2022 Fantasy Football: Top Quarterback Sleepers
Although you may select a quarterback in the first few rounds of your fantasy football draft when the time comes, you may not even be considering these options thinking the guys on this list are scrubs. We think otherwise. Here we take a look at Jameis Winston, Trevor Lawrence, and Daniel Jones as three QBs who aren't on people's radar going into 2022 but could have huge years for their teams due to improved receiving cores and offensive lines. Let's take a look at the top QB sleepers for this upcoming fantasy football draft.
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QB Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints
Jameis Winston tore his ACL after playing seven games with the New Orleans Saints last season. Still, they are planning on making him the starter in 2022 as a result of his excellent play on the field. As a starting QB filling in for Saints’ first season without Drew Brees, Winston passed for 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions for a 5-2-0 record in 2021. It's also crucial to remember that New Orleans was without their best option at wideout Michael Thomas for the entirety of last season. Still, with a below average receiving core (for New Orleans’ standards), Winston pumped out great numbers before blowing out his knee. This season, MT-13 is coming back, and will hopefully be healthy. Even if he weren’t to make it through the entire season, the Saints drafted Chris Olave with the 11th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft and then signed WR Jarvis Landry from the Browns as a free agent. Therefore, the Saints have dramatically improved their receiving core heading into this season. Jameis Winston will be returning from injury at 100% health to what could become one of the most dangerous wide ensembles of pass-catchers in the NFL this upcoming season. Since Winston isn’t expected to get drafted in most leagues, he in my opinion could be the most undervalued fantasy QBs heading into this upcoming season.
QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence had a rough rookie season in Jacksonville. The Clemson standout and first overall selection in the 2021 NFL draft passed for 3,641 yards last year, but only 12 touchdowns for 17 interceptions. He finished the season with a QBR of 33.5, making him 28th in the 2021 NFL QBR rankings to rank behind David Mills and Taylor Henicke. In comparison, Mac Jones finished his rookie season with a QBR of 50.9. Much of the blame can be placed on Jacksonville just being one of the worst all-around teams in the league. Still, Lawrence should see more plays with Marvin Jones this upcoming season, and could get a significant boost from former teammate (26th overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft) RB Travis Ettienne. Obviously, the Jaguars were focused on bringing the Lawrence and Etienne duo from Clemson to Jacksonville and made it a point to draft both players in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
QB Daniel Jones, New York Giants
Daniel Jones is entering his fourth year as a New York Giant. It is encouraging to see that Jones’ completion percentage as a passer has improved each year since his rookie season. In 2019, he completed 61.9% passes and 62.5% the year after. Last season, Giants receivers caught 64.3% of Danny Dimes’ passes. Last season, the Giants failed to maintain a healthy receiving core. Sterling Shepard only played three games in 2021. Still, he produced 336 receiving yards and touchdowns in those games, showing how good he can be when healthy. Kenny Golladay missed three full games in his first season as a Giant last year after spending his entire career in Detroit. Though he played fourteen games throughout the season, his health remained a question throughout the season. Ultimately, he only produced 521 yards on 37 receptions for approximately 52 FPTS produced last season. While Daniel Jones needs to continue growing as a passer, the Giants need to have a healthy receiving core at his disposal. What’s also encouraging for New York is a stronger offensive line heading into 2022. Pro Football Focus’ year-end offensive line rankings for the 2021 had the Giants O-line ranked 30th of all 32 NFL teams. By drafting OT Evan Neal out of Alabama with the seventh overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Giants are planning to protect Jones more this upcoming season. If Jones’ chemistry with his offense has further strengthened and those receivers are healthy, he could make some noise as a NFC East QB, at least for fantasy purposes.
QB Matt Ryan, Indianapolis Colts
While Carson Wentz is leaving town after one season in Indianapolis, Matt Ryan is being shipped in from Atlanta. Indeed, Matty Ice’s time as a Falcon has come to an end. However, he is the Colts best option at QB this season. While the Colts ran the ball through Jonathan Taylor who is likely the best fantasy football player to draft in 2022, Ryan could look to connect with him out of the backfield. In addition, the return of TY Hilton to the Colts receiving core featuring Michael Pittman Jr. could help Matt Ryan do some damage in his first year with the Indianapolis Colts.
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