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Fantasy Football Christmas Naughty & Nice List (2022)

Fantasy Football Christmas Naughty & Nice List (2022)

Another fantastic season of fantasy football is drawing to a close and now is the perfect time to take a step back and look at the season as a whole. Settle in with a nice glass of mulled wine, and let’s take a peek at who Santa has put on the Naughty or Nice list this year.

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Naughty

Aaron Rodgers (QB – GB)

2021’s MVP crashed down to earth in 2022 and is currently the QB23 in points per game. In 2021 Rodgers had ten games where he scored 20 or more fantasy points but in 2022 he’s yet to have one with his highest weekly finish being QB9. Davante Adams has been fine without Rodgers, but Rodgers has struggled mightily without Adams.

Zach Wilson (QB – NYJ)

Nobody expected Zach Wilson to be incredible for fantasy this season, but some signs of progress might have been nice and you could argue that the Jets had provided him with one of the most talented skill groups in the AFC. Instead, Wilson has been the second-worst starting quarterback in EPA per dropback, had 13 turnover-worthy plays in seven games, and destroyed the fantasy value of his receiving core. Sorry, Zach, but it’s nothing but coal for you this year.

Russell Wilson (QB – DEN)

Another quarterback who has destroyed the fantasy value of his receiving core is Russell Wilson. For years we believed the Broncos were just a quarterback away from being a fantasy goldmine but all we found this year was fools gold. Wilson’s completion record of 60.4% is 35th amongst quarterbacks to play four or more games and Wilson has only thrown multiple touchdowns in two games this year. Santa thought about giving Russ some coal but elected for a ‘cooking for dummies’ book instead.

Melvin Gordon III (RB – KC)

When Javonte Williams tore his ACL in early October it seemed that Melvin Gordon was primed to become an RB2 at worst for the rest of the season. Gordon was coming off a season where he had been the RB20 behind Williams, rushing for 918 yards and catching 28 targets. Instead, Gordon caught a case of butter fingers and fumbled his way out of Denver. Santa is bringing Gordon some SUPER GRIP Gloves for Christmas this year.

Alvin Kamara (RB – NO)

In 2021 Alvin Kamara scored nine touchdowns and was the RB8 with multiple big games, in 2022 Kamara has had one game where he scored all three of his touchdowns this year. Kamara has had six games with single-digit PPR returns, which for a pass-catching back like Kamara seems unfathomable.

Diontae Johnson (WR – PIT)

It has been a historic season for Diontae Johnson, but unfortunately for him not in a good way. Johnson’s 120 targets and zero touchdowns is a record and it seems crazy that a player who has averaged 6.6 touchdowns per year hasn’t found the end zone with both Chase Claypool and JuJu Smith-Schuster out of town.

Allen Robinson II (WR – LAR)

The hype was relentless after Allen Robinson sulked his way out of Chicago and into the defending Super Bowl Champions team. All offseason everyone connected to the Rams was waxing lyrical about Robinson who went on to finish outside the top 40 wide receivers on seven of his ten appearances and his 63% catch rate was 61st amongst receivers with 15 or more targets.

Dalton Schultz (TE – DAL)

In 2021 Dalton Schultz was the TE3 scoring 12.3 PPR points per game, in 2022 Schultz has crashed back to earth, averaging 8.6 points, and is the TE15 in points per game. A repeat might have been optimistic, but Schultz should have done better when he’s been on the field.

Arthur Smith (HC – ATL)

We get it, Arthur Smith hates fantasy football but the Falcons spent back-to-back first-round picks, and incredibly high ones at that, on elite receiving talent only to skew run-heavy and barely target them. If you’re not winning games and you’re not developing young talent, Santa’s bringing you the gift of a new beginning.

