Hello all and welcome back for the 2022 NFL season!!!!! I am sorry that I have not frequented the DFO space that much this summer. Truth be told, I am simply not around a computer very much during the summer months, and when I am it’s usually to do my actual job (or research fantasy football). This past summer during my travels I managed to hit every corner of the lower 48, visited 15 states, closed 2 storage units, moved into a new place, yadda yadda you don’t need to hear all this, but the point is that I have missed participating and am glad to be back.

I am so pumped for the start of the ‘22 season in a way that I don’t think I have ever really been before. I have greatly missed writing the articles and playing NFL DFS. In its absence I have been donating my dollars to NHL and NASCAR, so I’m looking forward to getting back into the sport that I have the most success with.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Like many of you, I play in seasonal leagues. This year I started my research pretty early. For the first time ever I profiled the 2022 NFL Draft prospects, their strengths and weaknesses, so I have a better idea of what the rookies are capable of.

Since I was already knee deep in research, I figured why not put something together and write about it?

I actually hesitated on doing this because some of my direct competition reads my articles (those aren’t just burner accounts). I figure I can still show my process and my thoughts on each team without letting my competitors know exactly what I am going to do. I guess we’ll see if that holds true though! 

A couple things you need to know up front:

1. I don’t like snake drafts, but will tolerate them. As such, much of my preparation is done around the idea of auction drafts. If you haven’t tried an auction draft, I cannot encourage it more.

It’s the only way to have a team in which you can draft Jonathan Taylor, Najee Harris and Ja’Marr Chase on the same roster, and you basically have zero excuses as to why you did not end up with the team you wanted. You also learn how you and your friends spend money, which is a cute ancillary benefit isn’t it frugal Sharkbait?

2. I don’t draft players. 

I draft their situations. Take CMC for instance. Yes, everyone knows he is awesome, and all you have to do is stroll over to ESPN and Yahoo! and let them tell you how to think by ranking him in the top 5 RBs. Since he’s a household name and capable of winning you a league if he stays healthy, people will draft him quite high. But will they really know why he is worthy of such a pick? The typical answer is that he’s a great football player, one of the best RBs in the league, blah blah. Most people won’t know that the Carolina Panthers coaching staff and newly hired OC Ben McAdoo will have schemes designed to put their QBs in position to do well, namely short, quick dropbacks with high percentage passes. That benefits CMC. Line Coach James Campen was also brought in, purposefully to help the running game. Additionally, will people notice that the Panthers drafted Ikem Ekwonu with their 6th overall pick? Ekwonu is an exceptional run blocker, and the draft capital spent on him is even more evidence of the organization showing their intention to run the ball more effectively this season. It’s also why they brought in D’Onta Foreman after his success in Tennessee. Carolina can now use Foreman to help spell CMC to keep him healthy or serve as the early down back if (when) CMC gets hurt.

So basically, I draft coaches, their schemes, and offensive lines. You’d be hard pressed to find a player on my seasonal teams who doesn’t have a halfway decent O-line going for him, especially QBs and RBs. As an example, LeVeon Bell was arguably the best RB in the league when he ran behind Pittsburgh’s all-star O-line. Then he went to the Jets and sucked because they didn’t believe in offensive lines at the time. Unless maybe your name is Najee Harris and you get to be on the field for close to 100% on your team’s offensive snaps and Ben Roethlisberger has to keep checking down to you, I’m simply not interested. Even then I’m not crazy about spending my own draft capital on an RB whose blockers can’t block, or a QB whose line can’t keep him upright. 

Most of the league made significant coaching changes for 2022, and nearly every team adjusted their offensive line. Yes, I know all of them and what they are capable of.

3. This might not need saying amongst a group as educated as you all, but all of this information is time sensitive. We are on the Eve of the Preseason and some of what lies below could be potentially outdated information in less than 36 hours. If Evan Neal tears his ACL tomorrow night against the Pats, then that changes things. If Ikem Ekwonu has a season ending ACL injury in the 2nd preseason game, then obviously that affects the season-long prospects of CMC. That is true for every offensive line, so paying attention to offensive line injuries is arguably as important as paying attention to particular fantasy player injuries. I did not do a good job of that in my DFS articles this past year. I will do a better job of it this year. I will also post updates in upcoming articles of potentially significant injuries that are incurred throughout the preseason that may affect previously posted writeups.

