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The new NFL regular season is not that far away and it’s time to make the first bold predictions for the 2022 season. These are our bold predictions for AFC North (with one eye squinting towards fantasy football).
Bengals: Higgins trumps Chase
Just to be clear, both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will be excellent options for your fantasy team this year. This prediction is not against Chase, but rather one for Higgins. After missing the start of the season with an injury, it took Higgins a few games to field more than 75% of snaps. However, once he did, his numbers were slightly better than Chase’s. In the nine games between Week 8 and Week 17, Higgins had better stats than Chase.
Insight: Higgins had the seventh most fantasy points (14.7) among receivers during this period, just ahead of Chase (14.6). As long as he’s healthy, it shouldn’t be a surprise if Higgins comes out on top in 2022.
Browns: Njoku becomes a fantasy star
Whether or not Deshaun Watson gets a lengthy suspension, David Njoku is poised to finally cash in on the first-round pick the Browns gave out on him in the 2017 draft. We know tight ends take time to develop in the pros and the front office believes the 26-year-old is ready to take the next step as they sign him with a new four-year contract extension this offseason and have rewarded $56.8 million.
With Austin Hooper gone, now in Tennessee, Njoku will be the undisputed starter in an offense looking for receivers and playmakers behind wideout Amari Cooper. It’s important to remember that ahead of the 2019 season, when he missed most of the year with a wrist injury, Njoku finished as the 9th-best tight end with 56 receptions, 639 yards and four touchdowns.
