Team-By-Team Dynasty Roundup: NFC South (2022 Fantasy Football)

There have been recent times where all four teams in the NFC South would take turns making Super Bowl runs. At the present, only one team figures to be a lock to make a playoff push. The Buccaneers have separated themselves from the pack since signing the GOAT, Tom Brady. Since the man may never officially hang up his cleats, it is up to the Falcons, Saints, and Panthers to get their acts together.

The wild NFL offseason has certainly affected this division in a major way. Question marks still linger for each team. Can the Bucs piece together another run? Can the Falcons rebuild the worst roster in the NFL? Can the Panthers win without a decent quarterback? Can the Saints keep their heads above water without Sean Payton at the reins? The answers to these questions might be contained in the dynasty outlooks for the skill players in the South.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2022 Draft Recap

Player Position School Round Pick
Logan Hall DT Houston 2 33
Luke Goedeke OT Central Michigan 2 57
Rachaad White RB Arizona State 3 91
Cade Otton TE Washington 4 106
Jake Camarda P Georgia 4 133
Zyon McCollum CB Sam Houston 5 157
Ko Kieft TE Minnesota 6 218
Andre Anthony DE LSU 7 248

Dynasty Stock Watch

Bold 2022 Dynasty Prediction: Mike Evans has his biggest season in the NFL and continues his 1,000-yard streak in style.

Tom Brady is still among the greatest current quarterbacks in the NFL and might have two more QB1 seasons left in his old bones before he enters the broadcast booth. Blaine Gabbert is still here as a “break glass in case of emergency” option. Kyle Trask was a huge reach pick and I wouldn’t be surprised if he never starts a game in the NFL.

Touchdown Lenny is somehow still overlooked as a top-flight dynasty option at running back. His target volume might take a slight dip as the season progresses and Rachaad White gets acclimated with the offense more. Both are viable pieces for a dynasty team, whether contending or rebuilding.

The receiving corps will look a bit different this year, with Godwin’s injury and AB’s public quitting. Mike Evans is primed to explode this season with even more target share. Gage is also on the rise here as a versatile piece to fill the slot and man the flanker position when Godwin returns. The rest of this receiving corps is awful and I refuse to invest in their heartbreaking disappointment.

Cameron Brate may not be enough to salvage the void left by Rob Gronkowski. At this point, I doubt Gronk will sign again and re-retire. Otton is a good tight end but is more of a replacement for O.J. Howard as a blocking-centric tight end.

New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints 2022 Draft Recap

Player Position School Round Pick
Chris Olave WR Ohio State 1 11
Trevor Penning OT Northern Iowa 1 19
Alontae Taylor CB Tennessee 2 49
D’Marco Jackson LB Appalachian State 5 161
Jordan Jackson DT Air Force 6 194

Dynasty Stock Watch

Bold 2022 Dynasty Prediction: Marquez Callaway hangs around and is the WR2 on this team this year.

The wheels are all the way up for Jameis Winston this season. He returns from his ACL injury last season without any real competition for the starting job. Taysom Hill has been banished to the tight end group and will not be a quarterback anymore (thank goodness). The backup is Andy Dalton now, so that should tell you they are really committed to Jameis for the future. He will have real QB1 upside behind a good offensive line, especially if he gets Michael Thomas back.

Alvin Kamara is still good at football, but his felony arrest for aggravated assault will severely harm his prospects as a dynasty asset as he rounds the running back age cliff. Tread very lightly around rostering Kamara in dynasty, if you can help it. Mark Ingram is a zero-upside depth piece at this point in his career. Expect nothing more (or less).

Olave is the catalyst for the offensive rebuild. He is a very good route runner and has track speed that pairs well with Winston’s traits. I won’t hold my breath waiting for Thomas to return to action at any point. His ankle injury reminds me of Kenny Golladay‘s hip. Look for Callaway to still have plenty of opportunities to shine in this offense. He has established great chemistry with Winston. Landry has plenty left in the tank and is a fine player. The only issue I have is that his fantasy ceiling has already retired.

Trautman will have a chance to take another step forward. It isn’t likely that Hill is anything more than a blocking H-Back that gets occasional manufactured touches. Trautman is the guy they will split out wide and in the slot as a fixture receiver. He is a less popular choice that has pretty decent upside.

Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers 2022 Draft Recap

Player Position School Round Pick
Ikem Ekwonu OT NC State 1 6
Matt Corral QB Ole Miss 3 94
Brandon Smith LB Penn State 4 120
Amare Barno LB Virginia Tech 6 189
Cade Mays OG Tennessee 6 199
Kalon Barnes CB Baylor 7 242

Dynasty Stock Watch

Bold 2022 Dynasty Prediction: Christian McCaffrey plays in 15 or more games and is the RB2 in PPR scoring.

If Carolina doesn’t acquire one of the floating quarterbacks on the market like Jimmy Garoppolo or Baker Mayfield, they may be compelled to start Darnold again to begin the 2022 season. I also have serious doubts about Corral’s skill set translating well to the NFL game. He is certainly not ready to be a Week 1 starter. Darnold is still very young, but his hourglass as a professional starting quarterback is running out of sand. Corral could impress, but it’s very likely that the Panthers’ QB of the future isn’t on the team yet.

CMC did not forget how to play football at a level that is rarely matched in fantasy, nor did he sustain any career-threatening injuries. I am fully buying into the narrative-driven dip in his value from people believing in the hoax that is the existence of “injury-prone”. CMC will be fine, even if they wise up and drop his snap share to a more reasonable percentage. Foreman was a spectacular add, since Chuba Hubbard isn’t very good at football. Foreman is a hard-nosed runner with big-play potential and will be an undervalued depth piece for dynasty.

Poor, poor D.J. Moore. He is one of the game’s most dynamic playmakers, yet he is forced to put on a show in spite of horrendous quarterback play. I don’t think that is changing anytime soon, so we will continue to wonder “what if” when it comes to Moore’s potential. Robby Anderson was also the victim of poor quarterback play, but lacks the oomph to overcome it at this stage of his career. Higgins was another low-key great addition as a flanker, moving Robbie Anderson to a more appropriate slot role. Terrace Marshall Jr. was putrid as a rookie and is considered a bust, barring any Davante Adams-like transformation.

Tommy Tremble is a fun player to watch, but I don’t hold out much hope that he will consistently score enough fantasy points to earn a roster spot, save for the deepest of leagues. He is part of the wasteland of TE dart throws that are mostly indistinguishable between one or the other. Ian Thomas isn’t a thing.

Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons 2022 Draft Recap

Player Position School Round Pick
Drake London WR USC 1 8
Arnold Ebiketie EDGE Penn State 2 38
Troy Andersen LB Montana State 2 58
Desmond Ridder QB Cincinnati 3 74
DeAngelo Malone DE Western Kentucky 3 82
Tyler Allgeier RB BYU 5 151
Justin Shaffer OG Georgia 6 190
John FitzPatrick TE Georgia 6 213

Dynasty Stock Watch

Bold 2022 Dynasty Prediction: Kyle Pitts breaks out in a massive way, ending up as the TE1 and translated to WR5.

For the record, I think Marcus Mariota is going to be a pleasant surprise in 2022. He has always been a talented player and led the Titans to a playoff win before he had much experience in the league. I expect him to attempt a great deal more passes than he was expected to in Tennessee. Increased volume, along with his rushing ability, makes Mariota an intriguing late-round QB option for dynasty, but especially in 2022 redraft. I don’t think much of Ridder’s game, aside from his excellent intangibles. He could very well take over as the starter at some point this season, in which case he and Mariota have many parallels. Ridder will need to show a lot more than he did on tape for me to push my dynasty chips to the middle of the table on him.

This running game will still be abysmal in 2022. Teams figured out how to neutralize 30-year-old Patterson toward the end of 2021. Mike Davis left town and was replaced by a younger clone of him in Allgeier. Damien Williams is another veteran presence with short-term value with versatility and receiving upside. None of these guys have much in the way of dynasty ceiling.

The worst receiving corps in the NFL got better with the selection of London in the first round of the NFL Draft. He is a gifted player who has WR1 potential in his future. After him, however, is a horde of has-beens that are as inspiring as an Ambien commercial.

Kyle Pitts is already the best “tight end” in the NFL. I used quotes because he’s really a wide receiver. The sky is the absolute limit for The Unicorn. With any semblance of positive touchdown regression, he will race past 200 PPR points. The only inhibiting factor to Pitts’ performance is the ineptitude of Arthur Smith as a game planner.


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