Fantasy Football Draft Rankings

Fantasy football is a math game with a football backdrop. We’re looking to predict what will happen in the 2022 NFL season based on what happened last year. We’ll be looking at trends, such as a player’s target share, their role in the red zone, their snap count, and where on the field their targets are coming. All of this data gives us an insight into what might happen in 2022. Using that information, we can begin to come to some hypotheses on players for our 2022 fantasy football drafts. Our 2022 fantasy football draft kit will provide you with expert analysis and content. Our rankings include player projections and customized rankings so that you can dominate your league.

Fantasy Football Draft Types

Fantasy football has exploded in recent years and with its growing popularity, the game has expanded. There are many different formats and play types that you can engage in. The most popular still tends to be a redraft league with a snake-style draft. However, dynasty leagues are gaining more and more popularity with each passing year. Salary cap leagues are usually becoming more popular. Dynasty leagues and salary cap leagues are a bit more in-depth and require a higher level of commitment, but if you’re into the strategy behind fantasy football, these two formats might be for you.

Salary Cap

A salary cap draft is sometimes called an auction draft, as well. This format entails each league manager being provided a fake budget of a pre-determined amount of money. This is typically $200, but it can be any number. Each team starts out with the same amount of money. Players are then nominated and league managers bid on each specific player. Each winning bid acts as that player’s contract and it is deducted from their overall budget. In this format, it is possible for a fantasy manager to roster Justin Jefferson and Cooper Kupp through the draft, which would otherwise be impossible. This format requires fantasy managers to properly manage their budget in order to fill out a complete roster. It’s important to accurately determine a player’s worth so that you are able to spend your available funds wisely.

Mock

A mock draft is otherwise a practice draft. Mock fantasy football drafts are similar to mock drafts that we see for the NFL draft. It’s an exercise to determine what could happen. Mock drafts are helpful because it allows fantasy managers to practice drafting with their specific league settings. This practice can give them an idea of what players may or may not be available at their specific picks. It can help you formulate a strategy for your future fantasy football drafts.

Linear

Linear fantasy football drafts are defined by the order in which each team selects its team. This is similar to how the NFL does their draft. If you have the No. 1 pick in round one, you also have the No. 1 pick in round 2. This means that everyone holds the same pick in each round.

Snake

A snake fantasy football draft also defines the order in which each team selects its players. Each round flips the order. What this means is that if you are drafting first in round one, you’ll draft last in round two before getting the first pick again in round 3. This is true of every draft slot. If you’re second in round one, you’ll be second to last in round 2. This format is the most used fantasy football format.

Fantasy Football Draft Strategies

Know Your League's Rules/Scoring

Always familiarize yourself with the league. This really should be rule No. 1 for all fantasy players. A great practice is doing several fantasy football mock drafts with your league's scoring format. Full PPR and non-PPR leagues will be incredibly different and that real practice in the form of mock drafts makes perfect. The more prepared you are, the more likely you'll be to execute your draft day plans. Our custom rankings and mock draft formats provide you with everything you need to help you win your league.

Familiarize Yourself with Players' Average Draft Position (ADP)

Average draft position is an important thing to know and it's just as important to know which scoring format the ADP numbers are using. The scoring format will factor into a player's ADP. Our database will help you stay up to date on the changing ADP trends. This information will help you more accurately target players because you'll have a better idea of when certain players will be drafted. This information can also help you formulate a draft strategy because you'll have a better idea of when certain players will be available.

Robust RB

Robust RB is a fantasy football strategy that requires fantasy managers to fill their starting running back slots and flex sports with running backs before selecting a wide receiver or tight end. This strategy puts an extremely high amount of emphasis on the running back position. This can be an effective strategy in standard-scoring leagues. Most years, no matter the format, the top-5 running backs outscore their top-5 receiver counterparts, so this strategy is trying to hone in on that advantage at the top of the board while trusting their ability to find value at receiver and tight end later in the draft.

Hero RB/Anchor RB

Hero RB is another type of fantasy football strategy that involves a fantasy manager selecting one elite-level RB early in their draft and then largely ignoring the position until later. The theory behind this strategy is that RB2 production is underrated and can be easily found on the waiver wire. This is especially true in PPR leagues where scat-backs and third-down pass-catchers have more value. It’s also leaning into the fact that RBs tend to get injured more frequently than WRs. Because of this, their ignored second starting running back slot could be filled with a backup who becomes a starter later in the season. In the meantime, they’re able to select elite-level receivers and tight ends to fill out the rest of their roster.

