JD's 2022 positional rankings: Quarterbacks
(Photo by David Zalubowski Associated Press via thedenverchannel.com)
Welcome in! It is almost time to get those draft boards out and form a Fantasy Football Championship team! Well, almost – almost time. We still have two and a half months until drafts will start happening, but it is most definitely a good opportunity to start some heavier research.
Mini Camps are firing up, and those beat reporters are going to start putting out hype pieces left and right. Heed my warning, don’t buy into them yet. It’s mini camp. Wait until the actual training camps fire up and the preseason games begin before you believe them. So what do you believe until that time comes? Look at positional rankings and justifications as to why fantasy football analysts put them where they do. There are a ton of resources to look at and digest.
This season I’m bringing you my first ever positional rankings for GTD Sports. I’m here to hopefully give you some knowledge on who I think will benefit your team before you go into the draft. I will have a list for each position, and a short blurb on why I put said player in that slot. So to start this series off we need to look at the quarterback position and who I think ranks where.
(Photo by Rich Barnes USA TODAY Sports via pff.com)
1) Josh Allen (BUF) – This should be obvious. Josh Allen finished 2021 as the QB1 with 402.6 fantasy points. The next closest quarterback was 20 points behind him. Allen didn’t lose any weapons, and his connection with WR1 Stefon Diggs will only get stronger. He also gained the wiley vet Jamison Crowder who is a sneaky sleeper of mine going into this season. Allen’s ceiling will always be higher than most due to his ability to run. Allen is a big quarterback; at 6’5” and 237 pounds he is a load to bring down in the open field. He passed the ball 645 times and 36 of them ended up in the end-zone. With a weak backfield and run game, the Bills will once again rely on Allen to carry the load. I’d chalk him up for another 35+ touchdowns in the air and at least 5 on the ground. He is the bonafide QB1.
2) Justin Herbert (LAC) – Justin Herbert put on an absolute show last season for the Chargers. Ending the season as the QB2 in fantasy was a nice accomplishment. Herbert heads into 2022 with the same receiving core from 2021 which was far from weak. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams combined for 2,284 yards and 15 touchdowns. Toss in Josh Palmer along with the main man on the ground Austin Ekeler and Herbert is surrounded by weapons. The Chargers are going to pass the ball. Ekeler will get some on the ground, but we all know he excels in the passing game. Guess who is throwing the ball to him, yeah you already know the answer. With immense arm strength and talented weapons to huck it to, there is no reason why Herbert couldn’t repeat where he ended a year ago. He passed the ball 672 times and had 38 touchdowns while eclipsing 5,000 yards. Where he has less production on the ground, he makes up for through the air.
(Photo by Michael Reaves Getty Images via thespun.com)
3) Jalen Hurts (PHI) – Hurts steps into 2022 with the genuine possibility of finishing as the QB1 in Fantasy Football. Bold you say? Not at all possible? You need to think otherwise. Hurts has one major upside that a lot of quarterbacks don’t, and you should know damn well what it is. He actually uses his legs. Last season Hurts finished as the QB9 with very subpar weapons and an offense that looked lost. So how did he finish as the QB9? Hurts led quarterbacks in rushing attempts, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns. Having a quarterback willing to run the ball, and one that can run well is a game-changer in fantasy. Hurts finished 2021 with 140 rushing attempts, 782 rushing yards, and 10 touchdowns. It didn’t matter that he finished 21st in passing yards because of his legs. Now, the interesting part. In comes A.J. Brown. An upgrade in the air attack. He is going to get open, he is going to demand targets, and he will help Hurts passing production. Mix better passing production with his rushing ability, and you have the making of an absolute stud fantasy quarterback. What happens if Brown doesn’t get open? Then the DeVonta Smith targets increase. I love Jalen Hurts this season in fantasy football, and you should too.
4) Patrick Mahomes (KC) – Everyone thinks immediate regression with the loss of Tyreek Hill (myself included). I have Mahomes ranked right where he finished ‘21, as the QB4. I have dogged Mahomes so far this off-season since “Cheetah” headed South, but something tells me it isn’t going to matter come September. Travis Kelce is still there, who has been “ole reliable” for Mahomes, and Andy Reid isn’t going to just throw in the towel on the offense. You better believe that he will have a scheme and plan for Mahomes and his newly acquired targets. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Skyy Moore being those targets. This is without a doubt going to be a new playing field for Mahomes, and he didn’t run as much last year, but he will have to find a way to get it done. Even if the new threesome plus Mecole Hardman aren’t able to get open, Mahomes will resort to extending the play and/or running the ball. In fact, I have the hankering thought that Patty Mahomes runs for more yards this year than he did last year. Where he may lack this upcoming season in passing yards I believe he will make up for in rushing. You saw what it did for Hurts. It’s hard to rule out Mahomes too since he’s been solid coming into the league as a starter, and a much better quarterback than Hurts. You’ll have your doubts, and you may have a poor game or two. But when it’s all said and done I think Mahomes will actually end up fine and inside the QB5 range.
(Photo by Julio Aguilar Getty Images via revengeofthebirds.com)
5) Kyler Murray (ARI) – Besides the drama coming out of Arizona, Murray looks to keep his fantasy relevancy alive in ‘22. K1 finished last season as the QB11 despite missing three games. That again comes back to being a running quarterback. It should be no secret by now that if a quarterback is mobile then his ceiling is automatically higher than any quarterback that isn’t. Murray had the 4th most rushing yards last season for quarterbacks and had he not gotten hurt he could have easily still finished as a top 5 quarterback. The Hopkins suspension doesn’t bother me as much as it does a lot of the fantasy community. To me, that just gives Murray more opportunities to use those little legs. Bringing in Hollywood Brown should help Murray as well. He has only been getting better the more he plays. Not only that, but a good running game helps benefit a rushing quarterback. If they can continue to get the production they have been getting out of James Conner, that passing game is going to open up as well as running lanes for Murray when he needs to. I really like the chances for Murray to get back into that top 5 this season.
