For the 2022/23 season, NFL fantasy football continued to be one of the most popular hobbies for sports fans across the country. The Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association reported that in 2022, 62.5 million people played fantasy sports in the USA and Canada. Of that number, 54% played fantasy football. This is nearly double the number of players from 10 years prior and with another exciting season behind us, we can expect it to grow even more going forward.
The 2022 NFL season produced many surprises and shock results and performances. This of course made for a very exciting year of fantasy football amongst players. It was the Kansas City Chiefs who would take home the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the end after beating the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in a thrilling Super Bowl. Members of both team’s rosters were amongst the best performers but there were plenty from around the league who impressed just as much. It would be very easy to make these lists QB heavy, so we are going to try and give props to players in an number of positions. Let’s take a look at which players performed the best in our post-season round up.
Patrick Mahomes – QB
An appearance from Patrick Mahomes on a list like this is becoming a foregone conclusion at this point. The Chiefs QB finished comfortably as the league leader for passing touchdowns (41) and passing yards (5,250). He ended the season as an extremely narrow second in QB ratings with a 105.2. Tua Tagavailoa of the Dolphins pipped him to the post with a 105.5 rating. He would cap off an incredible regular season with a Super Bowl ring after an MVP winning performance. Perhaps even more impressive though was his performance against the Cincinatti Bengals in the AFC Championship final. Whilst he didn’t put as much numbers on the board as he did in the Super Bowl, he managed to carry his team to a win despite nursing a pretty heavy ankle injury. His 428.4 fantasy points was the best this year.
Josh Jacobs – RB
Despite a disappointing campaign for the Las Vegas Raiders, running back Josh Jacobs still managed a standout season. He finished as the league leader in rushing yards (1,653) rushing yards per game (97.2) and completed the most rushing 1st downs in the league with 93, dwarfing second placed Nick Chubb who still put up an impressive 69. He had five games for 140+ yards, though it was his monster performance against the Seattle Seahawks that stands out the most. He clocked up 229 yards overall for two touchdowns including 74 receiving yards, a testament to his dual threat abilities. Defensive player of the year Nick Bosa went as far as naming Jacobs as the “best running back I have ever played against”. He was the highest scoring non-QB in fantasy football this season and was undoubtably the brightest spark of a relatively dim Raiders team this year.
Justin Jefferson – WR
Jefferson finished the 2022 regular season with a league-leading 128 receptions for 1,809 yards and 8 touchdowns as well as claiming the Offensive Player of the Year award. He had an incredible 10 games over 100 yards, including a monster performance against the Detroit Lions where he went for 223 through the air. To say he was the Vikings’ Mr. Reliable would be an understatement with his performances helping Minnesota to the Wildcard round. He scored more fantasy points than any WR in the league with 240.7 and will no doubt be gunning to take the Vikings even further in 2023.
James Bradberry – CB
Despite coming up agonizingly short in the Super Bowl, it is incredibly hard to not put the Eagles’ entire roster on this list. Jalen Hurts had a spectacular season at QB, as did AJ Brown at WR. However, Bradberry’s coverage numbers at CB were near inhuman. Among outside corners with at least 250 coverage snaps, Bradberry ranked first in yards per coverage snap allowed (0.7) and EPA allowed (minus-32.8). These numbers have to establish him as an elite corner on what is the best secondary in the league.
Myles Garrett – EDGE
Yes, the obvious pick here would be Defensive player of the year Nick Bosa. But there is a method to the madness. Garrett finished the regular season tied second for sacks was third in pass rush win and he did so despite facing the highest double-team rate at edge. He also played on a far inferior team defensively than Bosa does with the Browns thereabouts middling in the league for yards allowed. He capped of the regular season with two big performances against the Washington and Pittsburgh, completing eight and seven tackles respectively. Although defensive players rarely feature in fantasy football, it would not feel right to end this list without giving them their flowers.
