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Defensive Decisions – 2022/2023 Fantasy Football Draft Advice

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In fantasy football it is no secret that your defense won’t win you a league. They simply won’t give you the point production that a mid-round receiver or running back will give your team, making them easy to wait on. Simply, DO NOT WASTE AN EARLY TO MID-ROUND PICK ON A DEFENSE. A defense, along with a kicker, should be your last two picks of the draft. With that, a solid defense is still a great grab in the late rounds. A defense that provides consistency is one less roster spot that all the great fantasy GM warriors must stress about.
Here are our top three defenses for the 2022 fantasy football season.

1) Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills got a new defensive line, and it is scary. The Bills were able to part with players such as Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, and Harrison Phillips to gain future Hall of Famer Von Miller, long time Denver Broncos star and recent Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl LVI Champ. They also brought back Shaq Lawson who was drafted by Buffalo originally, as well as former Bill Jordan Phillips. The biggest factor for Buffalo being #1 is the comfort that the defense will have with each other. Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier is back at the helm and Buffalo returns nine of their eleven starters. If you are an athlete, you understand the importance of chemistry and knowing the players next to you. Let’s not forget that the last time this defense was on the field was the infamous Kansas City Chiefs matchup with the Buffalo defense crumbling like a good bleu cheese late in the game. The Bills defense will be hungry to prove themselves, they will be hungry to show they are the best side of the ball on that team, and they will be a force to reckon with throughout the season.

2) Dallas Cowboys

The top defense of the 2021 season was the Dallas Cowboys. Much like the continuity Buffalo’s defense will have, Dallas is returning 81% of their defenders that played over 300 snaps for them last year. The biggest factor in Dallas dropping to #2 this year is the QB carousel they will face over the season. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, Joe Burrow and Kirk Cousins are all quarterbacks that have been lighting up the boards and have a great offense behind them. I do not expect the Dallas defense to rack up as many takeaways as last year, especially cornerback Trevon Diggs, but with the pass rush of Micah Parsons, Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory, Dallas is still a top five fantasy defense.

3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

We have discussed two teams with prolific get after the QB ability, but what team has potentially one of the best defensive back groups in the NFL? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers corner duo of Sean Murphy-Bunting to Carlton Davis III is one of the best double-threats the NFL has to offer. Murphy-Bunting is coming off of an injury to start the season, but look for blitz-happy Todd Bowles to incorporate Murphy-Bunting in immediately. Davis III is coming off of an extension in the offseason which means that confidence has never been higher. Look for him to continue locking down big-name receivers this fall. Antoine Winfield Jr. has become a well-known name in the Tampa Bay area as he continues to make big plays in big situations- taunting rival wide outs as he plays. The biggest factor for having Tampa Bay at #3 is an odd one – Rookie Zyon McCollum. The 6’2″ corner out of Sam Houston State can fly all over the field and has been generating a lot of buzz in the Buccaneers training camp. We also can’t forget linebacker Shaqil Barrett, voted by fellow players into this year’s Top 100 Players of 2022, averaging 12.5 sacks per season since he joined the Bucs in 2019.

There are countless defenses in the NFL that are going to provide solid points week in and week out this season. Drafting a defense should never be the cause of your draft night anxiety and should never be held at too high of a standard. Don’t overthink. Take a defense with solid players that have the potential to cause turnovers or have an easier strength schedule this year. You got this.

We’ll be wrapping up our 2022-2023 NFL Fantasy Football Pre-Draft Tips later this week with star-studded quarterbacks, so be sure to follow us to have all of the info to take you far this season.

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Watch Out for these Fantasy Football Wideouts This Season

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Every single day that passes by in the NFL Preseason, fantasy managers across the country are getting more and more excited to draft their fantasy team. The wide receiver position has blossomed into one of the most dominant position groups to target earlier in a draft.

Some of the top-end fantasy receiver talent on a week-to-week basis has a higher upside for fantasy managers than running backs, especially in the popular PPR formats. The high-end wide receivers even have a more consistent production record than running backs which can give you one less headache to deal with all season. We will be highlighting some of the best receivers to draft in your league this year.

