2022 Fantasy Upside
Nyheim Hines had a down year with Carson Wentz behind center in 2021, but with Matt Ryan now in town, there’s significant upside for him to return to his 2020 numbers. Hines caught 63 balls in 2020, finishing with 862 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns, landing him at RB20 in half-PPR formats. Ryan made excellent use of his running backs in Atlanta – i.e. Cordarrelle Patterson, Devonta Freeman – so it seems likely Hines will return to his previous form. This is just his age-26 season and the team just signed him to a three-year, $18.6 million-dollar contract last September, per OverTheCap.com.
2022 Fantasy Downside
Hines plummeted to just 40 catches, 586 scrimmage yards, and three touchdowns last season and he’s never been super consistent. He’s not going to get the short-yardage work on a team with Jonathan Taylor, so the three touchdowns last year are probably more likely than the seven he had in 2020. He’s also a role-player and is not likely to land lead-back duties in the event of a Taylor injury, so the upside is capped.
2022 Bottom Line
Hines is a value in the late-11th round of fantasy drafts, particularly in PPR formats. Expect numbers somewhere in between his 2020 and 2021 totals. For what it’s worth, Hines has been on an “every other year” trajectory, with 63-44-63-40 receptions over his first four years in the league. That means he’s due for 63 catches again.