2022 PPR RANKINGS:QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers | Top 200 | Superflex, Dont get cute. Jonathan Taylor Injury Update Taylor was diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain following Saturday's loss to the Vikings. The FLEX League draft I took part in Saturday with CBS Sports' Jamey Eisenberg and 10 other analysts from around the industry was one draft that featured some pretty surprising early results. The problem is hes never finished a season with 20. Splitting duty with Kareem Hunt has done absolutely nothing to slow or curb the production of Chubb. And with Matt Ryan now replacing Wentz, it's likely Taylor might terrorize the NFL yet again in 2022. That 126.7 per-game average trails just 10 players total throughout the history of the NFL. Most Fantasy Football drafts tend to follow a relatively similar pattern, especially early on. Tier 6 Mid RB2sTravis Etienne, JaguarsDavid Montgomery, BearsBreece Hall, JetsA.J. As our rankings show, we give Taylor the edge as the No. It feels like forever ago when everyone was wondering if Cook would live up to his potential. Pittsburgh has clear issues at QB (moving from retired Big Ben Roethlisberger to either Mitchell Trubisky or Kenny Pickett) and offensive line (ranked the third-worst line by PFF). From Weeks 11 to 17, Taylor was the RB3 with 24.3 fantasy points per game. When it comes to Taylor, we are just scratching the surface on what he is capable of in . Dillon, but he should see more work as a pass catcher in a new-look Packers offense that no longer has Davante Adams. Chubb should remain the pounder in the Browns offense, but hell lose touches to Kareem Hunt in a shared backfield. 98 RB Damien Harris NE 10 $12. Hes averaged just 21.5 targets per season under Stefanskis play-calling. Hall is also a very talented three-down back, but as a rookie in a team expected to struggle to win games, his touches could be controlled. A case can be made for either Taylor at Henry as first off the board but passing on either of them for a wild card with health risks could have dire consequences. Matt RYa should only improve the stud RBs chances to duplicate his dominant run from a season ago. Tier 4 Low RB1sAaron Jones, PackersSaquon Barkley, GiantsJavonte Williams, Broncos. McCaffrey has missed all but 10 games the last two year due to injuries, but he averaged around 30 fantasy points per game in 2018 and was over that total in four games last season. Jonathan Taylor puts the @Colts ahead! Last season, Taylor was the best running back in fantasy, averaging 22 PPR fantasy points per game (ppg). No player came close to sniffing his amount of volume near paydirt. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: nfl | pageType: stories | Tier 12 Low HandcuffsDamien Williams, FalconsMark Ingram, SaintsZamir White, RaidersD'Onta Foreman, PanthersBrian Robinson, Jr., CommandersTyler Allgeier, FalconsDontrell Hilliard, TitansJoshua Kelley, Chargers. Click here to confirm your accessLogin Now. Expectations are this will not be a direct split, but Gordon should still take enough of the pie to hurt Williams fantasy output. Matt Brandon Oct 6th 5:45 PM EDT. Taylor is running for 89.3 yds on the ground per game so far in his career. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings 3.. 47. . Besides Taylor, Ekeler was the only other back to average 21.0 PPR points between Week 1 and Week 17 last season. Henry is a cyborg, simply put, and can do it all -- from running around and through defenders with ease, to running past them with speed unnatural to his size, to catching the ball out of the backfield to throwing it. You don't currently have any notifications, Get custom advice with our Draft Assistant. Kamara is one of the halfbacks on this list who recently landed his bag, but it hasn't altered his approach to the game. For Barkley and McCaffrey, however, it's time to become what they once were, or be pushed aside entirely. Fantasy managers looking for some late-round running backs should consider the likes of Ingram, White, Allgeier, Hilliard, Williams and Ingram, who could all see bigger roles if injuries occur to the starting running backs ahead of them. Additionally, as it relates to who belongs in the top 10, there's also something to be said for having skins on the wall, and while some of the promising up-and-comers -- one in particular notwithstanding (scroll down) -- have a lot to look forward to, they simply haven't also been producing for as long as Jones has. While Taylor was dominant last season, Henry was arguably even better in 20. All Rights Reserved. There are expectations he will take a bigger role in the passing game, but could losing goal-line work to AJ Dillon offset that? Translation: They matter, and in a major way. The back-to-back rushing champ in 2019 and 20, Henry easily led the NFL in every major rushing stat category the last time we saw him play a full season. He enters his . And now, as Fields and Co. become acclimated to a new coaching staff, Montgomery will have to serve as the security blanket for the Bears' offense -- a role he's not entirely unfamiliar with -- providing impact as both a runner and a receiver. I'm unquestionably stronger at TE, and while Lance has incredible upside, Mahomes has already done it. Austin Ekeler, D'Andre Swift, and Dalvin Cook all went ahead of Kupp, but then so did Justin Jefferson, making him, not Kupp, the No. During his 17 games this season, Najee Harris is averaging 61.1 yards per contest and has crossed the goal line 7 different times on the ground. Ekeler will likely see touchdown regression, but hes a dual-threat back with a high points-per-touch average who plays in an explosive Chargers offense. This is a 4 star matchup. Mattison, Williams and Gainwell are among the top options, and the latter two could have standalone flex value at times regardless. He was a top-5 runner last season before suffering a knee injury