Best rookie sleepers in 2022

By: Jeremy Trottier, Jake Rajala, and Faustino Felix

The 2022 NFL Draft was loaded with offensive talent, as potential 2022 starters were picked in the third round and beyond. The NFL Draft, also known as a football holiday, is finally over. Nonetheless, it’s time for fantasy football gurus to begin scouting talent for their beloved rosters. With that said, we’re going to untwine seven fantasy sleepers that sleeping with Mr. Sandman.

Jeremy’s sleepers:

Jalen Tolbert – WR – Dallas Cowboys

One of the most notable players coming out of round 3 or beyond is Jalen Tolbert, the 6’3” receiver out of South Alabama.  Tolbert has received little to no recognition coming out of this class primarily due to his competition being FBS players.  The part about him that makes me think he could break out is the fact that the Dallas Cowboys already moved on from two of their receivers this offseason (Amari Cooper & Cedrick Wilson). 

Combined they leave 165 targets and 113 receptions on the table for someone to take, and with the receiver room shifting significantly this offseason, Tolbert could seek to snag the 2nd or 3rd receiver spot early in the season.  It is also worth noting that starting receiver Michael Gallup will likely miss the early part of the season due to his torn ACL, which gives Tolbert a direct route into a starting role alongside CeeDee Lamb and James Washington.  Jalen had a great final 9 games in 2021 and will seek to continue that level of play in the NFL for Dallas.

Dameon Pierce – RB – Houston Texans

The other sleeper of mine is Florida Gator Dameon Pierce, who was taken at pick 107 by the Houston Texans.  Pierce is another player who has an immediate shot at the starting role on his respective team, with the Texans RB room pretty much up in the air at the moment.  Last year’s starters David Johnson (current free agent) and Mark Ingram (traded to Saints) are presumably both gone or are at least for the moment.  The backs on the roster that he will be competing with are Rex Burkhead, Marlon Mack, and Dare Ogunbowale, who he should be able to at the bare minimum get rotational minutes with.  His size and power as a running back give him some solid upside as a roster-bound player on any dynasty team.  

Faustino’s sleepers:

Alec Pierce – WR – Indianapolis Colts

There’s a lot of upside to Alec Pierce’s game, and he was drafted to an ideal situation after a solid college career with the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Colts’ depth chart is wide open after third-year wide receiver Michael Pittman, so Pierce, with 2nd round draft capital, should start on 3-WR sets right away. He could become a favorite of new Colts quarterback Matt Ryan, who has produced top fantasy wide receivers before such as Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, proving he can sustain good fantasy WRs. Ryan’s arrival should allow Frank Reich to open up the offense and pass the ball more often than he did with Carson Wentz.

Pierce has elite speed and burst, along with a huge catch radius. He’s a speed threat that has the potential to become a complete force at the perimeter, thanks to that athleticism and his 6’3” size. He averaged 17.5 yards per reception at Cincinnati. I fully expect Pierce to shoot up draft boards as the offseason progresses since this combination of talent, opportunity and draft capital at a solid team expected to compete for a playoff spot don’t come that often. It should be a matter of time before fantasy managers catch on, so get ahead of the curve and get Pierce in your rosters as soon as you can.

Zamir White – RB – Las Vegas Raiders

White’s arrival to the NFL was a roller-coaster, to say the least. He tore his ACL in his senior season of high school but nevertheless was recruited by Georgia as a top-five recruit for his position. He then suffered a second ACL before what was supposed to be his freshman season. Three years later, he was drafted in the fourth round by the Las Vegas Raiders, after being the leading rusher for two years in a row in a Bulldogs backfield that included fellow rookie James Cook. He won a National Championship along the way.

Nicknamed “Zeus”, White is a powerful runner who is bound to score a lot of touchdowns in his career. He also possesses breakaway speed, and he is more elusive than you would expect from power back such as him. His only knock is that he doesn’t have a lot of receiving production, so that limits him to being a two-down back in the NFL. He will join a crowded Raiders backfield that includes Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake. Jacobs just had his 5th year option declined, and Drake is on the last year of a two-year contract. With both being players from a previous regime, there’s a solid chance neither of them is on the Raiders’ roster in 2023.

New Raiders GM and Head Coach Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels both come from the New England Patriots, whose approach to the RB position is having a committee of cheaply acquired running backs. That bodes well for White’s playing time opportunity in 2023 if he manages to make a good impression in his rookie year. This is more of a dynasty pick, but one that has the potential to have a huge rise in value in the short term.

Jake’s sleepers: 

James Cook – RB – Buffalo Bills

I believe that the former Georgia stud with a popular football name has a legitimate chance of starting in a talented Bills offense early on. The brother of Dalvin Cook unveiled a personal best of 1,012 total yards and 11 total touchdowns in 2021. Similar to the prime version of Le’Veon Bell and former Georgia RB Todd Gurley, he displays excellent quickness and patience. He has a unique ability to be a receiving stud, as well. According to PFF, he ran the third-most routes from the RB position. He reminds me a lot of Kenyan Drake, but he can be a more talented pure RB. 

Isaiah Spiller – RB – Los Angeles Chargers

Isaiah Spiller might be a bit in the shadow of Austin Ekeler in the Chargers RB room, but he is the second talented RB on this list in the perfect location. Spiller was one of the most accomplished CFB RBs to enter the draft: 3,578 total yards and 26 total touchdowns. Bucky Brooks has already stated that Spiller is one of the “10 perfect rookie team fits”. In fact, Brooks feels that Spiller could be the potential 1A RB in Justin Herbert’s offense, while the scatback Ekeler returns to a “change in pace” ball-carrier. The former Texas A & M RB ran a poor 40-yard dash (4.63), but he could still soon be leaned on as the bell-cow RB in LA. 

Velus Jones Jr. – WR – Chicago Bears

Todd McShay has started to really praise the outlook for Velus Jones Jr. The ESPN analyst stated that he was the “Bears best draft pick” and that he has a great ceiling in Chi-town. It’s easy to see why Jones Jr. is a fascinating profile given his 4.31 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. He can be an effective chess piece in the Justin Fields-led offense, as he can be dangerous with screens, deep routes, and quick slants. I absolutely expect Jones Jr. to be a security blanket for his second year QB frequently.