Zero RB/Zero WR

Zero RB and Zero WR is another fantasy football draft strategy that typically requires the fantasy manager to not select one of those positions until at least round 5 or 6. If you’re taking a Zero RB approach, you’ll most likely select 3 wide receivers, 1 quarterback, and 1 tight end before selecting your first running back. For Zero WR, fantasy managers would select 3 RBs, 1 quarterback, and 1 tight end before selecting their first WR.

Pay up or Wait on Tight Ends

When it comes to the tight end position, fantasy managers really have two options. They can either pay up for the elite players, such as Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, and Kyle Pitts or they can wait. The tight end is extremely scarce and there’s only a handful of players at this position who truly move the needle. While Hockenson’s 8-10 PPG average may look nice, the reality is, that kind of production isn’t leading to any wins. It’s not improving the bottom line. Fantasy managers are better off paying up for an elite player who will consistently give them a distinct and clear positional advantage over the majority of their opposition each week or they should wait on the position and add a few lottery tickets. Hunter Henry is going outside the top-12 and would be an excellent target with someone like David Njoku or Evan Engram, who has more upside because it’s possible they could command 100+ targets in their respective offenses.

Early, Middle, or Late-Round QB

It wasn’t too long ago when almost everyone said to wait on quarterbacks, but now with the video game type of numbers the elite passers can put up, it’s becoming more viable to target them early. Their 30+ point upside on a weekly basis can be a game changer. However, because of how deep the position continues to be, it’s unwise to reach for a quarterback too early. Ideally, the prime round to first target a quarterback is Round 5. If you miss out on the top-five quarterbacks, it’s a good idea to wait a little while. You can still get Russell Wilson and Joe Burrow in the middle rounds. However, if you want to wait even longer, fantasy managers should be eyeing up Derek Carr or Kirk Cousins and pairing them with Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields. Carr and Cousins represent safe, weekly options while Lawrence and Fields have more upside if things break the right way. Which may you go depends on your scoring format and how you want to attack your draft. In 6-point passing touchdown leagues, it’s a good idea to target this position sooner than later.

Balance Your Roster

Strategies like Zero-RB and Zero-WR purposefully leave your roster unbalanced. Balance is important, but this has less to do with the positions and more to do with what kind of players they are. You want a good mixture of consistency and upside in your lineup. To win your fantasy football league, you’re going to need to chase players with high ceilings. Someone like David Montgomery is a very safe option because of his weekly volume, but he lacks upside. Travis Etienne, on the other hand, may have a wider range of outcomes, but his upside, because of his presumed role in the passing game is much higher. Be sure to balance your roster with some safe options and ones that have week-winning upside. Another good strategy is to target one elite option at QB or TE. This kind of strategy will give your roster good positional balance, as well. Most of your early picks will be dedicated to the running back and receiver positions, but you’ll also use one of those picks to obtain a positional advantage at QB or TE with one of the elite options. Doing this allows you to wait on the other position until the later rounds, however, your other three positions will have good depth, balance, and strength.

Always Back Yourself up with Depth

Your bench is there to upgrade your starting lineup. If you drafted Justin Herbert or Travis Kelce, it’s probably unnecessary to roster another QB or TE because any late-round selection isn’t going to be an upgrade on those options. However, Justin Fields could be an upgrade to Stafford this season because of his rushing and Njoku could be an upgrade to Hockenson. It may be unlikely, evidenced by the difference in their ADP, but don’t be afraid to add players who have a chance to upgrade your starting lineup. It’s always a good idea to have at least one running back or wide receiver that you trust in your starting lineup because injuries and bye weeks happen and your primary bench player after draft day is going to spend a lot more time in your starting lineup than you think. After you have a player you feel comfortable starting, aim for upside. You should be looking for home run plays. Drafting players who beat their ADP is nice – think preseason WR55 finishing as WR38 – but that isn’t moving the needle and it’s not going to increase your chances of winning your league so don’t be afraid to swing big with your bench spots.

Wait on Kickers and Defense

Kickers and defenses simply do not score enough and there’s not a big enough difference between the No. 1 options compared to the No. 12 options, so you should absolutely be waiting on both of these positions until your final two rounds. Any earlier than that and you’ve made a mistake.

These are two positions where a lot of fantasy managers stream. This is the practice of having someone new start in that spot each week. This is done by playing the matchups. Fantasy managers can begin to look at implied point totals and fantasy points allowed.

Final take

Different scoring formats are going to impact your fantasy football draft. Non-PPR leagues are likely to focus on running backs instead of receivers. In full-PPR leagues, pass-catchers are going to take precedent. You should familiarize yourself with our cheat sheets to help you during your drafts. These changes in scoring will create different draft boards. You should join different mock drafts so you are able to take note of the differences between scoring formats.