2022 Sleepers

Kenneth Gainwell, RB

I was a big Gainwell truther last season, and when he played, he looked great. But for some reason he was not used all that often and in most games, he barely saw the field. Miles Sanders is the top RB option on the team, and even though I do believe he starts out as such, I believe Gainwell could take a big step forward and overtake a lot of Sanders’ work. Sanders was not able to score any TDs last season, while Gainwell was able to combine for 6 TDs. We saw Gainwell as the RB in the red zone a lot, and he was used as the 3rd down RB on the team. With 50 targets and 68 carries last season, I can truly see those numbers go up. Gainwell fits better than Miles Sanders does in the Eagles offense and I believe they will finally use him in a lead role come mid-season. With Gainwell going around RB50 in redraft leagues, this is a guy you can get really late who could be a solid flex play throughout the season. (Scott Miln)

KJ Osborn, WR

Not only did we see what Osborn could do towards the end of the 2021 season (12.70, 15.80, 3.60, 15.30, 12.50), but we saw what the future of the Minnesota passing attack could be in a post-Thielen world. And don’t kid yourself, that time is fast approaching. Thielen has struggled with injuries more often than not, and Osborn seems primed to be the benefactor. He also has Justin Jefferson taking most of the attention from opposing defenses, and this could shape up to be a steal in most drafts, as Osborn is currently WR82 (pick 255 overall). If you can nab a potential WR3 at this spot in the draft, you are positioning yourself to win. And he’s only a Thielen injury away from a massive role on this team. All of this and I have still yet to mention that the Vikings have some new leadership, as they bring in a regime that is going to be much more friendly to the passing attack than Mike Zimmer’s run-first approach of years past. Buy Osborn shares now, before they cost you an arm and a leg or your whole FAAB budget midseason. (Cory Dows)

Mecole Hardman, WR

I am very excited for Hardman’s season, and at an ADP of round 14 I’m downright giddy. I understand Hardman has not done much since his rookie season, but let’s first get to the metaphorically big, but physically tiny, elephant no longer in the locker room… Tyreek Hill. His leaving opens up one of the most sought after jobs a speedy WR could dream of, catching deep balls from Patrick Mahomes. Also don’t forget 2019 when Tyreek Hill was possibly never going to play football again with his allegations of child abuse, the Kansas City Chiefs used their first pick in that draft on Mecole Hardman, specifically to fill Hill’s shoes if he had missed substantial time. Now that never happened, and Hardman did have to sit behind Hill for 3 seasons, but Hill did get hurt to start the season and Hardman filled in well, adding 10.2 fantasy points per game while Hill was out. Those numbers could be better for sure, but one game he went negative with 2 receptions and a fumble, which really dragged down the average, but all in all his 2019 season was a success with a massive 20 yards per reception finish. The last we saw Hardman, he would have had 14.5 fantasy points in the conference championship, 12.2 in the divisional round, 6.9 in the wildcard, and 15.3 during week 18 of the regular season. That’s 12.3 PPG in his last 4 games, which would have made him WR11 during that span, and all of that was done with Hill on the field. I’m not saying Hardman can be Hill, but he is most likely to take that role in the offense as MVS and Juju keep the safeties honest in two different ways. MVS will definitely stretch the field while Juju runs around in the slot, helping to open up deeper and more complex routes for Hardman, who has more rapport and skill to run the chunk yard plays. Draft Hardman as your last pick for all I care, we know others don’t, but when you do make sure to send over a thank you card with a pic of you FF trophy. (Craig Penney)

Gerald Everett, TE

We have always been fans of waiting on TEs and taking one or two in the final two rounds. Well, this year I will be doing the same thing and I will be targeting Gerald Everett in all my drafts. After spending his first 4 seasons with the Rams, Everett failed to do much of anything in his only season with the Seahawks in 2021. He gets another shot to become a relevant fantasy TE while joining the Chargers this offseason. While in Seattle, he had the most receiving yards of his career (478 yards) and his highest TD total (4), but that was not enough to be a top 20 TE in fantasy. The Chargers have always done well with TEs, going back all the way to Antonio Gates. Hunter Henry was always a top TE in the NFL while with the Chargers and even Jared Cook was able to be a middle of the road TE2 last season. Everett is a fantastic pass catching TE and he finally lands on a team who can utilize his talents. I want the TE who is linked to Justin Herbert and if I can get that guy in the last round of drafts, I will do that all day. (Scott Miln)

Kendrick Bourne, WR

Joe Lombardi takes over as the new OC in Los Angeles and what does he bring with him? An offensive scheme that propelled Michael Thomas to fantasy stardom. With Lombardi’s enthusiasm to use Mike Williams as the X receiver in that scheme, 136 vacated targets, combined with Williams’ 85 targets in 2020, I would fully expect the 4th year WR to get upwards of 115 targets (which is probably on the conservative side). He already has a 1000 yard season and a double digit TD season under his belt, so we know he can do it at the NFL level, it’s just putting it all together and Lombardi seems excited to make it happen. With a ridiculous 16.7 yards per catch in his career, a 6’ 4” 218 frame, and seemingly no other red zone target for Herbert, Williams is bound to drastically outperform his 10th round ADP as the 42nd WR off the board. Bake in the fact that Williams is in a contract year and we have ourselves a potential league winning WR. 115-120 targets for 75-80 catches and 1200 yards with double digit TDs is JUST what the doctor ordered for Williams to get a payday. With the upside at WR42 tell me you’d prefer Jarvis Landry, Tyler Boyd, Michael Pittman, Antonio Brown or someone else of that caliber… Do it, I dare you. (Cory Dows)

DeVante Parker, WR

For the first time in his career DeVante Parker is not taking snaps for the Miami Dolphins. He was notably traded to the Patriots this offseason, where he will be the top dog in their WR room. While most may view Parker as average, he has always been stuck in very average offenses, which have never brought him to the forefront of top WR conversations. This all changes in 2022, as he was singled out as the only offensive addition to the Patriots during the Free Agency period. In the beginning of Belichick’s run with New England, he always sought after possession type WRs who played the sideline. Belichick has been looking for one for a while now, as N’keal Harry wasn’t the answer, despite profiling as the same type of WR as Parker and as the WRs I alluded to above. The Patriots tried to bring in Nelson Agholor to do a little bit of that job as well… and that did not work out either. This time will be different as Parker has the height at 6’3” and 4.4 speed while showing in the past his ability to tiptoe the sideline. The other area of need for the Patriots was a redzone threat, and as the only other receiver listed over 6’3” on the roster was Hunter Henry, Parker brings some size to the table that the Pats were lacking. To put in perspective what he could do for this team TD wise; the Patriots finished the season as the 6th highest scoring offense (which may surprise you), but they finished 3rd in Field Goal attempts which tells us that they are in the redzone A LOT, but mostly unable to finish. With a tall possession style receiver like Parker, the Patriots should be able to score more 6s and less 3s which will result in a near double digit TD finish for Parker. Couple that with upwards of 800 yards and we are talking about a massive fantasy steal for a player currently being overlooked and still on draft boards until the 12th round of fantasy drafts. (Craig Penney)