4. I do my best to avoid “unclear situations.”

• Who is the #1 RB in Buffalo? In Houston? In Miami? For the Jets? 
• Who is WR2 for Indianapolis? Denver? Chicago?

While everyone may have their opinion about those questions, I simply argue that they are not clear, so I’ll leave the gambling for DFS.

5. The “My Interests” section means seasonal interests. I reserve the right to be interested in anyone and everyone in DFS.

So what I’m going to do is go through each team in the league and highlight their coaching situations, O-lines, and notable additions. Today’s batches are “The Easts,” the AFC and NFC East divisions. I’ll be rolling out the others in 3 installments, so that’s 8 teams each for those who are not currently down for arithmetic. I’ll tell you some of the players I’m considering and some that I’m not going to touch with a ten foot pole. 

Or maybe this is all a ruse to trick my friend Liz into thinking what I will or won’t do at our draft later this month…or even in this article.

@Liz

On to the Teams!!!!! 

Buffalo Bills

Coaching Notes – HC McDermott is in his 6th year and DC Frazier is in his 5th. Brian Dabboll is no longer the OC so that is now Ken Dorsey’s show. Dorsey has been the QB coach here since 2019, so I don’t expect too many schematic changes. However, we have a new O-line coach in Aaron Kromer, but he has over 20 years of coaching experience, including these same Bills in 2015 and 2016 who led the league in rushing at the time with LeSean McCoy. Kromer then went and spent time with the Rams when Todd Gurley was a thing. Accomplished coach Joe Brady also told Carolina to pound sand and has joined the Bills to be the QB coach. (Brady coached Burrow, Jefferson and Chase at LSU.) Even though Dabboll is gone, this is an excellent group of coaches who should have the Bills poised for a run at the Lombardi Trophy. 

O-Line: Four starters are returning and they added some depth in the FA signings of Saffold (who was with Kromer in LA) and Quessenberry, both from the Titans and both good (yes, see later for how that is a problem for the Titans). RT Spencer Brown looks like a weakness on paper, but he was a rookie last year and played well enough to appear in 13 games, so the thought is that he will only improve. This unit should continue to allow Josh Allen and the Bills offense to find success. Many are speculating that the Bills ground game will be more important this year based on the idea of sustainability for Josh Allen’s health (less running for him) and due to Kromer’s track record for high powered rushing offenses. Singletary is still projected as RB1, at least to start the season, but the team did use 2nd round draft capital to select Dal’s brother James Cook. 

A unique situation: One thing that is up in the air is whether or not Cole Beasley’s role as the slot receiver will end up in the hands of Isaiah McKenzie or Jameson Crowder. One, if not both, could easily be a gpp winner this season, but for seasonal purposes this is too up in the air for me at the moment. When in doubt, go with the younger guy.

My interests: This is probably an offense that you want a part of this year. It looks more balanced and perhaps even more potent than in years past. I like Allen, Diggs, Davis, Knox, Singletary and Cook. Singletary flashed at the end of last year and could be a top 5 RB by season’s end in this version of the Bills offense, but I would grab Cook too just in case. 

Miami Dolphins

Bonus Organizational Note: What the actual fuck? Tampering???? Idiots.

Coaching Notes: First year HC Mike McDaniel did something that many do not when they take over as a HC, and that is keep many of the coaches and personnel that worked under the previous coach (Brian Flores). I only mention it because I do not see any just reason why Flores was fired. He didn’t want to bring in Deshaun and then you, Mr. Stephen Ross, get caught for tampering with Tom Brady and a new HC in Sean Payton, but it’s Flores who has to go???…..Okay, you disgust me. Anywho, McDaniel served as the 49er OC last season. Picture the big plays that receivers like Deebo, Aiyuk and Kittle had at times last season and then it makes sense why the Fish did what they did to bring Tyreek Hill in. McDaniel will try to install a running attack similar to what the Niners have been running in years past, even going so far as to bring in a version of Kyle Juszczyk in Alec Ingold as well as Mr. Glass himself, Raheem Mostert. 

O-Line: First year line coach Matt Applebaum has his work cut out for him here. The Dolphins line play has not been good in recent seasons. To their credit though, they have been trying to address it. They brought in LT Armstead and G/C Williams, both of whom are good. The problem with Armstead is that he has never played a full season in 9 attempts. Additionally, they have used much of their draft capital to address the problem and there should be some competition during camp between a few 2nd and 3rd year players. At the moment, we have to resort to a time will tell approach. It should be improved over last year….should be.

