2022 Fantasy Football 12-Team First-Round Mock Draft
Fantasy football drafts can get pretty tricky. People have to make crucial decisions, especially in the first round of the draft where owners have to pick their best player for the upcoming season. While RB Jonathan Taylor should hands down be the top player to come off the board in every fantasy football draft, let's take a look at where else some of the best running backs and wide receivers available in 2022 fall in the first round.
Let's dive in on a 12-team first-round fantasy football mock draft for this upcoming season.
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No. 1: RB Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
Without the slightest doubt, Colts’ RB Jonathan Taylor should be the first pick off the board in virtually all 2022 Fantasy Football Drafts. Last season, Taylor had 332 carries for 1,811 rushing yards, 40 receptions for 360 receiving yards, and a whopping 20 total touchdowns. Although the Colts’ replaced Carson Wentz with Matt Ryan this offseason, the team’s offense should still focus on feeding Taylor the ball. In addition, the Colts’ receiving corps is damaged. While Michael Pittman is an absolute stud, the team is without TY Hilton at the moment. This leaves WRs Parris Campbell and Alec Pierce as the two best pass-catchers behind Pittman Jr. According to PFF’s 2022 NFL Receiving Corps Rankings, the Colts’ route-runners are ranked 25th among all receiving corps when the season gets going. This should further encourage the Colts’ to overwhelm opposing defenses with Jonathan Taylor. Last season, Taylor averaged an impressive 5.5 yards per attempt, and averaged 106.5 rushing yards per game. Expect him to go off again in 2022 as the hands-down No. 1 overall pick in virtually every draft this year.
No. 2: RB Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
Over the last two seasons, Christian McCaffrey has only played in 10 games for the Panthers. As a result, he hasn’t produced reliable numbers since the 2018 and 2019 season where CMC was absolutely dominant. In 2018, McCaffrey had 1,098 rushing yards, 867 receiving yards, and 13 total touchdowns. In 2019, CMC became just the third player in NFL history to have at least 1,000 rushing yards and at least 1,000 receiving yards during the same season. He finished the year with 2,392 all-purpose yards and 19 total touchdowns. If CMC is healthy heading into 2022 and plays in every game like he did in his first three seasons (2017-2019), he could end up being as valuable as Jonathan Taylor. Despite the fact that he hasn’t played for most of the last two seasons, his numbers were so spectacular in 2018 and in 2019 that he is an undeniable top-five pick in this years’ fantasy football drafts. The only reason he could slide down are the concerns surrounding his health.
No. 3: WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Rams’ wideout Cooper Kupp had one of the most productive seasons of any NFL wide receiver in history. In 2021, Kupp had 145 receptions (75.9 Ctch%), ending the season just four catches shy of tying Micheal Thomas’ single-season record of 149 receptions during the 2019 regular season. Kupp had 1,947 receiving yards (114.5 Y/G) for 16 touchdowns in 2021. The Rams added WR Allen Robinson to their roster, further adding depth to their impressive receiving corps. Nonetheless, Kupp will undoubtedly be Matthew Stafford’s No. 1 target in 2022. Of the 601 passing attempts Stafford had last season, 191 of them were targeting Kupp. Nearly 40% of Stafford’s 4,886 passing yards came from Kupp’s 145 receptions. Kupp is the most valuable receiver heading into 2022.
No. 4: RB Derrick Henry, Tennessee TItans
Though Derrick Henry started in only eight games for the Titans last season before getting injured, he finished the season with 937 rushing yards, 154 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns. Though he missed nine games last season, Henry led all NFL RBs in yards per game averaging in 2021. While Henry averaged 117.1 yards per game, Jonathan Taylor finished second in this category, averaging 106.5 yards per game last season. Derrick Henry is a monster every time he touches the ball. Though he missed the majority of the last regular season, he was hands down the best RB in the first eight weeks of last season. If he stayed healthy and kept up his pace, he easily would have had a second-consecutive 2,000+ rushing yard season. Unfortunately, he wasn’t last season while Taylor was. If Henry was healthy and had another 2020 caliber season in 2021, he would likely be the first overall pick in most 2022 fantasy football drafts. Still, Henry is expected to be a top-five pick and could be considered the second-best available RB ahead of CMC, who’s missed the majority of the last two seasons. In contrast, Henry has only missed a total of two games in his first five seasons for the Titans. 2021 was the first time in his NFL career that Henry missed more than half of his regular season games. CMC only played three games in 2020, and seven games in 2021. Still, both McCaffrey and Henry are expected to be healthy heading into this season and should be considered the best available RBs behind Jon Taylor ahead of 2022 fantasy football drafts.
No. 5: RB Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers
Over the last few seasons, Chargers’ RB Austin Ekeler has proved that there isn’t much that he cannot do. In 2021, Ekeler had career-highs in almost every category. He had 911 yards rushing, 647 yards receiving, and 20 total touchdowns, tying Jonathan Taylor for the most total touchdowns of any running back last season. While Ekeler had less total yardage than Taylor last season, he was easily the second-most productive fantasy running back in 2021. In 2021, Ekeler averaged 56.9 rushing yards and 40.4 receiving yards per game. Though he is a running back, he is a player like CMC or Alvin Kamara who catches the ball almost as much as he runs with it. This makes him uniquely valuable in 2022 as Justin Herbert heads into his third NFL season.
