Week 1 Positional Rankings for 2022 Fantasy Football

Tyler MacKillop

Sep 6- 13 min read

Week 1 of fantasy football starts this week with Bills vs Rams
It’s time to create your lineups for NFL DFS and make start/sit decisions
Read below for our positional rankings for NFL week 1

We’ve made it to week 1 of the NFL season, it’s time to make some important decisions for your fantasy football lineups. We’ll be here every week this season to help you decide who to start, who to sit and who to target in OwnersBox DFS contests. In this article you’ll find positional rankings for running backs, wide receivers, tight ends and quarterbacks.

These rankings should help you build the optimal salary cap lineup in daily fantasy sports contests. OwnersBox $100K Sunday Smash contest kicks off on September 11 at 12:59pm EST and you can get a free entry with promo code ‘DFS10’. OwnersBox DFS contests are available in Ontario as well, new users can sign-up and receive a 100% deposit match up to $500!

Running Back Rankings

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	OPP	SALARY
1	Jonathan Taylor	IND	HOU	$7,300
2	Alvin Kamara	NO	ATL	$6,500
3	Christian McCaffrey	CAR	CLE	$7,300
4	Derrick Henry	TEN	NYG	$7,000
5	Joe Mixon	CIN	PIT	$6,600
6	Nick Chubb	CLE	CAR	$6,000
7	Austin Ekeler	LAC	LVR	$7,100
8	Javonte Williams	DEN	SEA	$6,800
9	Saquon Barkley	NYG	TEN	$6,100
10	Dalvin Cook	MIN	GB	$6,400
11	James Conner	ARI	KC	$6,200
12	Leonard Fournette	TB	DAL	$6,500
13	Najee Harris	PIT	CIN	$6,500
14	Antonio Gibson	WAS	JAX	$5,800
15	Aaron Jones	GB	MIN	$6,300
16	Elijah Mitchell	SF	CHI	$5,900
17	Rashaad Penny	SEA	DEN	$5,800
18	D’Andre Swift	DET	PHI	$6,100
19	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	TB	$6,400
20	Travis Etienne	JAX	WAS	$5,200
21	AJ Dillon	GB	MIN	$5,200
22	David Montgomery	CHI	SF	$6,200
23	Damien Harris	NE	MIA	$4,800
24	Josh Jacobs	LVR	LAC	$6,100
25	Dameon Pierce	HOU	IND	$4,600
26	Clyde Edwards-Helaire	KC	ARI	$5,300
27	Mike Davis	BAL	NYJ	$4,700
28	Breece Hall	NYJ	BAL	$4,800
29	Miles Sanders	PHI	DET	$5,600
30	Chase Edmonds	MIA	NE	$5,200
31	Devin Singletary	BUF	LAR	$6,000
32	Cam Akers	LAC	BUF	$6,400
33	Cordarrelle Patterson	ATL	NO	$4,700
34	Kareem Hunt	CLE	CAR	$4,900
35	Tony Pollard	DAL	TB	$4,900
36	Raheem Mostert	MIA	NE	$4,600

The Chargers were brutal against the run in 2021 but made some significant additions in Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson, Josh Jacobs ($6,100) is someone I’m avoiding in NFL week 1.
Rashaad Penny is likely to have the backfield to himself in Seattle with rookie Kenneth Walker trying to make it back from injury, I want a piece of him at $5,800 in Pete Carrol’s offense.

Wide Receiver Rankings

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	OPP	SALARY
1	Mike Evans	TB	DAL	$6,500
2	Cooper Kupp	LAR	BUF	$7,400
3	CeeDee Lamb	DAL	TB	$6,600
4	Justin Jefferson	MIIN	GB	$7,100
5	Ja’Marr Chase	CIN	PIT	$6,700
6	Davante Adams	LVR	LAC	$7,300
7	Stefon Diggs	BUF	LAR	$6,900
8	Deebo Samuel	SF	CHI	$6,800
9	Marquise Brown	ARI	KC	$5,800
10	Brandin Cooks	HOU	IND	$6,200
11	Keenan Allen	LAC	LVR	$6,200
12	AJ Brown	PHI	DET	$6,000
13	Tyreek Hill	MIA	NE	$6,400
14	Courtland Sutton	DEN	SEA	$6,300
15	Terry McLaurin	WAS	JAX	$5,900
16	Christian Kirk	JAX	WAS	$5,900
17	Tee Higgins	CIN	PIT	$6,200
18	Mike Williams	LAC	LVR	$5,800
19	Allen Robinson	LAR	BUF	$5,400
20	DJ Moore	CAR	CLE	$5,800
21	Michael Thomas	NO	ATL	$5,000
22	Allen Lazard	GB	MIN	$5,200
23	DK Metcalf	SEA	DEN	$6,200
24	Rashod Bateman	BAL	NYJ	$5,500
25	Diontae Johnson	PIT	CIN	$5,400
26	Elijah Moore	NYJ	BAL	$5,200
27	Darnell Mooney	CHI	SF	$5,500
28	JuJu Smith-Schuster	KC	ARI	$5,700
29	Jerry Jeudy	DEN	SEA	$6,100
30	Jaylen Waddle	MIA	NE	$6,000
31	Adam Thielen	MIN	GB	$5,500
32	Amon-Ra St. Brown	DET	PHI	$5,400
33	Robert Woods	TEN	NYG	$4,900
34	Kadarius Toney	NYG	TEN	$4,500
35	Brandon Aiyuk	SF	CHI	$5,000
36	Hunter Renfrow	LVR	LAC	$6,200
37	Julio Jones	TB	DAL	$5,400
38	Amari Cooper	CLE	CAR	$5,500
39	Jarvis Landry	NO	ATL	$4,500
40	Rondale Moore	ARI	KC	$4,600
41	DeVonta Smith	PHI	DET	$5,200
42	Drake London	ATL	NO	$4,800
43	Skyy Moore	KC	ARI	$4,600
44	Treylon Burks	TEN	NYG	$4,700
45	Jalen Tolbert	DAL	TB	$5,100
46	Tyler Lockett	SEA	DEN	$5,600
47	Jakobi Meyers	NE	MIA	$4,500
48	Chase Claypool	PIT	CIN	$4,600

