8 Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers After Preseason Week 1

Aug 13, 2018

The volume and variety of metrics used in fantasy sports have grown on a daily basis as the industry continues to blossom. One of the most popular measurable ways to track player rankings and how each player is being perceived is by their Average Draft Position (ADP).

As we move closer to the kickoff of redraft leagues, when the majority of your home or friends and family drafts take place, analyzing MFL10 ADP from week-to-week during the preseason is helpful to gather an overall impression of where players are being drafted. Drafters of MFL10 best-ball leagues tend to be sharper than your average fantasy football participant, so you may find players will slip a bit further in some leagues than others.

In other words, ADP data is very useful but is not everything, so don’t ride or die with it.

In this piece, I’ll take a look at some of the biggest risers and fallers from the first week of the preseason, comparing their ADP from August 5th to August 12th and how you should approach them moving forward. A player’s ADP can change for a plethora of reasons and diving into the cause of that movement can certainly help come draft time.

Note: ADP data is courtesy of FantasyInsiders. The number in parenthesis represents their overall +/- ADP jump.

Biggest Risers

RB Samaje Perine, Redskins (+41 overall ADP)

The sophomore RB didn’t exactly do anything himself to warrant the largest ADP rise of the week. But the season-ending injury to rookie Derrius Guice has folks grabbing Perine much earlier in drafts than just seven days ago. He went from 207th off draft boards to 166th and currently being selected in the 13th round.

Washington’s backfield isn’t exactly cut and dry though, as Chris Thompson and Rob Kelley will also be heavily in the mix. Both Thompson and Kelley were among the top 12 risers in ADP as well, shooting up 12.9 and 10.3 draft slots, respectively.

WR Chris Godwin, Buccaneers (+25 overall ADP)

Turning heads and building buzz at Bucs training camp, Godwin showed up in their first preseason game, catching two out of three targets for 17 yards. He grabbed balls from both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston and has the inside track to leapfrog Adam Humphries for the No. 3 WR spot in Tampa Bay.

Godwin has jumped two rounds from the 15th to the 13th in one week and should continue to rise moving forward through the preseason. Grab him now while he’s still affordable because the sophomore wideout won’t be the 65th WR off draft boards for much longer.

RB Peyton Barber, Buccaneers (+24 overall ADP)

Barber, an undrafted RB from Auburn two years ago, may just earn himself a spot as the starter in Tampa Bay. With Doug Martin off the roster and rookie Ronald Jones starting out slow, Barber has taken full advantage, carrying the ball four times for 21 yards and a score in Tampa Bay’s first preseason game. Barber also caught two passes, which shows the coaching staff wants to get him more involved in different ways.

It is still early, but Barber has jumped from an ADP of 169 to 145—a two-round difference in just one week. For now, a potential lead back as the 56th RB off the board is pretty sweet, so he’s a great value in both best-ball and redraft leagues.

TE David Njoku, Browns (+13 overall ADP)

Continue reading to see why David Njoku is a Week 1 preseason riser, as well as who made Jen's list of preseason fallers and two charts highlighting all the biggest preseason Week 1 risers and fallers...