Fantasy football is back, baby! With NFL OTAs and mini-camps in the rearview mirror, NFL training camps are getting set to open and it’s time to start thinking about your 2022 fantasy football drafts. Obviously, you want to draft your season-long leagues as close to the start of the 2022 NFL season as possible, but here in July, you can have a ton of fun…and win some money…playing in best ball fantasy football leagues.

The FREE 2022 Fantasy Alarm Fantasy Football Draft Guide is jam-packed with a variety of articles discussing best ball fantasy football, so I highly recommend you read through. We have everything from best ball ADP charts to best ball fantasy football late-round targets to best ball draft strategy concepts. We even have lists of potential best ball fantasy football draft busts. We wanted to make sure the coverage was both in-depth and easy-to-read to give you the best possible chances of cashing.

If you’ve been listening to the Fantasy Alarm Show on SiriusXM Fantasy, you know that Fridays are now Best Ball Draft days for us, thanks to our good friends at RTSports.com. We are doing both Draft Masters, stand-alone 10-team best ball drafts where first and second place get paid out, as well as drafts that are part of their 2022 Best Ball Championship which pays out not just the individual league winner but also an overall champion who wins $25,000.

 

 

We had our first on-air draft last Friday which you can listen to on the SXM app, but I also thought it best to write up the drafts as well so you can hear some additional commentary on my overall strategy and some of the decisions I made.

Best Ball Fantasy Football Draft – July 8, 2022

  • Starting Rosters: QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE, Flex, K, DEF
  • Scoring: Ful-point PPR

The Draft Strategy

My usual strategy in best ball is to load up on running backs early, grab a high-end quarterback and tight end earlier than usual and then play wide receiver roulette. When you only start two receivers and you don’t have to make the start/sit decisions, I’m happy to walk away with eight or nine wideouts and let the week-to-week chips fall where they may. However, knowing that Jim Bowden likes to load up on running backs and many of our listeners tend to follow suit, I thought I would mix it up this time and try out some stacking. Normally I don’t focus on stacking unless there’s an overall prize, but figured I would just test the waters and see what happens.

Stacking, for anyone new to fantasy football means you take a team’s quarterback and then add in a combination of that team’s lead running back, top two receivers and/or tight end. To do this, you want high-octane offenses like that of the Chargers, Bengals or, as you’ll see below, Raiders and Packers. Stacking players off a team like the Bears is probably not the direction you want to take.

Quarterbacks

 

 

Derek Carr, LVR – Pick 5.08

Having already selected Davante Adams in the second round, I figured now was as good a time as any to try out a Las Vegas Raiders stack. We already know Carr and Adams have a great relationship and he’s spent the past few seasons already working with the likes of Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow. Now, he actually has a legitimate coach in Josh McDaniels who has tremendous experience in designing offensive schemes. This offense is going to have to be electric if they want to compete in the wild, wild AFC West, so expect some heavy-duty passing to both move the chains as well as take shots down the field. Typically, Carr is an efficient passer, so this could be an explosive season for him and the Raiders. 

 

 

Aaron Rodgers, GB – Pick 11.08

Maybe Rodgers doesn’t have Adams anymore, but he’s still got a handful of strong weapons at his disposal and, well, let’s face it – he’s Aaron freakin’ Rodgers. It doesn’t matter what you all think of him on a personal front. It only matters what he does on the field and his track record is all you need to know here.

Running Backs

 

 

Joe Mixon, CIN – Pick 1.08

He had his best season to date last year, rushing for over 1,200 yards with 314 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. The Bengals have already aid they want him to be more active on third downs, so we could be looking at a season where he should average close to 20 touches per game between carries and receptions. Yes, they are a passing team, but they were last season as well and Mixon averaged 18 carries per game, including the playoffs. Another year together and this offense is going to hum like a well-oiled machine.

 

 

Aaron Jones, GB – Pick 4.03

At the time of drafting, the rumor mill had Alvin Kamara potentially being suspended for six games, so I passed on him to grab Jones. I am very well-aware that AJ Dillon continues to be eased into the overall game plan, but Jones is still a strong enough back to take it between the tackles as he is still fast enough to take it to the outside. He also has great hands and Rodgers loves to dish the ball off to him. 

 

 

Breece Hall, NYJ – Pick 6.03

I still wanted to make sure I was covered at the running back position early, so landing Hall, who should give the Jets every reason to gradually phase out Michael Carter, felt like the right move to make. It will be a shared backfield to start, but as the season progresses, Hal’s touches should continue to trend upwards. The old 49ers system Mike LaFleur and Robert Saleh are running in New York dictates a rotation of running backs, but just as we saw Kyle Shanahan do, he landed on one guy to carry the bulk of the load while spelling him every so often throughout the game. That should be Hall’s path this season.  

 

 

Chase Edmonds, MIA – Pick 9.08

New head coach Mike McDaniel was one of the architects of the 49ers offense that Shanahan runs and now he’ll bring it to Miami. Edmonds fits this scheme perfectly as he can handle inside zone runs almost as well as he handles the outside zone runs. While the team also brought in Raheem Mostert and Sony Michel, Edmonds actually profiles better as the lead back in this scheme. I love the fact that he doesn’t come off the board until later, so he now becomes my fourth running back? I’ll take it! 