The top receiver this season is Los Angeles Rams current Triple Crown Winner Cooper Kupp was absolutely unstoppable last season and won plenty of fantasy football championships for his fantasy managers. Kupp is easily the top receiver going into this season as well. While he may not win the receiving Triple Crown again, he will be putting up monster numbers in a pass-heavy Sean McVay-coached Rams offense. There are a couple of questions this season with how Cooper Kupp’s target share will look with newly acquired Allen Robinson II and quarterback Matthew Stafford’s elbow soreness. Even with these questions, Kupp looks like a clear cut WR1 and worth a top 5 selection in your fantasy football draft.

There is some debate on the second-best receiver in the fantasy football community. However, we believe that the next best receiver you should be looking at is former LSU Tigers standout and reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Ja’Marr Chase. The Cincinnati Bengals made an unbelievable Super Bowl run thanks in large part to their stud receiver Ja’Marr Chase. He played with Joe Burrow at LSU and has brought that same type of success to the NFL. As a guy who can win any 1-on-1 matchup he is an elite WR1 option. He is helped by the fact that defenses have to respect his receiving counterpart Tee Higgins as well as their terrific wide-zone running game led by Joe Mixon. While having all these additional weapons usually gives fantasy managers pause when spending a top pick on a player given their target share won’t be as large, Chase has show everyone that he can provide excellent production as a WR1. Look for Ja’Marr Chase anywhere in the top 8 selections of your fantasy draft.

Other former LSU Tiger and current Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson is the next best receiver after Kupp and Chase. He also played with Chase and Burrow on that amazing 2019 LSU Tigers National Champions team. While Chase has shown out in the one year he has played, Justin Jefferson has done that over the past two seasons with the Kirk Cousins-led Vikings. Just like Chase getting help with lots of talent, Jefferson also has a star-studded surrounding cast. The other offensive weapons that defenses must worry about covering are fan-favorite Adam Thielen and another top fantasy pick in Florida State Seminoles alum Dalvin Cook. If you are seeing a theme here, it is that these two receivers are incredibly close in fantasy rankings because their situations are incredibly similar. We gave Chase a slight edge, but also look to grab Jefferson in those top 8 picks of your fantasy football draft.

Another top receiver is Los Angeles Chargers player Keenan Allen. While there might be plenty of picks in between our top three receivers and Allen, we assure you that it will be worth the wait. Allen has consistently put up big seasons for fantasy managers everywhere. With a young star quarterback in former Oregon Ducks standout gunslinger Justin Herbert, Allen is looking at another top 10 fantasy campaign on the horizon. Like Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, Keenan Allen is helped by an excellent surrounding crew in newly re-signed Mike Williams and another top fantasy running back in Austin Ekeler. Allen has plenty of history for fantasy managers to look at and realize this is a WR1 type you can get in round 2 or 3 if you use your early picks on a couple of running backs or get one of the top two tight ends. (Read our Fantasy Tight End 1 Article here.)

The last wide receiver we are looking at is our favorite sleeper pick in former Florida Gators standout Kadarius ‘Yung Joka’ Toney. Toney won’t be going in the top 7 or 8 rounds in any fantasy draft but we believe this could be a big season for him. He is one of our favorite breakout candidates going into this season. While Toney might not be his team’s top wide out, he showed flashes of greatness last year against the Dallas Cowboys. Putting up 189 yards receiving with ten catches certainly gave him WR1 potential. That may not happen on a week-to-week basis, but he has the capability to put up the type of scores to make him a late-round steal after round 8 in fantasy drafts. If Daniel Jones and the rest of the New York Giants offense can put it together, Toney could easily become a top 15 fantasy receiver if he reaches his full potential.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out our other 2022-2023 Fantasy Football Draft Advice Blogs here. Follow our blog for the best 2022-2023 NFL Fantasy Football News and Tips throughout the season.

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2022-2023 Fantasy Football Undervalued Running Backs – Who Should I Draft?

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As we are winding our way through the NFL pre-season, everyone only has one thing on their mind– Fantasy Football.

One of the biggest keys to winning your fantasy football leagues every year is to draft stud running backs. They consistently can get a solid workload on a game-to-game basis, helping your team win the week. No matter what round you are in, the best fantasy advice is to look at the board for a good running back that can help you win. Get a leg up on the competition this year with our list of running back studs that you should draft onto your team. Getting more value out of your selection helps teams win and that is what our list is about.