that had him running in quicksand in the second half. 1 in PPRs with just 30-40 catches. Hes carried the ball 579 different times for an average of 3.9 YPC. As you can see, Jamey waited on tight end and quarterback, ending up with intriguing breakout candidates in Kmet and Lance, plus a steady, borderline top-12 QB in Cousins in case Lance busts. NFL Preview Preview Week 10 Running Back Rankings for Fantasy Football: Nick Chubb, Travis Etienne, Jonathan Taylor, Najee Harris After a flurry of running back injuries early in the. However, Elliott is still expected to take the majority of carries, limiting Pollards upside. Copyright 2010- FantasyPros.com The hope is that new head coach Brian Daboll will be able to resurrect the Barkley we knew when he was a rookie. And he's primed for positive TD regression entering the final year of his rookie deal. Similarly, a back with elite pass-catching ability also has more opportunities to score TDs. 1 pick. RB, Steelers. Fournette averaged a career-high 18.3 fantasy points per game a season ago, and hell remain the top back in a Buccaneers offense that will score lots of points. #ForTheShoe @JayT23. His sheer all-purpose yardage numbers and TD volume make him a cant-miss pick, especially considering his age (23) and his health (he played all 17 games last season). Jones is going to lose carries to A.J. Start Over | Edit Players Summary Game Log Stats Projections Points Targets Notes See if your team wins or loses with this trade. Kamara, who has looked great in camp, should be a top-10 fantasy runner as long as he isnt faced with an in-season suspension for an off-field issue. Coming off of last weeks loss to the Bengals, the Steelers team seems defeated. If the Steelers can improve their offensive line and Kenny Pickett takes a step forward in his second year, Harris should be a low-end RB1. Gainwell could even push Sanders for touches, and Mostert would see more work if Edmonds were to go down, but he's clearly in the top two in Miami's backfield rotation. Harris scored a touchdown in three of his last four games. When Taylor first returned from injury (Weeks 10-13) he ranked as the RB3 overall. For all these reasons, he maintains an automatic edge over everyone else in this tier. 2, well go with Harris by a nose-hair over Ekeler just because of volume and injury history. Not everyone agrees on the exact order the top players should be going off the board in, but there's a pretty strong consensus, to the point where you rarely find yourself surprised by much. He also took Kupp in the fourth round of that one, and he very well could end up with a similarly productive duo this time around. J.K. DobbinsCordarrelle PattersonElijah MitchellChase EdmondsMiles SandersTony PollardDevin SingletaryKareem HuntAntonio Gibson. Edmonds' stock is on the rise after the Dolphins released Sony Michel. Still, I think Jamey made out quite nicely with those two players falling coming off a championship in this league where he had Jonathan Taylor fall to the second round because of injuries to his quarterback and starting center around the time of the draft. While 1.2 touchdowns per game over this stretch isn't sustainable, Taylor usually saw the field for 55-65% of the offensive snaps and handled the vast majority of the running back carries. 2022 FANTASY SLEEPERS:QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | One from each team. Singletary looks like the leader in the Bills backfield, making him a viable middle-round flex starter. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. Many Fantasy players prefer to not double-up on the QB/TE combo in the early rounds, and you can see the sacrifices you have to make in doing so by just looking at Jamey and I's teams next to each other. That makes it more important than ever to put your players into positional tiers. Unlike my regular player rankings, which you can also find on Sports Illustrated, tiers group players of similar value together. Harris had a strong finish to the season and will bounce back in 2023 at full health and pay off for where he's drafted. Akers has lost value in drafts as he heads into what looks like a committee with Henderson. Are you looking to contact Customer Support about a subscription or account related question? Hes locked into massive volume behind one of the best run-blocking offensive lines in the league. But understandably, you want to make the best decisions on every investment in every round. Of course, nobody will call you a donkey for opting instead for King Henry. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. He has good hands, catching nearly 85 percent of his 90 targets through his first two seasons. Pro Football Network, LLC. And he does all of his damage in the most buttoned-up manner possible, reminiscent of how Barry Sanders used to operate. Should the Steelers undergo an offensive surge in Kenny Pickett's second season, Harris could easily get back into the top-tier fantasy RB tier. We should expect something closer to his 332 rush, 1811 rushing yards, 18 TD season in the next few years. