Biggest Fantasy Losers From The 2022 NFL Draft
With the 2022 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, we are going to take a peek into the future and look ahead to fantasy football season. It is only April, but it is never too early to be looking at big boards and mapping out what players you want to draft for your team. There were some big winners from this draft, but on the other side of that coin, there were some big losers as well. We take a look at the five biggest losers after this draft.
#5: Justin Fields (QB, Chicago)
Common sense would tell you that teams should be investing all they can in their young, franchise quarterback, right? Well in Chicago they don’t believe that. While they did not pick until the second round, they decided to reach for Velus Jones in the draft, and that was it. Chicago has never had a 4,000-yard season in the history of their franchise, and I really had hoped this would be the year that that record would be broken. But this off-season was not kind to Fields, and I wouldn’t touch Fields with a ten-foot pole this draft season.
#4: Antonio Gibson (RB, Washington)
When healthy, Antonio Gibson is among the better fantasy running backs in the league. But, the Washington Commanders spent good money to re-sign J.D. McKissic and went out and drafted Brian Robinson out of Alabama in the third round. Gibson looks to be the RB1 in Washington, but this backfield is becoming crowded, and Robinson has a chance to be a guy in this league. Towards the end of the year, I could see touches dwindle a little for Gibson.
#3: Ryan Tannehill (QB, Tennessee)
The Tennessee Titans had Julio Jones and A.J. Brown to throw to last season. Neither of those guys remains on the roster, and Tennessee is attempting to replace Brown With Treylon Burks out of Arkansas. Going into the 2022 NFL Draft, I was not terribly high on Burks as I didn’t really understand what kind of role he could fill right out of the gate. Burks likely becomes a WR1 for this team, but with his skill set in question, Tannehill might have his hands full this upcoming season.
#2: Michael Carter (RB, New York Jets)
I liked both of these North Carolina running backs coming out last year. While Javonte Williams shined earlier for the Broncos, towards the end of the year Michael Carter started to strut his stuff and show very good fantasy potential. However, the Jets traded up and drafted Breece Hall. You don’t trade up and take the first running back in the draft because you view him as a backup. Hall likely starts the season as RB1 for the Jets and Carter steps back into a backup role.
#1: Chase Claypool (WR, Pittsburgh)
I am going to try and be partial with this one because I am both a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and a Chase Claypool hater. Here we go.
Claypool was drafted 49th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. He looked to be a great addition to the Steelers’ offense because he can be a swiss army knife. In his rookie year, he had 62 catches for 873 yards and 9 TDs. His second year took a major decline in production, only recording two receiving touchdowns. In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Steelers drafted Kenny Pickett to come in and compete for the starting job (don’t get me started) but also drafted two receivers in George Pickens from Georgia and Calvin Austin III from Memphis. Both Pickens and Austin have the talent to compete for starting jobs, which leaves Claypool towards the bottom of the depth chart. Based on his lackluster production last year and these picks, there is no way I am drafting Claypool in any round.
Plus, he is a diva. Just wanted to add that in there.
Dishonorable Mentions: Rondale Moore (WR, Arizona), Any New England Patriots receivers, Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny (RBs, Seattle)
Check out our Linktree!
