Matthew Freedman’s Fantasy Football Rankings, Advice, & Cheat Sheet (2022) (2024)

The 2022 NFL season is approaching, and that means it’s time to prepare for your fantasy football draft. What better way to do that than to practice drafting with our free mock draft simulator! Beyond our tools, we’re also going to have you covered throughout the draft prep season with our content.

To help you dominate your fantasy football draft, Matthew Freedman shares his 2022 fantasy football rankings, advice, and cheat sheet.

• Fitz’s Cheat Sheet

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Matthew Freedman’s Overall 2022 Fantasy Football Strategy

Check out my 2022 fantasy football draft plan for more details on my overall strategy. Here’s a quick synopsis:

In Rounds 1-2, I want to take 1-2 running backs because I want to go heavy on wide receivers in Rounds 3-6. After the first six rounds, I want to have this positional allocation.

• QB: Nothing
• RB: 1-2
• WR: 3-4
• TE: Top two or nothing

And then in Round 7, I start targeting players whom I believe have underappreciated upside at their average draft positions.

Matthew Freedman’s 2022 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet

Beyond our fantasy football content, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you prepare for your draft this season. From our free mock Draft Simulator – which allows you to mock draft against realistic opponents – to our Draft Assistant – that optimizes your picks with expert advice – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football draft season.

QB Sleepers:

• Trey Lance (QB – SF)
• Justin Fields (QB – CHI)

QB Busts (in relation to where they’re being drafted):

• They’re not busts exactly, but I’m avoiding quarterbacks going in the first eight rounds.

RB Sleepers:

• Isiah Pacheco (RB – KC)
• Isaiah Spiller (RB – LAC)
• Tyrion Davis-Price (RB – SF)

RB Busts (in relation to where they’re being drafted):

• Most running backs in Rounds 3-6 (a.k.a. the “Running Back Dead Zone”)

WR Sleepers:

• Drake London (WR – ATL)
• JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR – KC)
• Rashod Bateman (WR – BAL)
• Gabriel Davis (WR – BUF)

WR Busts (in relation to where they’re being drafted):

• Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA)
• Chris Godwin (WR – TB)
• Darnell Mooney (WR – CHI)
• Allen Robinson (WR – LAR)

TE Sleepers:

• David Njoku (TE – CLE)
• Cole Kmet (TE – CHI)
• Irv Smith Jr. (TE – MIN)
• Albert Okwuegbunam (TE – DEN)

TE Busts (in relation to where they’re being drafted):

• Darren Waller (TE – LV)
• Mike Gesicki (TE – MIA)

Early-Round Value Picks (Rounds 1-5):

• Aaron Jones (RB – GB)
• Saquon Barkley (RB – NYG)
• Leonard Fournette (RB – TB)
• James Conner (RB – ARI)
• CeeDee Lamb (WR – DAL)
• D.J. Moore (WR – CAR)
• Brandin Cooks (WR – HOU)

Mid-Round Value Picks (Rounds 6-10):

• Cordarrelle Patterson (RB – ATL)
• Kareem Hunt (RB – CLE)
• Tony Pollard (RB – DAL)
• Drake London (WR – ATL)
• JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR – KC)
• Rashod Bateman (WR – BAL)
• Gabriel Davis (WR – BUF)

Late-Round Value Picks (Round 11 or later):

• Justin Fields (QB – CHI)
• Trevor Lawrence (QB – JAC)
• Daniel Jones (QB – NYG)
• Brian Robinson (RB – WAS)
• Alexander Mattison (RB – MIN)
• Jahan Dotson (WR – WAS)
• Julio Jones (WR – TB)

Deep-League Value Picks:

• David Bell (WR – CLE)
• Wan’Dale Robinson (WR – NYG)

Backup RBs to Target:

• Isaiah Spiller (RB – LAC)
• Brian Robinson (RB – WAS)
• Alexander Mattison (RB – MIN)
• Nyheim Hines (RB – IND)

Backup RBs to Avoid:

• James Robinson (RB – JAC)
• Samaje Perine (RB – CIN)
• Matt Breida (RB – NYG)
• Boston Scott (RB – PHI)
• Kenneth Gainwell (RB – PHI)
• Benny Snell (RB – PIT)

Rookies to Target:

• Drake London (WR – ATL)
• Isaiah Spiller (RB – LAC)
• Brian Robinson (RB – WAS)
• Tyrion Davis-Price (RB – SF)
• Jahan Dotson (WR – WAS)
• David Bell (WR – CLE)
• Wan’Dale Robinson (WR – NYG)

Rookies to Avoid:

• Jameson Williams (WR – DET)
• Garrett Wilson (WR – NYJ)

D/STs to Target:

• I don’t think you should “target” any D/ST. If you must select one in your draft, then target one in the last two rounds with a good Week 1 matchup. That’s it.

D/STs to Avoid:

• Any D/ST going before the last two rounds is going too early.

5-Word Draft Tip:

• Wait on the onesie positions.
• Bonus tip: Shoot for upside.

Matthew Freedman’s 2022 Redraft Fantasy Football Rankings

Matt is the Director of Content for FantasyPros & BettingPros. He's a five-time top-16 fantasy football ranker and a +EV sports bettor.