Five Burning Questions for the 2022 Fantasy Football Season

Andersen Pickard explores five questions that we wish we knew the answers to ahead of the 2022 fantasy football season.

The fantasy football season is just around the corner. Part of the magic of drafting your team is making your own decisions about which players to draft, avoid, add, drop, or trade. Unlike NFL fandom where you might question your favorite team's decision-making left and right, fantasy football allows you to make those calls yourself.

However, not everything is clear as day. If it were, drafting would be far less risky. Questions that have plagued fantasy football managers for weeks, months, or even years may remain unsettled as the 2022 season gets underway, which could leave some managers in a tricky predicament.

Here are five questions that we wish we knew the answer to but, unfortunately, will just have to wait and see.

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• NFL rookie fantasy football rankings
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Can Christian McCaffrey Stay Healthy?

Christian McCaffrey has been elite when he's on the field. (Key words: when he's on the field.) Injuries have plagued the Carolina Panthers running back for two consecutive seasons, limiting him to just 10 games, 1,159 scrimmage yards, and eight total touchdowns during that span. Over the three years he was healthy, he finished as the RB10, RB2, and RB1. When he was banged up, all he could muster were a pair of finishes outside the top-36.

As of now, McCaffrey is widely viewed as the No. 2 pick in most fantasy drafts. Managers seem hesitant to select him ahead of Jonathan Taylor due to his injury history, yet they're still comfortable pulling the trigger and taking that risk before picking someone like Austin Ekeler, Dalvin Cook, or Derrick Henry.

If we could say for sure that McCaffrey would be guaranteed at least 15 games at full health, drafting him would feel a lot less scary. In such a scenario, he'd even be in play for consideration at the 1.01 over Taylor. Yet, here we are, and because we can't guarantee health, McCaffrey's outlook remains up in the air.

What Can We Expect From The Jets' Rookies?

The New York Jets accumulated a bundle of premier draft picks and used a pair of them to select wide receiver Garrett Wilson and running back Breece Hall. It never hurts to add offensive playmakers who are some of the best players at their position, but the moves did still turn some heads considering the Jets used high picks on Elijah Moore and Michael Carter just one year earlier.

The overwhelming feeling is that the Jets will deploy Hall as their top running back, mixing in Carter when the rookie needs a breather or the offense needs a change of pace. After all, Hall was the first running back drafted. Similarly, the Jets wouldn't spend a high pick on the running back position if they didn't see much need to make a change.

The wide receiver position remains a little murky. Wilson was a star at Ohio State, a school that has a good track record of producing talented NFL receivers. However, Moore was phenomenal when healthy last season, not to mention the fact that Corey Davis and Braxton Berrios still exist too. A lingering knee injury to quarterback Zach Wilson will also impact the offense regardless of whether he plays at less than 100 percent or hands over signal-calling duties to Joe Flacco. As a first-round pick, Garrett Wilson is going to get involved, but we still don't quite know what his role will look like or how efficient the offense will be. As a result, it's fair to have some skepticism about the type of fantasy production he'll have as a rookie.

Will Kyle Pitts Take A Big Leap?

Pitts drew massive hype ahead of his first pro season, and for good reason. The No. 4 pick out of Florida was viewed as one of the best tight end prospects in recent memory, offering a rare blend of receiving skills and physicality. He saw plenty of volume in his first pro season, turning 110 targets into 68 catches and 1,026 yards, but he found the end zone just once.

Producing more touchdowns will be imperative for Pitts as he looks to take the next step towards fantasy stardom. In order to get his name listed among the elite tight ends, Pitts will need to be good for roughly eight to nine touchdowns per year, if not more. Moving the ball downfield is great, but the fantasy points rewarded for a successful touchdown are that much sweeter.

Heading into 2022, Pitts has a clear opportunity to shine. The Falcons have a weak running game, lost wide receiver Calvin Ridley to a season-long suspension, and are looking to make new quarterback Marcus Mariota's first season in Atlanta as seamless as possible. Thus, the onus falls largely on Pitts (and rookie receiver Drake London) to make a huge impact. The tight end has a chance to emerge as the Falcons' best pass-catcher. If he takes the big leap that many people are hoping for (or perhaps even expecting), Pitts will cement himself among the elite class of fantasy tight ends.

How Will Deebo Samuel Be Utilized?

Samuel emerged as a league-winning fantasy option last season thanks to a couple of different factors. For starters, there's no denying that his dual-threat ability as a talented runner and receiver added to his value. Not only did he see more touches, but his versatility earned him more snaps. Additionally, Samuel thrived because Brandon Aiyuk was in the doghouse for a good portion of the season; he was held to just nine catches through the first seven weeks. After Week 7 though, he got much more involved. This took away from Samuel's involvement in the passing game, but his role as a runner kept him in the high-end WR1 tier.

Aiyuk is expected to take a big step forward in terms of both usage and volume this season. Trey Lance has developed a strong rapport with Aiyuk, who stole the show with a phenomenal training camp. Aiyuk's ability to earn Lance's trust helps the offense and doesn't hurt Samuel too much, but it could have a bit of an impact on the way the 49ers spread the ball around.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Samuel has made it clear that he wants to be utilized mainly as a receiver, no longer entertaining the big role out of the backfield. This was presumably one of his demands when he negotiated an extension this past offseason, but those conversations were behind closed doors and it remains to be seen what Samuel's role and usage will look like. Either way, it's fair to expect some regression from Samuel in 2022.

Can Russell Wilson Elevate His Receivers?

The Denver Broncos made a blockbuster move this offseason, acquiring Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a hefty package. The star signal-caller has a chance to begin the new chapter of his career on the right foot as he joins a team that looks extremely good on paper.

For a while, the fantasy status of the Broncos' receivers has been murky. Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy are talented players, but it has been hard to buy into them considering they had Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater throwing them the football. Now there's hope that Wilson can inject new life into the Denver offense and help elevate these promising receivers to the next level.

Still, fantasy managers are exercising caution when it comes to Sutton and Jeudy. Wilson had a shaky second half in 2021, which translated to some inconsistency from the Seattle receivers (specifically, DK Metcalf). Sure, there's no denying that catching passes from Wilson is far more favorable than catching passes from Lock, but does the offseason hype match the expected production? We won't know for sure until we see this offense spend a few games together. For the time being, you'll have to make your best educated guess.

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