🗝️ The Skeleton Key To 2022 Is This Team

Patrick Mahomes has some options...

In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter:

If you could know the final 2022 stat line of one player in the fantasy pool who would you choose?

For me, I think it would have to be a WR or RB on the Kansas City Chiefs.

For an offense we know is going to be good (10.5 win total) and put up a ton of points, there is so much uncertainty about who specifically is going to rack up the production.

After Travis Kelce, a consensus Top 15 pick in almost all formats, it's completely up for debate on who is going to lead these WR and RB groups. They each go a legit four deep and I think you could make a case for any of them to lead the team in scoring:

WRs: JuJu Smith Schuster (5th Round), Skyy Moore (8th Round), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (8th Round), and Mecole Hardman (11th Round)

Smith-Schuster feels like he could be this year's Cooper Kupp with a solid resume and a massive QB upgrade...Moore is a rookie with a great prospect profile who has been lighting up camp...Valdes-Scantling is the quintessential "better in best ball" player who could thrive in the downfield role vacated by Tyreek Hill...and Hardman is the post- post-hype sleeper who is perennially in the mix.

RBs: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (8th Round), Ronald Jones (13th Round), Isiah Pacheco (16th Round), and Jerick McKinnon (17th Round)

CEH is the dissapointing incumbent who should still get first crack at the RB1 role...Rojo is the best pure interior rusher on the team, but has always been held back by various mistakes...The rookie Pacheco has received non stop praise from beat reporters and feels legitimately in the mix...McKinnon is the veteran pass catcher who was legit good as the team's bellcow in the playoffs.

I don't think there is a wrong answer on how to play these groups. I want to be taking stabs on all of them across my drafts. The potential for one or two of these names to finish as Top 15 options at the position is high.

Load up on Chiefs and let the chips fall where they may.

💥 The alpha WR having an "incredible camp." He's also "won on every route in every situation."

💪 The top "Big Play" RBs in the league. Nick Chubb is obvious, but there are some surprises on this chart.

📺 What to watch for during the first week of preseason. Lots of question marks at RB.

🤝 The top college teammate duos now on the same NFL team. The bond is strong with these six pairs.

⛔ The TE you should be fading in drafts. It's not looking good for this NFC West vet.

🤓 The best drafters have these 7 things in common. Very nice list here.

📚 How to build at RB, WR, and TE for best ball playoffs. Great piece by NBC's Pat Kerrane here.

We talk a lot about the players to target around here, but avoiding the landmine players is just as important. Avoiding players is rarely about the player themselves, it's all about the cost. Today, Cooterdoodle shares two players he's avoiding in drafts right now...

❌ DK Metcalf (Redraft ADP - WR26)

Red Flags:

• High price tag at current ADP

• Loss of Mr. Unlimited, Russell Wilson, to Denver

• SEA QBs: Battle of the B-listers

This is an easy fade for me. DK Metcalf is being drafted in the 4th round while uncertainty continues to linger over which unproven quarterback will be throwing him the ball. Behind door one: A guy that has played in the league since 2013, never throwing more than 13 TDs in a single season. Behind door two: A guy that threw 16 TDs and 15 INTs in 2020.

Metcalf’s high draft price isn’t surprising considering he finished 4th amongst all WRs in touchdowns last season. In fact, Metcalf brought in 967 yards and 12 TDs with Wilson in 2021. But for Metcalf to score touchdowns in 2022, the team will have to actually… score touchdowns. Look me in the eyes and tell me Geno Smith or Drew Lock can put more points on the board than Wilson did. I dare ya.

Instead, let’s look behind door three where we have multiple WRs to choose from. Players near Metcalf’s ADP that are tied to better QBs: Jerry Jeudy and Rashod Bateman. Players being drafted after Metcalf that have higher ceilings and safer floors: Michael Thomas, Darnell Mooney, and Elijah Moore. The bottom line: If you have to take risks in the early rounds of your draft, take players on offenses that you’re confident in.