Final Thoughts: This organization is run by a bunch of asshats, so proceed with caution. Tua isn’t great, but there’s a chance with this staff and supporting cast that he can be serviceable. Tyreek and Waddle are both awesome and should have productive fantasy years, maybe just not as productive as recent memory for Tyreek. The running game will likely have some fantasy success this season, but who’s that going to be? They have Edmonds, Michel, Mostert, Gaskin, and Ahmed, all players who have seen some run as an RB1. Edmonds is the odds on favorite considering what they paid him, but I don’t want to go there in seasonal. Also, it should be noted that TEs in the 49er system have had some big days, so there is potential that Mike Gesicki has a good year, but I’m done chasing the “Mike Gesicki is a thing” train.

My interests: Tyreek and Waddle, let your league-mates draft Miami RBs.

New England Patriots

Coaching Notes: Bellichick is obviously still here and Matt Patricia is along for the ride as an “advisor,” but this team has no OC, nor does it have a DC. Joe Judge is back as an “Offensive Assistant,” but we also don’t have a QB coach nor an O-line coach. A unique situation for sure. I’d expect a little progression out of Mac Jones this season, but I don’t anticipate him being a top 12 QB. Like last year, this offense will likely vary from week to week with different players having their day. Damien Harris will likely be RB1, but he’ll probably be TD dependent to allow you to beat your opponent in any given week as he won’t be catching the ball.

O-Line: Death, taxes, and New England has a good offensive line. A staple of Belichick’s teams over the years has been better than average offensive line play. It’s an often overlooked but significant reason why this organization has enjoyed the success it has had over the last 2 decades. This year will be different though with McDaniels and Briscillo gone, and the Pats taking a sort of coaching by committee plan. The players who are there are still good though, and the organization continues to use draft capital to invest in young linemen. There isn’t much depth here, but if healthy, then both run and pass blocking will continue to be serviceable. 

Things Others are Talking about: DeVante Parker, Rhamondre Stevenson, the Pats drafted a WR!!!!, and Mac Jones in 2 QBs leagues are things many are talking about this offseason. I’m here to tell you that this will be an unreliable group from week to week. If you haven’t learned that yet about the Patriots, then you probably shouldn’t play fantasy football.

My interests: None. 

New York Jets

Coaching Notes: Personally, I am quite bullish on the Jets coaching staff and scheme. HC Saleh, OC Lafluer and Line coach Benton all hail from the 49er coaching tree of 2017 – 2020; during that time SF had one of the best lines in football and one of the best running games.

O-Line: In one season in NY, this coaching group turned the O-line into the 13th best run blocking unit in the league, and that was without LT Mekhi Becton who was injured…aaaaannnndd apparently Becton sustained a knee injury the other day and is done for the season so that’s awesome. They added G Laken Tomlinson who is good. C Connor McGovern is top 15 in the league. RG Alijah Vera-Tucker was a 1st round pick last year and had a solid rookie season, so hopefully he follows that up with an improved sophomore year. There are even some good backups on this team. The point is that this is not a bad group even without Becton, and this is not a bad coaching staff. 

What I see: The Jets ground game should be good this year, especially with the addition of Breece Hall via a 2nd round pick. The question just becomes who will see RB1 work: Hall? Carter? Ty Johnson? Heck, even dinosaur Tevin Coleman is still around. It’s unclear, kind of just how it was like in SF for years, who the starter is. The passing game has also gotten a serious boost with the drafting of 5 star WR recruit Garrett Wilson in the 1st round. Between him, Elijah Moore, and a potentially healthy Corey Davis, there is reason for hope in this passing game as well. I fully expect this offensive line to improve on both its 21st pass blocking and 13th run blocking rankings. The Jets should have some fantasy relevant players this season….I’m just not sure MILF lover Zach Wilson is the guy to put it all together.

My Interests: Hall (but it depends on cost), Carter, Moore and Wilson (Garrett that is).

Dallas Cowboys 

Coaching Notes: HC McCarthy has ceded control of the offense to OC Kellen Moore and control of the defense to DC Dan Quinn. If Dan Quinn sounds familiar, think Legion of Boom and HC of SuperBowl runner up Atlanta Falcons (yes, the 28-3 Falcons lol). The Cowboy defense should be pretty decent this year, though they arguably lost their best player to the Broncos. 

