2022 Fantasy Football Preview: Which Patriots Worth Drafting?
FOXBORO - The New England Patriots offense doesn't seem particularly exciting at this point.
Led by second-year quarterback Mac Jones, the team simply lacks the star power necessary to inspire much awe at all.
This might be best seen in Pro Football Focus' article previewing the 2022 Patriots Fantasy Football outlook. The article is, as a whole, not one that New England fans will enjoy. The rankings are as follow.
How do the Pats rank when it comes to Fantasy Football?
Quarterback: Mac Jones (No. 24)
In 2021, Jones threw for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns at a 67-percent completion rate. This was sufficient for him to be the best rookie quarterback in the league and an above average quarterback overall, but not much more than that.
As the article describes, Jones showed fantastic efficiency. Given that the Patriots offense is primarily centered around its rushing attack, however, Jones' usage volume is relatively lower than the true star quarterbacks in the league. For this reason, Jones isn't a particularly sought after name in fantasy football.
Running Backs: Damien Harris (No. 37), Rhamondre Stevenson (No. 46), Pierre Strong (No. 52), James White (No. 55)
Despite being one of the better rushing offenses in the league, centerpieces Harris and Stevenson are not highly ranked fantasy prospects on their own.
In general, New England running backs don't tend to see much fantasy hype -- and for valid reason. Under former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, the offense operated with a running back-by-committee approach that saw a revolving door of players at the position based on personnel needs. Even with McDaniels leaving, there is no reason to expect a difference approach to the offense.
Wide Receivers: Jakobi Meyers (No. 58), Devante Parker (No. 68), Kendrick Bourne (No. 72), Nelson Agholor (unranked), Tyquan Thornton (unranked), N'Keal Harry (unranked)
The order of this ranking amongst Patriots receivers isn't surprising, and neither is the fact that no single receiver sticks out as being particularly impactful in the league.
Meyers has been by far the team's most consistent receiver, but as a fantasy prospect he has been poor -- he, in fact, held the record for the most catches and yards ever by a player without a touchdown.
Tight End: Hunter Henry (No. 25), Jonnu Smith (No. 36)
At points, Henry was a touchdown machine for New England in 2021. It's no surprise that he is ranked higher than Smith, who struggled heavily in his inaugural year with the Patriots.
However, given Henry's 603-yard and nine-touchdown production last season, its a bit of a surprise to see him projected so low in the overall league rankings. Regardless, Henry's low ranking is just a microcosm of the overall underrated status of the New England offense.
