-2022 NFL Schedule -Strength of Schedule
MOCK DRAFT
Ask the Commish.Com 2022 Draft Kit
Rookie running back James Cook has immediate sleeper fantasy appeal across all PPR formats based on his second-round draft capital, pass-catching prowess, explosiveness and offensive situation. The 5-foot-11, 199-pound running back has more than enough heft to manage a decent workload especially as a receiver out of the backfield. The 5-foot-7, 203-pound Devin Singletary was the RB3 over the last six weeks of the regular season when the Bills entrenched him as the featured guy. Cook with an ECR of RB44 seems priced closer to their floor than his ceiling considering Round 2 running backs have finished as top-36 running backs more than half the time (55%) since 2013.
For any small-school running back to make a living in the NFL, they need to dominate their competition in college. That's what gives South Dakota State's Pierre Strong Jr. a chance to make a splash at the next level. Strong finished with a top-10 career and single-season dominator rating while grading out as PFF's highest rusher (95.6). His 3.3 yards per play also ranks second among running backs in his class, which is a great indicator of future success. Last year's late-round standouts in that category included Elijah Mitchell and Rhamondre Stevenson. The 5-foot-11 and 207-pound back also blazed a 4.37 40-yard dash (95th percentile), tying him with Rutgers' Isiah Pacheco for the fastest running back time. Additionally, Strong jumped 36? in the vertical (71st percentile) and 124? in the broad jump (84th percentile). Strong's "strong" outing will almost certainly boost his draft stock for both the real-life NFL and fantasy rookie drafts. High-end college RB producers that display above-average athleticism tend to hit at the next level. The South Dakota State running back gives off strong Darren McFadden vibes (in a good way).
My highest-ranked rookie running back is Breece Hall. The Jets selected the Iowa State product at the top of Round 2, signifying his status as the team's locked-in RB1 for the foreseeable future. Hall's three-down skill set suggests he never has to come off the field, and the sheer volume he garners will vault him into redraft top-20 running back territory. The Iowa State product totaled over 4,500 yards from scrimmage, 50 touchdowns and 80 catches over three seasons in the college ranks. A workload of approximately 240 touches - based on ESPN fantasy analyst Mike Clay's projections and how many touches the cumulative Jets RB1 earned last season - would place Hall inside the top-15 considering every running back last season that hit that threshold finished inside that ranking. 2021 fourth-rounder Michael Carter had his moments as a rookie, but the Jets know he's just a No. 2 running back. Anticipate Hall to shoulder 15-20 touches per game based on the workload that Carter received last season when Tevin Coleman missed time. From Weeks 7-9 with Coleman sidelined, Carter averaged 19 touches per game and a 66% snap share. Upon Coleman's return from injury in Week 10, Carter averaged 14 touches per game and a 55% snap share in the games they played together.
The Browns' rookie fifth-round pick will battle for a spot along the depth chart and for work on special teams. At Cincinnati, Ford totaled 20 touchdowns and over 1,500 total yards as the Bearcats' lead rusher. He has good enough size and solid speed, plus he proved he can handle work in the pass game. However, it would take a massive crush of injuries to the Browns' running back group for Ford to matter at a significant level in 2022. Ford's worth a pick after 30th overall in rookie-only drafts and maybe a late pick in dynasty start-ups.
The Houston Texans selected Dameon Pierce in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 107th overall.Pierce is only a middling NFL running back prospect out of Florida, but opportunity is at least as important as talent in fantasy football, and Pierce has an enormous opportunity awaiting him on a Houston roster that badly lacks running back talent otherwise. As much as Rex Burkhead and Marlon Mack can't be brushed aside, they're about as weak of a 1-2 punch as any tandem in the league. Pierce (5-foot-10, 218 pounds) offers a denser, more powerful running style than either of Burkhead or Mack, and at Florida he consistently showed the ability to anchor against tacklers and keep moving forward against contact. He lacks speed -- he probably plays slower than the 4.59-second 40 he logged at the combine -- but Pierce should be Houston's best short-yardage runner at the least.
