Fantasy Football 2022: Ranking Sleepers, Busts and Safest Players This Year

The pre-draft preparation process of fantasy football sometimes focuses too much on the first round.

It sort of makes sense, since it's probably the most important selection you'll make during your draft, but just remember, it's not the only pick you have to make. Not even close.

Acing the opening round is a nice start, but if you want to win a league title during the 2022 NFL season, you're going to have to nail a lot of your late-round selections, too. Along the way, you'll probably try to uncover some sleepers, avoid busts and balance out some of the risks you take with safe selections.

That's where this guide will come in handy, as we're spotlighting our top five sleepers, busts and safest players for the upcoming campaign.

Top-Five Sleepers

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HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 13: Dameon Pierce #31 of the Houston Texans rushes in the first half against the New Orleans Saints in a preseason game at NRG Stadium on August 13, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

5. Allen Lazard, WR, Green Bay Packers

Lazard scored eight touchdowns as a complementary part of the Packers' offense last season. Now, he'll become Aaron Rodgers' preferred target and should see his statistics soar.

4. Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Back healthy and reunited with his college quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, Etienne should hear his name called early and often as both an electric rusher and dynamic pass-catcher.

3. Derek Carr, QB, Las Vegas Raiders

Carr has made decent fantasy noise without great weapons around him in the past, but he could really take off now that the Raiders brought in Davante Adams, arguably the league's top receiver and Carr's college teammate. A 5,000-yard, 30-plus touchdown effort is not out of the question.

2. Jerry Jeudy, WR, Denver Broncos

Injuries and inconsistent quarterback play have limited Jeudy's output to this point, but the No. 15 pick of the 2020 draft could make a big leap forward in his third season. With Russell Wilson now under center, Jeudy can make everyone forget about the frustratingly quiet start to his career (three touchdowns in 26 games, none in 2021).

1. Dameon Pierce, RB, Houston Texans

A fourth-round rookie who runs with power and purpose, Pierce seems to already have control of the Texans' backfield. He could be Houston's RB1 all season, which might give him a low-end RB2 floor in fantasy.

Top-Five Busts

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GLENDALE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 09: James Connor #6 of the Arizona Cardinals runs with the ball against the Seattle Seahawks at State Farm Stadium on January 09, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

5. Darren Waller, TE, Las Vegas Raiders

Injuries limited Waller to 11 games last season, and he only found the end zone twice. He's already battling a hamstring injury and could lose a ton of targets to Davante Adams.

4. Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

Burrow is a rising star in real-life football, but his fantasy outlook isn't the same. As ESPN's Mike Clay noted, Burrow finished eighth in fantasy points last season, but 47 percent of his fantasy points came in three games, which were his only three top-eight finishes at the position all season.

3. Cordarrelle Patterson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

Through his first 11 games last season, Patterson totaled 1,007 scrimmage yards and nine touchdowns. Over his final five outings, he managed just 159 scrimmage yards and two scores. His numbers were already trending down, and this entire offense likely loses steam with Matt Ryan's offseason departure.

2. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

Adams' exit might be good for Lazard's fantasy outlook, but it could be disastrous for Rodgers'. Sure, he's talented enough to elevate the players around him, but breaking 30 touchdowns in an Adams-less offense could be a challenge.

1. James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Conner averaged his fewest yards per carry last season (3.7), but no one seemed to notice as they were caught up by his career-high 15 rushing touchdowns (plus three receiving scores). For context, he had 13 touchdowns the previous two seasons combined. Chasing a fluky amount of single-season scores is a bad way to do fantasy business.

Top-Five Safest Players

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - AUGUST 20: Jonathan Taylor #28 of Indianapolis Colts seen following the game against the Detroit Lions at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 20, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

5. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Evans has been the model of fantasy consistency, as he has cleared 1,000 receiving yards in all eight of his NFL seasons. In the two seasons since Tom Brady's arrival in Tampa, Evans' average output has been 72 receptions for 1,020.5 yards and 13.5 touchdowns.

4. Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers leaned heavily on Harris last season (381 touches) when he was only a rookie and Ben Roethlisberger was steering the ship. Now that Harris is a sophomore and Roethlisberger is gone, Pittsburgh could get even more run-heavy.

3. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

Jefferson's numbers from two NFL seasons look like video-game stats, except most gamers aren't even this good: 196 receptions for 3,016 yards and 17 touchdowns. His career trajectory is an arrow pointing straight up.

2. Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

Allen paced all players in fantasy points during the 2021 season; he did the same in 2020, per FantasyPros. With his improvements as a passer and established impact as a rusher, he's as good as it gets for a fantasy quarterback.

1. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

It took the Colts a while to figure out what they had in Taylor, the 41st pick of the 2020 draft, but they seemingly learned their lesson early in 2021 and should have a neon-green light for him going forward. Over his final dozen outings, he averaged 21.6 carries for 123.7 yards and 1.3 touchdowns.