All four of these runners have varying degrees of fantasy football star power — the star power that led them to the first round of the 2022 draft. Dalton Del Don explains why it won’t happen next season.
Dalwyn Cook, Minnesota Vikings
Cooke was hardly a fantastic flop in 2022, with 1,468 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2022. However, its effectiveness plummeted; instead, he relied on volume for his success. He played in every game for the first time in his career but averaged 20+ fewer yards per game than the previous season while his target share was off the top 20 defensemen.
In other words, despite nearly 1,500 yards to scrimmage and double-digit touchdowns, Cook was not in the top 12 fantasy RBs per game. In just five weeks of 2022, he was in the top 12 of RB statistics (he had more the previous season but missed four games).
Cook will be 28 next season and has just gone through stuffed runs in the NFL, playing on the Minnesota offense, which was a top 12 in yards per game. If all this isn’t disturbing enough, Cook is reportedly not interested in a pay cut and is a candidate for graduation to the Viking team really need a place in the hat.
Given his decline, injury history, and age, Cook will no longer sniff the first round of fantasy leagues, no matter where he plays in 2023. In fact, he barely makes the top 20 RB on my board next year.
Naji Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
Harris played in 2022 due to Lisfranc’s pre-season injury, so there is optimism for a 2023 recovery. However, after spending two years in the league with a 3.9 YPC rating and seeing a predictable sharp decline in production from his rookie year, Harris has no intention of wasting a fantasy pick in the 2023 first round.
Pittsburgh’s offense needs to improve Kenny Pickettgrowth, but last season he was in sixth place in yards per game and points per game. Moreover, the Steelers are likely to increase Jaylen Warrenrole during his second year in the league as he received 1.1 more YPCs than Harris in 2022. Warren also ranked in the top five in yards generated per touchdown and Juke Rate like a newbie.
Harris’s ADP at the start of 2023 was roughly in the middle of the third round.
Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
Despite the loss of job transfer crotch itself and missing three games, Mixon scored 20 more goals than in any other season of his career. This led to a good – not great – fantasy campaign as Mixon finished RB9 in points per game in leagues with 0.5 PPR. Mixon will turn 27 this summer and have played 20 fewer snaps than Perine in the conference championship game, thanks in part to legal issues.
The accusations have was thrown, but it’s a situation that could drag on and create enough uncertainty for Mixon to get into the mid-to-late second round in fantasy drafts in early 2023. Either way, he shouldn’t lead the way. Brice Hall And Travis Etienneand I fully expect that to change in August.
Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
Henry was the No. 3 fantasy in points per game last season, despite facing dire QB situations at times. His scoring declined markedly after he was seemingly injured mid-season, but he also finished well, gaining 100 yards in each of his last four games and setting career highs in receptions and goals.
Big Dog is clearly a special player and will have a year on his contract, so leaving Henry is not an easy one. But there’s no doubt that he’s also entering the typical slump phase of a running back career at 29 and with 1,750 career advancement attempts.
Henry will be at the end of the first/beginning of the second round in the early fantasy drafts, and will be talked about all summer long.
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Source: sports.yahoo.com
