Every year in fantasy football drafts, owners try to find sleepers who contribute while one of their star players is on a bye or underperforming. Quarterback is usually one of the positions where you can find high-quality breakout candidates lower in the rankings, and 2022 is no different, as there are plenty of mid- and lower-tier QBs who have top-12 upside if things break right for them.
There are different types of sleepers, as some prefer to focus on QBs who will go from draft afterthought to every-week starter, like Derek Carr did last year. There are also guys who go from good to great, like Joe Burrow. There’s also the inconsistent QBs who can have big weeks but generally lack consistency (Tua Tagovailoa).
2022 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers | Top 200 | Superflex
Tagovailoa will again be popular heading into this season, especially with the addition of superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill and new head coach Mike McDaniel. Similarly, all eyes will be on potential second-year breakouts, including Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence, who both have new coaches and coordinators. Zach Wilson could also see a big uptick in production in his second season, as New York improved the weapons around him. Trey Lance is almost too hyped to be a sleeper at this point, but he certainly has the upside to outperform his draft position, too.
2022 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers | Top 200 | Superflex
In addition to exciting youngsters, a few familiar and “boring” veterans could be due for nice bounce-back campaigns. Baker Mayfield is in a new situation, and gunslinger Jameis Winston has a fresh group of talented weapons to go along with a new coaching staff. We’ve seen both be every-week starters in the past, so there’s reason to be optimistic about their chances this year.
2022 FANTASY SLEEPERS:
RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | One from each team
Ultimately, at a position as “established” as quarterback, it’s tough to feel great about any of these sleepers as your Week 1 starter, but having one (or two) on your roster in single-QB leagues makes sense. At least one or two will break out, and a couple more will provide good value as a spot starter.
DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2022 fantasy cheat sheet
Fantasy QB Sleepers 2022: Potential quarterback breakouts, draft steals
Justin Fields, Bears. The second-year signal-caller will try to ignite a Bears’ offense that is devoid of talent at wide receiver. Fields made a connection with Darnell Mooney, who was the team’s best weapon last season, but Chicago did not do much in the offseason to upgrade the unit. Fields played in 12 games and started in 10 games as a rookie. In the 10 starts, the young quarterback completed 59.2 percent of his passes for 1,800 yards, seven touchdowns, nine interceptions, and added another 386 yards on the ground. With his ability to run, Fields has upside despite the Bears’ lackluster receiver corps.
2022 RANKINGS TIERS & DRAFT STRATEGY:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs
Jameis Winston, Saints. A lot of people are sleeping on Winston, who was playing well before suffering a season-ending left knee injury in Week 8. Winston averaged 17.2 FPPG (14th most) in seven games, so he was on the verge of being a low-end QB1 despite missing Michael Thomas. Fast forward to this season, Winston will improve those numbers with Thomas, Chris Olave, Jarvis Landry, and Marquez Callaway. New Orleans might be without Alvin Kamara for a few games due to pending discipline, and the loss of coach Sean Payton is sure to affect its offense. Either way, Winston will have his duds, but he can boom with the best of them.
2022 FANTASY DRAFT STRATEGY:
Snake drafts | Auctions | Dynasty | Best ball | IDP
Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins. Tagovailoa is due for a breakout season, especially if he can stay healthy. The Dolphins added Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson in free agency to go along with Jaylen Waddle and Mike Gesicki. They also signed running backs Chase Edmonds, Sony Michel, and left tackle Terron Armstead. Tagovailoa has the weapons around him to succeed, so it’s up to him to put it together with new head coach Mike McDaniel, who designed creative, efficient offenses while in San Francisco.
2022 AUCTION VALUES (Standard & PPR):
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers | Overall
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars. Lawrence did not have a great rookie season in 2021, but he should improve this season with new head coach Doug Pederson. The former No. 1 overall pick completed 59.6 of his passes for 3,641 yards, 12 touchdowns, 17 interceptions, but one bright spot was his respectable 334 rushing yards and two TDs on the ground. For his efforts, Lawrence scored 12.7 fantasy points per game, which was lower than Davis Mills (12.8) and Mac Jones (14). The additions of WR Christian Kirk and TE Evan Engram should help, but any bet on Lawrence is a bet on his talent and addition-by-subtraction of departed coach Urban Meyer. The talent around him is decent, but Lawrence must play better.
2022 CONSISTENCY RATINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Baker Mayfield, Panthers. Mayfield has a chance to revamp his football career and fantasy stock in Carolina this season. He’ll be competing with Sam Darnold for the job during the summer. If Mayfield can win the job, he should be able to put up good numbers with a pair of talented WRs and one of the best receiving backs in the game. We’ve seen him be a consistent fantasy starter in the past, and at 27, it’s not as if he’s past his prime. The Panthers were 14th in pass attempts last year but 29th in yards. The potential is there for a big improvement in this passing offense.
Kenny Pickett, Steelers. Pickett will be battling it out for the starting quarterback job in Pittsburgh this summer with Mitchell Trubisky. If the young quarterback loses the battle, do not shut the door on him starting sometime this season. Trubisky is more of a stop-gap option than a bonafide long-term option in the Steel City. When Pickett does play, he’ll have an assortment of options at the skill positions (Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, Pat Freiermuth) to be successful. In his last season at Pittsburgh, Pickett was one of the best quarterbacks in college football, completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards, 42 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also was a threat on the ground with 241 yards and five scores. With the Steelers, Pickett won’t be asked to run the ball much, but he has a good running back in Najee Harris to hand the ball off to. Either way, Pickett has major boom-or-bust potential when he gets a chance to start, so don’t be afraid to grab him/stash him if you’re going ultra-cheap at QB.
Zach Wilson, Jets. Wilson went through the classic rookie struggles, but he should be better going into Year 2. The Jets added Garrett Wilson in the draft, who will be a solid complement alongside Corey Davis and Elijah Moore. Those three wide receivers, along with TEs C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin, will be big boons to Wilson’s development this season. Wilson won’t be drafted in most single-QB leagues, but he could have some streamer value once he returns from a preseason knee injury.