Taken with a fifth-round pick in April's draft, Conner is a physical back who figures to provide depth for the Jaguars. Conner was never the consistent lead back in Ole Miss' offense but he did power through for 26 touchdowns in 35 career games. The majority of his scores -- 19 to be exact -- were from 5 yards or closer, and he had just two carries of 25-plus yards. You can probably guess what his role might end up being with the Jaguars, but that's probably only going to be the case if James Robinson isn't ready to start the season, and second-year back Travis Etienne also figures to block Conner from seeing meaningful reps. With so much drama in the J-A-C , it's kinda hard callin' Snoop good for Fan-ta-sy, but you'll some-how some-way, keep comin' up with draftin' him late in Dy-nas-tay.
Michigan's Hassan Haskins was one of my favorite running back sleepers before the NFL Draft. I claimed I'd be in on him if he got Round 4 draft capital, and Haskins did exactly that being selected 131st overall. He broke out in a big way as "the guy" for the Wolverines in 2021, earning a 23 percent dominator rating, raising his career dominator rating to 20 percent. With an identical PFF rushing grade to Breece Hall (91.6) over the last three seasons, Haskins looked primed to exceed expectations in the NFL. He offers a lot of size at 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds, so he can handle a heavy workload. The Michigan product also led his entire class in rushing attempts inside the five-yard line (29), which gives him a real shot at carving out a goal-line role in the pros. Haskins will never see the field as long as Derrick Henry stays healthy. But there's zero doubt in my mind that he's the clear direct back-up for Henry, who showed us last season that he is mortal.
The Raiders selected White in the fourth round of the NFL Draft from Georgia, and the rookie should be the No. 3 running back this season behind Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake. In redraft leagues, White is only worth a late-round flier in deeper formats. In rookie-only drafts, White is worth drafting as early as Round 2. There's a chance White could be in a prominent role for the Raiders in 2023 if Jacobs and Drake don't return, so keep that in mind in Dynasty and long-term keeper leagues. However, if Jacobs and Drake are healthy this season, we don't expect White to get much work. In his final two seasons at Georgia, White combined for 304 carries, 1,635 yards and 22 rushing touchdowns, and he could become a quality Fantasy option next season for the Raiders if he ends up in a starting role.
The Chargers are no strangers to taking shots on bigger but unathletic running backs on Day 3 of the NFL Draft. Joshua Kelley was the guy in 2020 and Larry Rountree was the guy in 2021. Isaiah Spiller represents the latest rehash of the Chargers trying to find an appropriate thunder to Austin Ekeler's lightning, and I for one think Spiller is already the best bet currently on the roster. The former Texas A&M running back has the capacity for three-down spot start duties with an all-encompassing skill set and desirable size - 6-feet and 217 pounds . Spiller should be a solid producer for the Chargers if given the opportunity although his lack of top-notch speed could keep him from being elite. He had only eight carries of 20-plus yards in 2021. But I'd be hard-pressed to ignore his impressive age-adjusted production as one of his most encouraging traits. Since Day 1 at Texas A&M, Spiller has been the lead dog for the Aggies. As a true freshman in 2019, he scored 10 rushing touchdowns and finished 16th in the nation in yards after contact per attempt en route to a 22% dominator rating. The power running back capped off his first year in impressive fashion with back-to-back seasons of 1,000 rushing yards and 100 missed tackles. Spiller also displayed receiving prowess, commanding at least an 8% target share and an average of 25 receptions per season. With Justin Jackson still an unsigned free agent, Spiller looks slated for instant impact in Year 1.
Even with Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic on the roster, the Commanders made running back a priority in the 2022 NFL Draft, selecting Robinson in Round 3. The team has talked about Gibson and Robinson in an early-downs committee approach, which is made less appealing by the impact McKissic has on passing downs. Robinson should be drafted in Round 12 or later, but he probably won't have a Fantasy impact without an injury. In Dynasty leagues, Robinson is a top-50 running back worth a pick late in Round 2 of rookie-only drafts.
The Bears selected Ebner in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 203rd overall. James Cook didn't do anything at Georgia that Ebner failed to do at Baylor -- both are pass-catching specialist running backs -- and Ebner even has better size-adjusted speed with a 4.43-second 40 at 5-foot-11, 206 pounds (Cook was credited with a 4.42 at 199 pounds), yet Ebner goes here four rounds later. Ebner is a natural pass catcher to the point that he can actually line up at wide receiver rather than just catch passes out of the backfield, and the Bears are notably short on proven pass catchers. Ebner is no doubt a long shot to provide fantasy value -- he needs to worry about making the team first -- but there is a chance that the Bears need him to catch a surprisingly high number of passes early in his career.