TOP 10 UNDERVALUED FANTASY FOOTBALL RUNNING BACKS

1. The top spot on our list goes the top rookie running back from last year, Alabama‘s Najee Harris. The Pittsburgh Steelers top fantasy option looks to inherit another full season as the 3-down back in the Steel City this year. Along with the tremendous upside he provides with his rushing ability, he also catches passes at an above-average rate, which will push him past other backs in a PPR format. With either Mitch Trubisky or Kenny Pickett throwing him the ball this year he should see plenty of opportunities.

2. The next running back is former Seminole, current Viking, Dalvin Cook who, even coming off a slight injury last year, is looking to regain top spot as a fantasy running back. Like Najee, Dalvin also catches passes at a high rate and in a Minnesota Vikings offense led by Kirk Cousins with two downfield weapons in Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen there will be a lot of space to operate in the underneath routes where Dalvin Cook presents a matchup nightmare 1-on-1 with linebackers. He even has more upside as a runner with high-end breakaway speed. However, with lingering injury risk he is only number 2 in our rankings.

3. In our number three spot we have Cleveland Browns running back, former Georgia Bulldog, Nick Chubb, who is looking to have a very increased workload following the suspension of Deshaun Watson. Having Jacoby Brissett is a nice backup, but the Browns will look to lean much heavier on their amazing offensive line with Chubb running the ball. While Chubb is a Top 5 running back, he doesn’t offer Top 5 receiving skills like some other RB1s do and they will look to take Chubb off of the field in those long 3rd down situations.

4. Our 4th RB is Tennessee Titans monster running back Derrick Henry. Henry is easily one of the biggest and fastest players in the entire league- two qualities that keep him at the top of the game in his 7th season. Always a favorite to rush for over 2,000 yards, he surpassed that mark in only 16 games in 2020. The Titans did trade their best receiver, A.J. Brown, to the Philadelphia Eagles, so that will reduce their passing game but will also cause them to lean upon Henry to help carry the load.

5. The 5th spot belongs to Kansas City Chiefs back Clyde Edwards-Helaire who enters the 2022 season with a lot to prove. After sustaining an injury last season, he looks to rebound with a bounce-back season. The LSU Tigers superstar had a great rookie season but did not impress fantasy managers last year. We are looking for Clyde to have a big third season after losing Tyreek Hill from this dynamic offense. There will be plenty of work to go around and that should help Edwards-Helaire get back on track.

6. The number six spot on our list is Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins, who also is looking to have a rebound season in 2022. He injured his knee last pre-season and missed the entire year. This offense is based heavily on the running backs handing the load to open up the rest of the playbook. Dobbins has been a standout since his college days with the Ohio State Buckeyes, running similar read-option concepts where he had a great deal of success. Dobbins looks healthy coming into camp and has massive upside for fantasy managers.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars second-year RB Travis Etienne Jr. is number seven on our list of undervalued running backs. Etienne, like Dobbins before him, missed out on the entire 2021 season. Unlike Dobbins, Etienne doesn’t have the same track record for fantasy managers to rely upon. Even with the unknown, we love where Etienne fits into this Jaguars offense. James Robinson tore his Achilles last December which has opened the door wide for Etienne to get all of the touches until Robinson can get back to 100%. No one knows any timelines on this injury, so until further news arrives, this bodes extremely well for the value of Travis Etienne on fantasy teams. If Etienne handles the workload well, Robinson could be the odd man out.

8. The eighth spot goes to Najee Harris’ older brother, New England Patriots running back Damien Harris. Harris was the 2021 fantasy breakout, scoring 15 touchdowns for the Mac Jones-led Patriots. The Patriots have had a committee approach at the running back position for quite some time and this type of approach usually gives fantasy managers huge headaches. However, Damien Harris looks to have an edge over fellow committee members Rhamondre Stevenson, Ty Montgomery and Pierre Strong Jr. Harris might not get back to 15 touchdowns, but he will be scoring plenty with Bill Belichick consistently trying to pound the ball into the end zone while in the red zone.