6) Lamar Jackson (BAL) – Another mobile quarterback who missed time last season. Lamar Jackson only played 12 games in 2021, but before that Jackson was averaging 20 points per game. Despite missing time, Jackson still had the second-most rushing yards for quarterbacks in 2021 with 767. Only 15 less than leader Jalen Hurts. I expect Jackson to come back full strength this season, and with the genuine possibility of both J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards starting the season on the PUP, he may be running a lot until they come back. His passing ability has continued to get better since the rookie campaign. Mark Andrews has been the security blanket he needs, and with the possible breakout of Rashod Bateman loading, he should have talented targets to throw to. If Jackson can stay healthy, and if he can continue to grow in the passing game he should have a good season. I don’t know if we will ever see the 2019 Lamar Jackson again, but I don’t see why we can’t get close or similar production.
7) Joe Burrow (CIN) – Joey B came back from a serious injury last season and completed outperformed what most thought he would do. He finished 2021 as the QB8 overall and 6th in total yards. The Bengals have an immense amount of weapons for Burrow to chuck the ball to so there should be little worry on that end. Between Chase, Higgins, Boyd, and Mixon he is in great position to repeat the yardage. The Bengals are only getting better and should be looked at as one of the best high-powered offenses in the league. The downside to Burrow is his lack of rushing ability. Last season he finished 26th with only 118 rushing yards. Now that might be him being a bit cautious after a major leg injury, or that might just be because his weapons got open fast enough where he didn’t have to run. Either way, I do expect his rushing yard to uptick a bit this season but not a lot. The less he has to run the better for the Bengals. They can’t afford to lose him to another injury although the chances aren’t great. I like Burrow a lot moving forward, and if he can repeat 4,000 passing yards again there is no reason why he shouldn’t finish inside the top 10.
(Photo by David Zalubowski Associated Press via thedenverchannel.com)
8) Russell Wilson (DEN) – Man oh man. I’m not sure I’ve ever been this excited for a quarterback changing teams before in fantasy football. Russell Wilson steps into Denver with a chance that a lot of quarterbacks wish they could have. Wilson departs a depleted and snowballing Seattle team to inherit a Broncos offense loaded with weapons. Here’s the thing, Russ has always been a phenomenal fantasy quarterback. I know last year left a sour taste in people’s mouths. But I don’t think it’s his fault. Wilson finished as the QB15 in 2021, but it wasn’t that bad. He was hurt, he played for a run-heavy coach, and he only played 14 games. Besides last season, Wilson has only finished outside the top 10 once (2016). Now, here’s why I love him this season and it shouldn’t be hard to figure out. Wilson now has weapons all over to throw to in Sutton, Jeudy, Patrick, Hamler, and of course Williams. But I’m willing to bet the guy can still scamper for those rushing yards that once made him dangerous. I have him finishing as the QB8, but there is most definitely a universe that which the Broncos' offense fires on all cylinders and Wilson cracks the top 5 once again.
9) Tom Brady (TB) – From retired to back in the game real fast. Why wouldn’t you come back honestly? You’re the best quarterback to ever play and you just won the Super Bowl, again. Brady heads into 2022 after finishing the season as the QB2 in fantasy football. You read that right. The QB2. The craziest piece of that to take away is he did it without cracking 100 yards rushing in the season. I’m not a professional analyst by any means, but I’m pretty sure there is no other quarterback that could’ve accomplished that in fantasy football besides TB12. Now, listen up. He gets his weapons back, although Godwin may not return until October or later. But that means nothing to me from Brady’s perspective. He’s always been great despite losing weapons. He still has Mike Evans who is going to get peppered downfield and in the red zone. In steps Russell Gage, who Brady hand-picked to come to Tampa. Then you have the Gronk factor. I’m not sure I need to say much more. The Bucs aren’t messing around, and I believe Brady will continue to be the greatest. His time clock will eventually run out, but I don’t think it’s in 2022.
(Photo by Tom Pennington Getty Images via bloggingtheboys.com)
10) Dak Prescott (DAL) – Prescott rounds out my top 10 quarterbacks for 2022, a place he’s very familiar with. Prescott has been nothing short of great for fantasy football since entering the league. Since 2016, Prescott has never finished outside the top 10 quarterbacks except in 2020 due to injury. Other than that year, he has finished as the QB10 twice, QB7 once, QB6 once, and QB2 once. See the pattern here. Prescott not only has the ability to run, but he has the arm to spread the ball to his weapons and rack up a sufficient amount of points fast. With the Cowboys receivers (Lamb, Gallup, Washington, Tolbert) he will have plenty of options. Not only those guys, but Dalton Schultz has been more than noticeable in the passing game. I don’t see a reason here why Dak wouldn’t finish inside the top 10, he throws way too many touchdowns (last year finished with 5th most). If he can stay healthy, and if the wide receivers can stay healthy he is in store for another great season in fantasy football.
Thanks for checking out my Top 10 QBs for fantasy football in 2022. Be sure to check out my Twitter (snag1025) for my full rankings of quarterbacks, and be sure to check back here soon for my Top 10 RBs, WRs, and TEs.
SKOL! - JD