2022 Bounce Back Players

Lamar Jackson, QB

Look Lamar had a down year, I get that. And he was hurt, which has a lot of people going “SEE! I TOLD YOU!! YOU CAN’T PLAY THAT WAY IN THE NFL!!!!”. And to those people, I say, respectfully…shut up. Lamar can play that way, he’s not an injury risk, last year was a fluke, and he will be back on track this year. The Ravens dealt with injuries on a level that is almost unheard of last year, seemingly every RB, every DB, their starting QB, and several other key OL and LB players all missed significant time (with many missing the entire season). Well now all those guys are back, they cleaned house on their strength and conditioning team, as well as their medical personnel (treatment staff, rehab specialists, etc) and they’re ready to make sure they don’t have a repeat situation this season. Lamar will certainly be back to QB1 range, of this I have zero doubt, but in order to say he’s a bounceback player I’m going to do you one better and guarantee you a spot in the top 5 QBs at end of season. You heard it here first, BIG TRUZZ is back. (Sorry, you heard that from Mark Ingram first…but you get the point). (Cory Dows)

Courtland Sutton, WR

If you have listened to us before, you know that we are all Sutton fans at TSF, which makes it easy for me to make Sutton a Bounce Back player in 2022. Last season was one to forget for Sutton and the entire receiving corps for the Broncos. I mean he did have Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater throwing him the ball, but regardless, it should have been a better season for a guy who played all 17 games. In 2020, he only played part of Week 1 before going down with an injury for the entire season, but in 2019, we saw what Sutton could be in the NFL in his second season, which was WR17 on the year. I get that 2019 is so long ago, but with Russell Wilson under center, Sutton now has the best QB he has ever played with. We saw Wilson make both DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett arguably the best WR duo for fantasy in years prior, so I do not see why Sutton cannot become a WR2 once again with WR1 upside. With Tim Patrick out for the season, Sutton should see even more targets alongside Jerry Jeudy. Put the last 2 seasons behind you and trust Courtland Sutton once again because he could be that league winner in 2022. (Scott Miln)

Robert Woods, WR

Woods unfortunately had his season cut short last year as he tore his ACL during a practice between Weeks 9 and 10. That also happened to be the same time the Rams brought in Odell Beckham. Woods was on pace for another 1,000 yard season, as he put up 12.7 fantasy points per game, and all of this was behind the best WR in football last year. This season he moves over to the Titans where at this point, he is the top WR. Treylon Burks continues his offseason struggles, leaving Woods as the lone WR with more than above average talent on the roster. I know Woods has a different skill set than A.J. Brown, but at least we could look at target share and know a WR1 on this team commands large volume; Brown had 105 targets through 13 games last season. Will Treylon Burks show up at some point in the season and take the WR1 job? It sure isn’t trending that way, but even if he did, his skillset is much different to the possession type WR that Woods is. Woods will have already earned the trust from Tannehill and should be the 3rd down target if there are any 3rd and long situations. The Titans overhauled their offense leaving just a 3rd string WR in Westbrook-Ikhine and Derrick Henry as the only returning skill position players, so this time in camp has become extremely important for Woods’ fantasy value. Volume is king here and by all accounts Woods is already over last year’s injury and is becoming Tannehill’s favorite target. (Craig Penney)

Saquon Barkley, RB

Hey, he’s gotta stay healthy one of these years, right? In all seriousness, I really do think Saquon puts together a full season this year and stays healthy and on the field. And that’s really been the only thing holding him back. His availability. And if he is in fact on the field, there is no reason to think he won’t continue to produce at an elite level. He has the talent, he has the opportunity, and the Giants don’t have the pieces around him to take looks away from him. What it really might boil down to is Daniel Jones being just barely competent enough to not completely derail the offense on every drive, which I know is a big ask, but I think Saquon makes it happen regardless, as he contributes in the passing game, the running game, and can score from anywhere on the field. Hopefully he recognizes the fact that he isn’t invincible and maybe eases up like 5-10% so he can still be nasty but maybe stay on the field and not Bo Jackson himself into an early retirement. (Cory Dows)

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB

(Insert your ‘Scott just give up on CEH’ comment here) I get it, CEH is an easy player to fade and give up on and I do not blame anyone for thinking that. This was a first round NFL player selected by one of the best offenses we have seen in years and in his first two seasons, he has been a massive disappointment. Coming out of college, CEH had one of the better tapes I have seen out of an RB and was the best pass catching RB out of college that year. So far in the NFL, he has done very little in the passing game and players like Darrell Williams and Jerrick McKinnon have taken over those roles since CEH has been there. The one reason I do not want to knock him too hard is that he has missed time due to injury. He gets his first full preseason since coming into the league and the Chiefs only brought in Ronald Jones, who I believe could be a cut candidate, and rookie Isiah Pacheco. They could have landed a better free agent at the position, but the Chiefs are willing to give CEH one more try to see if he can be the player they drafted him to be. He is going around RB27 in ADP and this is someone I will target in the middle rounds of drafts. Check out my article on CEH (https://topshelffantasy.com/the-case-for-ceh/) for a deeper dive as to why he is a Bounce Back player in 2022. (Scott Miln)

Adam Thielen, WR

Are you hooked on a Thielen? With an ADP of round 6 it seems most are not. Now I get it, since the rise of Justin Jefferson people have put Theilen behind a barn and started loading a shotgun, but let’s not forget what his career has been. He has always been in a WR room with two top level players, as he played alongside Diggs for 5 seasons before Jefferson. During that time, Thielen finished as a top 10 WR twice, and even during Justin Jefferson’s rookie season Thielen finished as a top 10 WR. Last year, Thielen only played 13 games, which contributed to his WR28 finish, but because of Jefferson everyone forgets the times like in 2018, with Diggs on the roster, where Thielen was the WR1 through the first 8 weeks of the season and was on pace to go over 2,000 receiving yards. This year Thielen will also benefit from new Head Coach Kevin O’Connell, as he helped lead the Rams to the Super Bowl as coordinator of the league’s 7th best offense, all the while mostly utilizing 11 personnel, which stretched the wide receivers across the line of scrimmage and focused on a highly frequent passing attack. I’m expecting an easy 1,000 yard season for Thielen and a finish within the top 15 fantasy WRs. (Craig Penney)