JD's Crew 2022 - One Player I Love At Each Position

Every season there are always players that you tend to lean towards or really like going into a fantasy football draft. You’ve done your research, paid attention to training camp and pre-season, and you’ve cemented your flag on those players. You don’t really care what other people are saying about them, you have your opinion and thoughts on how that player will do, and you’re ready to throw the mortgage on them doing it.

I’m going to go through four players that I am slapping my brand on this season who I think is going to either blow up or exceed expectations. A Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, and Tight End. No matter the outcome, theses guys are going to be a part of “JD’s Crew” for 2022. I’m throwing in all the chips on these guys, and I’ll tell you why.

Let’s dive in.

Photo By Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports via sbnation.com

Jalen Hurts (QB) Philadelphia

There seems to be a lot of mixed opinions on Jalen Hurts in part of the fantasy football community and fans in the NFL. I kind of understand in a sense. If we are being honest here, Hurts has struggled as a real life quarterback in the league. In passing yards he finished 21st with 3,144. Just barely sneaking by an injured Russell Wilson, a very mediocre to poor Teddy Bridgewater, and Baker Mayfield. Even while all 3 only played 14 games. He also finished 23rd with only 16 passing touchdowns; actually finishing behind Mayfield, Bridgewater, Jared Goff, and Taylor Heinicke. But that should change.

Hurts is a fantastic fantasy football quarterback, and that is going to only get better. Hurts finished overall as the QB11. The only reason why is because the guy can move on the ground. Last season Hurts had the most rushing attempts in the league with 140, and he gained 782 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns with those attempts. Where he lacks in the passing department, he makes up for it in rushing. But like I said, the passing should come this season. Why?

The Eagles went out and got A.J. Brown. In just 13 games Brown was targeted 105 times. You aren’t bringing in a receiver who demands targets like that to just run decoy routes and block for the aggravating Philadelphia running game. Brown is going to get open, a lot. When he does, Hurts is going to be slinging the ball to him. Brown just might be that missing piece that Hurts needs to be fully unlocked. Imagine if Hurts added another 1,000 yards passing and 6 touchdowns to his game last season. That’s what you could get with Brown, as his floor. That would’ve put him at 4,144 yards, and would’ve finished the season as the QB1 or QB2 depending on your scoring.

I’m extremely bullish on Hurts this season, and I actually have him finishing as the QB3 in my rankings. Even if he loses 200 yards rushing this season, Brown should have a big enough impact and so should year 2 DeVonta Smith for Hurts to finish at least inside the top 5. The opportunity to grow and to be great is there, it’s just a matter of if Hurts and the play callers understand the potential. I’m all in.

Photo By Steph Chambers/Getty Images via fieldgulls.com

Rashaad Penny (RB) Seattle

I know. The guy that is always injured. The guy that is going to be sharing the backfield with rookie Ken Walker III. Blah, blah, blah. I feel like there has been so much of the negative narrative on Penny that people forget how great the guy is when he has the ball in his hands. First off the guy is a punishing runner. When he holds the pigskin he’s looking to go yard, and he might run over all 11 guys to get there. He doesn’t stop until he’s flat on the ground and even then he’s squirming for more. People forget that he was the most efficient runner in the league last year for the last half of the season. I say last half solely due to the fact that he was pretty non-existent the first part of the year. The last 6 games of the season Penny averaged 6.3 yards per carry. That is an insane number. He also finished off those 6 games with over 700 yards on the ground. Imagine if he would’ve been playing the whole season instead of Chris Carson. The point is, he’s super efficient.

Ken Walker III, the guy that everyone thinks is going to be the starter. I think not. Well, at least not for the first half of the season. At this moment his health is up in the air, and there’s a chance he misses some games in the first quarter of the season. Walker is a rookie, and if you know Grandpa Pete, he tends to not use rookie running backs a ton. Yeah, they drafted him in the second round, so its hard to swallow that capital without using it, but if Penny continues to be efficient it won’t matter. I mentioned “not the first half of the season,” why? Well, when you run as hard as Penny does, it doesn’t tend to hold together a ton (unless you’re Derrick Henry). So maybe Penny goes nuts the first half and then slows down a bit and gives more opportunities to the rookie. So be it, if he goes hard that first half you’re going to be happy with the results. Especially if he averages anywhere near the 6 yards per carry mark.