❌ Miles Sanders (Redraft ADP - RB27)

Red Flags:

• Miles Sanders admits he can’t give us the points we want

• History repeats itself 

• Lack of TDs

• A Rushing QB

I’ll keep this short and sweet. Sanders may be talented, but he is just not a good pickup for fantasy purposes. In the last three years Sanders has scored a total of nine rushing TDs. NINE. IN THREE YEARS. To put this into perspective, his QB, Jalen Hurts, rushed for 10 TDs in 2021 alone.

With an average ADP of 81 (Underdog ADP), I’d much rather Tony Pollard at that spot. Or better yet, grab AJ Dillon two rounds earlier and call it a day. If you want the Eagles RB1, draft Hurts. Because as Sanders said, “Don't pick me up on fantasy.”

Season long drafts are just around the corner. In this new series, our contributors will get you prepared from all twelve of the first round draft slots. Today, Kendall shares how to attack a draft from the first pick...

Congratulations, while your draft may present some difficult decisions picking at the 1.01 spot will not.

The question here is which elite running back to take and I think the answer is simple: Jonathan Taylor. There is a case in drafting Christian McCaffrey first overall, because when healthy he is one of the best fantasy football players. Rolling the dice and taking McCaffrey could yield some slight name calling from your leaguemates, but overall considering McCaffrey’s injuries throughout his career have not resulted in a major surgery there is some hope that he could finally play a whole season and return to fantasy.

If you want the safer (and in my opinion better) option then Taylor is the guy for you. Leading the NFL in rushing yards (1,811) and rushing touchdowns (18) in 2021 is no small feat and the ceiling is high for Taylor in year three. Be warned, it is incredibly difficult for any running back to repeat as the overall fantasy RB1 – it hasn’t been done since 2007. However, Taylor sets you up perfectly for that Anchor RB and allows you to focus on elite wide receivers in your next few picks.

The Anchor RB strategy has you build around one early-round RB (taken in the first or second round), before using the rest of your early-round picks on positions like WR or TE. So when it comes to making your second and third picks you can jump on elite tight ends like Mark Andrews or Kyle Pitts and focus on wide receivers that could be available like Tyreek Hill, Tee Higgins, A.J. Brown, and Michael Pittman.

The 1.01 spot can be a blessing and a curse. Always remember things will probably not go according to plan, so being flexible will help you draft a well-balanced roster.

Training camp is a time filled with misdirection, coach speak, and most importantly, overreactions. In this new series, our contributors will sort through the headlines and video highlights to figure out what players are on the rise. Geoff is here to kick things off with Romeo Doubs.

A month ago you could have had Romeo Doubs for free at the end of your best ball drafts. Now – after one lunch with Aaron Rodgers – the 4th-round pick out of Nevada has risen all the way into the 12th-round.

Jokes aside, Doubs has a lot more than a seat next to Rodgers at the cafeteria table going for him. At 6’2 205 he’s not huge but is also bigger than many slot receivers and his athleticism has allowed him to dominate at every level of football. As a senior, he caught 80 passes in 11 games and posted 12 receptions over 20 yards, but was also active in the screen game, an area Green Bay’s offense excels in.

A lot of those screens and other routes are now up for grabs with the departure of Davante Adams. From a depth chart perspective, two of his main competitors for snaps Sammy Watkins and Christian Watson have been dealing with injuries while Allen Lazard seems unlikely to demand Adams-level volume.

It’s easy to write off Doubs given he was a fourth-round pick, but in any other draft year, he likely would have pushed for second-round status. The depth at wide receiver in the draft may have hidden a true gem and, for fantasy purposes (given that he’s attached to Aaron Rodgers) you’re likely going to need to be early to the party or risk missing out completely.

Verdict: Roll with Romeo. Doubs’ landing spot and versatility are going to lead to legit opportunities. Even with his latest ascension, he looks like a great pick at his current ADP.