Fantasy Football: 2022 All-Breakout Team

Quarterback – Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

Burrow and the Bengals enjoyed spectacular, albeit, unexpected success over the course of the 2021 season. An AFC North title and Super Bowl appearance made the campaign a wild success for a team many experts picked to finish last in the division and miss the playoffs. So how does Burrow end up on this list after enjoying so much success last year?

Burrow finished last season as the quarterback eight in fantasy football and tenth in points per game. Throughout the fantasy regular season, however, of weeks on through 14, Burrow was a fringe QB1 in fantasy, putting up QB12 numbers in fantasy points per game.

Another year removed from the traumatic knee injury suffered at the end of the 2020 season and another year with a full complement of weapons including breakout rookie wide receiver and former college teammate Jamarr Chase are both fantastic reasons to project a jump in fantasy production for Burrow in year three. The most intriguing reason however is the quality of opponents the Bengals face in 2022. 

Lamar Jackson twice, Deshaun Watson twice, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Tom Brady, Pittsburgh twice, the Titans, the Patriots, and the Cowboys all bring the potential for high-scoring matchups along with teams who struggle defensively such as the Falcons and Jets. Don’t be surprised to see Burrow make the leap from a fringe QB1 in points per game to a locked and loaded every week starter with top-three upside.

Running Back – Rashaad Penny, Seattle Seahawks

After being the first running back selected in the 2018 NFL draft with the 27th overall pick, pretty much nothing has gone according to plan for Penny. In his four-year NFL career, Penny has missed 28 games due to injury. His lack of availability and seemingly constant up in the air status caused Penny to fall out of favor somewhat with the Seattle Seahawks who declined to exercise the fifth-year option in his contract allowing him to hit free agency this off-season. Penny may have made the team second guess that decision.

The end of the 2021 season saw Penny at arguably the most healthy in his entire career, and unlike in previous seasons, perennial starter Chris Carson was also injured. Previously in his career, Penny has been unable to capitalize on Carson’s vacated snaps due to the litany of injuries he suffered throughout his career. Over the final six weeks of the season, Penny handled 60% of the Seahawks rushing attempts finishing as the number one scoring fantasy running back in that span.

Penny showed enough burst and talent over the final third of the season to attract free agent interest from teams with questions at the running back position, including the Seahawks. Should he find a favorable landing spot he’s already shown what he is capable of when given the lion’s share of the workload. While unlikely to continue the RB1 pace he was on to end the season, RB2 numbers are not out of the question, provided Penny is able to stave off injury for the 2022 season.

UPDATE: Penny is returning to the Seahawks on a two-year contract. His role in the offense in relation to Chris Carson will be worth monitoring over the course of the offseason.

Running Back – Antonio Gibson, Washington Commanders

Why is Antonio Gibson on this list after a running back 10 finish on the season in PPR formats? While Gibson’s workload carrying the ball increased significantly from his 170 carries in his rookie campaign to 258 last year, his passing game work remained largely unchanged from 44 targets to 52. Assuming McKissic leaves in free agency, Gibson would be in line to assume a workhorse role and absorb a large majority of those vacated targets at the running back position. Over the previous five seasons, the top five fantasy running backs have averaged 248 rushing attempts and 81 targets. Gibson’s carries last season eclipsed the average of a top-five running back, however his 52 targets fell short of the mark to hit. The projected increase in passing game work for Gibson gives him a top-five type of workload, and any additional increase in opportunities for targets or carries allows for a top-three, breakout season for Gibson. 

Wide Receiver – Elijah Moore, New York Jets

Elijah Moore’s rookie campaign hit a speed bump when he suffered a quad injury in the preseason. Moore also suffered a concussion in Week 3 that sidelined him for a Week 4 matchup with the Tennessee Titans. Following the Jets’ bye in Week 6 Moore’s season got back on track in spectacular fashion.

Weeks 7 through 13 of the NFL season saw Moore finish as the wide receiver three in PPR over that stretch. Moore and fellow rookie quarterback Zach Wilson showed the type of connection that you look for in a breakout candidate wide receiver. Another year in the system and another year of growth for both young players should have the arrow pointing up for both players in the 2022 fantasy season.

Fellow wide receiver Jamison Crowder left in free agency to join the Bills, vacating 71 targets. Provided that Moore is able to remain healthy in 2022, the vacated targets coupled with his and Wilson’s projected improvement in year two, Moore should be locked in as a high-end WR2 to a low-end WR1 on a week to week basis to go along with week winning upside. 