No. 6: WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
In Minnesota, Justin Jefferson has become Kirk Cousins’ main target ahead of veteran WR Adam Thielen. In his first two NFL seasons (2020-2021), Jefferson has produced a combined 3,016 receiving yards and 17 touchdown catches. For 108 receptions in 2021, the sophomore wide receiver had 1,616 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. Jefferson is averaging 15.4 yards per catch for the first 196 receptions of his NFL career. Of Kirk Cousins’ 561 passing attempts last season, Jefferson accounted for 167 of them. This means that Jefferson was on the receiving end of approximately 30% (167/561 = 29.7%) of Cousins’ targets in 2021. In turn, veteran WR Adam Thielen was only targeted 95 times by Cousins’ last season. Though Thielen had 10 receiving touchdowns last season, he only produced 726 receiving yards. This means that Jefferson was targeted 72 more times than Thielen last season, and produced 890 more receiving yards than the later in 2021. Thielen had 67 total receptions last year while Jefferson had 108. While Jefferson finished the season with a relatively underwhelming 64.7 Ctch%, he has obviously become the top receiver on the Vikings offense. Expect Kirk Cousins’ to target him even more in 2022, while Thielen’s role as a route-runner continues to decrease.
No. 7: RB Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
As a rookie in 2021, Najee Harris was unbelievable. He finished the season with 1,667 yards from scrimmage for 10 total touchdowns. As the Steelers head into their first season in more than a decade without Ben Rothlessberger, concerns at QB heading into 2022 could make Harris’ role even more important in his second year. The sky is the limit for Harris as he heads into 2022.
No. 8: RB Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
When healthy, Dalvin Cook is just as good as any other RB. Last season, he played in 13 games for 1,383 total yards and six touchdowns. In 2019 erupted for 1,654 all-purpose yards and 13 total touchdowns. He had a career season in 2020, producing 1,557 rushing yards, 361 receiving yards, and 17 total touchdowns. That season, he averaged 111.2 rushing yards per game, and 25.8 yards per catch. Since his rookie season, Dalvin Cook has missed at least two games in each season. He missed four games in 2021. Similar to CMC, Cook should be one of the most valuable fantasy RBs in 2022. However, he falls later in the first round of most drafts because he’s missed at least a couple games in each of his first five seasons. It’s up to you whether you go with Cook or Najee Harris if you have a late first-round pick.
No. 9: RB Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Mixon is top-10 pick despite playing for the Bengals, who have the best receiving corps in football heading into 2022. Despite playing alongside Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins last season, Mixon rushed for 1,205 yards, caught for 314 yards, and recorded 16 total touchdowns in 2021. This was an amazing bounce back season after injuries held him to just six games and four total touchdowns in 2020.
No. 10: WR Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
Behind Deebo Samuel’s unbelievable 18.2 yards per catch last season, rookie WR Ja’Marr Chase averaged 18.0 yards per catch. In his first year as a pro, Chase had 1,455 receiving yards for an average of 85.6 receiving yards per game and 13 end zone grabs. Chase is the best receiver on the best receiving corps in the NFL heading into this season.
No. 11: WR Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
Davante Adamds has been one of, if not the best receiver in football over the last few seasons. In three of the last four seasons, Admas caught for at least 1,300 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Packers. This offseason, Adams joined the Las Vegas Raiders to reunite with his college quarterback at Fresno State: Derek Carr. While Adams could be a top-five pick, he is dropping to the late first round because of the excellent pass-catchers already helping Carr. Last season, WR Hunter Renfrow and TE Darren Waller both had highly efficient offensive seasons.
No. 12: RB Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
With Deshaun Watson suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season, the Browns’ quarterback situation heading into this season is a catastrophe. Not only did the team get rid of Baker Mayfield, they signed a guy who’s off the field issues will force him to miss the vast majority of his first season in Cleveland. As a result, expect the Browns’ running game to expand. As a result, Nick Chubb should have a more productive season than he did in 2021. In each of his first four seasons (2018-2021), Chubb has produced a minimum of 1,100 yards from scrimmage and at least eight total touchdowns in each. In addition, Chubb has averaged at least 5.0 yards per rushing attempt in each of his first four NFL seasons. In 2020, he had 5.6 Y/A, and 5.5 Y/A in 2021. With the Browns’ passing offense completely up in the air heading into this season, Chubb should at the very least reproduce numbers similar to last season. In 2021, Chubb had 1,433 all-purpose yards and nine total touchdowns. There is no reason he should produce less, and multiple reasons why he could produce more than he did last season. Especially after the Watson settlement reached Thursday morning, Chubb could bump up to the first round of 2022 fantasy drafts and be one of its last selections.
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