In the spirit of fantasy football championship week, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane. As everyone compiled what they felt would be their best possible rosters just a few months ago, a handful of the best fantasy football options fell through the cracks as they typically do.
Some were more staggering than others looking back on average draft position in hindsight. Hindsight is always 20/20 but as of right now, some of these players are going to be making you a good amount of money or helping you with some bragging rights in your fantasy league at the very least. Which players were the best value picks this year? Which picks made some championship rosters in 2022?
Let’s take a look at the top three.
3 best fantasy football value picks in 2022
1. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins
2022 ADP: 47.3 (4th-5th round)
If you selected basically any Miami Dolphins skill position starter in 2022 besides Mike Gesicki, it ended up helping your fantasy football roster quite a bit. Okay, the Chase Edmonds thing didn’t work out, but some people like Raheem Mostert better from the start anyway.
Although people were slightly skeptical of how Tyreek Hill would do with Tua Tagovailoa throwing him the ball, they were even more skeptical of what Hill’s arrival would then also mean for Jaylen Waddle. This resulted in Waddle going from the Dolphins’ go-to guy in 2021 as a rookie to then being a second fiddle at best, right?
He’s got 67 receptions for 1,270 yards and eight touchdowns heading into championship week. He’s averaging a whopping 18.8 yards per reception and has been one of the biggest stars in the league. For the price of just a fourth or fifth-round pick in fantasy.
2. Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
2022 ADP: 86.0 (7th-8th round)
Taking the no. 2 running back in Dallas behind Ezekiel Elliott certainly didn’t warrant a top-50 pick and one of your most valuable. Actually, in hindsight, a 7th-8th round value for Tony Pollard is pretty fair. At least, it seems fair for an “RB2”.
As it turns out, both Pollard and Elliott ended up being great options in fantasy as both players were mostly available all year. But it was Pollard who led the Cowboys in yards from scrimmage (1,359) and total touchdowns (12). Ironically enough, he’s not playing during championship week due to injury, but if you had him on your roster, he was undoubtedly a bit reason you got there in the first place.
3. Justin Fields, QB, Chicago Bears
2022 ADP: 148th (12th-13th round)
Let’s say you were bold enough to draft Justin Fields after a rather bad rookie season. Let’s say you were bold enough to hang onto him after he struggled the first few weeks of the season.
This is what separates the great fantasy football players from the good ones. If you kept Fields through it all, you were able to ride the wave as he became just the third QB in NFL history to rack up 1,000 rushing yards along with 16 passing touchdowns and eight rushing touchdowns.
Fields went from being a 12th-13th-round pick in the 2022 fantasy football world and ended up as a top-5 option at the position. The arrow is pointing up for young Justin Fields in Chicago.