NFL Nation fantasy football sleepers for 2022

The initial fantasy football rankings are out, which has all of us at ESPN Fantasy excited for the 2022 season.

You know what else gets us excited? Having our incredible NFL Nation team contribute to our fantasy coverage year-round. We asked our reporters to provide one fantasy sleeper from each team, whether it’s an off-the-radar player who could surprise, someone ready to take a big step forward, or — for teams with few sleeper options — a deep-league dart throw.

Arizona Cardinals TE Zach Ertz: Ertz may be the one player most poised to break out with DeAndre Hopkins set to miss the first six weeks. Don’t be surprised if Ertz becomes a favorite target of Kyler Murray early and often. And don’t be surprised if Ertz catches passes coming off the line, lining up in the slot or as the Cardinals’ iso receiver on the boundary. He has the skill set to do it all and will be the complementary piece to Murray that Arizona will be looking for during Hopkins’ suspension and beyond. With an entire offseason in Arizona’s offense, Ertz will head into the season with a better understanding of his role in the offense, which is likely to help him break the tight end franchise record of 56 catches (and which he tied in just 11 games last season). — Josh Weinfuss

Atlanta Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier: I don’t know if I would call him a “favorite,” but the other options on the Falcons are fairly obvious. Kyle Pitts is already one of the top tight ends in the game, and rookie receiver Drake London should be the team’s No. 1 receiver. But Atlanta has a wide open running back room, especially for early-down carries. The Falcons cutting Mike Davis last Monday gave even more opportunity for Allgeier, who absorbs contact well and had 50 broken tackles last season, to become a surprising first-year running back who has upside. Falcons head coach Arthur Smith would like…