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Nice

Justin Fields (QB – CHI)

It feels a long time ago now that the Bears offense was looking historically bad and Justin Fields can’t be completely excused from that. Credit though to the Bears staff who recognized the issues and turned things around mid-season and have now set Justin Fields up to challenge Lamar Jackson‘s all-time QB-rushing record of 1206 yards. Fields is the QB5 and hopefully, Santa brings him some nice pass-catchers for 2023.

Geno Smith (QB – SEA)

Pro Bowl Geno Smith fully deserves all the plaudits he’s getting and he and Pete Carroll have proved the doubters wrong every step of the way. Smith’s QB rating of 105.3 is second only to Tua Tagovailoa, and his 26 passing touchdowns are the fourth-highest. Santa will be bringing Geno a much bigger contract than the base value of $1.2m that he earned this year.

Tua Tagovailoa (QB – MIA)

The doubters have well and truly been quietened on Tua Tagovailoa, and given that the Dolphins owner, Stephen Ross was chief amongst them, Tua should be feeling much more confident looking to the future. Tua’s 4.8 touchdown to interception ratio leads the league and perhaps surprisingly his average depth of target is second-highest amongst starters. Tua’s presents were delivered early this year, but he’d probably not say no to another good lineman.

Josh Jacobs (RB – LV)

It feels like a very long time ago that Josh Jacobs was playing in the Hall of Fame game and looked likely to be part of a committee backfield. Instead, Jacobs has averaged 81% of the Raiders’ running back opportunities and finished with over 19 PPR points on eight occasions. Jacobs is a true league-winner and Santa will be bringing him a big contract without a doubt.

Christian McCaffrey (RB – SF)

This offseason you either believed in Christian McCaffrey’s ceiling being higher than Jonathan Taylor‘s, or you shied away because of injury risk. McCaffrey has stayed healthy and is the RB3, showing once again that his pass-catching upside is truly elite.

Tony Pollard (RB – DAL)

After years of Pollard-truthers crying out for him to get more opportunities he finally did this season and is the RB7 as the year draws to a close. Pollard has averaged 3.9 yards after contact, which is third highest amongst starters and his 17 big runs are second only to Nick Chubb. Pollard is a free agent this offseason and if the Cowboys don’t pay him, other teams will be happy to do so.

Breece Hall (RB – NYJ)

It has been nine weeks since Breece Hall’s rookie season was cut short by a torn ACL injury and Hall still has more PPR points than Kareem Hunt. Hall looked every bit the top-tier player his college production had made him out to be and he’ll likely be at least a third-round draft pick in 2023.

Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN)

Throughout his career, Jefferson now has 23 games with over 100 yards in less than three seasons and is on pace to shatter Jerry Rice’s 76 100-yard games in 303 career games. Jefferson has been a stud for fantasy football and is at the very top of the nice list.

Donovan Peoples-Jones (WR – CLE)
Amongst all wide receivers, Donovan Peoples-Jones has the 24th most receiving yards and has had over 50 yards in nine of his 14 games. For a largely undrafted receiver in fantasy drafts, that’s fantastic consistency.

Zay Jones (WR – JAX)

Another wide receiver who has been fantastic is Zay Jones, who is the WR19, and averages more points per game than Mike Williams, Deebo Samuel and Mike Evans. Zay Jones has been delivering presents all through December to those who were ready to start him in their lineups.

TJ Hockenson (TE – MIN)

In 2021 Hockenson had a very productive year and was set for career highs in a number of categories before his injury. This year Hockenson got off to a solid enough start before his trade to the Vikings at which point Hockenson really took a spike in production and is now the TE3 on the season, with only Travis Kelce having more receptions than Hockenson’s 65.

Juwan Johnson (TE – NO)

Heading into this year there weren’t many people hyping up Juwan Johnson, but the former wide receiver has developed a strong rapport with Andy Dalton and only Travis Kelce has more touchdowns than Johnson’s seven.

Which NFL players are making your naughty and nice list this year? Hit me up on Twitter @NFL_Tstrack

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.

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