Every year there’s a group of NFL players that truly shine for fantasy. Not only were they great on the field, they were also a great value based on their draft cost. The first award I’ll be handing out is the Best Value Award. I will be giving out one award per offensive position. The 2022 Fantasy Football Award Winners are:
Quarterback (QB) – Geno Smith
The overlooked QB who ‘never wrote back’ came out swinging this year with a disregarded Seattle Seahawks team to bring them to the NFL Playoffs. The data from FantasyPros shows that Geno Smith was drafted as the QB 35 in fantasy football drafts. He finished the year as the QB 5 showing analysts everywhere that they were wrong to overlook him. He flourished this year on a strong Seahawks team with talent all around him.
Running Back (RB) – Josh Jacobs
With an Average Draft Position (ADP) of RB 22, Jacobs was the best value at the position. Finishing the year as the RB 3 according to FantasyPros, he outscored multiple first rounders and brought many players to their fantasy football championships! He was the perfect example of a “sleeper” pick in the middle rounds that was a difference maker every week.
Wide Receiver (WR) – Tyler Lockett
This was a tough choice, but for me it came down to Lockett being written off be many analysts (me included) due to the trading away of Russell Wilson. Many people believed that his down field chemistry with Russ wouldn’t be replicated, thus tanking his ADP. However, due to the emergence of his QB Geno Smith and the talent of Tyler he outshone his WR 45 ADP. He finished as the WR 13 on the season, even ahead of his WR teammate DK Metcalf.
Tight End (TE) – Travis Kelce
While other Tight Ends had cheaper draft costs, none of them performed anywhere close to Kelce. He was once again the TE 1. You might be thinking that if he was drafted as the TE 1 and finished there, then how could he be a value? The reason he won the award is because he finished the season with almost 100 more points than the TE 2. Travis was once again a key difference maker in lineups every week. He remains the ultimate positional advantage.
For 2022, those were my Best Value Fantasy Football Award Winners. The players who had the biggest difference between the draft capital invested to get them, and their performance relative to their peers.
Keep an eye on my page for Gridiron Heroics as I bring you more Fantasy Football Award Winners and draft advice for next year!