Indianapolis will have a new quarterback at the helm this season, as the Colts snagged 37-year-old Matt Ryan in the offseason. He previously spent his entire 14-year career with the Falcons before being traded for a third-round draft pick. Ryan left Atlanta, which is amid a rebuild, so could that make him one of the 2022 Fantasy football sleepers? He will be playing behind a better offensive line and alongside playmakers such as Michael Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor, but if the team doesn’t live up to expectations, they could be among the 2022 Fantasy football busts.
The Colts are not known as one of the top offensive teams in the NFL, but could stacking Ryan and his wide receivers be a viable 2022 Fantasy football strategy? As you begin your 2022 Fantasy football draft prep, be sure to check out the 2022 Fantasy football cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Last year, SportsLine’s model accurately predicted that Titans wide receiver Julio Jones was being dramatically overvalued. He was being drafted around in the fifth round on average, but SportsLine predicted he wasn’t even close to being one of the top 20 wide receivers. Jones wound up turning in an incredibly disappointing stat line, catching 31 passes for 434 yards and one touchdown.
The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, also identifying A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020 and JuJu Smith-Schuster as Fantasy football bust last season. It also nailed Jonathan Taylor’s big season and was all over Jaylen Waddle to outperform his Fantasy football ADP. Additionally, it’s called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.
The model is powered by the same people who generated projections for all three major Fantasy sites, and it beat human experts last season when there was a big difference in ranking. The projections update multiple times daily, so you’re always getting the best Fantasy football advice.
Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2022, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2022 Fantasy football busts
One of the 2022 Fantasy football busts the model is predicting: Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Kansas City’s wide receiver room looks much different in 2022 following the trade of star wideout Tyreek Hill. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has had success targeting Hill in recent seasons, but he will search for a new top target this year.
SportsLine’s model does not expect Smith-Schuster to be the No. 1 wide receiver for the Chiefs, especially after he was limited to just five games last season due to a shoulder injury. He also does not possess the same speed as Hill, so it will be tough for him to step into the same role. Smith-Schuster is being drafted ahead of fellow receivers like Elijah Moore, Darnell Mooney and DeVante Parker, on average, but the model expects him to finish behind all three of those wide receivers.
Another bust that SportsLine’s Fantasy football rankings 2022 have identified: Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. He has been one of the most consistent wideouts for a number of years, eclipsing 1,100 receiving yards in four of his last five seasons. However, Hopkins will miss the first six games of the 2022 NFL season due to a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.
Hopkins failed to eclipse 100 receiving yards in a game once last year and only topped 70 yards twice. The Cardinals also added Marquise Brown, who had the 13th-highest target share in 2021, from the Ravens this offseason. Hopkins will have to contend with Brown, Zach Ertz, A.J. Green, and Rondale Moore for quarterback Kyler Murray’s attention when he returns from suspension. That’s one of the main reasons why the model ranks Hopkins behind fellow wideouts like Chase Claypool, Russell Gage and Robert Woods, all of whom are being drafted at least two rounds later on average. See which other Fantasy football busts 2022 to avoid here.
How to find proven 2022 Fantasy football rankings
SportsLine is also extremely low on a running back coming off the board in the third or fourth round on average of 2022 Fantasy football drafts. The model ranks him outside its top 24 running backs for 2022 and expects him to see major regression after a breakout season in 2021. You can only see who it is, and the 2022 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.
So which 2022 Fantasy Football breakouts should you be targeting? And which RB will fail to live up to expectations in 2022? Visit SportsLine now to get 2022 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that told you to avoid Julio Jones in 2021, and find out.
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