2022 Fantasy Football Breakout Players: Week 1

2022 Fantasy Football Breakout Players: Week 1

The NFL Season is here! And, as most of you know incredibly well, it’s never a bad time to start talking fantasy football, especially potential breakout players to help fill out your roster (or lineup) each week!

Throughout the season, we are going to look at a few breakout players that you could add (or not add, if you so choose)! In Week 1, it can be a little tricky because nobody has played a regular season game. So, we’re throwing darts at a few players that could — key word: could — breakout against their respective opponents.

Let’s dive into it!

Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers

This one might be a long shot, but it’s for good reason.

Doubs, a fourth-round selection out of Nevada (Go Wolf Pack!) in the 2022 NFL Draft, garnered perhaps the most preseason hype of any Packers player heading into the 2022 NFL season. If you’re getting talked up as much as Doubs did throughout training camp and preseason by Aaron Rodgers as a rookie, you’re doing something right.

To help his case, the Packers kickoff the season against the Minnesota Vikings, who had one of the worst pass defenses in the league last year. While that should be much improved under new leadership, there’s still could be some concerns on the back end. Doubs will be fighting for targets behind veteran receivers Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Sammy Watkins, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Doubs broke out — especially if he’s able to stretch the field as well as he’s capable of doing — in Week 1.

Could Romeo Doubs emerge in Packers offense in 2022?

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

O.K., this might not be as big of a breakout candidate. But with a new head coach whose name doesn’t start with a U and rhymes with dryer, Lawrence should be poised for a breakout season.

He struggled, at times, last season, but capped-off the season well with a 23-for-32 outing with two touchdowns against a good Colts defense in a Week 18 disaster for Indianapolis. The Commanders, who were perhaps the biggest letdown defensively fantasy-wise a year ago and will be without their prized 2020 first-round selection Chase Young.

Even though Jacksonville’s on the road, I’m betting on Doug Pederson — who might know the Commanders’ defense better than anyone on Jacksonville’s roster — to come up with a good game plan for Lawrence to be a big fantasy breakout in Week 1.

Elijah Mitchell, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Mitchell’s fantasy dipped slightly entering 2022 because he missed six games due to injury. Though the 2021 sixth-round pick (No. 194 overall) rushed for 963 yards on nearly five yards per carry and five scores in those 11 games — which would equate to 1,488 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in a 17-game schedule.

With the departures of Khalil Mack, Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks, Chicago’s front-seven outside of Roquan Smith has taken a precipitous drop-off. The Niners have a second-year quarterback behind center with Trey Lance. And I expect them to ease him into the game with the run game, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mitchell breakout Week 1 on the road in the Windy City.

Mike Davis, RB, Baltimore Ravens

The ceiling on this pick is solely based on the availability of J.K. Dobbins, who “has a chance to play” after recovering from an ACL injury suffered last year.

If I were a betting man, I would say Dobbins plays, but his role will be significantly limited compared to if he was at full strength. If not, Davis, entering his 8th season in the league, is a decent-enough back to generate some production behind a physical Ravens offensive line.

This is ultimately a “might breakout, might not, but let’s put him on there anyways” pick. The Ravens’ roulette of running backs last year was top-five in rushing yards and yards per carry across the NFL last season. It’s a flyer worth consideration if you’re in an incredibly deep league and down a running back (particularly Dobbins, if he doesn’t play) Week 1.

Jameis Winston, QB, New Orleans Saints

Jameis Winston threw for 1,170 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions — albeit completing only 59 percent of his passes — in seven games last year and will now have Jarvis Landry and rookie Chris Olave at his disposal. Depending on how the rest of your roster shakes out, he might be the perfect quarterback to start in a superflex league against the 2022 Atlanta Falcons. I’m all in on the Jameis Train. Well, at least for this week.

Jameis Winston Might Be the Sneakiest Buy Low Option for Fantasy In 2022

A Few Honorable Mentions: Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Dolphins; Christian Kirk, WR, Jaguars; Hunter Renfrow, WR, Raiders; Albert Okwuegbunam, TE, Broncos; Rondale Moore, WR, Cardinals; Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Eagles

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