I’m willing to bet you’re sleeping on South Korean cinema.
Sure, there’s bound to be some hardcore fanboys and girls among you – and the Academy did recently recognize Bong Joon-ho’s thriller Parasite as the best film of 2020. Yet by and large, I’m betting you haven’t skimmed the surface of South Korean filmmaking for some of the true gems.
Don’t worry. I’m here to help by recommending some of my 2022 fantasy football sleepers (based on way-too-early ADP) that compare favorably to the those movies you may have missed or altogether forgotten; in the hopes that you’ll revisit both the players and films at some point this year.
What follows are my bets to become the industry’s most desired players in fantasy football given their early ADP and the hype that should come by late summer.
So, sit back, enjoy. Let’s go to the movies…
Parasite
We have to start with the one everyone has at least heard of; because, these days, the fantasy football community can turn time into a flat circle… meaning we all hear the same takes over and over to infinity.
The truth is, this is a great film. From the dichotomy of the upper and lower classes to the heist-level infiltration and resourcefulness of the main characters, this movie is a must-watch for anyone with a pulse. And it’ll get your pulse pounding, too.
And the way-too-early sleeper for damn near everyone this season who is guaranteed to get your pulse racing if he’s left on the board too long appears to be Michael Pittman.
To be fair, I could’ve picked a few other players here (Derek Carr, Albert O, etc), but it’s Pittman who’s likely to have the sustained hype. Whether you agree MP deserves back-end WR1 consideration or not, he’s a lock for me to be touted as the next Chris Godwin, Calvin Ridley, or Diontae Johnson: the guys everyone knew would breakout in year three… and did.
Pittman is currently eating breakfast with new QB Matt Ryan; a la Matt Stafford and last year’s WR1 Cooper Kupp. If that’s not enough to get the industry’s juices flowing, how about his top-20 PPR finish in 2021? Or the fact that he won the 3rd most routes of any WR in football at a rate of over 50%. That was good enough for 4th in the league. He’s not a route-running savant, but he knows how to win and operate in space. With that skillset, the upgrade at QB should help boost his production.
As the current WR26 in fantasy football and most often drafted at the back of the 5th round per Underdog ADP, can Pittman come out of nowhere to help win the crown for your fantasy squad? It’s possible. But I’m certain he will help your team avoid being a cellar-dweller and push you toward the upper-echelon of talent in 2022; all while you murder the competition in broad daylight.
Snowpiercer
Another Joon-ho classic; and one which has gained a cult following, Snowpiercer delivers an insane blend of socio-economic class dynamics with a violent, dystopic future, all set on a runaway train. It’s gritty in all the ways you want an action film to be, with a flair for some over-the-top drama.
Just like my main man AJ Dillon.
I pounded the table for AJD all offseason last year; and he did (barely) finish as the RB2 I proclaimed him to be thanks to an Aaron Jones injury and a significant spike in midseason usage for the 13-4 Packers.
Yes, I’m tooting my own horn here, but I also held my arm out of the porthole at this time last year for a guy who nearly, but didn’t, disappoint against all odds.
Dillon will be my guy again this year at his current Underdog ADP of RB27, but he may be too rich at cost come summer. With Davante Adams now a resident of Las Vegas, AJD should see more red zone opportunity and more touches in general to help offset the loss of the team’s – and the league’s – steadiest production monster over the past few seasons (169 targets, 123 receptions, 1553 yards and 11TDs in 2021).
Dillon hasn’t officially broken out just yet, but you might be surprised to learn that he finished 20th in rushing yards last season on just a 42% snap share. An improvement on his 12th-best 46 red zone touches from last season. His opportunity overall should help vault Dillon in this now weapons-deficient Packers O.
I expect Dillon to push his way to the front of the mid-round RB pack come August and blow the doors off his ADP from just one year ago, and he may still have value in your preseason drafts.
Train to Busan
From one South Korean locomotive to another. This film is more firmly rooted in reality than Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer… until it isn’t.
Train to Busan is, by no exaggeration, the best zombie movie I’ve ever seen. It’s emotional, gripping, and action-packed; keeping you on the edge of your seat after a brief introduction to its story and characters. Sang-ho Yeon’s masterpiece helps prove why we shouldn’t underestimate the speed and power of the undead.
And the guy set to come back to life in 2022 for every fantasy football analyst everywhere? Of course, that guy will be Derek Carr.
Derek Carr is an easy bet to be everyone’s favorite late-round QB darling; thanks to the arrival of Davante Adams and the departure of John Gruden. With former, long-time Patriots OC Josh McDaniels now at the helm, and a presumably healthy cast of weapons, Carr could and maybe even should far exceed what he’s accomplished in the NFL to-date.
The 8-year vet has 4 top-14 finishes to his name in fantasy football. Yet, he’s never seemed to possess the upside he does now. Carr finished 5th in yardage last season, topping the 4800-yard mark. The problem was he threw just 23 touchdowns. That mark could be much greater with the same opportunity, given all the Raiders have done to upgrade the offense. If TD regression comes, as it should, Carr is in line to blow his standard QB13 finish out of the water this season.
