Roundtable: Shocking Developments of 2022

Photo: Gary A. Vasquez, USA Today Sports

Welcome to Week 14 of the 2022 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. Topics are now split into separate features.

This week's roundtable features these four topics:

• 2022's Most Shocking Developments (see below)
• Fantasy Playoff Heroes And Zeros
• Demise Is Greatly Exaggerated
• Fantasy Fill in the Blank

2022's Most Shocking Developments

Matt Waldman: What was the most shocking development you've seen in the NFL this year? It can be a player's rise, demise, or a trend in the league that impacted how fantasy GMs approach drafts.

Dave Kluge: In the last roundtable I participated in, a similar question was asked. At the time, I talked about Tom Brady and the Buccaneers falling off. Fast forward a few weeks, though, and this offense is gelling again and back on the fantasy radar. I’ll zoom out a bit this week and talk about the recent trend of rookie wide receivers making immediate impacts in the NFL. Justin Jefferson, Brandon Aiyuk, JaMarr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, and Amon-Ra St. Brown were all potential league winners over the last two years. And now, it’s looking like the stage is set for Garrett Wilson and Christian Wason to finish the year on a tear.

Treylon Burks, Chris Olave, and George Pickens have the tools to fall into that bucket as well. As the college and pro games start to get a bit closer in schemes, we are seeing rookie receivers quickly acclimating to the NFL. We may have simply been blessed with incredible talent coming into the league over the last few years. But when drafting my fantasy teams next year, I will be sure to have a couple of rookie wide receivers on every roster.

Sean Settle: The tight end position has always been a difficult spot for fantasy managers, but this year feels different. Aside from Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews, every week feels like we are starting touchdown-dependent tight ends. Dawson Knox is a great example.