Draft With Us On Underdog! Use Promo-Code: YARDSPER for a 100% deposit match up to $100!
Late-Round Sleepers To Draft In 2022 Fantasy Football
These are the late-round sleepers I’m targeting in the double digit rounds of my 2022 fantasy football drafts. I used the most recent Sleeper ADP to derive this list. Players are listed in no particular order.
Albert Okwuegbunam, TE, Broncos
You already know how much I love Albert Okwuegbunam. The road to fantasy production has been paved. From the departure of Noah Fant, the loss of Tim Patrick to an ACL,Greg Dulcich on injured reserve, to the upgrade at quarterback. Albert O is an athletic freak who was productive even playing in a limited role. He’s a beast after the catch, too, ranking top-15 among tight ends with 255 yards after the catch.
Now he gets to play with Russell Wilson at quarterback in an offense that projects to be among the highest scoring in the league. Okwuegbunam will present a fantastic weapon down the seams, underneath, and in the red zone for his new quarterback. He’ll be the third option in the passing game behind Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy. I find it hard to imagine that he doesn’t finish as a top-10 scorer.
Kirk Cousins, QB, Vikings
Kirk Cousins has been a top-12 quarterback in fantasy points per game in each of the last two seasons. He’s thrown for at least 30 touchdowns in three of the last four. The Vikings replaced old man Mike Zimmer with a former quarterback and Rams offensive coordinator. This is going to be a pass-happy offense with enough weapons to allow Cousins to thrive. Cousins has always been underratedly efficient with a knack for pushing the ball down the field. To me, he’s the discount version of Matthew Stafford or Joe Burrow.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, Chiefs
Fantasy gamers don’t seem to understand the full scale of the role MVS is about to have in Kansas City. He’s going to be the WR2 in the Patrick Mahomes offense. He’ll get those down field shots that Tyreek Hill was seeing. We are going to get plenty of spike weeks from MVS.
Rachaad White, RB, Buccaneers
Rachaad White is one of the best receiving backs to come out of college in the last few years. Now he’s in line to play the passing downs role with a quarterback who utilizes his running backs as much as anyone. With his explosiveness as a runner, and the lack of another top-end option on the depth chart, White could be a league-winner if anything were to happen to Leonard Fournette.
David Njoku, TE, Browns
David Njoku just got paid. The team has given every indication that they plan on utilizing their former first round tight end in a significant role. Njoku is an athletic freak who has flashed big game potential in recent seasons. His 7 catch, 149-yard outing against the Chargers in Week 5 last season is all we need to know about the upside of a guy like Njoku if he finally puts it all together in his age-26 season.
DeVante Parker, WR, Patriots
DeVante Parker has performed well during Patriots training camp. He’s seeing downfield looks from Mac Jones and he’s become a favorite red zone target for the sophomore quarterback. The only competition on the Patriots wide receiver depth chart is Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, and Nelson Agholor. We’ve seen what a healthy and motivated Parker can do in the past. It seems like he may be back to that level with his new team so he should have little trouble rising above the other targets.
Kenny Gainwell, RB, Eagles
Kenny Gainwell is locked into the receiving back role in an offense that we expect to throw a lot more. That’s after finishing his rookie season sixth in yards per route and 12th in yards per reception while commanding an 11.3-percent target share as a rookie (PlayerProfiler). We know the Eagles coaches don’t exactly love Miles Sanders so some additional carries could be in store as well.
Jalen Tolbert, Cowboys
With Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson gone, and Michael Gallup still working his way back from the late-season ACL tear, Jalen Tolbert is the locked-in WR2 in Dallas, at least for the first few weeks. If he establishes himself early on, he’ll have an opportunity to keep that job even upon Gallup’s return. Either way, Tolbert will be a downfield playmaker for Dak Prescott while they move CeeDee Lamb around the formation and Dalton Schultz eats underneath.
DJ Chark, WR, Lions
DJ Chark has a 1,000-yard, WR19 season on his résumé. He did that in a poor offensive environment on a team quarterbacked by Nick Foles and a rookie season Gardner Minshew. Now he’s in Detroit where they have an improved offense, and arguably the best offensive line in the league. Chark’s an athletic freak who will work the perimeter and downfield areas while Amon-ra St. Brown and T.J. Hockenson operate in the short/intermediate middle of the field.
Isiah Pacheco, RB, Chiefs
We’ve all heard the training camp buzz around Pacheco. I’m not saying he’s going to be the Week 1 starter by any means, but he has an opportunity to seize a role in one of the league’s best offenses. If you haven’t watched any Pacheco, he has a unique running style with his feet moving a mile-a-minute and a high sense of urgency to get to the next level. He’s a big back at 5-10, 216-pounds, but the dude can fly. He’s got 4.37 speed with a 98th-percentile Speed Score (PlayerProfiler.com). Pacheco was a three-year starter at Rutgers. His totals weren’t exactly eye-popping, but they were actually impressive considering how bad that Rutgers offense was, and in particular, the offensive line.
Now he has a shot to earn himself a role in the Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid led offense. All that stands in his way is Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and Ronald Jones, Jerrick McKinnon.
PROJECTIONS TEMPLATE – GET NOW!
K.J. Osborn, WR, Vikings
K.J. Osborn finished as a top-24 WR five times in 2021. That’s despite limited playing time as the WR3 on an offense that ran 11-personnel at the fifth-lowest rate in the league. The good news is the Vikings replaced old man Mike Zimmer and brought in former quarterback and Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell as their new head coach. If O’Connell runs the Vikings offense anything like he worked with in Los Angeles, we’re going to see a lot more opportunities for Osborn. The Rams ran 11-personnel at a league-high 86-percent of the time in 2021.
