The 2022 NFL season is just ten days away from kickoff. With today being the last day of the preseason many fantasy drafts will be held between now and September 8th. We all know who the players to go after are in the first and second rounds. But for casual fantasy players, finding the best late round targets in fantasy football can be difficult. Every year there are players with league-winning upside in the later rounds and this year is no different. at
Top Three Fantasy Football Late Round Targets
1. Nyheim Hines
Nyheim Hines is a fifth-year running back for the Indianapolis Colts. He has been Colts third-down/receiving back for his career. This is a role that has been up and down for him when it comes to targets and total touches. In 2021 Hines led all Colts running backs in targets and catches just as he’s done for every year of his career. Head Coach Frank Reich has found ways to get Hines involved and he sees this year being his best season yet.
Some observations from Colts' first open voluntary OTAs incoming:
1. No starter was more involved or intense in team drills than Nyheim Hines. He caught so many passes out of the backfield, and every route was full-speed.
Frank Reich says to invest in him in fantasy football.
— Nate Atkins (@NateAtkins_) May 25, 2022
Hines finishes 2021 as RB46, and over his career, he has finished as high as RB15. His RB15 season came with Phillip Rivers as the quarterback who is known for targeting his running backs. Another quarterback known for doing that is Matt Ryan who was traded to the Colts during the offseason.
Nyheim Hines finished as a top-20 RB in 2020, leading the Colts in receptions (63).
In 2021, Matt Ryan targeted RBs at the highest rate in the league (26.7%).
HC Frank Reich wants fantasy managers to draft Hines in 2022@SC_FFB's satellite RBs to target 👇https://t.co/lINWMPKb9H— FTNFantasy (@FTNFantasy) August 20, 2022
Hines’ ADP is currently RB45 135th overall in the 12th round. In PPR drafts this is insane value to get Hines at this spot. The Colts have one player guaranteed to get more targets than Hines in 2022, that is Michael Pittman. After that it’s Hines, he has 90 target upside, and getting that in round 12 as a bench running back can pay off by season’s end.
2. Isaiah McKenzie
Isaiah McKenzie is a sixth-year wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills. McKenzie has spent most of his career as a return specialist and also a gadget player for the Bills. With the departures of Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders, McKenzie is looking at an increased role this season. In 2021, McKenzie finished as WR117 with only 26 targets and 178 receiving yards on the season.
What makes him interesting, however, is that 125 of those yards came in Week 16 vs the Patriots. He was WR4 that week with 29.4 PPR points. That was his only game with an increased role due to injuries. He looks to expand that play with an increased role in 2022.
Need a late round NFL Fantasy Football WR to target?
Draft Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie
-has been a match up nightmare all summer, destroying man coverage
-will see significant snaps as the Slot WR in Buffalo's high volume passing attack
-weekly fantasy starter should injury occur— Nick (@HolzSportsCo) August 23, 2022
The Bills have Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis ahead of him but the Bills have a diverse pass offense that targets a number of receivers. Over the last two years, the Bills have had 10 players receive 50 targets. Also over that span, Bills slot receiver Cole Beasley has received 219 targets, nearly seven per game. McKenzie is currently going as WR74 206th overall. He is pretty much free at this point and is worth the last pick in a draft. He has upside as things currently stand but if Diggs or Davis were to ever miss time McKenzie would immediately become an automatic fantasy starter.
3. Mike Davis
Mike Davis is a running back entering his eighth season in the NFL and his first with the Baltimore Ravens. In 2021 Davis finished as RB35 as a part-time running back on the Atlanta Falcons. Davis started the season as the starter but lost the job to Cordaralle Patterson halfway through the year.
Davis joins a backfield in Baltimore that will be completely different from 2021. The Ravens lost Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins in the preseason last year due to injuries. Both are still recovering with Dobbins expecting to be ready for the season.
🚨 Ravens have placed RB Gus Edwards on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, he will be out for at least the first 4 games this season.
If JK Dobbins gets off to a slow start coming back from his injury, look for Mike Davis and rookie Tyler Badie to fill in.
— Joe Beldner (@JoeBeldner) August 23, 2022
Edwards was put on the PUP list meaning he will have to miss at least the first four games of the season. With that in mind, Davis is in a prime position to get off to a good start to the season and be a contributor for most of the year. Even when Edwards and Dobbins return Davis is expected to have a role. Since 2018, the Ravens have had eight separate running backs receive at least 100 carries.
Of those eight running backs, five of them averaged at least five yards per carry. Davis is currently going as RB70 and 256th overall. He is also free in drafts and should be a late target. He has the chance to start and get significant carries to begin the season and should continue to see a role. The Ravens open the season with the Jets, Dolphins, and Patriots. Those project to be low-scoring games where the Ravens running backs should see a lot of carries.
