The 2022 NFL preseason is over, final cuts have been made and with a week to go, many more fantasy drafts are coming. There was a sea of change in the offseason, altering how we predict the future performance of teams and players from what we saw in 2021. So for the most part, scrap what you know from last year. Statistics and tendencies are just a few small pieces that help inform us, but should not be the only thing. More importantly, we must look at what these players’ fantasy profiles look today.
Digging deeper will be something every successful fantasy owner will need to do to have a successful draft. Even if your fantasy football roster is filled with value, creating a watchlist of players will help stash a sleeper earlier than your competitors. Remember, your work is not done with the draft! There are waiver wires, free agents, and trades that continue to improve your roster as long as you’re on top of it.
We’ve highlighted a list of sleepers that will help you win the weekly battle of attrition in a fantasy season and keep your roster healthy and deep with talent. We’re going to specifically look at those players with fantasy football ADP that would knock them out of the top 100 overall ranked players in the standard formats. These are not players you want to reach for, but if you play your draft board cards smart, these players are big on value if you get them in the late rounds.
12. Derek Carr, QB, Las Vegas Raiders
Current Overall ADP: 102.4
New Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels knows what he looks for in the players who will execute his offense. Having spent many seasons at New England with Bill Belichick, McDaniels brings with him an offensive blueprint of success that will feature a backfield with at least three roles including an early down back (Josh Jacobs), a third-down receiver (Ameer Abdullah), and a platoon back (Zamir White). It also requires a versatile tight end (Darren Waller), a possession receiver (Hunter Renfrow) and a precise route runner who can do it all (Davante Adams).
All of those pieces are set for Carr to run an offense that’s new to him, but it’s built around taking few risks and taking what the defense gives him. How well Carr reconnects with his old college teammate (Adams), will determine how high this offense can go. Renfrow and Waller should each get a high volume of targets, even with the added pieces around them. Currently sitting as the QB14, we think that’s too low with an offense that’s running with this much star power.
