Fantasy Football Rankings 2022: Busts from top-tier model that called Julio Jones’ disappointing season

Even though Damien Harris missed two games for the Patriots in 2021, he still finished tied with Arizona’s James Conner for the second-most rushing touchdowns in the league last season with 15. While that is a number any owner would love from a starting running back, pinning down what to expect from Harris on a weekly basis was no small task. Harris finished with 12 carries or fewer in seven games last season, and now fans are left to ponder where he belongs in the 2022 Fantasy football rankings.

Smart 2022 Fantasy football draft strategy will help you find alternatives to players who have a reputation for inconsistent production. Backfields by committee can still yield productive 2022 Fantasy football breakouts and sleepers, but even minor injuries can turn a promising player into one of the biggest 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: 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell. The rookie was remarkably productive last season when he was on the field, but he was susceptible to injury and missed six total games. San Francisco starting running backs have generally struggled to stay healthy on a yearly basis and players who received reasonable workloads in the past like Jeff Wilson and Jamycal Hasty are still on the roster this season.

Mitchell ended up with just over 200 carries last season, but prior to that, no running back had had more than 200 rushing attempts for the 49ers since Carlos Hyde did so in 2017. Now that Trey Lance is the starting quarterback in San Francisco, the offense will certainly be adjusted to feature his skill set, which involves running the ball himself. After the wear-and-tear from last season, a new dual-threat QB running the offense, and a stable of other backs on the roster, Mitchell has a difficult path to improve upon his rookie season. Those factors are why the model projects that others with lower 2022 Fantasy football average draft positions like Tony Pollard, Chase Edmonds, and Cordarrelle Patterson will all have more productive seasons in 2022.

Another bust that SportsLine’s Fantasy football rankings 2022 have identified: Raiders running back Josh Jacobs. He was a top-10 Fantasy running back in 2020, but many are concerned about his place in the Raiders’ offense now that Josh McDaniels is the head coach. Jacobs played for much of the first quarter in the Hall of Fame Game to start the preseason, and afterwards, McDaniels was asked about whether the team planned to trade him.

For what it’s worth, Jacobs played well enough and finished with 30 yards on five carries, but rookie Zamir White also showed burst and came away with 52 yards on 11 attempts. One of the Fantasy football trends in recent years has been the Patriots’ lack of commitment to any one running back, and now that McDaniels has left his longtime post as offensive coordinator in New England, the expectation is that philosophy will prevail in Las Vegas. The model predicts several backs with lower 2022 Fantasy football ADP like Antonio Gibson, J.K. Dobbins and Breece Hall will all have a more productive Fantasy season than Jacobs in 2022. 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.