Welcome to the official article on the Gridiron Heroics Fantasy Football Draft 2022! A group of the writers over here at Gridiron Heroics banded together and did a fantasy football draft last week. I had the brilliant idea of notating my thoughts and reasoning for my picks during the draft. I figured, “who wouldn’t want to know what’s going on in my genius brain?” I also realized, “probably a lot of people, but it will be fun to write about anyways!” Once I stopped talking to myself and completed the draft, I made sure to highlight some picks that I thought were genuinely great. So on that note, here are my thoughts on the Gridiron Heroics Fantasy Football Draft 2022.
The Gridiron Heroics Fantasy Football Draft 2022
Draft Order
- Ryan Keary – @BuckeyeHeroics
- Tyler Eschette – @teschette98
- Jordan Mendiola – @JordanMendiola3
- Jesse Raymond – @Hesse641
- Tyla Wright – N/A
- Greg Simbeck – @gsimbeck
- Jeremy Imlach – @j_imlach
- Matthew Brown – @sorcermatt
- Myself, Stephen Menti – @stephen_menti
- Ryan Fisher – @FFFrenzyyy
The Rules
Roster – 2QB, 2RB, 2WR, 2FLEX, K, DEF, 5 BENCH, 1 IR
Waivers – Rolling
Scoring
Passing – 6pt touchdowns, -2pt interceptions, -1pt sacks
Rushing – .25pt per rush attempt
Receiving – .5pt per reception
Kicker – Standard
Defense – Standard
Without Further Ado…
HERE IS THE FULL DRAFT RESULTS
1.09 – WR Cooper Kupp, LAR
This was a no-brainer at 1.09. I mock drafted (mocked) myself picking Joe Mixon or Stefon Diggs for that spot; both players were selected at 1.10 and 2.01. The only players I had in a higher tier than Kupp were Jonathan Taylor and Christian McCaffery, so taking Kupp here was an absolute steal.
2.02 – RB D’Andre Swift, DET
Swift is poised to have a massive year this season. Swift fits the mold of a #1 RB: under 25 y/o, used extensively in the passing game, and supremely athletic. However, I would have felt more comfortable taking Joe Mixon here. The Lions are notorious for having a terrible run game. Swift also gets injured often. I waffled on taking Swift or Barkley here. Barkley has done it before, Swift has not. But as the saying goes, scared money don’t make money, and I felt comfortable taking a high-ceiling player here with a safe player like Kupp in the first.
3.09 – TE Kyle Pitts, ATL
Zeke was selected one pick ahead of me, otherwise I would have added him. I’m not as down on Zeke as most people are this year so I would have been perfectly happy with him as my RB2. But that didn’t happen, so I selected the possible #1 TE this year in Kyle Pitts. In order to be the top scoring tight end in fantasy football, your name must be Travis Kelce. Just kidding, sort of. Seriously though, top tight ends are usually the first or second option on their teams. If Drake London’s knee issues persist, Kyle Pitts might be the only one out there that can play at a high level for the Falcons. I foresee the Falcons quarterback force feeding Pitts the ball, and volume usually equals production, unless your name is MVS.
4.02 WR Michael Pittman, IND
Nearly every single time I draft in fantasy football, I select two running backs in the first four rounds. I even told myself, “Stephen, you will select a running back every other pick until you have five or six”. I thought about taking Cam Akers, David Montgomery, or Josh Jacobs here. I decided to roll the dice here to see if any of those running backs will fall back down to me in the fifth round. I selected Pittman, who is the number one option on his team and will have a former MVP throwing him the ball.
5.09 RB Josh Jacobs, LV
I was very pleased to see that my gamble paid off. Selecting Jacobs at the end of the fifth round, to me, is incredible value. I actually should have waited to select so I could give myself time to think of my next pick but I was way too excited and smashed select.
6.02 QB Kyler Murray, ARI
Kyler Murray in the sixth round? All day. Rushing quarterbacks add nice support to their floor with their scrambling ability. Murray was the #1 QB before his injury last year. I always believe that if a player did it before, they can do it again. I am usually a proponent of selecting quarterbacks late, but what Murray represents was too hard to pass on. This pick also started a run on QBs in the sixth round; Jackson, Burrow, and Hurts were all selected in the same round.
7.09 RB Chase Edmonds, MIA
One of the best feelings in fantasy football is when a player you really like just falls right into your lap. It’s like getting the gift you were asking for all year at Christmas. Multiply that feeling by three. I was extremely happy to select Edmonds as my RB3, because I think he has RB2 upside this year.
8.02 RB Ken Walker III, SEA
You know that feeling I was describing above? I did not feel that after this pick. Ken Walker is a stud. Ken Walker is also injured with a questionable timetable to return. He is also going to share carries with Penny, if Penny stays healthy. I could have done better by picking Gabe Davis or Rhamondre Stevenson here. I really should have picked Stevenson.
9.09 WR Hunter Renfrow, LV
Yeah, definitely should have picked Stevenson. I think Renfrow is a fine player and a solid WR3. However, as I am typing this out, I realize that I have two Raiders on my team. I don’t like having multiple skill players from the same team on my team unless it’s a QB/WR or QB/TE stack. It’s OK though, I will pick Dameon Pierce in the next round.
