Quarterbacks to fade in 2022 fantasy football leagues

When approaching your fantasy football drafts, you are trying to maximize the value of each selection. Whether you have a deep draft strategy or go with the best player available, you should be cognizant of some players you should avoid in your drafts. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t draft them at all, it just means that you are able to find better value where the player is being drafted. Here are five quarterbacks to fade for the 2022 fantasy football season.

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

You may wonder why I suggest you fade the back-to-back MVP winner. Well, I’m not too sure who he will be throwing to. The Packers traded Davante Adams in the offseason and didn’t bring in anyone of his caliber. The rookie wide receivers have future upside, but they lack that threat to intimidate defenses this season. Don’t get me wrong, Rodgers should still be productive, but he will be over-drafted based on his name and award history. He is being taken as the QB10 in fantasy, and I think there is a real chance he doesn’t finish as a QB1 this year.

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Speaking of having nobody to throw to, Lamar Jackson has entered the chat. The Ravens traded their best wide receiver Marquise Brown during the 2022 NFL Draft. This leaves Jackson with Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay and James Proche II as the best wide receivers on the Baltimore depth chart. Sure, he still has tight end Mark Andrews, but for a quarterback that is constantly knocked for being a sub-par passer, the Ravens aren’t doing much to help him. Jackson will still have plenty of fantasy value due to his legs, but he is a fade for me because I think his lack of competitive passing numbers will be a detriment.

Justin Fields, Chicago Bears

Are you noticing a trend for quarterbacks to fade this year? Fields does have Darnell Mooney to target but after that, it gets murky. He is going into his first season as the legitimate starting quarterback, and the team is under a new head coach. Fields only completed 58.9% of passes and had three more interceptions than touchdowns a year ago. Knowing that he is the starter should help take pressure off, but with limited options in the passing game, he should be faded from his QB18 draft position.

Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans

Continuing the trend, Tannehill makes the list of quarterbacks to fade. Similar to the Cardinals-Brown move, the Titans traded A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles and used the ensuing draft pick to take Treylon Burks out of Arkansas. He joins Robert Woods and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine as the top receiving targets on the Titans. Even with Bobby Trees in tow, this is a downgrade from a year ago. The Titans should also remain run-heavy with Derrick Henry, which all factor into Tannehill being a fade.

Mac Jones, New England Patriots

Jones is heading into the second year of his career and showed promise as a rookie. The Patriots continue to operate without a star wide receiver but did trade for DeVante Parker in the offseason. The Patriots brought in two of the top free agent tight ends a year ago and never really got into a rhythm with them. Jones finished as the QB18 a year ago and is being taken as the QB19 this season. Whether you are looking for a backup quarterback or a second quarterback in multi-qb leagues, Jones should be faded as you can find better options after him.