O-Line: This group finished 1st in run blocking and 2nd in pass blocking last year. They did lose Connor Williams and La’el Collins though, so it’s not likely that they will repeat those numbers. RG Martin and LT Smith are two of the best in the game and as long as they are healthy, then this will be a formidable line. If they are not, then it will be a tough year in Dallas as there is not much depth here and the rest of the line are not on the same level as Smith and Martin.

How Things Should Play Out: With Amari Cooper gone and Michael Gallup likely out for at least a few games, there is a lot of speculation going on about who the likely beneficiaries are. Moore has been giving Dak the ability to make play calls as he sees fit, and that has been very nice from a fantasy perspective. With the changes in personnel, specifically the line, the Boys likely will not play at as fast a pace this season, but Dak should put up decent numbers. Zeke is still RB1 but he is getting up there in age and fragility. Tony Pollard will get playing time and serves as an excellent handcuff for those drafting Elliott. Ceedee Lamb will be WR1, but it’s unclear if he will continue to operate in multiple different spots or become the new outside WR; I believe he’s a star and will be productive wherever they put him. Jalen Tolbert is my pick to be WR2 for the games that Gallup misses, but his leash will be short, and it’s unclear what happens when Gallup returns. Dalton Schultz looks like he is in position to take a big step forward in terms of production, but he and the Boys couldn’t come to terms on a long term contract this offseason, so this situation is worth monitoring as the preseason moves along. 

My Interests: Dak, Lamb, Tolbert in dynasty, and Schultz. Gallup is out because I refuse to draft injured players.

New York Giants

Coaching Notes: This is probably the coaching situation that is getting the most buzz as Brian Daboll accepted his first ever HC position. I didn’t realize this, but in researching Daboll I found out that he was serving in some capacity as a coach for 5 of the Patriots’ championships and can definitely be considered as part of the Bill Bellichick coaching tree. Obviously Daboll is most recently renowned for installing the high flying offense of the Buffalo Bills, and what he and new OC Mike Kafka are going to do will be very specific: multiple blocking schemes, a few different rushing schemes for Saquon, and many RPOs for QB Daniel Jones. We also have a new DC in Don Martindale who most recently served as the Ravens DC. Martindale’s staples are blitzing and allowing defensive captains to make calls on the field. Between coaching changes, draft picks and recent player additions, there is good reason for excitement around this year’s Gmen. 

O-Line: Daboll brought line coach Bobby Johnson with him from Buffalo and man do the Gmen need help. In fact, they’ve needed it for a few seasons. Owner John Mara went so far as to blame the subpar performances of Daniel Jones on the Giants inability to surround him with the correct supporting cast. Personally, I believe this also applies to Saquon. You could definitely argue that his injury and subpar performance history are at least partially to blame on the Giants terrible offensive lines. So the Gmen took RT Evan Neal with their 7th overall pick this year. They also took guards in the 3rd and 5th rounds, so they’re trying. LT Andrew Thomas is quite good as well, but the interior of this line will likely still have issues. However, it does look like Jones should have more time to pass this season.  

What to Expect: Danny Dimes’ and Josh Allen’s (rookie) numbers are fairly similar. Daboll is widely considered as the reason Josh Allen is such a good NFL QB. Wait, am I saying that Daniel Jones is about to become the next Josh Allen? Probably not. But we are definitely about to find out if John Mara is correct and if Dimes has much of a future in this league. Jones will find himself in more shotgun passing situations than he has ever had, and the Gmen are going to roll out more 3 and 4 WR sets than fans are used to watching. As long as he stays healthy, Saquon is probably the biggest fantasy beneficiary here as Daboll will use a rushing attack more often than he did in Buffalo. There is also potential that Saquon will sometimes line up as a WR, and the RPOs could sometimes leave Saquon as a checkdown option. I’m not sure what to make of specific WRs here, but someone is going to eat. Smooth Kenny G will likely be a deeper threat considering his career average depth of target is 14.2. Kadarius Toney and rookie Wan’Dale Robinson will be shorter route guys whom Daboll will hope to get into space for yards after the catch opportunities. Sterling Shepard tore his achilles, and Darius Slayton is still around as well, but he probably needs an injury to move up the depth chart.

My Interests: Saquon (though the injury history gives me pause), Kenny G, Toney (though he might be New Mr. Glass and popped up on the injury report the other day), and Robinson. Dimes as a backup QB.