10.02 WR Kadarius Toney, NYG
The Fantasy Gods giveth, and the Fantasy Gods taketh. Dameon Pierce was selected in the two picks before my last pick in the turn. When things like this happen in the draft, I see it as an opportunity for a little introspection and learning. When drafting at the turn, if you really like a player, get them. Waiting can pay off like with my Josh Jacobs pick, but it can also bite you. My waiting caused me to miss out on Stevenson and Pierce, both players who I think will over perform their draft position. Anyways, I selected Toney, a crazy athlete with massive upside. Later round selections should be targeted based on their perceived upside, which Toney has in abundance.
11.09 RB Brian Robison, WAS
I know what you are thinking. “Isn’t Robison out for the first four games at least? Why would he pick him here?” Keep in mind that this draft was last week. Also, keep in mind that Robinson was attacked right before or during our draft. I mocked Robison onto my team all that day, so I thought the Q (for questionable) that popped up next to his name in the draft was just a glitch, or something. I should really pay more attention. My thought process here was that he would prove to be more reliable than Gibson and take the starting role. They have similar draft capital and Gibson has injury and fumbling problems.
12.02 WR Tyler Lockett, SEA
This boom or bust vet fell all the way down to the twelfth round. I am not expecting consistent production with Geno Smith as QB, but I could have done much worse with what was available for my WR5.
13.09 RB Isiah Pacheco, KC
You know when you watch a player and you can just tell they have “it”? Pacheco is one of 2022’s preseason darlings. He showed incredible burst, footwork, and patience. He plays on one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses. Pacheco offers tons of upside in the 13th round. Or he could just be buried on the depth chart and never see meaningful usage. As my RB6, he won’t be used much anyways, but I always preach the importance of RB depth, so I feel good picking Pacheco.
14.02 WR Michael Gallup, DAL
The Dallas Cowboy’s second receiver managed to avoid the IR and will be suiting up at some point in the first four weeks. In the meantime, he is a perfect IR stash. I always like to use my later picks on upside or IR stashes. Picking IR players in the draft gives me some flexibility on the waiver wire while providing me with a usable player later on in the season. I decided against picking a kicker or defense here for this reason. Kickers are usually random, so I feel comfortable taking one off of waivers and there are a number of defenses still available that I like.
15.09 DEF Baltimore Ravens
With my final pick in the Gridiron Heroics Fantasy Football Draft 2022, I select the Ravens defense. I love the Ravens defense this year. They start the season playing the Jets, Miami, and New England. They face the Steelers and the Browns twice. The Ravens actually play the Steelers twice and Browns in the fantasy playoff weeks (14-17), along with the Falcons. The Ravens also play Carolina, Jacksonville, and the Giants. The only weeks that I would consider benching them would be week 4 against the Bills, week 5 against the Bengals, week 8 against Tampa Bay, and week 13 against Denver.
Best Picks of the Draft
1.09 WR Cooper Kupp, LAR – Stephen Menti
This is definitely biased because it is me, but I love Kupp at 1.09. The reasoning is stated above.
2.09 RB Saquon Barkley, NYG – Tyler Eschette
Barkley has the #1 overall RB potential and Tyler selected him as his RB2 along side Jonathan Taylor. This was a great pick that set him up beautifully by picking Mike Evans as his WR1 in the next round.
5.02 WR Mike Williams, LAC – Tyler Eschette
Tyler made it on the list again by picking Mike Williams in the fifth round. I loved this pick because of Herbert’s selection in the fourth. The Herbert/Williams stack has league winning potential.
5.09 RB Josh Jacobs, LV – Stephen Menti
Here I go tooting my own horn again. Apologies. I love Josh Jacobs this year. I believe he will absolutely out perform his ADP.
7.06 WR Marquis Brown, ARI – Greg Simbeck
Greg selected Hollywood in the 7th round, nearly a full round below Brown’s ADP. I had 911 on the line because I thought I was witnessing a robbery.
7.07 RB Kareem Hunt, CLE – Jeremy Imlach
I like any team that selects Hunt as their RB3. He’s coming off of an injury-plagued season, but that wouldn’t stop me from picking him in the seventh round.
9.04 WR Gabriel Davis, BUF – Jesse Raymond
Davis has big time blow up potential this year. He’s a touchdown machine coming into his third year on an explosive pass-happy offense. Great pick.
9.07 RB Rhamondre Stevenson, NE – Jeremy Imlach
Jeremy is at it again. I have Stevenson ranked as a RB3 and Jeremy picked him up as his RB4. Stevenson should see an expanded role this year and I expect him to out perform his ADP by a mile. I was targeting Stevenson in this round.
10.10 TE Dallas Goedert, PHI – Ryan Keary
Goedert saw a bit of a mini breakout last season. Goedert has the potential to be one of the league’s leading tight ends in 2022. Great pick in the 10th round since he was buried in a pile of low upside players.
13.07 TE Cole Kmet, CHI – Jeremy Imlach
Another great pick by Jeremy. Kmet was eighth in targets last year at the tight end position. He also never saw the end zone in 2021. Positive touchdown regression should go his way, especially with the development of Justin Fields.
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