Wide Receiver – Gabriel Davis, Buffalo Bills

Throw out Davis’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs. While the stat line is what caught the attention of many, the talent and rapport with quarterback Josh Allen are the more important takeaways to carry into the 2022 season. With everything on the line and his best weapon in Steffon Diggs often double-covered, Allen showed that he is comfortable getting the ball to Davis, and Davis proved what he is capable of when given the opportunity.

Davis spent much of his first two seasons in the NFL as a rotational piece in the Bills passing attack behind Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders, and Cole Beasley. Davis started only four games in the 2021 season and garnered only 63 targets. The new-look Bills however have parted ways with both Beasley and Sanders during the offseason and with their departure comes 184 vacated targets, 1319 yards, and five touchdowns.

Even with the addition of the aforementioned Crowder, a large portion of those targets, yards, and touchdowns can project to fall squarely on Davis’ shoulders as he slots into the number two wide receiver slot for the Bills. The big-play ability of Davis, who is averaging 9.2 yards per target in his career, coupled with his uptick in volume, are all ingredients in the recipe for a breakout campaign. 

Wide Receiver – Darnell Mooney, Chicago Bears

Predicting breakouts at the wide receiver position comes down as much to talent as it does to opportunity. In this case, Mooney has plenty of both. In his second season with the Bears, Mooney saw a drastic uptick in his workload with 42 more targets, 20 additional receptions, and 424 additional yards. While the statistical uptick applied to nearly every category for Mooney, where he failed to record any statistical growth from his rookie campaign was in his number of touchdowns, which remained at four.

The offseason saw the Bears organization make a change at the head coaching position, firing Matt Nagy after the Andy Reid offensive disciple failed to deliver success on that side of the football. New offensive coordinator Luke Getsy spent his time in the NFL as the wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach, and passing game coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.

That’s not to say that Mooney and second-year quarterback Justin Fields will become the next Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers. Is it possible however that the style of offense Getsy will be trying to run in Chicago will contain many of the same elements that have allowed Rodgers and Adams to flourish in years past? Could it also be said that his experience working directly with Rodgers and Adams as the wide receivers and quarterbacks coach will allow him to maximize the talents of Fields and Mooney?

Mooney finished the 2021 season as the wide receiver 23 in PPR formats, only 27 points behind the wide receiver 12 Mike Williams. With Allen Robinson and Jimmy Graham both not expected back on the team next season, that will vacate 89 targets, four touchdowns, and 17 red zone targets on the Bears offense. His first full year with Fields as his starting quarterback, a larger role in the offense potentially on the horizon, and an offensive coordinator who helped develop one of if not the league’s most prolific quarterback wide receiver tandems are a recipe for Mooney to break out from a low-end WR2 to a WR1 in the 2022 season.

Tight End – Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers

Historically speaking the tight end position is one of the most shallow positions in fantasy football. Finding a breakout candidate at the position can provide you with the positional advantage so highly sought after in previous seasons while maintaining the high-value draft capital typically invested to obtain that positional advantage.

Freiermuth finished his 2021 rookie campaign as the tight end 13 in PPR formats, just outside the tight end one range. His 497 yards were the most by a rookie tight end since 2019 when rookie Noah Fant of the Denver Broncos managed 592 and a tight end 16 finish. Additionally, Freiermuth’s seven touchdowns on the season were the most by a tight end since 2016 when rookie Hunter Henry of the then-San Diego Chargers found paydirt eight times. Both Fant and Henry had breakouts in future seasons, finishing inside the top ten fantasy tight ends in 2020 for Fant, and Henry in 2019 and 2021.

Typically speaking, tight ends don’t usually experience breakout seasons until their third year in the league. However, question marks at the quarterback position in Pittsburgh linger and call into question for many the breakout potential of Freiermuth in only his second season. Ben Roethlisberger in Freiermuth’s rookie season managed a 64.5% completion percentage, 233.75 yards per game, a touchdown every 27.5 attempts, and an interception every 60.5 attempts. Comparatively the league averages in these categories were 64.8% completion percentage, 228.3 yards per game, a touchdown every 22.3 attempts, and an interception every 43 attempts.

Another year in the Pittsburgh offensive system and a quarterback who was the very definition of league average riding off into the sunset provide all the opportunity an extremely gifted player such as Freiermuth needs to experience a breakout type of season that sees him finish inside the top ten at his position.

Fantasy Football: 2022 All-Bust Team

Trending Now

– Dynasty Content –

– Rookie ADP –

Sign up for PrizePicks with the promo code FACEOFF for a 100% match up to $100!

Learn all about PrizePicks here. 

Sign up for BetUS today with the promo code FACEOFF and get a 125% match on your first deposit! Join here.