There are a lot of things up in the air with the Bucs offense when it comes to pass catchers, injuries to Godwin and Gage being the most pressing, Mike Evans is in for a monster week against a suspect Cowboys secondary.
Can we trust Amari Cooper with Jacobi Brissett throwing him the football? I’d be looking to sit him against a solid Panthers secondary with Adoree Jackson and Jaycee Horn.

Tight End Rankings

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	OPP	SALARY
1	Travis Kelce	KC	ARI	$6,500
2	Mark Andrews	BAL	NYJ	$6,000
3	Dalton Schultz	DAL	TB	$5,600
4	Zach Ertz	ARI	KC	$5,200
5	Kyle Pitts	ATL	NO	$5,900
6	George Kittle	SF	CHI	$5,600
7	TJ Hockenson	DET	PHI	$5,200
8	Dawson Knox	BUF	LAR	$5,300
9	Darren Waller	LVR	LAC	$5,900
10	David Njoku	CLE	CAR	$4,400
11	Cole Kmet	CHI	SF	$4,700
12	Dallas Goedert	PHI	DET	$5,100
13	Hunter Henry	NE	MIA	$4,800
14	Gerald Everett	LAC	LVR	$4,700
15	Evan Engram	JAX	WAS	$4,000
16	Tyler Higbee	LAR	BUF	$5,300
17	Mo Alie-Cox	IND	HOU	$4,500
18	Pat Freiermuth	PIT	CIN	$4,600
19	Irv Smith	MIN	GB	$4,500
20	Albert Okwuegbunam	DEN	SEA	$5,500

The Cowboys wide receiver room is very muddled at the moment with Jalen Tolbert, Simi Fehoko, Noah Brown and various other battling for reps behind CeeDee Lamb. Dalton Schultz should see plenty of volume as a familiar face for Dak Prescott.
I’ve been low on Dallas Goedert all off-season, this is a crowded room and if the Eagles find themselves ahead early against Detroit the passing volume could be miniscule.

Quarterback Rankings

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	OPP	SALARY
1	Kyler Murray	ARI	KC	$7,500
2	Lamar Jackson	BAL	NYJ	$7,400
3	Justin Herbert	LAC	LVR	$7,900
4	Josh Allen	BUF	LAR	$7,900
5	Patrick Mahomes	KC	ARI	$7,800
6	Dak Prescott	DAL	TB	$7,300
7	Matthew Stafford	LAR	BUF	$7,400
8	Tom Brady	TB	DAL	$7,400
9	Jalen Hurts	PHI	DET	$7,100
10	Joe Burrow	CIN	PIT	$7,500
11	Trevor Lawrence	JAX	WAS	$7,000
12	Aaron Rodgers	GB	MIN	$7,500
13	Russell Wilson	DEN	SEA	$7,700
14	Kirk Cousins	MIN	GB	$6,900
15	Trey Lance	SF	CHI	$6,900
16	Jameis Winston	NO	ATL	$6,200
17	Derek Carr	LVR	LAC	$6,800
18	Justin Fields	CHI	SF	$6,200
19	Daniel Jones	NYG	TEN	$6,500
20	Matt Ryan	IND	HOU	$6,700
21	Tua Tagovailoa	MIA	NE	$6,300
22	Ryan Tannehill	TEN	NYG	$6,600
23	Carson Wentz	WAS	JAX	$6,600
24	Davis Mills	HOU	IND	$6,300

The Kansas City defense has a number of question marks heading into 2022, especially in the secondary without Tyrann Mathieu and Charvarious Ward. I’m leading my DFS lineups this week stacking Kyler Murray with one of Zach Ertz or Marquise Brown.
Can we trust Trey Lance in week 1? I’m concerned that with a not so competitive opponent in Chicago that Kyle Shanahan may not fully open the playbook for him and instead look to move the ball with their backs.