Well, it is never too early to do one of these. Just over one week removed from fantasy football seasons coming to a close, and now it is time for some rankings. I will be doing these lists periodically throughout the offseason, to keep you informed of who is hot and who is not for fantasy football 2022.
These ranks will be done in half-point-PPR scoring. Occasionally, lists will come out that may be standard (non-PPR) or PPR specific. Today, we stick to half. After the list is complete, stay tuned for who was a surprise for me in the top 50, who may fall out of the top 50, and lots more ranking analysis.
Bird’s Way Too Early Top 50 Overall Half PPR Rankings
- Jonathan Taylor (RB1) – Indianapolis Colts
- Derrick Henry (RB2) – Tennessee Titans
- Austin Ekeler (RB3) – Los Angeles Chargers
- Dalvin Cook (RB4) – Minnesota Vikings
- Davante Adams (WR1) – Green Bay Packers
- Cooper Kupp (WR2) – Los Angeles Rams
- Alvin Kamara (RB5) – New Orleans Saints
- Najee Harris (RB6) – Pittsburgh Steelers
- Christian McCaffrey (RB7) – Carolina Panthers
- Justin Jefferson (WR3) – Minnesota Vikings
- Joe Mixon (RB8) – Cincinnati Bengals
- Tyreek Hill (WR4) – Kansas City Chiefs
- Stefon Diggs (WR5) – Buffalo Bills
- Ja’Marr Chase (WR6) – Cincinnati Bengals
- Deebo Samuel (WR7) – San Francisco 49ers
- Javonte Williams (RB9) – Denver Broncos
- Travis Kelce (TE1) – Kansas City Chiefs
- D’Andre Swift (RB10) – Detroit Lions
- Nick Chubb (RB11) – Cleveland Browns
- A.J. Brown (WR8) – Tennessee Titans
- Keenan Allen (WR9) – Los Angeles Chargers
- Antonio Gibson (RB12) – Washington Football Team
- David Montgomery (RB13) – Chicago Bears
- Aaron Jones (RB14) – Green Bay Packers
- CeeDee Lamb (WR10) – Dallas Cowboys
- D.K. Metcalf (WR11) – Seattle Seahawks
- Diontae Johnson (WR12) – Pittsburgh Steelers
- Cam Akers (RB14) – Los Angeles Rams
- Josh Allen (QB1) – Buffalo Bills
- Mark Andrews (TE2) – Baltimore Ravens
- Ezekiel Elliott (RB15) – Dallas Cowboys
- Saquon Barkley (RB16) – New York Giants
- Mike Evans (WR13) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Jaylen Waddle (WR14) – Miami Dolphins
- Leonard Fournette (RB17) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- DeAndre Hopkins (WR15) – Arizona Cardinals
- Chris Godwin (WR16) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- George Kittle (TE3) – San Francisco 49ers
- Elijah Mitchell (RB18) – San Francisco 49ers
- J.K. Dobbins (RB19) – Baltimore Ravens
- Tee Higgins (WR17) – Cincinnati Bengals
- Tyler Lockett (WR18) – Seattle Seahawks
- Patrick Mahomes (QB2) – Kansas City Chiefs
- Darren Waller (TE4) – Las Vegas Raiders
- James Conner (RB20) – Arizona Cardinals
- Calvin Ridley (WR19) – Atlanta Falcons
- Damien Harris (RB21) – New England Patriots
- Brandin Cooks (WR20) – Houston Texans
- Josh Jacobs (RB22) – Las Vegas Raiders
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB23) – Kansas City Chiefs
The first thing that jumped off the page when doing these rankings should be the position of Christian McCaffrey. He will be the most debated player in pre-draft rankings by quite some distance, and rightfully so. McCaffrey is a dynamo, that goes without saying. Yet, it is very fair to wonder if McCaffrey peaked out in 2019 when he recorded 2,300 yards from scrimmage with 19 touchdowns. Since that 2019 season, McCaffrey has played in 10 of a possible 23 games for Carolina. Trade rumors are also swirling with McCaffrey, and while I think Carolina keeps him, he is too risky for me to take in drafts. When I did these projections, McCaffrey came in as my RB3. However, I could not responsibly rank him at RB3 despite all we have seen from him in the past. The old montra goes “what have you done for me lately”, and it greatly applies to McCaffrey in this case.
Now time to discuss why on earth anyone would consider taking a quarterback in the back of the 2nd round in 12 team leagues. Well, when it is for Josh Allen, it makes some level of sense. Allen had essentially a repeat of his 2020 season in 2021 in terms of his passing numbers, but his rushing numbers went to a whole new level. Allen registered 122 attempted runs, 20 attempts higher than 2020, with 6.3 yards per attempt, also 2.2 yards higher than his 2020 rushing numbers. Rushing numbers with quarterbacks will always top off their value, i.e. Jalen Hurts in 2021, but when you are able to get a complete runner alongside a great passer? That is a game changing player to have for your fantasy rosters.
A lot of you will also be asking why Davante Adams over Cooper Kupp despite the record breaking season Kupp has had in 2021. Kupp has been incredible this year, no doubt about it, winning the NFL’s receiving triple crown as only the fourth man to ever do it. Now I ask you, what are the odds he has a season like this again? Remember Michael Thomas? Where is he these days? I am not saying Kupp will have a
Thomas-style drop off, but I will say that he won’t finish as the WR1 again next year. Will he be good, yes, WR1 good, no. I will go for Adams instead, who you know what you are going to get with him on a week-to-week basis. Now, this all means nothing if Adams is without Aaron Rodgers, but according to sources Rodgers is very content in Green Bay and could be there in 2022 with his trusted sidekick Adams. While I would love to have both in different leagues next year, the allure of Adams with Rodgers is what puts him over the top for me in my ranks.
Let’s do a dive into Calvin Ridley. He has been out for the majority of the season due to personal reasons, and I wish him nothing but the best moving forward. I have him ranked inside my top 50, but this can change in either direction. Sources say Ridley will request a trade away from Atlanta in the offseason, and his destination will determine what happens to his fantasy draft stock. I have always been in the camp that I do not think Ridley is an NFL number one receiver, I think at best he is an elite second option. Think of when he was next to Julio Jones, and that is the best version of Ridley. If he goes to a team where he is opposite a strong number one receiver that can draw coverage away from Ridley, he will move up in my rankings. If he goes to a team that will rely on him to be a number one option, he may take a tumble. It really will depend on the landing spot, at that point. If he stays in Atlanta, I will keep him somewhere in that WR20-WR24 mark due to talent alone, but it is early days, and these rankings will not be the same come May or even March.
