NFL Preseason Week 4 Recap Plus 6 ADP Risers & Fallers

Sep 04, 2017

After what seems like a longer preseason than usual, the NFL regular season is finally here and all teams have whittled their squads down to the lucky 53. While most of the clear starters didn’t see the field last week, there were still some fantasy-relevant guys out there fighting for their share of playing time in 2017.

Here’s a position-by-position look at the fantasy impact of the last week of the preseason and the biggest ADP risers and fallers from the week.

Note: All player ADP’s in the recap portion are from 4for4’s Multi-site ADP tool, with the risers and fallers taken from http://fantasyadhd.com/mfl10_live/.

Quarterback

The Colts’ replacement for injured Andrew Luck is still up in the air: Scott Tolzien and Stephen Morris were in a not so heated battle to replace the injured Luck for at least Week 1. Each quarterback got to lead two drives for the Colts before being replaced by Phillip Walker in the second half. Indy then traded for New England quarterback Jacoby Brissett and let Morris go. Luck’s ADP has fallen to 74th overall (QB7).

After an injury scare to Josh McCown, he’s all good and remains the Week 1 starter: Since the 38-year-old Jets quarterback hadn’t seen the field since the first preseason game versus the Titans, New York started their last non-regular season game with most of their first-team offense on the field. McCown took a shot to the chest from Philadelphia linebacker Joe Walker in the first quarter, causing the Jets’ starting passer to take a knee before jogging off the field—only to fall to his knees again near the sideline. It turns out that McCown just had the wind knocked out of him and will be fine for Week 1 in Buffalo. While McCown isn’t a sexy fantasy QB, his first matchup is a really tempting one for streaming purposes, as the Bills defense is fifth-worst in QB aFPA (18.0).

Matthew Stafford got paid: The eighth-year QB inked a five-year extension worth $135 million, making former highest paid quarterback Derek Carr’s deal look like chump change. Well, not really, but it’s still a boatload of cash for the 29-year old. Stafford didn’t take the field in the Lions final preseason game and is currently QB14 with an overall ADP of 101.

Running Back

Justin Davis looks like the third-stringer for the Rams: In at running back for most of the Rams game versus the Packers, Davis rushed for 55 yards on 17 carries. With Lance Dunbar sidelined with a knee injury, the rookie from USC most likely earned a spot as No. 3 running back on LA’s depth chart. Davis doesn’t have any fantasy value right now but is a name to keep an eye on if there’s an injury to Todd Gurley or Malcolm Brown.

Wide Receivers

Beckham Jr. made the trip and was bootless: The Giants’ stud wide receiver flew to New England with his teammates and was even seen catching some balls from a lying down position before the game. Fantasy drafters take note: OBJ did not have any type of brace or boot on that injured left ankle, which bodes well for a swift return.

Justin Hunter found a home for the 2017 season: On his third team since being drafted 34^th overall in 2013, Hunter seems to have secured himself a spot on the Steelers roster this season. Coming off an impressive training camp, the former Titans and Bills wideout had 3 catches for 75 yards, including a 58-yard score on a go-route down the sideline in Pittsburgh’s final preseason game. The Steelers traded Sammie Coates to the Cleveland Browns Saturday, indicating that Hunter had indeed shown enough to stay in town. Ben Roethlisberger has a pretty large arsenal of offensive weapons, but with injuries all too common in the NFL, Hunter could become more fantasy-relevant as the season progresses.

If your league scores for punt and kick returns, Victor Bolden is your guy: San Francisco hasn’t had a return for a TD in the regular season since their 2011 opener, but it appears they’ve found the player to turn it all around. Bolden ran a punt back 92 yards for a TD in the second quarter of the team's last preseason game after returning a kickoff 104 yards for a score two weeks earlier in Denver.

ADP Risers and Fallers

Below you’ll find some of the biggest ADP risers and fallers from the final week of the preseason (Aug. 28 to Sept. 4th) and how you should approach each of them moving forward. ADP can change for a plethora of reasons, so diving into the cause of that movement can certainly help come draft time.

Note: The number in parenthesis represents their overall +/- ADP jump.