-2022 NFL Schedule -Strength of Schedule
MOCK DRAFT
Ask the Commish.Com 2022 Draft Kit
Somebody on the Miami Dolphins is in for a rude awakening come September. Mike Gesicki, Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill are all being pushed up the rankings/draft boards with hopes that Tua Tagovailoa takes a massive step forward in Year 3 under first-year head coach Mike McDaniel. I am not as optimistic that Tagovailoa can be the vehicle to deliver fantasy goodness to all these pieces in South Beach because this offense is going to be run-heavy. McDaniel made his way up the coaching ranks under Kyle Shanahan as a standout run-game coordinator. And should he follow in the footsteps of Shanahan as the offensive mastermind in Miami, fantasy managers should expect a lot of rushing and YAC schemes. 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo ranked 29th in aDOT in 2021 (7.6) after ranking 39th and 35th in the category the two years prior. Tagovailoa's aDOT was 34th in the league (7.6) in 2021. Jimmy G's most productive seasons have seen him average just north of 16 fantasy points per game - good for QB17 in 2021. Tagovailoa has yet to eclipse 14 fantasy points per game two years into his career. He also ranked 31st in throwing at the intermediate level (62.5 PFF grade) among 37 qualifying passers last season. So although Tua is viewed as a popular late-round quarterback among fantasy circles, I have to admit I won't be pulling the trigger on him in 1QB redraft formats. Especially with his brutal early schedule. New England, Baltimore and Buffalo are hardly the stream-worthy spots you will be confident in starting the southpaw QB. In the Dolphins quarterback's four combined starts versus those teams in 2021, his fantasy finishes were QB23, QB24, QB18 and QB16.
The third-round rookie's surprisingly decent rookie season was a bright spot in an otherwise depressing season for the 2021 Texans. Mills was the QB10 over his final five starts, with nine TD passes and a pair of 300-yard games over that stretch. He's entrenched as Houston's long-term starter yet, but he has a foot in the door.
Joe Burrow's massive second-year jump is encouraging for this year's second-year QBs like Trevor Lawrence. The Jags quarterback finished with the same expected fantasy points per game average as Burrow in 2021 (17.3) but underwhelmed tremendously in a poor situation. His -72.3 fantasy points versus expectation were the most of any QB in 2021. Lawrence posted a season-high 85.1 PFF passing grade in the season-finale, offering some hope that he can turn things around in 2022 with a new coaching staff in place. There's a strong chance that Jacksonville dials up the passing attempts with Doug Pederson calling the shots on offense. During his five-year tenure in Philadelphia, only once did the offense not finish top-10 in pass attempts.
Trey Lance is falling in best ball ADP because of reports surfacing that he is underwhelming at OTAs and because Jimmy Garoppolo remains on the roster. But after the 49ers beat reporters butchered the Trey Sermon situation last season and the 49ers' massive investment in Lance last year, I view this situation as an easy buy-low scenario. Garoppolo's shoulder surgery is the reason he hasn't been traded. Once he is deemed healthy, I'd presume he gets moved to a QB-needy team or to a roster that sustains an injury at the position. Lance only started two games but showed off the rushing that excited fantasy managers during draft season. The 49ers' first-year signal-caller averaged 22.4 expected fantasy points and 60 rushing yards per game.
His mustache and meme games are strong; his QB skill set makes him better suited to be a high-quality backup than a starter. When he plays, he's good enough to stream against bad defenses, not good enough to be an every-week fantasy starter. Destined to start the 2022 season behind Jalen Hurts.