Fantasy Draft Capital: Risers and Fallers
The Fantasy draft season is in full swing, with many drafts taking place this week. With preseason matches currently being played, some players are showing great promise, whilst others seem to be struggling. This causes players ADP to rise or fall as fantasy players worldwide react to their performances.
Here I take a look at 3 Risers and Fallers:
Risers: Royce Freeman
Royce Freeman has looked fantastic this preseason. His week 3 cameo culminated in 5 carries for 26 yards, 5.2 YPC and a touchdown. He has far outshone Devontae Booker in the Broncos backfield, yet the Denver hierarchy has insisted that Booker is the week 1 starter. This hasn’t deterred fantasy owners though, as Freeman’s ADP has soared over the past few weeks. He has gone from the middle of the 5th round to the 3.06 spot. He may not start the season as the lead back for the Broncos, but I am sure it wont take him long to force his way to the top of the depth chart.
John Ross
John Ross was the forgotten man in 2017. It was a largely forgettable season that culminated in the first round draft pick finishing the season with minus fantasy points! This season though, Ross looks to prove why the Bengals invested so much draft capital in him. Ross will be slotting in alongside AJ Green on the outside, thanks to the release of Brandon LaFell. He is injury free and just had a positive outing in week 3, where he caught a bomb from Andy Dalton, before zigging and zagging his way into the end zone. That is the kind of explosive display that the Ross truthers had been hoping for. Keep an eye on his ADP as we near the start of the season.
Chris Carson
Chris Carson has been the beneficiary of an injury to rookie Running Back, Rashad Penny’s hand. Despite the injury, the talk coming out of the Seahawks camp is that Carson has been really impressive, and would be at the top of the depth chart regardless of Penny’s health. Everyone had fully expected Penny to be the lead back at the start of the season, considering the considerable draft equity they gave up for him. With this news, Carson’s stock has risen massively, from the start of the 11th round to the 6.02 spot. He looks like he will the starter for the Seahawks in week 1, but just beware of the poor offensive line that he will be running behind.
Fallers: Ronald Jones II
RoJo has had a nightmarish start to his preseason. He was widely expected to win the starting job outright before the season starts. But the first three games haven’t gone as planned. Jones has the horrible stat line of 18 carries for 18 yards, as well as dropping his 2 of his 3 targets in the passing game. Dirk Koetter has come out and named Peyton Barber at the top of the depth chart, and with Jacquizz Rodgers still, on the roster, Jones’s early season work could be limited.
Alshon Jeffrey
With rumours coming out that he may be starting the season on the PUP, Jeffrey’s fantasy stock has nosedived. At the end of July, Jeffrey was a late 4th round pick, but with this recent news, his ADP has plummeted to the middle of the 6th round. Jeffrey was a red zone monster last season, but he is a risk this year with a bad shoulder. It is expected that he will miss at least the first two games of the season, and possibly 6 if he ends up o the PUP. This leaves Mike Wallace, Mack Hollins and Nelson Agholor as the only Wide Receivers of note. I expect Tight Ends, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, to both benefit the most from Jeffreys absence.
Sammy Watkins
Sammy Watkins has failed to show anything in his brief showing in preseason so far. In week 2, he recorded 0 receptions on 3 targets. Compare that to his WR partner, Tyreek Hill, who caught all 4 of his targets for 87 yards and a TD. Obviously, a big chunk of this was on one long play, but it goes to show that Mahomes will be launching ball downfield to Hill fairly regularly. Now Watkins hasn’t done too much wrong so far, but fantasy owners are seeing Hill’s performance as a sign of the future. Hill is on the rise, Watkins is falling. 2 weeks ago, his ADP was early in the 6th round, whereas his current ADP has fallen a whole round to 7.02.