Chandler is an interesting prospect who has some upside, but getting buried on the Vikings bench won't help him reach it anytime soon. Chandler spent his final year of collegiate eligibility at North Carolina, where he had the opportunity to rumble for just over 1,300 total yards and 14 touchdowns. He has good speed, and his hands aren't bad, but he's not a powerful runner. He's also on the older side for a prospect at 24, and there are questions as to why he couldn't break out in his first four years at Tennessee. Chandler might be good as a part-time back in the NFL, but with the clock ticking on his career, no Fantasy manager will spend more than a cheap late-round pick on him, namely in Dynasty leagues.
Taken with the eighth pick in the 5th Round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the former BYU star has a path to make an immediate impact. His only competition on the Falcons roster currently is veterans Cordarelle Patterson and Damien Williams. Both are on the backside of their careers and Patterson is better used as a pass-catcher than an inside runner. Allgeier was not rated as a prospect coming out of high school in Fontana, California. He had two D-1 offers but chose to decline them and instead enrolled at BYU where he became a walk-on for the Cougars. Allgeier was also a linebacker on top of being a running back. He didn't play much during his first two seasons but exploded onto the scene in 2020. After two successful seasons where he put 2,731 yards rushing and receiving with 37 total touchdowns, he declared for the NFL Draft.
The Bucs may have themselves a nifty prospect in the former Arizona State rusher. A 22-year-old breakout, White totaled over 1,400 total yards and 16 touchdowns last year for the Sun Devils, including 43 receptions. White has good elusiveness and lateral agility to avoid tackles and clearly is capable in the passing game, but his speed is only solid and he's not yet a powerful player, though he isn't afraid of contact at all. He's got a chance to develop into the Bucs' top running back as soon as 2023, if not sooner depending on how Leonard Fournette does. You may see and hear more about White this preseason, likely putting him in position to be a late-round pick with nice upside in seasonal formats. Look for White to get picked between 10th and 18th overall in rookie-only drafts, too.
Ingram will battle Darrel Williams, Eno Benjamin, and Jonathan Ward for the backup job behind James Conner. It's possible the winner of this battle can absorb most of the Chase Edmonds role from last year and provide flex appeal with big upside if Conner gets hurt. Williams is the early favorite to win this role, but Benjamin has the advantage of already knowing the system and Ingram probably has the most upside. Don't draft any of them before Round 10. Ingram should be a Round 4 or Round 5 pick in rookie-only drafts.
Williams was a very productive college back who fell in the NFL Draft due to poor testing and measurements at the combine. He's likely to begin the year third behind both Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson, but that duo has missed a combined 25 games due to injury over the past two seasons, so an opportunity could absolutely present itself. Williams should only be drafted in deep redraft leagues, but he's worth a look in Round 3 or 4 of rookie-only drafts.
I didn't even think that highly of the San Francisco 49ers running back prior to the 2022 NFL Draft, citing his lack of elite explosiveness - seventh percentile vertical jump, 39th percentile broad jump - lack of pass-game pedigree and underwhelming 19% dominator rating during his final breakout season at LSU. With arguably the worst yards per scrimmage play in the class, TDP initially looked like a carbon copy of the 49ers' third-round pick last season Trey Sermon. His profile as a gap scheme runner makes the pick questionable to a zone-heavy team. Davis-Price is also not elusive - 29th in broken tackle rate per Sports Info Solutions - so he will require wide-open lanes to be effective. He also struggles to create yards after contact. His 2.8 yards after contact per attempt ranks 28th in the class. But all of these concerns are being baked into his free ADP, which isn't capturing his initial burst and long speed - 77th percentile 40-yard dash and 73rd percentile 10-yard split time - or the important metric regarding his Year 1 projection: Round 3 draft capital. And above all, the 49ers' offense breeds an efficient running game like no other. It's not hard to envision a scenario where the 49ers are forced to turn to their physical bruising rookie running back in the wake of a potential injury to an undersized Elijah Mitchell in 2022 or just use the two in tandem. San Fran's coaching staff liked the way Davis-Price bullied over defenders in the 4th quarters of games at the college level, so it's easy to picture him in a similar "finisher" role in the pros.
