Fantasy Football 2022: 10 Sleeper Picks Who Could Have Breakout Season

Elite NFL players like Patrick Mahomes and Cooper Kupp often aren’t the biggest difference-makers between winning and losing a fantasy football league championship.

Fantasy players who find diamonds in the rough typically contend for titles year in and year out. Finding consistent point producers in the mid-to-late rounds can make a roster virtually unstoppable and minimize the stress that comes with constructing a lineup each week.

At this point, you probably have a group of players in mind who you are targeting in the early rounds of your fantasy draft. We’re here to dive a bit deeper and recommend players who might be relative afterthoughts in drafts this year.

Jerry Jeudy, WR, Denver Broncos
This one is pretty straightforward, right? Jeudy wasn’t terribly far off from a 1,000-yard season as a rookie in 2020 despite catching passes from Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Jeff Driskel. The Alabama product now will form a tandem with one of the game’s best quarterbacks in Russell Wilson. The two wasted no time getting together for throwing sessions upon Wilson’s trade to Denver, so they very well could hit the ground running in Week 1.

Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears
Justin Fields might have no other choice but to target Kmet early and often in every game. Top Bears wideout Darnell Mooney is a budding star, but the rest of Chicago’s pass-catching group leaves a lot to be desired. We don’t see the likes of Byron Pringle, Velus Jones Jr. and N’Keal Harry lighting it up on a regular basis.

Tight ends often are a young quarterback’s best friend, so Fields might lean on Kmet as he attempts to master an offense coached up by first-year offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
We acknowledge the labels “sleeper” and “No. 1 overall draft pick” typically don’t go hand in hand. But the Jaguars endured such a disastrous 2021 season, Lawrence’s first in Jacksonville, that fantasy players might not be thinking about the sophomore signal-caller.

However, there are reasons to believe Lawrence is bound for a big campaign. A Super Bowl-winning and offensive-minded head coach now is at the helm in Jacksonville and Lawrence’s arsenal has been revamped. This includes the return of Travis Etienne Jr., a solid pass-catching back who has plenty of experience working with Lawrence dating back to their Clemson days.

Elijah Mitchell, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Ever since head coach Kyle Shanahan took over in San Francisco, it’s kind of felt like any running back is capable of thriving in the 49ers offense. Well, Mitchell will enter the season as the top man on the depth chart after turning some heads as a rookie last year. We probably can expect a ton of option football from the Niners with the versatile Trey Lance now under center, and that could lead to a boatload of targets and touches for Mitchell. Yes, even with “wideback” Deebo Samuel still in the fold.

Rondale Moore, WR, Arizona Cardinals
There might be some hesitation about targeting Moore given the impression that he could get buried in a loaded Cardinals offense. But the second-year wideout might not be as far down on Arizona’s priority list as you think.

For starters, DeAndre Hopkins is suspended for the first six games of the season. Newcomer Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, meanwhile, is joining a brand-new offense and recent seasons suggest he might not be the top-flight receiver many thought he’d be. A.J. Green, 34, is well past his prime.

Moore is more than just a burner and his skill set makes him a great asset for off-script plays. Look out for the 22-year-old to form a great connection with Kyler Murray.

Skyy Moore, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
Mahomes needs a new favorite target now that Tyreek Hill calls Miami home. While Mecole Holdman and first-year Chief JuJu Smith-Schuster are viable to fill that void, don’t count out Moore. The 54th overall pick in this year’s draft has the speed to take the top off the defense, and we know how much Mahomes loves letting it fly. The Western Michigan product also thrives in the slot, potentially making him an ideal fit for Kansas City’s multi-faceted offense.

Raheem Mostert, RB, Miami Dolphins
This might be a reach considering the 30-year-old is joining a new team after five-plus seasons in San Francisco and is coming off a pretty serious knee injury. Furthermore, fellow veteran back Chase Edmonds technically is atop the Dolphins’ RB depth chart. But we have a tough time ignoring Mostert’s history with first-year head coach Mike McDaniel, who was a part of the Niners’ offensive coaching staff for all but one of the former’s seasons in the Bay Area.

Mostert is very steady when he’s healthy, so we like the chances of McDaniel making sure the eighth-year pro sees regular touches on a weekly basis.

Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR, Cleveland Browns
A significant upgrade under center in Cleveland very well could lead to a breakout season for Peoples-Jones. The Michigan product spent his first two NFL seasons catching passes from Baker Mayfield, who didn’t really make any of his receivers better. The same can’t be said for Deshaun Watson, who currently is only set to miss six games in the upcoming season.

Peoples-Jones is the clear No. 2 for the Browns now that Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. are long gone. Even while Jacoby Brissett fills in for Watson, the 23-year-old should be targeted more than ever before.

Robert Tonyan, TE, Green Bay Packers
A lot of the sentiments expressed about Kmet can be applied to Tonyan. With Davante Adams out in Las Vegas, Aaron Rodgers’ receiving corps now is spearheaded by the mediocre Allen Lazard, aging Sammy Watkins and rookie Christian Watkins. We’re not calling Tonyan the second coming of Rob Gronkowski, but at a minimum, he has four years of experience working with the two-time defending league MVP.

Tonyan is somewhat of a proven commodity, too. After all, he’s only two seasons removed from an 11-touchdown campaign.

Jameis Winston, QB, New Orleans Saints
Seemingly gone are the days of fearing how a quarterback will respond from a torn ACL. Signal-callers these days are seamlessly bouncing back from the scary knee injury, with many returning even better than before.

So, we shouldn’t worry too much about Winston’s health and added confidence can be found in the group with whom he’s working. You can do a lot worse than a WR corps led by Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry and Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara might be the league’s best safety blanket out of the backfield.

The changing of the guard in New Orleans shouldn’t be much of an issue for Winston either. Sean Payton passed the torch to Dennis Allen, who’s been with the Saints since 2015.