2022 NFL Draft Round One Winners & Losers

2022 Best Ball Drafts Are Open! Use Promo-Code: YARDSPER for a 100% deposit match up to $100!

NFL Draft: Round 1 Winners & Losers

Night one of the NFL Draft has officially concluded. While we have six rounds and over two hundred picks to go, there have been ripple effects across the fantasy football landscape on night one. Let’s look at the fantasy football winners and losers from night one of the NFL Draft.

Winner: Zach Wilson, New York Jets QB

The Jets had two picks in the top-ten and used one on Garrett Wilson. Wilson was regarded as one of the top receivers in the class and now replaces Jamison Crowder in the Jets offense. This is back-to-back drafts where the Jets invested in weapons for Zach Wilson, using an early 2nd-round pick last year on Elijah Moore. The Jets’ young, talented receiving core should provide a boost for Wilson in an important second season.

Loser: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions WR

One of the most hyped receivers in the fantasy football community this offseason was Amon-Ra St. Brown. And for good reason: St. Brown finished second amongst all rookies in receptions (90) and receiving yards (912). However, the 2021 4th-round selection now adds more competition with the Lions selecting former Alabama receiver Jameson Williams. The Lions added D.J. Chark in free agency to go along with T.J. Hockenson and D’Andre Swift in the passing game. This is great news for Jared Goff as Detroit continues to add offensive support. But for St. Brown, there are more mouths to feed in the Motor City.

Winner: Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens WR

You can add Ravens’ tight end Mark Andrews here too, but it’s hard to climb higher than TE1 from a year ago. Marquise Brown being moved to Arizona opens up the WR1 role in Baltimore, and it’s Rashod Bateman’s for the taking. Baltimore now has 195 targets available with the departures of Brown and Sammy Watkins. Brown earned 146 targets last year to go alongside Andrews’ 154. Bateman saw 5.7 targets per game in his rookie season, comparable to Brown’s 5.1 in his rookie season. Brown went on to hit 100 targets in his sophomore season (6.3/gm). I’m expecting Bateman to have one of the largest jumps amongst all second year receivers. But he isn’t the only winner in this trade…

- Powered By PickUp

Winner: Marquise Brown, Arizona Cardinals WR

Marquise Brown now reunites with his college quarterback in Kyler Murray. Brown, who will be 25 at the start of the 2022 season, joins an aging receiving core in DeAndre Hopkins (30), A.J. Green (34) and Zach Ertz (32). Hopkins is recovering from a torn MCL and is now on the wrong side of 30. Christian Kirk is no longer on the team; he led the team with 103 targets last year. Brown has the capability to be the top fantasy football receiver in Arizona as early as this year.

Loser: Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans QB

Shortly after announcing the Marquise Brown trade, a monster trade was announced regarding one of the top young receivers. A.J. Brown’s trade to Philadelphia leaves Ryan Tannehill with Robert Woods, who is recovering from a torn ACL late last season, and now 2022 1st-round pick Treylon Burks. While Tannehill has finished as a top-12 quarterback just a few seasons ago, it required league leading efficiency; Tennessee has averaged 30 pass attempts per game since Tannehill arrived in 2019. It’s unlikely we will see this replicated with the current state of the Titans’ receiving core. Tannehill can be found on the fantasy football waiver wire at the start of the season.

Winner: Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles QB

For the trade mentioned above, Hurts is the biggest winner at quarterback after night one. Heading into his second season with Nick Siriani, he now will be throwing to A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. With this new core, I’m expecting Hurts’ 28.8 pass attempts per game will increase significantly. Hurts’ rushing upside (781 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021) paired with this receiving core places him as one of the few with overall QB1 upside.