The Podfathers Must-Draft List for 2022 Fantasy Football

by Cody Carpentier · Draft Strategy

The best part about playing Fantasy Football is drafting your Fantasy Football team in the fall with all of your friends. But after that, a lot of leagues tend to lose their juice because a lot of owners draft bad players. The goal with this must-draft list series is to assure you do NOT draft “Bad Players” or values, but instead draft the “Best Players” or the best values. Reading an article about the best players to draft is only part of the job, you also have to draft the team, not show up drunk on draft night and let values fly by you, there is game theory to take into account. Don’t overlook draft night. The Podfather will not have all six players on every fantasy team nor should you but these will be his most rostered in 2022, and he believes you should jump on board. The following players are The Podfather’s Must-Draft targets for the 2022 Fantasy Football season.

QB – Kirk Cousins,  Minnesota Vikings in Round 10

It’s no secret that The Podfather has loved Kirk Cousins since the arrival of Justin Jefferson in Minnesota. During the 2021 Season, Cousins finished top-5 in a slew of key metrics on playerprofiler.com. The ability to attempt 154 pressured throws (no. 1) and finish no. 3 in money throws, whoa! In each of the last two seasons, Cousins has finished 11th and 12th in Fantasy Points per Game. Currently being drafted in Round 10, as QB15 with a new offensive scheme and the arrival of Coach Kevin O’Connell the former Rams Offensive Coordinator. Look for Kirk Cousins to continue his mid-career rise, and return value in 2022 Fantasy Football leagues.

RB – Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars in Round 4

WR – Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos in Round 3

The arrival of Russell Wilson, and off-field trouble with Jerry Jeudy over the summer has allowed for a meteoric rise in not only Courtland Sutton‘s dynasty value, but also 2022 seasonal league value. Sutton returned to health in 2021 pulling in 98 targets, and over 1,500 air yards (no. 8) in the NFL. Although he was catching passes from Drew Lock, and Teddy Bridgewater, Sutton was still able to return from ACL surgery at age 26 and show signs of life. In 2022, two years removed from ACL surgery, Courtland Sutton is entering his prime with the best quarterback of his career. Going off the board at WR17 on Underdog, trust the process and look for Sutton to have a 2020 D.K. Metcalf-type season in Denver.

WR – Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints in Round 8

Flex – Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys in Round 7

If you asked Cowboys fans, who the most efficient player on their team is, a good portion of them would stop guessing before they got to Tony Pollard. But in 2021, Pollard finished No. 1 in Yards per Route Run, No. 2 in Yards per Touch, and No.3 in Breakaway Run Rate, three important running back efficiency metrics. The list of players ahead of him on those lists include just Christian McCaffrey and Rashaad Penny. Ezekiel Elliott is 27 years old and recovering from bruised ribs and a partially torn PCL. Start drafting the best backup running back in the NFL, Tony Pollard in Round 7 on Underdog.

TE – Albert Okwuegbunam, Denver Broncos in Round 12

Closing Notes

During the next few weeks, I will be breaking down The Podfather, Dario Offstein, and my own Must-Draft lists for the 2022 Fantasy Football Season. Reminder, the above list of players may not be attainable in every single draft due to game theory from players in your draft, or change in ADP. We also do not advise drafting all of these players in every single league, build your rosters to be fun, dominate and win. Thank you for the continued support and for reading along. Feel free to Tweet us @RotoUnderworld on Twitter and let us know your thoughts on the above Must-Draft List.