NFL Preseason Week 4 Recap Plus 7 ADP Risers & Fallers

Sep 03, 2018

Rejoice football fans, 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 2018.

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 Fantasy Insiders.

Quarterback

A.J. McCarron rebounded in the fourth quarter: After struggling for most of the game, McCarron exploded in the final 15 minutes, throwing three touchdowns and rushing for a fourth. The signal-caller job in Buffalo is still not crystal clear, so I’d still stay away from any of the Bills’ QBs for fantasy purposes for now, but a waiver wire prayer is not out completely of the realm of possibility.

Update: McCarron was traded to the Raiders over the weekend. Sadly, this doesn’t change much when it comes to the Bills QB situation fantasy-wise.

Geno Smith is your Chargers backup: Cardale Jones stunk it up again on Thursday night, leaving the door open for Smith to snag the role of Philip River’s backup. He’s not exactly draftable, but just keep him in mind for waiver wire quickness in the event Rivers’ sustains an injury.

Running Back

Forget Frank Gore, Kalen Ballage could steal Kenyan Drake’s volume: Well, maybe not but he looked pretty solid. The rookie showed promise in both rushing and receiving, carrying the rock four times for 25 yards, with another three catches totaling 37 yards. He’s barely on the ADP radar so he's dirt cheap as a last-round dart throw in best balls.

Replace Jerick McKinnon ASAP: After an off-season filled with hype and a constantly rising ADP, McKinnon suffered a knee injury on Sunday that has him sidelined for the entire 2018 season. Matt Breida should see more work but was most likely drafted as a handcuff in the majority of leagues, and San Francisco’s other back Alfred Morris should have some availability, especially in early drafts. Also be aware of the veteran signing, as the Niners could easily bring in another RB to share the backfield workload. Read John Paulsen's take on the situation.

Wide Receiver

Adios Martavis Bryant: The Bryant experiment in Oakland has come to an end, as the former Pittsburgh WR was released over the weekend, ahead of a possible third suspension by the NFL. His ADP had been consistently falling for weeks, and now we have confirmation as to his non-fantasy relevance this season. Bryant’s time in the NFL could be coming to a close, so I’d stay away until we know a bit more about his future in the league.

ADP Risers and Fallers

Below you’ll find some of the biggest ADP risers and fallers from the final week of the preseason (Aug. 26th to Sept. 2nd) 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.

Biggest Risers

Keelan Cole, Jaguars (+30 overall ADP)

Still benefitting from Marqise Lee’s season-ending knee injury, Cole jumped from a 13^th rounder to the mid-10^th in just seven days. While his target share will certainly see an uptick, we can’t forget about Donte Moncrief, Dede Westbrook and Austin Seferian-Jenkins in that Jacksonville offense. I still consider Cole to be a WR3/borderlineWR2, so he’s gotten a bit too pricey for my liking.

Adrian Peterson, Redskins (+28 overall ADP)

Everyone loves a RB this season, and the thought of more backfield points has drafters excited and hopeful, despite the source. After an impressive debut in the third preseason game, Peterson’s ADP rose an insane 58 spots, with another 28-pick rise this week. Can a 33-year old RB who’s averaged 3.1 yards per carry over the past two seasons sustain the workload of a lead back and live up to his current late-eighth round ADP? For me, it’s still Jamaal Williams or Sony Michel in that round, and a big pass on Peterson.