2022 PPR fantasy football mock draft | Round 2
How will teams complement their first-round selections? Which players will rise or fall from the previous year?
2.01) Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (TE1)
Travis Kelce is the gold standard for tight ends. Since 2015, Kelce has finished as a TE1 in a staggering 74% of his games while averaging 16.2 PPR/game. Last season was the first time since 2015 he did not finish as the TE1 on the season.
In his “down year,” Kelce was No. 2 in targets (134), receptions (92), and yards (1,125). The only TE to finish above him was Mark Andrews. Since 2017, Kelce has averaged 137.4 targets, 96 receptions, 1,228.8 yards, and 8.6 touchdowns.
Since 2018, Kelce is No. 1 in the NFL in receiving yards (4,456) and has 17 games of over 100 receiving yards. No other TE has 10. And he did that while sharing the field with Tyreek Hill for 74 of his 78 games. With Hill in Miami, Kelce could be in for a career year as he continues to keep Father Time away while being the outlier of outliers.
2.02) Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills (WR4)
Playing in 17 games, Stefon Diggs still hauled in 103 of 163 targets for 1,225 yards and 10 TDs to finish as the WR7 in fantasy (10th in PPR/game at 16.8). Diggs was tenth amongst WRs in team target share at 27% and was 12th in intended air yards (35.4%). However, given the vertical nature of this offense, his 35.4% was still 1,841 air yards, the second most in the NFL.
Heading into Year 3 with the Bills, there is no reason to believe Diggs trails off. Since joining the Bills, Diggs averaged 18.6 PPR/game in his 33 active games from 2020 to 2021. Over that same time, he finished as a WR1 (top 12) in 27% of his contests and inside the top 24 (WR2+) in 53%. I don’t think anyone will constantly keep this team down. The Bills’ offense will be on a different level, with Diggs having a chance to pace the position for fantasy.
2.03) D’Andre Swift, Detroit Lions (RB8)
I’m all-in on D’Andre Swift. Despite missing four games, Swift finished fourth in targets last season (78) and tied for the lead amongst RBs in targets per game (six). He averaged 17.6 opportunities per game, 34% of which came through the air. And remember, he did this in a partial season.
From Weeks 1-11, Swift was the RB5 in PPR, averaging 18.5 ppg thanks to 555 yards and four TDs on the ground and a whopping 53 receptions on 67 targets for 420 yards and one score. He was No. 1 in both targets and receptions and second in yards to only Cordarrelle Patterson. However, a shoulder injury suffered in Week 12 all but ended his season. The Swift we saw last year is a league winner for fantasy managers in 2022.
2.04) Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders (WR5)
No matter how many times I write it, I’ll never get used to writing Las Vegas next to Davante Adams’ name. Yet, while the jersey has changed, Adams’ talent has not, nor will his production drastically shift. Having finished no worse than WR5 since 2018, Adams had another sensational year with 162 targets, 117 receptions, 1,498 yards receiving, and 11 touchdowns.
Even if he does not see the roughly 28% target share, Adams is still the unquestioned alpha and will be Derek Carr’s top target, just as he was when they were in college at Fresno State. Carr is coming off a career-best 4,800-yard season despite all the off-field chaos surrounding the team. Throw in Josh McDaniel’s offense into the equation, and Adams will be a top PPR option in 2022 mock drafts.
2.05) Leonard Fournette, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (RB9)
The RB6 of 2021, Leonard Fournette was one of the most productive backs in the league. Rushing 180 times for 812 yards, Fournette led the backfield, finding the goal line eight times. Recording 69 receptions on 84 targets, Fournette turned those into 454 yards and two TDs, accounting for 49.3% of his total fantasy points (9.23 PPR/game). His six targets per game tied Swift for the most in the NFL.
With Ronald Jones in Kansas City, Chris Godwin returning from an ACL tear, and Rob Gronkowski retiring (again), Fournette will be an integral cog of the Bucs’ offense. Rachaad White will push Giovani Bernard for some passing work, but this is Fournette’s backfield. Bet on last year not being a fluke and grab a three-down RB in the middle of the second round in 2022 fantasy football PPR mock drafts.
2.06) CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys (WR6)
Speaking of players who need a big year, there might not be another non-QB with more pressure to carry a team than CeeDee Lamb. He has to carry the load for Dak Prescott and the Dallas passing attack. Amari Cooper was sent to Cleveland for pennies on the dollar. Michael Gallup is a PUP candidate as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL. Also, Cedrick Wilson went to the Dolphins in free agency, leaving Lamb with rookie Jalen Tolbert and former Steeler James Washington to start the season.
In 2021, Lamb took another step forwards after a successful rookie campaign. His targets were up to 120, as were his receptions (79), yards (1,102), touchdowns (six), and points per target (1.88). Finishing as the WR19, Lamb has posed WR2 or better seasons in both years, with 44% of his weekly finishes inside the top 24. As he enters 2022 with a chance for 140 or more targets, Lamb has the skills to dominate PPR formats for fantasy.
2.07) Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (WR7)
In 2021, Mike Evans made it eight in a row, reaching 1,000 receiving yards in every season of his career. He’s finished as a top-20 WR in weekly scoring in all but one season, and there is every chance Evans is about to have his best season yet.
In the red zone, where Evans was already 11th in targets, he could easily lead the league this year following Gronk’s retirement. Fantasy managers will be hard-pressed to find a safer pick in 2022 PPR mock drafts.
2.08) Saquon Barkley, New York Giants (RB10)
This is a “love it or hate it” pick. Some fantasy managers won’t touch Saquon Barkley with a 39-foot pole similar to the Grinch. But come Christmas 2022, Barkley could be one of the best gifts you could have given yourself this year.
His talent is, in my opinion, unquestioned. Yes, Barkley has played in just 15 of 33 games the last two seasons. With that said, the term “injury-prone” is being unfairly applied to him. He stepped on a defender’s foot after a play was over in 2021, and his ankle was the size of a softball. Barkley came back too early but was his old self by the end of the season. And in 2020, he tore his ACL, and as expected, he struggled in 2021.
He is a 215-240-touch RB with no competition for carries, and he could also bring in 50 or more receptions. I am not expecting Brian Daboll to completely change the Giants. They’re still building. Yet, Barkley is a centerpiece of this offense, and the longer the offseason goes, the higher he is moving up my rankings.
2.09) James Conner, Arizona Cardinals (RB11)
So long as he stays healthy, James Conner is a legitimate three-down back for the Cardinals. The team felt more than comfortable relying on Conner, as in games without Chase Edmonds, Conner averaged 23 PPR/game. A reliable pass catcher, Conner’s 8% target share is likely to grow in 2022 on one of the NFL’s quicker offenses.
While he was the RB5 last season, his scoring was ballooned by his absurd scoring rate, finding the end zone 18 times on 239 total touches (7.5%). He is one of the top regression candidates, but even as he comes back to Earth, Conner should remain a solid value in 2022.
2.10) Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers (WR8)
If you bet on Deebo Samuel in the draft last year, you cashed in as he had a historic season. Samuel is coming off a historic year where he had 1,400 receiving yards and six TDs on 121 targets and set a record for rushing touchdowns with eight as the overall WR3.
The concern for Samuel is he has very publicly stated he wants to be used as a traditional receiver rather than the “wide back” he was last year. Samuel has even requested a trade from the 49ers as the two sides try to figure out the next steps. Also, how will the offense look if they hand the keys to Trey Lance as expected? Samuel will be worth the second-round ADP in 2022 PPR mock drafts, but I do not expect to see him repeating what happened last year.
