We're starting our draft prep for the 2022 Fantasy season already, and this is the initial reveal of what the first round can look like in a 12-team PPR league from our staff. A lot will change between now and August when your Fantasy drafts are happening, but it's never too early to start planning ahead.
With that in mind, let's see what the top 12 overall PPR rankings could look like in 2022. But first, let's look back at what happened in 2021 with the Average Draft Position compared to the actual finish of the top 12 PPR players this past season.
CBS Sports Average Draft Position for the top 12 (non-quarterbacks):
1. Christian McCaffrey
2. Dalvin Cook
3. Derrick Henry
4. Alvin Kamara
5. Ezekiel Elliott
6. Aaron Jones
7. Davante Adams
8. Travis Kelce
9. Nick Chubb
10. Austin Ekeler
11. Jonathan Taylor
12. Tyreek Hill
Final 2021 top 12 rankings based on PPR points per game (non-quarterbacks):
1. Cooper Kupp 25.9
2. Derrick Henry 24.4
3. Jonathan Taylor 21.9
4. Davante Adams 21.5
5. Austin Ekeler 21.5
6. Deebo Samuel 21.3
7. Justin Jefferson 19.5
8. Leonard Fournette 18.3
9. Christian McCaffrey 18.2
10. Alvin Kamara 18.1
11. Joe Mixon 18.0
12. Ja'Marr Chase 17.9
McCaffrey missed 10 games, while Henry missed nine, but both were amazing when healthy. It's why, as you'll see below, that both will be drafted in the first round again, along with Taylor, Ekeler, Adams and Kamara. Those players delivered on their ADP in 2021 based on their finish.
Some of the bigger disappointments in 2021 based on ADP were Cook (15.9 PPR points per game), Elliott (14.8), Jones (15.3), Chubb (15.4) and Hill (17.5). As you can see, all of them were productive, but you didn't exactly get the return on investment you were hoping for. Cook will remain a first-round pick in 2022 for everyone, and Hill is also ranked as a top-12 player for several members of our staff.
Early Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE
Kelce (16.4) had a good season as the No. 2 tight end behind Mark Andrews (17.7), so it's hard to call him a disappointment. He is a borderline first-round pick for all but two members of our staff.
And you should take note of where we rank the players who cracked the top 12 in 2021 that we didn't expect based on ADP, including Kupp, Samuel, Jefferson, Fournette, Mixon and Chase. For most of us, Kupp, Jefferson, Mixon and Chase are considered top-12 players in 2022, but Samuel and Fournette (for now) did not make the cut.
2022 Top 12 PPR Rankings
Jamey Eisenberg
1. Jonathan Taylor
2. Christian McCaffrey
3. Derrick Henry
4. Austin Ekeler
5. Dalvin Cook
6. Alvin Kamara
7. Davante Adams
8. Cooper Kupp
9. Justin Jefferson
10. Ja'Marr Chase
11. Joe Mixon
12. Najee Harris
Adam Aizer
1. Jonathan Taylor
2. Christian McCaffrey
3. Derrick Henry
4. Austin Ekeler
5. Alvin Kamara
6. Davante Adams
7. Joe Mixon
8. Najee Harris
9. Dalvin Cook
10. Travis Kelce
11. Cooper Kupp
12. Ja'Marr Chase
Heath Cummings
1. Jonathan Taylor
2. Austin Ekeler
3. Davante Adams
4. Cooper Kupp
5. Derrick Henry
6. Christian McCaffrey
7. Dalvin Cook
8. Alvin Kamara
9. Ja'Marr Chase
10. Justin Jefferson
11. Tyreek Hill
12. Joe Mixon
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Dave Richard
1. Jonathan Taylor
2. Derrick Henry
3. Alvin Kamara
4. Austin Ekeler
5. Christian McCaffrey
6. Dalvin Cook
7. Najee Harris
8. Cooper Kupp
9. Davante Adams
10. Justin Jefferson
11. Tyreek Hill
12. Ja'Marr Chase
Dan Schneier
1. Jonathan Taylor
2. Christian McCaffrey
3. Derrick Henry
4. Dalvin Cook
5. Alvin Kamara
6. Davante Adams
7. Cooper Kupp
8. Austin Ekeler
9. Justin Jefferson
10. Joe Mixon
11. Tyreek Hill
12. Najee Harris
Chris Towers
1. Christian McCaffrey
2. Jonathan Taylor
3. Austin Ekeler
4. Cooper Kupp
5. Davante Adams
6. Derrick Henry
7. Alvin Kamara
8. Dalvin Cook
9. D'Andre Swift
10. Justin Jefferson
11. Tyreek Hill
12. Travis Kelce
Chris is the lone member of our staff without Taylor as the No. 1 overall pick. He has McCaffrey in that spot, which is risky but brings so much reward if he can stay healthy. McCaffrey has played in just 10 of 33 games over the past two seasons. Still, everyone has McCaffrey in the top six, with Heath the lowest at No. 6, so clearly we're not afraid to draft him again. And as we've gone through this process of our early rankings, I have moved McCaffrey up from No. 5 to No. 3 to No. 2 because of his potential when healthy.
Everyone has at least seven running backs in their top 12, with the consensus six of that group being Taylor, McCaffrey, Ekeler, Henry, Cook and Kamara. The other running backs in consideration are Mixon, Harris and Swift, who is ranked at No. 9 overall for Chris.
Adams and Kupp are in everyone's top 12 rankings, with Kupp first for Dave and Chris. We might all have Kupp at No. 1 if Adams or Aaron Rodgers leaves the Packers, and that's something to monitor this offseason. Everyone but Adam has Jefferson in their top 12, and Dan and Chris don't have Chase as a first-round pick. Hill is ranked in the top 12 for Heath, Dave, Dan and Chris.
Adam and Chris are the only ones with Kelce in their top 12. I like Andrews better than Kelce as of now, and I would draft both in Round 2.
