We’ve reached that point in the fantasy football preseason in which you’ve either drafted your squad or you’ve got all your research together for your upcoming pick-a-thon.
So maybe this will either help you feel great about your choices or help steer you in a certain direction: We’re doing one bold fantasy football prediction for each of the 32 NFL teams.
Some of these will fall completely flat (just ask me how many times I’ve faded Derrick Henry in these and regretted the heck out of it!) and some will come true.
But that’s what these are all about. Let’s dive in:
1
Arizona Cardinals: James Conner will finish outside the top 20 RBs
We’re talking about a player who’s a sixth-year running back, who has had injuries in the past. I know he’s a bellcow .. but I have my doubts.
2
Los Angeles Rams: Darrell Henderson will be the leading rusher in 2022
This might not be that bold. It feels like the Cam Akers hype train has come to complete halt … or maybe has derailed altogether.
3
San Francisco 49ers: Brandon Aiyuk will be a top-30 receiver
Deebo Samuel is obviously a stud, but I feel like Aiyuk will get a lot more of a share of the passing offense, enough that he’s in your lineups as a WR3 on a weekly basis.
4
Seattle Seahawks: Tyler Lockett will be on your waiver wire by Week 5
Who’s throwing him the ball? Exactly. Fade fade fade.
5
Dallas Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott will be a top-12 RB this season
Tony Pollard is there. Zeke is getting older. The offensive line is starting to be a concern.
But it feels like the Cowboys will feed him. And he’ll end up on the fringes of RB1 numbers.
6
New York Giants: Wan'Dale Robinson will be a PPR beast
Someone’s got to catch the ball as a receiver, right? Kenny Golladay talk has been pretty negative. Kadarius Toney could be a factor.
But I’ll take the rookie wideout as a mega-sleeper.
7
Philadelphia Eagles: Dallas Goedert will finish outside the top 12 tight ends
Too many mouths to feed in Philly? That’s my theory, anyway. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith will be focal points. The running backs will be peppered. So I’ll pass on Goedert.
8
Washington Commanders: Logan Thomas will be a top-12 tight end
Post-hype sleeper! Back from injury! Let’s goooo!
9
Chicago Bears: Cole Kmet will catch at least eight touchdowns
I’m all in.
10
Detroit Lions: Amon-Ra St. Brown finishes outside the top-30 receivers
D’Andre Swift, Jamaal Williams, D.J. Chark, T.J. Hockenson. They’re all there and healthy, and they’ll all take away targets from him.
11
Green Bay Packers: A.J. Dillon will be a top 20 running back
That doesn’t mean Aaron Jones won’t be a top-12 guy. They can coexist and both be awesome.
12
Minnesota Vikings: Adam Thielen will be a bust
He’s had 24 touchdowns in the past two seasons. That’s great, but regression is coming.
13
Atlanta Falcons: Tyler Allgeier will be the leading rusher
Maybe the least bold take I have, given that Cordarrelle Patterson will fall to to Earth and Damien Williams is the other RB.
14
Carolina Panthers: Christian McCaffrey will finish outside the top 10 running backs
I’m worried about him staying healthy. There, I said it.
15
New Orleans Saints: Jameis Winston will be a top-15 quarterback
Eat a W, fantasy footballers.
16
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Mike Evans will be a top-five receiver
Double-digit touchdowns, 85-plus catches, 1,300-plus yards. Totally doable even if Chris Godwin comes back sooner than we thought.
17
Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen won't finish as the QB1
He may still be a top-four QB, but this happens with the top quarterbacks in fantasy a lot.
18
Miami Dolphins: Raheem Mostert will be an RB2
I have some doubts about Chase Edmonds, even though he’s worth taking late in your drafts. That’s where Mostert comes in — he’s in what could be a run-heavy Mike McDaniel scheme and will have one of those throwback seasons for a veteran RB, enough that he’s a week-to-week starter for your squad.
19
New England Patriots: Rhamondre Stevenson will be a top-15 RB
He’s too talented and Damien Harris touchdown regression is coming.
20
New York Jets: Michael Carter will out-score Breece Hall
This preseason has given me enough proof that this will be a 50-50 split, and that we’re waaayyy underrating Carter.
21
Baltimore Ravens: Rashod Bateman will have a monster season
Again, not the hottest of takes. But Marquise Brown numbers — 1,000-plus yards, six touchdowns and 90-plus catches — are very much a possibility.
22
Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Mixon finishes outside the top 12 running backs
The Bengals will throw more at the goal line, plus fewer targets for him in the passing game.
23
Cleveland Browns: David Njoku scores at least seven times
He’s never had more than four touchdowns in his career. I think given the lack of big-name receivers beyond Amari Cooper, he’ll be a bigger part of what will be a limited passing game.
24
Pittsburgh Steelers: Diontae Johnson finishes outside the top 20 receivers in any format
Whoever’s at QB for this team might open things up a lot more than Ben Roethlisberger did. That means fewer dinks and dunks to Johnson and more throws downfield to Chase Claypool and George Pickens.
25
Houston Texans: Nico Collins will be a top-30 receiver
The Texans will be throwing a ton in the fourth quarter, giving him and Brandin Cooks huge garbage-time numbers.
26
Indianapolis Colts: Michael Pittman will be a top-seven receiver
Remember Julio Jones in his prime? He had Matt Ryan throwing to him. While it’s not quite the same Ryan and Pittman isn’t Jones, I’m all in on the wideout.
27
Tennessee Titans: Treylon Burks will be this year's Ja'Marr Chase
Burks had a pretty bad preseason … but remember what happened with Chase last year? Right!
Malik Willis sidearm TD to Treylon Burks ⚔️pic.twitter.com/q0w8xyjnIX
— PFF (@PFF) August 28, 2022
28
Jacksonville Jaguars: Christian Kirk will break out in a serious way
Who else is going to catch passes? Sure, Marvin Jones Jr. and Zay Jones here and there, and maybe you believe Evan Engram has prove-it bounce-back year.
But they paid Kirk to be WR1.
29
Las Vegas Raiders: Zamir White will finish in the top 25 RBs
The rookie talent will be the breakout star in the backfield.
30
Denver Broncos: Melvin Gordon will score double-digit touchdowns
Sorry, Javonte Williams backers.
Looks like a 55/45 Javonte/Melvin split with some Mike Boone sprinkled in.
Key note…Melvin is getting the situational work (GL, short yardage, etc) https://t.co/dPFGFd1ZiS
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) September 2, 2022
31
Kansas City Chiefs: JuJu Smith-Schuster will be a top-15 receiver
He has to be, right? I like Skyy Moore, but Patrick Mahomes needs to feed one receiver like he did with Tyreek Hill. And this guy’s got the talent to do it.
32
Los Angeles Chargers: Joshua Palmer will be a breakout star
Just listen to his quarterback:
🚨 Justin Herbert just told @nflnetwork what sleeper @chargers receiver to draft for your fantasy team 🚨 pic.twitter.com/4FMCKKgpQY
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) September 2, 2022
