, where he excelled in Atlanta the past two years. Devin Lloyd fills the prototypical three-down middle Linebacker role. Also, remember that Jacksonville traded up to make this selection, which tells how highly they think of Lloyd. The Jaguars project to play a lot of snaps on defense in the coming seasons, so Lloyd can really pay dividends as an IDP investment. Expect to see him drafted in the early-to-mid second round of IDP dynasty rookie drafts.
While he didn’t crush the athletic testing at the NFL Scouting Combine, Hamilton still performed fine. He recorded a 4.59 40-yard dash time and a 38-inch vertical jump. His broad jump was 132 inches and his three-cone time was a respectable 6.90. He chose not to participate in the bench press. Hamilton has a unique blend of size, athletic ability, and experience which make him capable of playing literally anywhere on the field.
Another former Freshman All-American drafted in the first round here, Davis started four games in his true freshman season before becoming a regular starter as a sophomore. He stayed for his senior season and dominated everyone he played up front. Davis won the Chuck Bednarik Award and also won the Outland Trophy as one of the top defenders in the country. He posted 5.5 TFLs and two sacks in his senior season while being double and sometimes triple-teamed every play.
Kayvon Thibodeaux was a five-star recruit and the consensus No. 1 recruit of the 2019 class coming out of Los Angeles’ Oaks Christian High School. The USA Today High School Defensive Player of the Year had 54 sacks in four years (two at Dorsey High School) and enrolled early at Oregon to contribute immediately the following fall. Thibodeaux has been a favorite of your author’s for the past three seasons and should have been definitely considered as the number one overall pick.
A top-10 defensive end recruit and the Wolverines’ Rookie of the Year in 2018, Aidan Hutchinson had a mediocre sophomore season and a junior season cut short by a broken leg. There were concerns about how he would respond to the surgery, but in 2021 he exceeded his high expectations in his senior season. Hutchinson posted 14 sacks, 16.5 TFLs, and 62 tackles while forcing two fumbles and breaking up three passes. He was a voted first-team Associated Press All-American and Big Ten Conference Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and Defensive Lineman of the Year.
Travon Walker was a five-star recruit coming out in 2019. He was named to the Freshman All-SEC Team in his first year at Georgia with 15 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, and 2.5 sacks as a true freshman. He played as a reserve in 2020 with decent numbers before becoming a lynchpin on the edge for the National Champion Georgia Bulldogs in 2021. He recorded 37 stops, 7.5 TFLs with six sacks, and two pass breakups.
At Dynasty Football Factory, we are always trying to become the best version of ourselves in all facets of the fantasy game. That is why we like to expand our horizons every chance we can and do things outside of our comfort zone. In comes our redraft league, where myself and 13 other staff members participated in. So today I invite you to grab something to drink, get comfortable and I’ll tell you the tale of how I brought out my boomstick and decimated the league, going 13-1 and walking away with the title and an overall record of 15-1. I’ll recap my draft and my thought process behind it along with the moves that made me look like Rainman at the blackjack tables in Vegas and not some idiot having to eat a “one chip challenge” because Houston won more than two games.
With another large slate and a lot of expected player incentives, there are some important values that you cannot miss out on in this Week 18 slate! So let’s get ready to dig in! Also, don’t forget to create multiple lines and diversify your lineups to prevent unforeseen ‘busts’.
If you have one final matchup here in Week 18, enjoy it. Most leagues have already finished, but if your league decided to extend the championship round to this week, you need to capitalize on some streaming options. Let’s win this final matchup together. As always, we will provide the best weekly options to stream at quarterback, tight end, and D/ST. Keep in mind, each streaming option will be below 50% owned, according to ESPN leagues.