MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 7/24)
Josh Gross
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).