Philadelphia Eagles

Coaching Notes: HC Nick Siriani returns for year 2 along with OC Shane Steichen and DC Jonathan Gannon. This group changed their offense to a more run heavy attack as the season progressed, and the anticipation here is that they will continue to be in 2022. On defense, this group is formidable against the run and they just added CB James Bradberry who regressed a little last year, but could rebound nicely to help this middle of the pack defense. 

O-Line: Coach Jeff Stoutland returns for his 10th season in this role, and damn has he been effective. Last year this group finished 3rd in run blocking and 5th in pass blocking. Kind of like the Patriots, they have just continued to produce good offensive lines, a testament to coaches and drafting. Unlike the Pats this year though, they have some talent on the bench as well. They drafted a few more this past season too, so expect this group to continue to be formidable. Now, if only the coaching staff will commit to giving Miles Sanders RB1 reps, then they would have a top 5 fantasy RB this year. 

The RB Issue: Last year the Eagles led the league in rushing TDs, but not a one went to presumed RB1 Miles Sanders. The TDs went to Hurts, Scott, Gainwell, and Old Man Howard. Scott and Gainwell are back, and Howard will probably get signed in week 8. Basically, the Eagles employ multiple different running schemes: Zone, Outside Zone, RPOs, Power, Trap, Red Rover, Freeze Tag, etc. This is my best guess as to why they use as many RBs as they do, to highlight different players’ skill sets. 

The QB and Passing Game: Despite having a great line, QB Hurts displayed Ants in the Pants syndrome frequently last season, often bailing out of passing after only 2 reads. Despite that, Hurts finished as the 9th best QB in fantasy. Some more coaching, experience, and the addition of AJ Brown should keep Hurts as a top 12 guy and hopefully improve from number 9. However, as the season went on, the Eagles passing attempts per game steadily decreased as their path to offensive success focused on the run. This is definitely a concern going into the season as there may just be not enough passing opportunities for any of the receivers to have significant success in fantasy. I imagine this will lead to spike weeks and inconsistent performances.

My Interests: Hurts, Goedert and Smith, though I do not want multiple, and I do not want any to be my #1 at WR or TE. I fully expect the Eagles run game, from a fantasy perspective, to suffer due to a running QB and a lack of clear RB1 reps. As such, I want nothing to do with this backfield, even though it should be nigh impossible for Sanders to go the whole season without a rushing TD again. There are not enough pass targets in this offense to go around, so I don’t want Brown.

Washington Clit Commanders

Dan Snyder probably thinks he is anyway.

Coaching Notes: This coaching staff (Rivera, Turner, Del Rio)  is now in its 3rd year together. I am not a fan of nepotism, but the Commanders certainly are. Nearly every assistant or position specific coach is the son of some highly successful coach from another era. This group will attempt a run-heavy scheme with play action passes and RPOs for QB Wentz. 

O-line: One of the great mysteries of our time is how this football team can continue to have an above average offensive line but also continue to have losing seasons. One reason is that they often incur injuries, so getting any sort of continuity has been an issue. Line coach John Mastko is a pretty decent coach though and often is capable of getting the most out of all players; as such the Commanders backups have been serviceable. They lost G Scherff to the Jags, but the remaining group is still good. Unlike most teams in the NFL, this team has depth along its o-line.

Where I’m at: Despite my disdain for this organization, I want to like this team, I really do. I’ve come to the conclusion that Wentz sucks though, especially in significant moments. Heinicke is also still here by the way, so don’t rule out the “Heinicke Replaces Wentz” headline in Week 10. There are fantasy points to be had in this offense, probably not of the consistent variety though. Terry McLaurin remains the WR1 after a nice contract extension and should be a favorite target for Wentz in the first weeks of the season. I am hearing many good things about Jahan Dotson out of camp but not sure about his role for this season. The RB situation makes me uncomfortable; yes, Antonio Gibson is RB1, but the team wrested JD McKissic back from the Bills because Wentz never passes to RBs so that makes a ton of sense,  and on top of that the Commanders then drafted Brian Robinson which suggests to me that Gibson is not a long term solution. Yeeesh.  Logan Thomas is serviceable, but again likely inconsistent from week to week. 

My Interests: F1. Robinson and Dotson in late rounds or dynasty. 

Thanks for reading! I welcome any comments or questions and will be back with 2 of the other divisions….Borislater.