Wide Receivers

 

 

Davante Adams, LVR – Pick 2.03

Is there really much to say about Adams? The guy is an absolute beast and he even thrives in double-coverage. He is now reunited with his old college quarterback in Carr and the two of them are going to have a first-rate offense to play in this season. The guy is a stud and the Raiders stack is looking pretty sweet right now.

 

 

Allen Robinson, LAR – Pick 7.08

Needed to start building my receiving corps at this point of the draft and was happy to grab Robinson. I’m willing to toss aside his time spent in Chicago, especially last season, and look forward to his work with Stafford in this Rams offense. Cooper Kupp is the obvious No. 1 target, but ARob should see plenty of action come his way. Defenses are going to start keying in on Kupp even more this year, so that should also open things up more for Robinson. I did consider DK Metcalf here, but with the uncertainty of the Seattle quarterback situation, Robinson got the nod.

 

 

JuJu Smith-Schuster, KC – Pick 8.03

He’s got all summer to build up a rapport with Patrick Mahomes and learn his tendencies when he’s scrambling around behind the line of scrimmage. It may take a game or two for the two to really conch things up, but once JuJu knows what to expect from Mahomes, and vice versa, the two should put on quite the show. I considered Rashod Bateman and Adam Thielen here, but you all know how high I am on the AFC West this year. We should see a ton of scoring from that division.

 

 

Allen Lazard, GB – Pick 10.03

Funny enough, I took Lazard before I took Rodgers. And maybe, just maybe, my decision to draft Rodgers as my second QB in a best ball hinged solely on the fact that I had Lazard and Jones already on my roster. Packers stackers, baby! Let’s get it!

 

 

Christian Watson, GB – Pick 12.03

I don’t normally stack four players from the same team, but considering we still don’t know which wideout will be the top guy, between Lazard and Watson, I figured I would cover my bases and run with the super-stack. Watson is a big boy out of North Dakota State and should be the vertical threat in the end zone that was once Adams. 

 

 

Jarvis Landry, NO – Pick 14.03

There is a lot about the Saints offense we don’t know yet. Will Kamara be suspended? Does Michael Thomas even want to play football? And what happens in this offense without Sean Payton at the helm? Well, the first two questions have me shrugging my shoulders. We’ll jut have to wait and see. As for the third, it’s actually all about offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. The veteran OC has been a part of this team’s offense for over a dozen seasons and while Payton handled the play-calling, Carmichael was very much a part of things. With so much uncertainty surrounding Thomas, Landry was a stellar add for them as he will be the reliable hands Jameis Winston will need in order to move the chains. Thomas and rookie Chris Olave will handle the outside work while Landry comes out of the slot. He’s got a high-floor as a pass-catcher in a PPR format, so I feel comfortable having him in best ball because he’ll always have some sort of a solid contribution.

 

 

DJ Chark, DET – Pick 15.08

There is no denying that Chark has talent. He’s got great speed and becomes a strong deep threat for the Lions this season. As such, he’s a great upside play. The Lions have Amon-Ra St. Brown, T.J. Hockenson and they drafted Jameson Williams, but that doesn’t mean Chark cannot push his way in with a strong camp and strong start to the season. He was a No. 1 in Jacksonville and, truth be told, he could even become just that here in Detroit. Sorry, St. Brown truthers.

 

 

Tyler Boyd, CIN – Pick 18.03

As we’ve identified in the Wide Receiver Dynamic Tier Rankings, Boyd is more considered a safe, high-floor guy than he is an upside play. With Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in front of him, that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but I don’t think he’s bereft of any upside at all. Maybe he’s not racking up 100-yard efforts on the regular, but they are still possible given this Cincinnati offensive scheme. As my final position player? This was a no-brainer for me.

Tight Ends

 

 

Darren Waller, LVR – Pick3.08

The criticisms of his impending diminishing target share are loud and clear, but I’ll wait to see what McDaniels does with this beast of a pass-catcher this season. We all saw what McDaniels had done for the tight end position back in New England, so with a commodity like Waller on the roster, it’s very difficult to imagine him not being leaned on pretty heavily. This Raiders stack of Carr, Adams and Waller should be a big hit, especially in this format.

 

 

Hunter Henry, NE – Pick 13.08 

I needed a tight end to cover the bye weeks and Henry is one of my favorites. He’s a major red zone threat for the Patriots, as evidenced by the nine touchdowns he caught, and should continue to play in that role this season. No need to worry about Jonnu Smith. He’s the better blocker of the two and should stay in-line most of the time when New England is in two-TE sets. Love the upside here, just as it says in the TE Dynamic Tier Rankings.

Kickers

 

 

Harrison Butker, KC – Pick 17.08

Chiefs kicker? AFC West? Yup!

 

 

Jason Sanders, MIA – Pick 19.08

Just some bye week help here, but also could be a string asset all year should Tua Tagovailoa and the offense stall inside the red zone.

Defense/Special Teams

Indianapolis Colts – Pick 16.03

Yes, I’m still on the Colts. Routinely one of the top fantasy assets at defense thanks to all the turnovers they force.

New York Jets – Pick 20.03

Total homer pick. No good reason to take them.

 

 

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