There is a clear delineation in the definition of a “bounce-back” season in fantasy football. The first would be a down season due to injury, the second would be a poor performance season in the previous year. For the most part, I’m going to focus on the latter of those two situations and the players who had a down performance last season for one reason or another. Whatever the case might be or your opinions on the definition of a “bounce-back” candidate, here are seven players who I believe will bounce back in 2022.
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Saquon Barkley
Running Back – New York Giants
Doesn’t it feel like Saquon Barkley was injured all of the 2021 season as well as the 2020 season? He was dealing with an ankle injury all last season but did play in 13 of 17 forgettable games in the Giant’s 2021 season.
Barkley rushed for only 45.6 yards per game and posted a career-low of 6.4 yards per reception. When he wasn’t dealing with the ankle sprain, he was on a pitch count in the Giant’s offense and was just set up to fail.
All signs are pointing to a big comeback season in 2022 for Barkley. First off, he’s another year removed from the ACL injury and didn’t have to spend the entire off-season rehabbing his knee. From a new head coach to the revamped offensive line, the Giant’s offense should do much better than only 24 touchdowns in 2021. Add to that Barkley being in a contract year, he’s going to look to be a major focus point of this offense.
Terry McLaurin
Wide Receiver – Washington Commanders
What a difference a year makes. Last year, around this time, everyone was high on Washington’s offensive potential with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Antonio Gibson, and Terry McLaurin. The wheels quickly fell off and the 2021 season fell apart.
Due to more the situation than personal performance, McLaurin played in more games in 2021 (17) than in 2020 (15) but had a worse statistical season hauling in fewer passes and putting up fewer yards. McLaurin had sub-par quarterback play and was ranked 20th among receivers for targets. One promising stat line you can take into 2022 is with him scoring four touchdowns on 11 red zone targets.
Let’s be clear, I am not a Carson Wentz believer. That being said, I do believe he is a significant upgrade over the quarterback play that we saw in Washington last season. The typical off-season chatter is coming out that Wentz and McLaurin are “developing great chemistry.” However, no matter how buddy-buddy Wentz and McLaurin are getting, it should be a significant positive impact on the field in 2022. Not to mention, Wentz just helped Michael Pittman put up a very solid season in Indianapolis last year.
Lamar Jackson
Quarterback – Baltimore Ravens
I love Lamar Jackson and think he can physically do what few others can even attempt to do. However, it was the perfect storm of a bad season for Baltimore in 2021. It seems like they had more people on injured reserve than on the active roster, which was probably the biggest contributing factor in the nearly 10 points per game average decrease from 2020 (31.5) to 2021 (21.6).
The main reason for this decrease can be attributed to the injuries mentioned before, as well as his own ankle injury he suffered last year in Week 14. However, his overall touchdowns were down having only two rushing touchdowns all season and having more than one passing touchdown in just two games, while having at least one turnover in 9/12 games. Some of this was just unlucky ball bounces, so I have to believe there will be some changes in this luck.
Looking at the Ravens’ offseason, it appears like they are looking to revert back to how their offense was successful in 2019. They saw a ton of success with a very diverse running game and heavy use of the tight end. Mark Andrews was the best tight end in fantasy last year and should be fantastic once again. Just looking at their draft, they picked up two linemen (including Tyler Linderbaum in the first round), two tight ends, and a running back. Combine that with trading away Marquise Brown and all signs point towards running the ball and finding the tight ends.
Allen Robinson
Wide Receiver – Los Angeles Rams
I don’t know if you can fully call Allen Robinson a bounce-back candidate, or just a straight break-out candidate. With Robinson finally escaping Chicago and having a top-level quarterback, on a successful team, should finally give Robinson a full opportunity to display his talents.
Last season was Robinson’s worst season as a pro, only totaling 410 receiving yards, and one touchdown on 33 receptions. I dare you to come up with more of a yawn of a stat line than that and there is nowhere else to go but up. Robinson is two years removed from 98 receptions for 1,100 yards and a six-touchdown season. With Matthew Stafford slinging the rock, and Cooper Kupp getting a lot of attention, Robinson will find open seams on the field and the ball in his hands.
I would expect Robinson to take over the Odell Beckham Jr. role in this Rams offense. In seven starts last season, Beckham saw around seven targets per game at about 11 yards per reception. If Robinson sees that target share, or even a little higher, he will creep up close to those 2019 and 2020 numbers.
A.J. Brown
Wide Receiver – Philadelphia Eagles
I don’t think I’m as high on A.J. Brown as everyone else seems to be. This could partially be due to the Ryan Tannehill effect, but he’s been targetted over 100 times the last two seasons while only averaging 66 receptions. His biggest plus is that he’s a threat to take it to the house anytime he touches the ball. He also had a hard time staying on the field in 2021 missing three games, but he was inconsistent when he was on the field. Despite seeing 8+ targets in 8/12 games, he had five games with 16+ fantasy points and five games with single-digit PPR outputs.
Now with the Eagles, he needs to first and foremost stay healthy and on the field. Second, he needs to find more consistency. The third thing he needs to happen to have a big bounce-back season is to demand a huge target share in a run-heavy offense. However, Brown’s biggest success comes in the intermediate routes (10-20 yard throws), which also tend to be Jalen Hurts throw preference. So this could be a match made in heaven.
Miles Sanders
Running Back – Philadelphia Eagles
We’re going to stick with the Eagles and try again with Miles Sanders. I have been fooled by Sanders two years in a row and I’m slowly starting to come around on him again. His biggest issue in 2021 was that he had zero touchdowns. That’s right. Zero. Much like many on this list, he did face some injury issues, missed a few games, and was on a pitch count when he returned. He appears to be the type of running back, that gets better as he gets more touches. He averaged only 11 attempts per game last season, but when he had 15-plus touches he had at least 94 total yards.
However, all signs in this Eagle offense point towards remaining run-heavy this season. Last year they began the season pass-heavy and won two games and lost five. At the halfway point, while Sanders was facing injury issues, they switched play-callers, went run-heavy, and ended the season winning seven and losing three. I believe they’ll continue to be run-heavy and barring injury, Sanders will see a high number of touches.
Matt Ryan
Quarterback – Indianapolis Colts
I think the acquisition of Matt Ryan could be one of the sneakiest and least talked about moves of the off-season. The Colts were a steady quarterback away, last season, from being a Super Bowl contender. They have a solid top ten offensive line, anchored by All-Pro Quenton Nelson. They have a solid wide receiver room, highlighted by third-year and recently 1,000-yard receiver Michael Pittman. Then they have arguably the best running back in the league in Jonathan Taylor. On top of that, they have a very solid defense.
All signs are pointing to a resurgence for Ryan and you can have him for a pretty late-round draft pick. He’s ranked around the 19th best quarterback in the league and can be drafted around the 12-13th round. So if you miss out on the top-tier quarterbacks, Ryan could be your league winner.
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