Fantasy Football Rankings 2022: Busts from model that called Julio Jones’ disappointing year

The Texans had one of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL last season, generating just 3.4 yards per carry. The team had just one 100-yard rusher, which came when Rex Burkhead tallied 149 against the Chargers in Week 16. They added youth to their roster with fourth-round draft pick Dameon Pierce, who averaged 5.7 yards per carry for Florida and produced a game-high 47 yards on five carries during the team’s preseason opener against New Orleans, but how should you approach the rookie in your 2022 Fantasy football rankings?

Quarterback Davis Mills is going to be the starter again this year, so the Texans will need Pierce to give the rushing attack support. Should Pierce be one of your 2022 Fantasy football picks, or will he be one of the 2022 Fantasy football busts? As you begin your 2022 Fantasy football draft prep, be sure to check out the 2022 Fantasy football cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

Last year, SportsLine’s model accurately predicted that Titans wide receiver Julio Jones was being dramatically overvalued. He was being drafted around in the fifth round on average, but SportsLine predicted he wasn’t even close to being one of the top 20 wide receivers. Jones wound up turning in an incredibly disappointing stat line, catching 31 passes for 434 yards and one touchdown. 

The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, also identifying A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020 and JuJu Smith-Schuster as Fantasy football bust last season. It also nailed Jonathan Taylor’s big season and was all over Jaylen Waddle to outperform his Fantasy football ADP. Additionally, it’s called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.

The model is powered by the same people who generated projections for all three major Fantasy sites, and it beat human experts last season when there was a big difference in ranking. The projections update multiple times daily, so you’re always getting the best Fantasy football advice.

Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2022, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them. 

Top 2022 Fantasy football busts

One of the 2022 Fantasy football busts the model is predicting: Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. He has been a consistent contributor to Fantasy football lineups in his career. In fact, he’s never finished outside of the top 12 running backs in Fantasy.

However, Elliott struggled late last season, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry and 3.7 yards per target over his final nine games. Elliott will also have competition in Dallas’ backfield this season after Tony Pollard averaged 5.5 yards on 130 carries last season. That’s one of the main reasons why the model ranks Elliott behind fellow running backs like Elijah Mitchell and Breece Hall, both of whom are being drafted at least two rounds later on average.

Another bust that SportsLine’s Fantasy football rankings 2022 have identified: Saints wide receiver Chris Olave. New Orleans traded up to No. 11 to snag Olave in the first round of the draft in order to fill a hole at the wide receiver position. SportsLine’s model views Olave as a boom-or-bust option this year, so he is not a strong option in your Fantasy football rankings 2022.

New Orleans will have Michael Thomas back in the mix this year as he recovers from an injury that has sidelined him for the better part of two seasons. Quarterback Jameis Winston has had his ups and downs as well, so Olave is a high-risk pick at a costly price. The model recommends selecting receivers like Kenny Golladay or Michael Gallup later in the draft instead of Olave. See which other Fantasy football busts 2022 to avoid here.

How to find proven 2022 Fantasy football rankings

SportsLine is also extremely low on a running back coming off the board in the third or fourth round on average of 2022 Fantasy football drafts. The model ranks him outside its top 24 running backs for 2022 and expects him to see major regression after a breakout season in 2021. You can only see who it is, and the 2022 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.

So which 2022 Fantasy Football breakouts should you be targeting? And which RB will fail to live up to expectations in 2022? Visit SportsLine now to get 2022 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that told you to avoid Julio Jones in 2021, and find out.