As Underdog’s QB18 at the moment, Carr’s late 11th round cost could be a true value. While a happy ending may be a bit of a longshot for Carr and company in the face of all this data, it’ll be one hell of an entertaining ride, regardless of the outcome.
Oldboy
Park Chan-wook is an impressive filmmaker in his own right. Nowhere is that more clear than in his epic tragedy Oldboy.
As protagonist Oh Dae-su struggles to uncover who imprisoned him for 15 years before his mysterious release, his revenge tour is in full-effect from the moment he tastes freedom.
If you haven’t seen the parallels between Oldboy’s Oh Dae-su and Matt Ryan already, allow me to lay them out:
- Ryan was held captive in Atlanta for 13 years before his merciful release.
- After a disappointing 2021, Ryan is out for blood.
- Ryan will turn 37 in May… so he’s old is what I’m getting at.
What Ryan is able to do this season as a member of the Colts remains to be seen. Thankfully, he won’t have to do much on a squad with a very good D, a great offensive line, and a high-end running game. As savvy as he has become in his later years, Ryan will be able to sit back and unmask defensive mysteries instead of continuously getting crushed by would-be attackers.
Ryan is set for an improvement over his QB20 finish in fantasy football a year ago; but viewing him as the Matt Ryan from years ago may also be a mistake. He’s now a changed man, and one who we’ll learn the truth about only after it is revealed to us in-season.
Ideally, the truth is much better than a QB24 finish – which is where he is currently being taken in Underdog drafts. That’s the back-end of the 14th round. You’ll want some shares of Ryan in case he unboxes his true, late-career potential in Indy. If he doesn’t, we’ll just hypnotize ourselves to forget the whole thing come next offseason.
The Host
Another cult classic from Bong Joon-ho; The Host is as engaging of a traditional monster movie as I’ve ever seen. The attention to detail in the characters and story arc are made much more important than the look of the monster itself, which also helps it be more believable given that this film dropped in 2006.
Without the benefit of incredible CGI, we’re left with a story that wouldn’t have much teeth if not for Joon-ho’s impressive abilities.
So, naturally, it’s time to discuss Jerry Jeudy.
Jeudy’s development in the league has suffered tremendously after injury and poor QB play. That has led to a poor production profile in back-to-back seasons. We know past production matters, but narrative may matter a bit more in some outlier cases.
Such is the case with Jeudy, who was forced to rely on a combination of Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater, and two or three other guys whose names I’ve already forgotten, to help him live up to his mid-first round draft capital.
Jeudy was selected 15th overall in 2020. He flashes on tape and is known as an elite route runner and separator, even if his overall athleticism trends toward average. Still, it should all be there for Jeudy, except that his value has been kidnapped by poor QB play and coaching.
Vic Fangio is now out and former Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett is now in at head coach. Lock was sent packing to Seattle in exchange for future Hall of Famer Russell Wilson at QB. The stars are finally aligning for Jeudy, but he must live up to the narrative this season and become the production monster many expect if he hopes to rescue his value in fantasy football leagues.
As Underdog’s current WR36 being selected in the mid-7th round, I’ll take that value all day. I may even buy-in when he likely screams up to the mid-5th come August.
Memories of Murder
A classic who-done-it thriller that’s based on true events; Memories of Murder does not disappoint on its promise to keep you engaged through to its conclusion. However, it’s ending is left up to some interpretation, so you’ll have to fill in the blanks and come to your own conclusions with this one.
Even still, it’s a blind chase through a rural South Korean town that will keep you guessing even after the credits begin to roll.
Kind of like Rhamondre Stevenson.
Stevenson came in last season as a backup to Damien Harris and James White on the Patriots depth chart; only to carve out a solid role due to the injury and ineffective play. Though he didn’t receive a ton of opportunity, he absolutely murdered Cleveland and Jacksonville in Weeks 10 and 17, respectively.
In those two games (2 of just 3 where he earned 50%+ of the snapshare), Stevenson ran the ball 39 times for 207 yards and 4 TDs, while hauling in 4 passes. Pushing the rock downfield at more than 5.7 yards per carry, many, like myself, envision bigger and better things for Stevenson in 2022.
We all know that a Bill Belichick backfield is the biggest mystery in fantasy football. With Josh McDaniels now in Vegas and White fully healthy, the end of Stevenson’s season could be a red herring for 2022. If so, we’ll only have the memory of what could have been.
Still, I’m pretty confident that Rhamondre kills the competition if given a larger share of the backfield this season. The only question is whether or not Harris and Rhamondre can coexist in this backfield and solve the mystery of Belichick’s RB usage together. As Underdog’s RB36 with a late 9th round ADP, I’ll happily take that gamble today.
I hope you enjoyed this brief look at South Korean cinema. Maybe you found a film or two (or a player or two) that sounds appealing. Be sure to add them to your fantasy football watchlist in 2022.
Jeremy Shulman
Jeremy is an avid football fan from New York who lives in Amsterdam and roots for the Patriots. This walking contradiction has played fantasy football for over than 20 years. He is now a Senior Dynasty Writer at The League Winners. In his spare time, he writes and edits professionally.