2022 NFL Draft – Fantasy Football Losers

I have to say that I don’t think I’ve ever seen as crazy of an NFL Draft or an NFL off-season as we’ve had. So many trades of star players, that have almost been unheard of in the NFL, are happening this year. The Draft this year was no exception to this with the flurry of trades continuing. For better or worse I blame Trent Baalke for this and his crazy free-agent spending. And Christian Kirk.

Regardless, much like every year when the dust of the draft has settled, we can see what NFL veterans are the losers from the Draft.  Here are a few of my fantasy football veteran losers following the 2022 NFL Draft.

Justin Fields

Quarterback – Chicago Bears

Justin Fields seems to be everyone’s loser after the draft, and I tend to agree. He had a frustrating rookie year that saw his head coach get fired and a defensive-minded coach in Matt Eberflus being hired. He saw his best wide receiver, Allen Robinson, leave in free agency and the Bears didn’t do much of anything else to give him some help on the offense.

In the Draft, the Bears picked two good defensive backs in the second round. They finally addressed the offensive side of the ball in the third round with a bit of a reach in selecting Velus Jones Jr. While Jones does have some good upside, he’s 25 and a virtual clone of their current number one receiver Darnell Mooney. Most also believed Jones could have been had on the third day of the Draft. They did also pick up a promising offensive tackle in the fifth round with Braxton Jones, but the rest of their draft doesn’t impress anyone.

Fields has all the talent in the world, but the Bears organization isn’t doing him many favors.

Ryan Tannehill

Quarterback – Tennessee Titans

I have to be honest, I’ve never been a big Ryan Tannehill believer. He’s been solid over his career, but he’s not a game-changing quarterback that will take over a game. With a solid cast around him, Tannehill and the Titans have been one of the better teams in the AFC over the last few years, but the talent level around him took a hit this year.

In the first of two surprising wide receiver trades, A.J. Brown was sent to the Eagles in the first round of the draft. I’m not going to get in the compensation for Brown (which I feel like the Eagles got the better of the trade), but the Titans moved up and selected Treylon Burks. While Burks is talented, there is no guarantee he is the talent that Brown is and wide receivers usually can take some time to be productive in the NFL.

Then in Round 3, the Titans selected quarterback Malik Willis. While I like the pick and where they got him, this doesn’t exactly scream a win-now pick that an aging Tannehill would have preferred. With Brown gone, and Derrick Henry getting older and coming off a major injury, this draft screams more of a slow rebuild, than supporting Tannehill for a Superbowl run.

Lamar Jackson

Quarterback – Baltimore Ravens

This seems to be the loser quarterback show! I promise I’m going to talk about a few other positions here as well. What a rough weekend for Lamar Jackson. In another surprise move, about mid-way through the first round, the Ravens shipped off their WR1 Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals. This was quite a surprise to everyone, including Jackson, who was all over Twitter to let everyone know his displeasure with the move.

Many are grading the Ravens as having one of the best drafts this year, but after trading away Brown they failed to address the wide receiver hole they created. So who is left on the depth chart? The top receivers are now Devin Duvernay and Rashod Bateman who are fine in their own right, but they are quite limited and are not the game-breakers most teams are providing to their young quarterbacks. The other guys on the roster are James Proche, Jaylon Moore, and Tylan Wallace. Not exactly names that will cause many defenses nightmares.

With Jackson looking for a new contract, this isn’t exactly the way to make him want to stay in Baltimore. I expect the Ravens to try to pick up a free agent wide receiver at some point.

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Rashaad Penny

Running back – Seattle Seahawks

All signs between the end of last year and this offseason were finally pointing towards the much-anticipated breakout season for Rashaad Penny. So many dynasty owners have been holding on to Penny for a few years now, just waiting for the time for him to get healthy and grab that starting role in Seattle. 

Then early in the Round 2 of the draft, Seattle selected the first or second highest-graded, depending on who you ask, running back in the draft Kenneth Walker. Walker is a dynamic offensive weapon with moderate size. At 5’9” and 211 pounds, he’s a compact dense player with a 4.38 40 time. With this dynamic playmaker in the mix and selecting him in the second round, I have to think Seattle has plans to use Walker early and often in their offense. All of which does not bode well for Penny’s value. Walker can run well in the trenches, he’s good out of the backfield as a receiver and shifty enough to get into space.

Due to this pickup, I have to think Penny’s usage and value in this Seattle offense have been significantly cut from pre-draft values. Once again, if you have Penny on your dynasty roster and have been holding out hope, I think you might be back to the drawing board.

Michael Carter

Running Back – New York Jets

In an injury-shortened season, Michael Carter showed a lot of promise in New Jersey last year. Prior to the Draft, he was the clear-cut starting back in the Jets’ run-heavy offense. The Jets did a masterful job in the Draft, especially in Round 1. Carter had to be excited to see a dynamic playmaker in Garrett Wilson being added to the mix in the first round. But the second round is when it started to fall apart for him and his starting role.

Then in Round 2, Breece Hall fell to the Jets and they couldn’t resist picking the top running back in the draft. With all the promise and excitement to get a full season out of Carter next season, while still a good value pick this has to be one of the more surprising picks for the Jets.

While this pick makes the Jets offense very dynamic, both Hall and Carter have a very similar skill set. They are quick shifty running backs that are excellent in the passing game. Carter was used heavily in the passing game for the Jets in 2021, being targetted 25% of the time when running a route. This number has to at least be cut in half with the addition of Hall.

On the other side, Hall’s value has to be cut as well, especially when people were drafting Hall in rookie drafts thinking he might go to the Buffalo Bills. Both running backs’ value has to be cut as it looks like they both will have a significant role in the Jets offense in 2022.

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Marlon Mack

Running Back – Houston Texans

I had to put Marlon Mack on this list since I had him as a buy-low candidate in my last article. Mack didn’t have tremendous value before the draft, but he was the clear-cut number one running back in Houston. With the Texans picking up Dameon Pierce in the fourth round, that starting role has to be in question.

Mack’s usage hasn’t completely been eaten away by the Pierce selection but significantly deteriorated. This more looks like the classic running back by committee backfield now with a three-headed approach. Barring Mack or Pierce getting injured or setting the world on fire in camp, I would expect a 40-40-20 split between Mack, Pierce, and Rex Burkhead.

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