That means Osborn will get more opportunities for targets in 2022 after he finished top-25 in fantasy points per target in 2021.
Osborn will operate primarily from the slot (40% slot rate in 2021) but he has the size and athleticism to get open at the perimeter as well. In fact, Osborn’s 4.48 speed and 73rd-percentile burst (PlayerProfiler.com) allowed him to see 16 deep targets while accumulating 863 air yards. The point is, he’s more versatile and more of a threat to pick up chunk plays than your typical slot receiver. Osborn will be productive as the third option in what I expect to be a much improved Vikings offense, at least from a fantasy perspective. We also get the upside of anything happening to Justin Jefferson or Adam Thielen and Osborn suddenly being thrust into the WR2 chair in a pass-friendly offense.
Tyrion Davis-Price, RB, 49ers
Tyrion Davis-Price could emerge from the San Francisco backfield at some point. Elijah Mitchell appears locked into the RB1 chair to start the season with Jeff Wilson assuming the backup job. However, we know how Kyle Shanahan likes to run his backs into the ground. So if anything changes, whether it be an injury or someone underperforming, TDP could get his shot atop the depth chart. If that happens, he has the necessary athletic traits and ability to evade tackles to thrive in this offense. He’s worth a bench stash as a lottery ticket if you have the roster spot.
Zamir White, RB, Raiders
The rumored Josh Jacobs trade never happened. But that doesn’t mean Zamir White should be off your radar. When the team parted ways with Kenyan Drake, that told us they’re comfortable with White as the No.2 behind Jacobs. While that may be where he currently resides, I’m not entirely convinced Jacobs is a sure thing to be a workhorse in this offense. White is knocking on that door.
Josh Palmer, WR, Chargers
Josh quietly started to come on late in his rookie season. Over the last five weeks, he earned a 14-percent target share while averaging 27 routes per game. Palmer scored double-digit fantasy points in three of those contests with finishes of WR16, WR21, and WR32. He’ll look to build on that in 2022 as he seems to have secured the full-time WR3 role in camp. That puts Palmer in excellent position to be a productive fantasy asset as the No.3 in one of the most explosive pass offenses in the league. Sure, he’ll work behind Allen and Williams, but the team doesn’t have an established tight end, nor much wide receiver competition behind him. And if anything were to happen to either of the top-2 wideouts, you now have the WR2 in the Justin Herbert offense.
KJ Hamler, WR, Broncos
With Tim Patrick out for the season, KJ Hamler seems to have returned to full health just in time. We forget, Hamler was a second round pick just two years ago. He has blazing 4.32 speed and will fit nicely into a trimmed down Tyler Lockett role for new quarterback Russell Wilson. Hamler can do some of the same things Lockett was doing with Wilson in Seattle, particularly get open down the field for splash plays. He is pretty much free in drafts.
Curtis Samuel, WR, Commanders
It was just a year ago that Washington signed Curtis Samuel to a three-year deal with $23 million in guaranteed money. And it was just two years ago that he put up 1,051 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns on 77 receptions and 41 rush attempts. Now he gets a quarterback upgrade with the chance to be the WR2. Samuel has the versatility to take snaps at running back, be the team’s primary deep threat, and gobble up yards after the catch on underneath targets. He’s going undrafted in a lot of leagues. Yet, he has more upside than just about anyone you’ll find outside the top-120 picks.
Parris Campbell, WR, Colts
I have always and will always love Parris Campbell. He had an excellent profile coming into the NFL from Ohio State. He’s an excellent athlete who has just run into bad injury luck to start his career. I’m still convinced that if he can stay healthy, he’s got a 1,000-yard season in him.
Brevin Jordan, TE, Texans
Brevin Jordan scored as a TE1 in four of his nine games over the second half of his rookie season. Yet, he’s hardly mentioned among the late-round sleepers at his position. It’s not crazy to think Davis Mills takes a step forward in his second season and this offense is a lot better than it’s being projected. At wide receiver Houston has Cooks and Nico Collins on the perimeter and they really don’t have anyone who is going to command targets from the slot. That opens up an opportunity in the middle of the field for Jordan. It’s not hard to imagine a world where he finishes second on the team in targets and even leads them in red zone looks.
Chris Evans, RB, Bengals
Chris Evans has been one of my favorite picks at the end of my Underdog drafts (promo code YARDSPER) all summer long. He’s an explosive runner with the size and receiving skills to take a full workload if called upon. Samaje Perine would be the only thing standing in his way if anything were to happen to Joe Mixon.
Eno Benjamin, RB, Cardinals
Chase Edmonds is no longer in Arizona, but there’s no chance James Conner is going to absorb that full role on top of his own. That opens the door for another Cardinals back to emerge as fantasy relevant. Eno Benjamin actually compares closely to Edmonds in size, skill set, and athleticism. Benjamin combined for 77 receptions over his last two college seasons while also rushing for over 2,700 yards. This is a valuable role, not just a backup job. Remember, Edmonds averaged four receptions and 10 carries per game. Cardinals beat reporters here indicated Benjamin is locked into that role for 2022.
Zay Jones, WR, Jaguars
Zay Jones averaged 8 targets per game over the final eight weeks with the Raiders which included five double-digit fantasy performances. That earned him a nice new three-year, $24 million deal with the Jaguars that includes $14 million in guarantees. Jacksonville doesn’t have an established pass catcher that is going to command a ton of targets. After all, the projected WR1, Christian Kirk, has never had a 1,000-yard season in four years in the NFL. There’s going to be an opportunity for Jones. He has a real shot at 80-plus targets in what is expected to be a much improved offense.
DRAFT WITH US ON UNDERDOG! | PROMO CODE: YARDSPER
RANKINGS | DYNASTY | Redraft | BEST BALL
