Bettings
article-picture
article-picture
NFL
Fantasy

Vacated Opportunity: Which Teams Have the Biggest Holes to Fill Entering the Draft?

Share
Contents
Close

The 2022 NFL Draft has arrived, which means it’s time to take an updated look at vacated opportunities around the league.

We did this right before free agency, but obviously all of those moves shook everything up. And while there is really no longer a “clean” way to do vacated opportunities (players switching from Team A to Team B doesn’t mean they are going to have the same opportunity on Team B), it’s still enough for directional use.

 

So which teams still have big gaps to fill for fantasy-relevant stats? 

Pre-Draft Vacated Targets for 2022

How to read this chart: If all players on Team A had a combined 500 targets in 2021, but all players currently on Team A had a combined 400 targets last year, their mark would be 80% (400/500 = 80%).

Team Targets (2022 vs. 2021)
Las Vegas Raiders 139%
Philadelphia Eagles 115%
Miami Dolphins 108%
San Francisco 49ers 104%
Los Angeles Rams 103%
Carolina Panthers 99%
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 97%
Denver Broncos 97%
Los Angeles Chargers 97%
Detroit Lions 97%
New England Patriots 95%
New Orleans Saints 94%
New York Jets 93%
Cincinnati Bengals 93%
Dallas Cowboys 91%
Atlanta Falcons 90%
Chicago Bears 88%
New York Giants 85%
Seattle Seahawks 85%
Buffalo Bills 85%
Kansas City Chiefs 84%
Baltimore Ravens 82%
Minnesota Vikings 81%
Indianapolis Colts 78%
Tennessee Titans 78%
Jacksonville Jaguars 78%
Pittsburgh Steelers 75%
Houston Texans 74%
Washington Commanders 71%
Arizona Cardinals 71%
Green Bay Packers 66%
Cleveland Browns 61%

The Raiders are housing players whose combined targets in 2021 were 40% higher than Vegas’ combined targets in 2021. This is what happens when you add Davante Adams (and Brandon Bolden) but don’t offset the arrival somewhere else. It’s like adding an ice cube to a cup already 100% filled with water. Someone is going to lose. It’s not a great sign for a player like Hunter Renfrow or Darren Waller or Josh Jacobs.

Look at the teams toward the bottom of the list to find where a rookie WR may be able to have the biggest role in Year 1. The Browns, Packers, Cardinals, Commanders and Texans still have significant target voids to fill.

 

Pre-Draft Vacated Rush Attempts for 2022

How to read this chart: If all players on Team A had a combined 500 rush attempts in 2021, but all players currently on Team A had a combined 400 rush attempts last year, their mark would be 80% (400/500 = 80%).

Team Rushes (2022 vs. 2021)
Buffalo Bills 113%
Las Vegas Raiders 108%
Atlanta Falcons 103%
Philadelphia Eagles 100%
San Francisco 49ers 100%
New York Jets 100%
Cincinnati Bengals 100%
Denver Broncos 100%
Detroit Lions 100%
Tennessee Titans 100%
Green Bay Packers 99%
Cleveland Browns 99%
Minnesota Vikings 98%
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 98%
Washington Commanders 98%
New Orleans Saints 97%
Pittsburgh Steelers 95%
Miami Dolphins 93%
Indianapolis Colts 93%
New England Patriots 93%
Dallas Cowboys 92%
Chicago Bears 88%
Carolina Panthers 88%
Los Angeles Chargers 85%
Seattle Seahawks 69%
Arizona Cardinals 69%
Houston Texans 69%
New York Giants 65%
Jacksonville Jaguars 63%
Kansas City Chiefs 57%
Los Angeles Rams 46%
Baltimore Ravens 14%

The teams at the bottom of the list are interesting here: The Ravens’ backfield will look entirely different in 2022 after an injury-ravaged 2021, and the Rams should get a full season of Cam Akers.

But what about the Chiefs? Will we see a two-headed attack with Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Ronald Jones? Or do they take an RB in the first few rounds of the draft?

Buffalo is also a popular spot for people to mock RBs too, but this data shows their RB room is already overstuffed. If they take an RB early, it’s really bad news for at least one member of the existing crowd (probably Zack Moss).

Previous Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: ADP Rumblings (4/27) Next Fantasy Quiz of the Day: Every Team’s Active Passing Leader