The 2022 10 Demandments of Fantasy Football

by: God (as told to his humble servant John Holler)

Editor's Note: Below you will find THREE of the TEN Fantasy Demandments for 2022 (they change every year).  If you'd like to read all ten, please click HERE to order our 2022 Pre-Season Draft Guide.

"In the beginning, He that is God created fantasy football. He looked and said it was good." Genesis 17:52

For many years, He has chosen those among us that he sees as the proper vessel to convey His message. A couple thousand years ago in a land far, far away, Moses came down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments – a guide of principles that most, but not all, still live by. For reasons I have yet to fully understand, He has selected me to provide his fantasy football Ten Demandments – the same guiding principles imparted to Moses, except for the kingdom of fantasy football.

If you follow these guidelines, He will be pleased because He sends these Demandments to you because He wants to give you the best opportunity to discover the milk and honey of the Promised Land at the end of the season.

The First Demandment

Thou Shalt Not Chase the Prophets – There is a reason why quarterbacks, who more times than not dominate fantasy football scoring on a weekly basis, are devalued on draft/auction day. While there is something to be said about investing in a player like Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, a savvy fantasy owner can typically get as much value by taking the time to compare the schedules of quarterbacks in the 10-15 range, waiting until several other owners have snapped up quarterbacks while you stockpile other positions and grabbing two of them. Need an example? Only one quarterback in the last seven years has thrown for more than 3,500 yards and had 25 or more TD passes each season – Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins, who is available anywhere between QB10 and QB 17 in most formats. Invest your draft capital in other positions early. There will be plenty of good quarterbacks to pair up after you stockpile backs and receivers. Target two out of the top six or seven and grab them rounds later than the first guys go.

The Second Demandment

Thou Shalt Be Wary of Those Damaged in the Flock – Perhaps never has there been a fantasy draft season with so many running backs having injury red flags and He is concerned. Given the massive investment that is required for running backs, when one goes down at be a near-death blow to fantasy rosters. The list is significant and includes Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley, D’Andre Swift, Chris Carson, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, J.K. Dobbins, Travis Etienne and Kareem Hunt to name a few. With the beating running backs absorb on a weekly basis, there is always a risk-reward involved in their selection. However, this year it seems like those concerns are more prevalent and impact more of the elite fantasy backs. You’re advised to throw some kind words up to Him on draft day and hope it’s not an unanswered prayer…and then hit running backs early as hard as you ever have. You can never have too many.

The Eighth Demandment

Thou Shalt Turn Away from the Non-Repentant – There is a time-honored axiom among fantasy owners that there is value in grabbing starters from the worst NFL teams because they are starters who have to put up numbers. This is flawed logic. You would rather have the No. 2 or 3 receiver from a team like Tampa Bay or Kansas City or Cincinnati because there is a legitimate chance that, when needed, they can score points for you. There is almost nobody from Houston, Jacksonville, either New York team or Chicago that anyone should be lining up to have on their rosters as regular starters and teams like Seattle, Detroit and Atlanta aren’t far behind. Fantasy owners need to come into their drafts and auctions critically thinking about adjusting their draft boards to make it much more difficult for a player from a moribund offense ending up on their rosters. In 2022, do you want to roll the dice on any of the Texans or Jaguars? If so, those owners will be donating to the pot the champion collects and their seasons will finish weeks before the fantasy league season does.

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