9. Super Bowl LVI Champion Cam Akers will be our number nine running back who is undervalued. Akers, in his third year out of FSU, will be the Los Angeles Rams starting running back Week One, even with the injury last season. Darrell Henderson is a solid backup but shouldn’t eat too much into the workload for Akers, who showed that he could be a running back that this high-powered offense can lean on. Akers is the complete package and can be a threat in the pass game as well. He is being drafted in fantasy leagues far too low and could help win some leagues this season.

10. Our final spot belongs to Georgia Bulldogs National Champion, Buffalo Bills rookie James Cook. Cook, who is Dalvin’s younger brother, is finding himself in a very favorable situation, similar to his sibling. Devin Singletary may be the starting running back for the Bills, but James Cook looks to be the favored third down back for Josh Allen to check down to, getting the easy first downs after Allen’s playmaking ability creates additional time in the pocket. James Cook is getting drafted fairly low in most drafts this year and can provide Top 20 running back value in PPR formats.

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We hope you’ve enjoyed this list of Undervalued Fantasy Running Backs for the 2022-2023 season. Stay tuned next week for our next installment of The Fantasy Football Draft Diaries – brought to you by SportsCollectibles.com! Start every morning with a healthy dose of SportsCollectibles.com! But seriously, find all of your fantasy faves autographed jerseys, autographed helmets, autographed footballs and more when you SHOP NOW. Save an EXTRA 10%* on your order with today’s exclusive blog discount code RBFFBLOG22. Plus, Free US Shipping on all orders over $100.* Start your collection or add to it today!

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Fantasy Football Tight End Targets 2022-2023

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Football season is right around the corner and fans all over the country are salivating to watch meaningful gridiron play again. Even more than that, co-workers and friend groups are trying to nail down their fantasy football leagues (including our own office). One of the most important positions always perplexes most players and that is: the Tight End.

When should you draft a tight end? What is the ‘sweet spot’ in each round to get the most production for the draft slot? Who will be Tight End Number 1 when the year is over? Will the reign of Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce being TE1 finally end?

All valid questions, none of them with clear-cut answers. However, there is hope out there for the many loyal readers of the SportsCollectibles.com blog. Within the Kansas City Chiefs offense, Kelce looks like he should take a step forward even further from the pack losing a weapon like Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins. However, there is something being overlooked about him and that is the fact he will be double and triple-teamed even more in the upcoming season.

While Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes has had the luxury of both Kelce and Hill giving nightmares to opposing defenses about how to match up with them, he won’t have that same abundance of firepower at his disposal this season. Tyreek Hill always made defenses match his deep speed, and with Mahomes’ cannon-like arm strength 70-yard throws could happen at any time. This would usually give Travis Kelce a lot more room to operate with the rest of the field. With Tyreek getting traded to the Miami Dolphins, the Chiefs looked to free-agency and the 2022 NFL Draft to improve the weaponry surrounding Patrick Mahomes with Western Michigan Broncos rookie receiver Skyy Moore and former Green Bay Packers speedster Marquez Valdes-Scantling. These guys are solid, but won’t help Travis Kelce get as open as Tyreek Hill did while he was playing in Kansas City.

Enter Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews into the Tight End 1 chat. With Lamar Jackson losing Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to the Arizona Cardinals, the offensive skill players might look light to some fans. True NFL fans know about #89 Mark Andrews’ true dominance in the Greg Roman-led Ravens offense. A great blocker in the run game, Andrews can parlay this into getting wide-open in the play action game because defenders don’t want to get blocked by him and get sucked into the run action. This automatically gives Andrews a leg-up on his competition with how many targets he will have this season with no defenders around, giving him ample room to get plenty of yard after the catch (YAC).

Jackson is also fighting for a generational-wealth type of contract and will come out this season firing on all cylinders to prove the doubters wrong and show that he is more than a “running back playing quarterback”. Lamar also has the accolades to back up his performance come contract negotiating time led by his amazing agent- his mom. This all plays into Mark Andrews having a record-breaking 2022 season being Lamar Jackson’s safety blanket and number 1 target. It will also help if former first-round pick Rashod Bateman can demand some coverage and be another target for Lamar to throw to and another player that defenses must respect.

Most fantasy players can get Andrews a round or two after Kelce and could very well accumulate a considerable number of points this season. Make Andrews a top priority when drafting this year and you can also win your league and have bragging rights over your friends, family and co-workers. Good Luck Fantasy Players!

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