I’m solely betting on the major upside of Penny this season, and he is one of my sleepers you can get in very late rounds of drafts. So does it matter if he fizzles out at the end of the season? If you’re getting Penny in round 11+ you most likely already have 3-4 stud runners. Imagine having an 11th round diamond in the rough to top it all off. THAT’S what I love about him. There is a genuine world where you draft Penny as a late round running back and he pays off as an early rounder.

Photo By Adrian Kraus/Associated Press via bleacherreport.com

Michael Pittman Jr. (WR) IND

Year 3 is almost done loading for the Colts best receiver Michael Pittman Jr. Last season in ½ PPR formatting Pittman finished as the WR15 on a team that had a dominant runner and a poor quarterback. To say I’m excited for what could unfold for Pittman this season is a vast understatement. If he can finish as the WR15 last year with Carson Wentz as his quarterback, imagine what he can do with MVP winner Matt Ryan under center.

Last season Pittman started off slow, and really didn’t make a noticeable splash in fantasy until week 7 when he finished as the WR7. The following week he finished as the WR2, and followed that up with a WR13 performance. He wasn’t 100% consistent last season, and I have two defenses for Pittman on that. First off, Carson Wentz stinks and he’s inaccurate. It’s hard to get into a rhythm with your quarterback if he is throwing it 20 yards over your head, or short hopping you every other ball. Secondly, once the Colts got the lead it was the Jonathan Taylor show. Now, that will happen again this season if they get ahead, but there is going to be so much more catch-able targets from Matt Ryan when they need a first down on a long situation.

Pittman saw 129 targets last season, and had a great catch rate of 68%. Like I said, if he can have that high a percentage of catch rate from Carson Wentz balls, then that should hit 75% this season with Matt Ryan. There’s also been multiple reports from camp of Pittman completely bullying corners in the 50-50 balls. If he is going to be feisty and fighting for the ball when he needs to, its a great trait you love to see from your WR1. Speaking of that, WR1, who the hell else is Ryan going to throw to? Right now the depth at wide receiver for the Colts is something like this; Parris Campbell, rookie Alec Pierce (who I love in Dynasty), Keke Coutee, and Ashton Dulin. Not a lot of competition. He will demand targets.

With a much better offensive line than Matt Ryan has played with in recent years, it’ll give him much more time to find Pittman downfield. The team has all the makings for Pittman to have a massive year 3, and has the absolute potential to finish inside the top 10 receivers. Right now he’s being drafted as the WR13, at the beginning of the 4th round. Give me that value and potential top 10 receiver in the 4th round every time. Go get Pittman.

Photo By Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images via thecoldwire.com

Dalton Schultz (TE) Dallas

Last season Dalton Schultz became an integral part of the Dallas Cowboys offense and outperformed his ADP by a mile. Schultz finished as the TE3, and a lot of that came from the amount of targets he got last season. He generated the 6th most targets for tight ends in 2021 with 104, just 6 less than Kyle Pitts. With those he caught 78 passes for 808 yards and 8 touchdowns. I expect all of those numbers to go up this season, and I’ll tell you why.

Now that has Schultz established himself in Dallas, there are other factors that should help him stay a consistent fantasy tight end in 2022. Dak Prescott is a great fantasy football quarterback whether you like him or not, and he knows how to spread the ball around and find the open target. This bodes well for Schultz, as he should be able to get open regularly. Schultz isn’t flashy by any means, but he is going to get open and will one of the first looks on third and longs. You don’t have to be a flashy, fast tight end in the NFL to be a great fantasy tight end. He is going to get open as mentioned, catch a ton of balls, and will be a threat in the red zone for defenses.

Speaking of targets and the red zone. This season the Cowboys have a massive total of 181 vacated targets in their offense. I am one who believes the running back is the most benefited in vacated targets because it’s historically true. But there is no way that Zeke and Pollard are going to engulf 181 of them. Not to mention Michael Gallup is still recovering from an ACL tear. He is going to be targeted, and probably more than people think. That red zone is crucial. Not only is the 181 lost targets a big factor, but the Cowboys lost 44% of their targets inside the 10. Schultz just stinks of incoming end zone targets and I love it.

I have Schultz ranked as my TE4 on the season behind Darren Waller, but I fully expect him to jump ahead of him by the end of 2022. There is a ton of upside and potential for Schultz, and if you know fantasy football at all, you know that after the first 3 tight ends taken off the board they’re quite literally garbage and beyond inconsistent. Schultz is going in the 6th right now, and has the chance to hit that top 4, 3 tight ends in the league when it’s all said and done. If you’re not willing to pay up for Kelce, Andrews, or Pitts in the first or second round, Schultz might secretly be your best option in the 6th.

SKOL

- JD