2022 Fantasy Football position rankings: Njoku, Palmer on track to be top targets

The calendar has turned to September, which means NFL, and more importantly, fantasy football season is here! Below are the top-12 players at quarterback, tight end, wide receiver, and running back with a sleeper explanation at each position group.

Rankings based on 12-team full PPR format. Send in your fantasy football questions all NFL season on Twitter to @AndyMc81 using #AskAndy.

QUARTERBACK

1. Josh Allen - Bills

2. Justin Herbert - Chargers

3. Joe Burrow - Bengals

4. Patrick Mahomes - Chiefs

5. Tom Brady - Buccaneers

6. Jalen Hurts - Eagles

7. Dak Prescott - Cowboys

8. Russell Wilson - Broncos

9. Kyler Murray - Cardinals

10. Aaron Rodgers - Packers

11. Lamar Jackson - Ravens

12. Matthew Stafford - Rams

SLEEPER: Trevor Lawrence - Jaguars

Trevor Lawrence has been considered elite at every stage of his football life - until Urban Meyer happened. The 2021 first overall pick should be given a mulligan for his rookie campaign as the now fired head coach was a trainwreck in the NFL for Jacksonville.

Luckily, Lawrence now gets a Super Bowl champion, known quarterback whisperer as a boss in Doug Pederson, who can reboot him. When Pederson roamed the Eagles sideline, his offence was top-10 in pass attempts for four out of five years. More commitment to an aerial assault is obviously good news for Lawrence.

The man known as “Sunshine” is surrounded by reliable receiving options in Christian Kirk, Marvin Jones, college teammate Travis Etienne, and intriguing new arrival in tight end Evan Engram. Don’t forget about Lawrence’s underrated rushing ability. He ran for 334-yards as a rookie, and in his final two seasons at Clemson scored 17 total touchdowns on the ground.

TIGHT END

1. Travis Kelce - Chiefs

2. Mark Andrews - Ravens

3. Dalton Schultz - Cowboys

4. Kyle Pitts - Falcons

5. Darren Waller - Raiders

6. George Kittle - 49ers

7. T.J. Hockenson - Lions

8. Cole Kmet - Bears

9. Dallas Goedert - Eagles

10. Dawson Knox - Bills

11. Zach Ertz - Cardinals

12. Pat Freiermuth - Steelers

SLEEPER: David Njoku - Browns

In 2017, the Indianapolis Colts were led by now-Cleveland Browns quarterback (at least until Deshaun Watson returns for the 12th game) Jacoby Brissett. Much like the current Browns squad, that Colts group had limited wide receiver weapons and the tight end became a focus of the passing attack.

T.Y. Hilton was the only true threat at wideout for Indy, while TE Jack Doyle ate up a mighty 107-targets that equaled 80-receptions and four touchdowns. That made the recently retired veteran 2017’s seventh ranked fantasy tight end.

For Cleveland in 2022, we see Amari Cooper as top dog receiver surrounded by a bunch of question marks. The tight end comparison is juicier in the present, as super freak athlete David “Chief” Njoku is poised to take on a much more prominent role in his sixth season.

Still only 26, Njoku can be that high volume second option for Brissett, just like Doyle was for him in 2017. “Chief” hasn’t come anywhere close to his talent ceiling with concentration drops being a concern in the past.

Cleveland’s front office rewarded the former first-round pick’s potential with a four-year $54.75-million extension, and will surely push to get a return on that investment. Njoku’s ADP of 158th overall as the 17th tight end being drafted in PPR makes him a terrific later round choice with TE-1 upside.

WIDE RECEIVER

1. Justin Jefferson - Vikings

2. Cooper Kupp - Rams

3. Ja’Marr Chase - Bengals

4. Stefon Diggs - Bills

5. Davante Adams - Raiders

6. CeeDee Lamb - Cowboys

7. Mike Evans - Buccaneers

8. Michael Pittman Jr. - Colts

9. Keenan Allen - Chargers

10. A.J. Brown - Eagles

11. Tyreek Hill - Dolphins

12. Tee Higgins - Bengals

SLEEPER: Josh Palmer - Chargers

I am as bullish on the rise of Chargers receiver Josh Palmer greatly outperforming his 191 ADP as I am that his teammate Mike Williams is being overhyped.

Williams is built like the prototypical receiver, however, his production consistency has lacked. Even in a contract year where Williams put up career numbers, six of his nine touchdowns came in Los Angeles’ first five games. In PPR formats Williams was a WR-12 in 2021, a WR-48 in 2020, and a WR-41 in 2019.

Now we look at Canada’s own Josh Palmer who finished strong as a rookie. Averaging seven targets in four of his last five games, and finding the endzone on three occasions over that stretch, Palmer gained the confidence and trust of quarterback Justin Herbert. Another nugget is that the 22-year old’s advanced stats in separation match that of star Keenan Allen.

The Chargers were tied for second in the NFL with the second most passing yards-per-game and threw the third most in 2021. That means there will be enough ball to go around for Palmer to emerge as a solid third wide receiver in L.A. with a real chance to leapfrog Williams as Herbert’s second favorite wideout.

RUNNING BACK

1. Jonathan Taylor - Colts

2. Austin Ekeler - Chargers

3. Christian McCaffrey - Panthers

4. Derrick Henry - Titans

5. Ezekiel Elliott - Cowboys

6. Dalvin Cook - Vikings

7. Joe Mixon - Bengals

8. Najee Harris - Steelers

9. D’Andre Swift - Lions

10. Nick Chubb - Browns

11. Alvin Kamara - Saints

12. Aaron Jones - Packers

SLEEPER: Cam Akers - Rams

The news of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s continued elbow issue could mean that the ground attack becomes more important for the defending Super Bowl champs. Even if the increase in handoffs is minimal, any missed time for Stafford would certainly increase Cam Akers’ role. A look at Los Angeles’ QB depth chart proves that Akers is one Stafford injury away from being leaned on heavily.

Being given a clean bill of health over the weekend, the 2020 second-round draft pick already got to shake off a bit of rust in limited playoff action this past winter. Now that the achilles injury is behind him, the Florida State alum can establish his lead running back role once again with the only change of pace is that Darrell Henderson Jr. is lurking.

If Akers can get back to that 4.3 yards-per-carry average that he had as a rookie, then workhorse volume could sling him to a surprise RB-1 fantasy finish.