Heading into Week 18 of the 2022 fantasy football season, the picture in dynasty leagues is forever changing. With injuries, trades, and depth chart changes all shifting the values of players, things can move very quickly. Let’s examine the latest dynasty rankings as we close out the 2022 NFL season.
2022 Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings
The rankings below are from Senior Fantasy Analyst Tommy Garrett. If you want to ask any of our fantasy analysts about your dynasty league, be sure to sign up for our PFN Discord server, which includes daily personalized fantasy advice.
The table is best viewed in landscape on mobile devices and can be sorted using the filters above the table. The dynasty rankings are based on a PPR scoring system with Superflex lineups.
Intriguing Players in the 2022 Dynasty Rankings
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Braden Aiyuk might be one of the best values in dynasty right now. Since Week 6, when Aiyuk started a four-game stretch of 80-yard games, he’s the WR13 overall while averaging 15.5 PPR points per game.
Aiyuk is coming off his best game of the season with nine receptions on 12 targets for 101 yards in a touchdown as the WR3 in Week 17. He’s also one of the most underappreciated route runners in the NFL.
While I do feel Deebo Samuel deserves all the praise coming his way, Aiyuk should be getting more, in my opinion. Whether it is Trey Lance, Brock Purdy, or Jimmy Garoppolo, and even when the 49ers have a full complement of playmakers, Aiyuk can find success. Additionally, he is less susceptible to players impacting his role, like Samuel is with George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey.
Aiyuk is the WR28 for me at the moment in dynasty rankings, but his actual value is at least two tiers higher, making him a great player to trade for as we close out the regular season.
Cam Akers, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Where was this at the beginning of the season when I was dying on a hill? I had my flag planted on Cam Akers having a good year, but apparently, I was 14 weeks too early. Akers has seen 12 or more carries in six of his last seven games, and with 123 yards on 19 carries in Week 17, he has 100 yards in back-to-back outings and has finished no worse than the RB25 Week 13.
The utilization of Akers has just been weird this year. But honestly, the Rams have been such a chaotic disaster that I would’ve taken Stephen Jackson or Marshall Faulk to have fixed this backfield. If Akers can put together one more decent game against Seattle, he is at least ending the season on as much of a high note as possible.
We’ll see if the Rams add more running back depth during the offseason, especially in the NFL Draft, and how that will impact Akers moving forward. For now, he is a mid to low-end RB3 due to the uncertainty around his position. Talent-wise, Akers is a high-end RB2.
Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals
Tight end is a disaster for fantasy football, and it is truly the position of the haves and the have-nots. You can get by with a mediocre running back room if you are elite everywhere else. But you’re not finding those types of players at tight end. Even if you have someone like Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Mark Andrews, or any of the good tight ends in the NFL, I would still be trying to acquire Trey McBride.
McBride is my favorite young tight end to trade for in dynasty right now, and you started to see some of the reasons in Week 17. McBride had his best game yet as he caught seven of his ten targets for 70 yards in a touchdown against the Falcons.
Coming into the year, McBride was already a high-end TE2 for me coming out of Colorado State. He was spectacular with the ball in the air, and while I don’t think he is going to go down the same path as Kittle after the catch, he was unquestionably the best TE in last year’s class and recorded over 1,100 receiving yards which were over 37% of the team’s yardage share.
I would have Michael Mayer ahead of him if we are comparing 2022 to 2023 rookies, but Mayer will likely cost you a late first or an early second-round pick. McBride is nowhere near that price. While I could see the benefit of securing your TE position by double-dipping, I would at least feel good about the position’s direction if I had McBride on the team with another veteran like Evan Engram, David Njoku, or Pat Freiermuth.