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Early on in the fantasy football season, there’s always a few players that sneak past the draft, and after Week 1, everyone in the league is scrambling to pick them up after they explode. In recent years, players such as Raheem Mostert and James Robinson weren’t on anybody’s radar, but finished as one of the best at their position by the end of the year.
So who are the deepest sleeper picks of 2022? Here’s one at each position and why they might be worth drafting:
QB: Mitch Trubisky, Pittsburgh Steelers
Mitch Trubisky is a very intriguing player in 2022. After getting drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2017, Trubisky faced nothing less than dysfunction in the front office. Poor game management and play-calling made it difficult for Trubisky to succeed. Nonetheless, Trubisky had over a 93.0 passer rating in half of his seasons with the team. Following the Bears’ addition of Justin Fields, Trubisky decided to take a role as the backup to Josh Allen in Buffalo. Trubisky spending time with a competent franchise could be the best thing to happen to his career, similar to Jameis Winston. Trubisky now gets another shot at being a starting QB with the Steelers. If his accuracy, which was his greatest flaw, has gotten better, the Steelers have everything a QB could want. Between Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and the new addition of George Pickens, all the weapons are there for Trubisky to succeed. Additionally, the Steelers’ dominant defense will put the offense in good field position to score, meaning more touchdowns for Trubisky to throw. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Trubisky have a big fantasy season if he has improved as much as the Steelers are saying.
RB: Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers assumed starting running back, Leonard Fournette, has had issues in his receiving game since he arrived in Tampa. This is a problem that both he and the Bucs have tried to fix, but it doesn’t seem like much has changed. In return, the Bucs selected Rachaad White in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and he immediately has made an impact for the team. The word out of training camp is that White looks like one of the best players, not only at running back, but on the entire offense. His specialty? Being a receiving back. It’s definitely possible that the Bucs strictly use Fournette in the run game, and White in the passing game. With new Bucs’ head coach Todd Bowles adapting the “no risk it, no biscuit” mindset that Bruce Arians brought to the team previously, the Bucs will be throwing the ball…a lot. Tom Brady likes to check down to his running back, so we could see White get a ton of work right away in this offense. He is definitely a name to watch out for.
WR: Jamison Crowder, Buffalo Bills
The veteran WR joined the Buffalo Bills during the off-season and is poised to take over as the primary slot receiver for this offense. Previously, Cole Beasley had this role, and saw 112 targets in 2021. Josh Allen loved throwing to Beasley for easy completions and first downs, so it’s expected that he utilizes Crowder the same way. Crowder produced on a Jets offense that wasn’t scoring much the last few years, so he should score more touchdowns than in years past as well. It’s reasonable to believe that Crowder picks up chemistry with his QB quickly, as he has with the many QBs the Jets used during his time in New York, and will fill the slot role similarly, if not better than Cole Beasley.
TE: Hayden Hurst, Cincinnati Bengals
With former Bengals’ tight end C.J. Uzomah leaving the team in free agency, it left a hole at the position for Cincinnati. They filled this hole with Hayden Hurst. Hurst is only 28 years old, but this is already his third team. The former Ravens’ first round pick spent last season with the Falcons before signing with the Bengals. Uzomah’s stats weren’t necessarily eye-opening in 2021, but that’s partially because he was being heavily-utilized in the blocking game. This was a result of the Bengals offensive line woes; however, with the additions of guard Alex Cappa and tackle La’el Collins, the team will most likely see improvement from last year. This opens up a huge opportunity for Hayden Hurst, as he’ll be able to go out for more passes. The Bengals have a loaded wide receiver group as well, and with the defenses having to primarily focus on them, it will leave a linebacker guarding Hurst, which is an extreme mismatch with Hurst’s speed. Hurst is also more of a natural pass catcher than Uzomah, so it’s fair to assume he’ll receive more targets than Uzomah did. If you miss out on any of the mainstream tight ends in the draft, Hurst could be a very solid option for your team.
