Welcome to Part 2 of this four-part series of bold predictions. This is a four-part series where I will give a bold prediction for fantasy on every NFL team. This series will be broken up into divisions and in this one, I’ll discuss the AFC West and NFC West.
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AFC West
Denver Broncos: Courtland Sutton
Sutton will finish as a Top-10 WR.
Sutton goes from Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater to Russell Wilson. Saying this is a huge upgrade might be an understatement. The Broncos are going to let Wilson cook and Sutton is going to get fed. Also, there will be a lot of shootouts in this division. Since entering the league Sutton has only had 100+ targets once but that is about to change. I got him getting 120+ targets for an 84/1200/10 stat line.
Las Vegas Raiders: Derek Carr
Carr is a Top-5 QB.
Over the off-season, Carr was reunited with his college teammate Davante Adams. So on top of having Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller he now gets one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Adams has double-digit touchdowns in five of the last six seasons. Adams and Waller will be a dangerous duo in the red zone. Carr will set a career-high in passing touchdowns this season with at least 35.
Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes finishes outside the Top-8 at QB for the first time as a starter.
Mahomes lost one of his top two weapons when Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins. His other main weapon is Travis Kelce who turns 33 in October. How long will Kelce keep putting up elite numbers? How long before Kelce decides to retire? These are questions we need to ask ourselves when evaluating Mahomes. Don’t get me wrong Mahomes can still be very good without Hill and Kelce, but can he be elite without them? Kansas City has added JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantlin in free agency and Skyy Moore in the NFL Draft. However, I don’t see any of them being able to truly replace Hill.
Los Angeles Chargers: Keenan Allen
Keenan Allen finishes outside the Top-15 WR for the first time since 2016.
Allen just turned 30 in April. He has relied on a heavy target volume to produce. Last year Mike Williams took a step forward and had over 100 targets for the first time and I believe that continues into this year. Allen has never had double-digit touchdowns and only twice has he had more than six. I can also see them passing less with what should be an improved defense. With the addition of Isaiah Spiller to take some of the load off of Austin Ekeler and keep him fresh, the Chargers might look to run the ball more if they like what they see in Spiller.
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NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: Marquise “Hollywood” Brown
Brown finishes as a WR1.
With Hopkins suspended for the first six games Brown will be the No.1 target in the offense. Kyler Murray and Brown should pick up right where they left off in college. Murray and the Cardinals are going to take advantage of Brown’s speed downfield. Over the last two seasons, Murray has 23 passes of 40+ yards and 134 red zone attempts in 30 games. Lamar Jackson had just nine passes of 40+ yards and only 105 red zone attempts in 27 games.
Los Angeles Rams: Cooper Kupp
Kupp won’t finish as a Top-8 WR.
I know Kupp had one of the greatest fantasy seasons of all time last year, but I don’t see him repeating what he did for a few reasons. Last season Kupp had 51 receptions more than in any other season. Some of that has to do with Cam Akers and Robert Woods getting injured. Akers missed practically the entire regular season and Woods missed half the season. This helped Kupp get the volume of targets he got. This season Akers will be fully healed from his Achilles injury and if he can regain his speed and explosiveness we could see more run plays called. I also see a big season on the horizon for Allen Robinson.
San Francisco 49ers: George Kittle
Kittle finishes outside the Top-8 at TE.
Last season Kittle finished 7th among tight ends in targets and touchdowns. The 49ers were 29th in pass attempts and I don’t see that improving this year, especially with Trey Lance likely to start. Brandon Aiyuk really started to come on strong in the second half of the season and I feel he will carry that into this season. During that same stretch, Kittle had five games with fewer than 35 yards. A third of Kittle’s receiving yards came from two games. If the running backs stay healthy and Deebo Samuel can continue what he did last year there will be fewer targets for Kittle.
Seattle Seahawks: QB, RB, WR
Seattle won’t have a Top-20 QB, RB, or WR.
This Seahawks team is bad. They have Drew Lock and Geno Smith at quarterback, which is just depressing going from Wilson. Their offensive line is horrible and in the past two seasons, they failed to have an 800-yard rusher. Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny can’t seem to stay healthy and the Seahawks may have to rely on their rookie running back Kenneth Walker III. They have talent at wide receiver with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. However, with poor quarterback play and very little time because of a bad offensive line, they won’t have a lot of opportunities to make plays. When it comes to the offense Pete Carroll is stuck in the ’70s.
32 Bold Predictions for the 2022 NFL Season – The East
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