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the. Start free trial today. Stevenson should split the workload with Damien Harris in New England, and Edwards-Helaire will share touches with Jerick McKinnon in what looks like a committee in Kansas City. . Jonathan Taylor Nick Chubb Rhamondre Stevenson 1. If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. Jones has a huge variation in his ranking among our analysts. The Steelers rookie running back managed a league-leading 381 touches in 2021, and finished as the RB4 in half-point scoring as a result. The case for Jonathan Taylor over Nick Chubb. . Now both teams are just trying to be competitive every week. His average yards per carry sits at 5.1 and he has toted the ball 756 times. - Super Bowl VIEW ADVICE Start Over | Edit Players Summary Game Log Stats Projections Points Targets Notes Expert Voting Can't Decide? The Chargers let Melvin Gordon walk because of their belief in Ekeler, and it was well-founded. Taylor, who finished second in the NFL behind only Pittsburgh's Najee Harris is forced missed tackles per touch with 76 last season, somehow finished outside of the top 10 at No. Cuff options: Jonathan Taylor, Jordan Wilkins, Marlon Mack Review: The Colts' line is among the best when healthy, and early injuries worries have been somewhat abated. Thats the reason hes not among my RB1s heading into drafts. Are you looking to contact Customer Support about a subscription or account related question? JT's usage was that of a top-8 running back - 8th in expected points per game, 4th in touches per game (20) - but a lack of touchdowns decimated his fantasy stock in the Colts' anemic offense. We are inching closer to the start of the 2022 NFL season, and with that were seeing an obvious increase in the number of fantasy drafts. Thats the $100,000 question in Denvers backfield. He had higher grades on Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor and LSU's Clyde Edwards-Helaire last year than the 2021 class. By using a tiered approach, fantasy managers can see where the next drop-off in talent is and make decisions about whether they need to invest in the current tier or if theyre able to wait. Furthermore, the former BYU star had 13 career rushing touchdowns entering the year. It's easy to look at the success of the Bengals in 2021 and forget what it took for them to get there, which is to say what Mixon had to fight through to keep the team relevant and to ultimately still be around in Cincinnati for it. 2022 STANDARD RANKINGS:QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers | Top 200| Superflex. 4 back with upside. We are predicting the Steelers go into Lucas Oil Stadium ad come away with the upset in. He has been placed on IR and won't return in 2022. Perhaps Jonathan Taylor has lost a step after enduring a heavy workload last season. Among rushers w/ 125 or ^ rushing attempts (per @FTNData), 76.5% of his rushing yds have come after contact pic.twitter.com/uxFU4uiSPy, Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) January 13, 2022, Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio. Im projecting Foreman as the top handcuff for CMC, but Chuba Hubbard is also in the mix for the Panthers. King Henry could easily be the rushing champ again before his reign ends, but dont waste a top PPR pick on a volume-dependent back with little receiving pedigree less than nine months removed from a foot injury. Michael Carter is a solid pass-catching RB, and the Jets could be throwing a lot in the second half this season. Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers. Harris will see goal-line work, though, making him a low flex. At 23, he sure seems like the best bet regardless of format. Taylor played all 17 regular-season games in 21 and looked fine despite the massive usage. At the age of 23 (this season), Taylor should remain a fantasy star. 1 pick, Commanders rip 'blatantly false' team sale report, Richardson logs colossal measurements at combine, Top QB in draft has one team he doesn't want to play for. Having battled injury early in his promising career, he's since overcome that dark cloud -- mostly -- and become everything the Vikings could have hoped for. Luckily, Harris accomplished just that, earning a PFF grade over 88.1 in his final three seasons at Alabama. Najee Harris Highlights (2020)alabama heisman running back college football jukes trucks hits That December, when the weather got colder and defenses started wearing down, he bumped up to 5.9 yards per carry. The Pittsburgh Steelers running back took a slight step backward in his second season, falling to RB14 in points per game after a top-5 fantasy season as a rookie. The most notable deletion from this list entirely is Saquon Barkley, who has lately seen injury derail his potential to be a generational talent, and McCaffrey is treading dangerously close to falling victim to the same dark entity. 6-keys: media/fantasynews/nfl/reg/free/stories, at He also added 467 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the air. Its hard to go wrong with this group. Hero RB is receiver-centric. Edmonds is a similar story. Finally looked healthy down 2022 stretch (was RB5 over last 10), could be huge rebound candidate. We dont doubt that Harris will enjoy another volume-heavy campaign we just remain skeptical of his ability to capitalize on his touches. Of course, the elephant in the room is going to be health. Quite simply, he combined superior talent with opportunity. Chubbs fantasy value in PPR is severely limited by his lack of targets in the past two years. 02 Mar 2023 21:32:29 The Chargers have a top-12 offensive line according to PFF and a top-five offense according to 21 stats (scoring and yardage), so the fantasy goodness should carry over to 22 as long as Professor Ek stays healthy. Hell be a top-five pick. Still, Ekelers injury history could make drafters squeamish. Taylor was so potent in his destruction of opposing defenses that he remained in the MVP conversation throughout and landed Offensive Player of the Year honors, having racked up 1,811 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns while adding 360 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns to his stat line. Are you looking to contact Customer Support about a subscription or account related question? Jonathan Taylor is the better back but Najee Harris has shown steady improvement the last two weeks. McCaffrey has hovered around a 90-percent catch rate over the past two seasons, and he averaged 4.5 yards per carry and 9.0 yards per catch over seven games last year. However, it still makes sense because you must be rigid with only selecting the running backs who can anchor the RB1 spot while maintaining flexibility within the first two rounds to avoid missing elite receivers.