Kenneth Walker III made a massive splash upon transferring to Michigan State in 2021, leading his class in rushing yards (1,634), missed forced tackles (89) and explosive runs (46) en route to winning the Doak Walker Award - an honor bestowed upon college football's best running back. His success earned him a 34% dominator rating, which considers the number of touchdowns and receiving yards a player commands within their offense. The number is solid considering Walker commanded just a 4% target share in his junior year, catching 13 passes for 80 receiving yards. His massive accomplishments this past season were inevitable after he rushed for 13 touchdowns as PFF's 15th-best graded running back in 2020 as a sophomore at Wake. With the second-most missed tackles forced over the past two seasons - trailing only Iowa State's Breece Hall - and third-most rushing yards after contact, Walker possesses the groundwork to be an effective rusher at the next level. Breaking tackles and creating after contact in college translates to the pros extremely well, as seen most recently by Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams. Williams led the nation in missed tackle rate (48%) in his final season at North Carolina and would go on to lead the NFL in the same metric at the conclusion of his stellar rookie season. Elusiveness is just one trait Walker has in common with Williams, as both skipped their senior years to enter the draft. Declaring early is a positive sign for a running back in dynasty formats, as they save themselves from another year of wear and tear. The lack of work in the passing game is really the only major blemish on Walker's prospect profile because his testing at the NFL scouting combine was also exceptional. He weighed in at 211 pounds and ran a 4.38 40-yard dash (96th percentile). "The player I am avoiding is running back Kenneth Walker III. With a rookie draft ADP in the top-3, it's just too steep a price to pay for a running back that is projected to be used heavily on early downs on an offense that easily projects to be bottom-5 in the NFL led by the unsurprising duo of Drew Lock/Geno Smith at quarterback. Even if Walker can carve out a first-year workload similar to that of Chris Carson circa 2020 - 16.4 touches per game, 56% snaps share when healthy - it's still going to be a massive uphill battle for him to be a fantasy producer in Year 1. Pete Carroll has a stable of backs including Rashaad Penny, Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas who all figure to work in at some point despite Walker's Round 2 draft capital. Again, even when Carson was the RB1, he was splitting snaps. Penny was brought back on a one-year deal for $5 million (12tth-highest cap hit), Chris Carson - if healthy - is due $6.1 million (10th-highest cap hit) and Homer/Dallas have routinely worked as pass-catchers out of the backfield. Seattle also finished dead-last in targets to the RB position last season, creating serious doubt that Walker will be used in that fashion in any capacity as a rookie. Part of that is on Russell Wilson's lack of juice in the screen game, but the offense itself doesn't predicate much RB pass-game usage. Geno Smith posted a meager 12% RB target rate (three per game) in his three starts last season. Drew Lock was at 17%. The Seahawks have the chance to be a running back by committee and dumpster fire on offense this season for all the reasons I've laid out, which is why I am adamantly against paying the premium for Walker. If this team falls behind in games, there's no telling which RB will even be on the field. I feel so much better about going with one of the many rookie WRs selected in Round 1 ahead of Walker based on his landing spot. Hopefully, opportunities should open in this backfield in Year 2 for Walker with Penny likely leaving in free agency. But does he get replaced with another Day 2 running back? Will Seattle's offense even be efficient in 2023 and beyond? So much uncertainty with thi
The Patriots selected rookie running back Harris in the sixth round of the NFL Draft from South Carolina, and he will compete for a role in a crowded backfield this year. He's not worth drafting in seasonal leagues, and he's only worth a late-round flier in rookie-only drafts. New England has Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson atop the depth chart, along with James White in the passing game, and fellow rookie Pierre Strong should also be ahead of Kevin Harris. He will likely be competing with J.J. Taylor to make the final roster, and we don't see Kevin Harris making much of an impact this season.
The Baltimore Ravens selected Tyler Badie in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 196th overall.Badie was excellent in his lone year as a starter at Missouri, tallying 1,604 rushing yards and 330 receiving yards across 54 receptions. The latter is important because at 5-foot-8, 197 pounds, the 22-year-old likely operates as a change-of-pace or receiving back at the NFL level. The senior will likely compete with Justice Hill for the aforementioned role, one that saw the 2019 fourth-round pick accumulate 64 total touches and 295 total yards last season with the Ravens.