With NFL cutdown day now behind us, teams have shaved their rosters from 90 to 53 players. For most teams, as always, injuries play a factor in these things. Sam Darnold and Jordan Mason both saw their stock rise due to season-ending injuries to J.J. McCarthy and Elijah Mitchell respectively. We now know Jerome Ford should handle the bulk of the carries until Nick Chubb returns now that they’ve given D’Onta Foreman his walking papers. So many things to get to, but as we get closer to Week 1, I wanted to point out some fantasy-relevant players whose situations changed over the past couple of weeks. Let’s get to it.
The Rotoworld Fantasy Football Draft Guide is now available exclusively through a new partnership with Matthew Berry’s Fantasy Life. Buy a FantasyLife+ subscription and get the Rotoworld Draft Guides, along with award-winning Fantasy, Betting & DFS tools. Use ROTO20 at checkout to save 20%!
PRESEASON STOCK UP PLAYERS
Jayden Daniels, QB, Commanders
Daniels’ stock rose as soon as he completed a 42-yard bomb to Dyami Brown on the first drive of his NFL career. A few plays later he followed it up with a three-yard rushing touchdown, showing us each and every way he can collect fantasy points. According to Fantasy Life’s ADP, he’s now being drafted as QB10 as opposed to QB18 after he was first drafted. The Commanders have serviceable weapons (Austin Ekeler, Terry McLaurin, etc.) and made some offensive lineman upgrades (Tyler Biadasz, Brandon Coleman etc.) that should ensure Daniels starts the season off right.
Tony Pollard, RB, Titans
It’s a slight bump in a positive direction, but one nonetheless for Pollard who underwhelmed in Dallas last season as the lead back. Now back in a tandem (this time with Tyjae Spears), Pollard looked good in his preseason action. Despite Spears being the back who was with the Titans last season, Pollard has been getting the starts. Pollard had an impressive 24-yard run in the Titans’ first preseason game that showed he still has that burst. The more telling scene was watching Pollard play the entire first drive in his last preseason game as Spears watched. He ended that drive with a touchdown. While Pollard and Spears will probably split their touches close 50/50, Pollard fantasy managers should feel comfortable knowing that right now the former may have a slight edge.
Adonai Mitchell, WR, Colts
With Josh Downs down and out for preseason action, it gave Mitchell a chance to flourish and show what he can do all over the field. In his final preseason game he played 19 of his 24 (79.1%) of his snaps in the slot (where Downs plays) while ending the drive with a nine-yard touchdown catch. He’s been making plays all camp and it came to fruition in live gameplay. Mitchell has been involved just as much as Michael Pittman and looks to be making a move to be a regular starter. The target distribution will be interesting when Downs returns, but knowing Mitchell can play in any receiver spots does wonders for his fantasy value.
Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Packers
It feels like many have already started to grasp the fact that Wicks has immense talent, but one 65-yard touchdown catch in the preseason has put him on everyone’s radar at this point. While Wicks still will battle for targets with Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs, the fact that he didn’t play the rest of the preseason along with the other starting receivers speaks volumes. At any rate, Wicks presents the best value of any Packers’ receiver as he’s being drafted as WR54, especially when you consider how hard it is to decipher which Packers receiver is “WR1”.
Ben Sinnott, TE, Commanders
Sinnott made his presence known in the Commanders’ first preseason game hauling in three receptions for 57 yards including a nice 44-yard catch and run. He will likely split the workload with Zach Ertz early on as the Commanders could opt to use more 12 personnel, but it’s clear who’s the more explosive playmaker. It should be noted that John Bates has been operating as the TE2 and got most of the reps with the first team offense during the second preseason game. Sinnott didn’t see any action in the Commanders’ final preseason game which bodes well for his importance to the team.
Editor’s Note: Create or join a private Yahoo Fantasy league and enter the $1 Million in the NBC Sweepstakes. Download the redesigned Yahoo Fantasy app or click here for more details.
PRESEASON STOCK DOWN PLAYERS
MarShawn Lloyd, RB, Packers
Prior to any injuries, AJ Dillon (who’s now out for the season) already had a leg up on Lloyd as Josh Jacobs’ primary backup, but now things have gotten worse. After one carry for eight yards in his first preseason game, Lloyd will find himself starting off the season on short-term IR after sustaining a hamstring injury. Lloyd got off to a slow start in camp with a hip injury and after finally getting healthy he’s back on the shelf. While many had high hopes for him having an immediate impact alongside Josh Jacobs, it looks like at the very least you can get a discount on him in your fantasy drafts (or by trade).
Dameon Pierce, RB, Texans
The fact of the matter is, Cam Akers outplayed Pierce this preseason and it wasn’t even close. Akers carried the ball 24 times for 112 yards, adding another 61 receiving yards on eight receptions and a touchdown. To be fair, Pierce only got running back touches in one game this preseason and carried the ball four times for five yards. With Akers and Pierce having both made the Texans’ 53-man roster, the latter isn’t a shoo-in to back up Joe Mixon. There are rumors and rumblings that Pierce could be traded, but that remains to be seen.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Titans
First things first, the Titans brought in Tyler Boyd and Calvin Ridley to tighten up the receiving room. At the very least Hopkins would be WR2 behind Ridley, but it could very much be a 1A-1B situation. Hopkins had a solid campaign in 2023 going 75-1,057-7 and finishing as WR22 in total fantasy points. The main reason he’s been dropping in drafts is because he’s been dealing with a knee injury that’s kept him sidelined all of training camp. Him being 32 years old won’t give fantasy drafters confidence either. With Ridley in town, a couple of pass-catching running backs (Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard) and a not-so-dynamic offense, it’ll be tough for Hopkins to mirror last season unless Will Levis takes a giant step.
Curtis Samuel, WR, Bills
Same as DeAndre Hopkins above, an injury is what’s causing Samuel to fall further in drafts. Now that the preseason is over and Samuel is looking like he’ll be ready for Week 1, the value has already been had. In his lone preseason appearance, Samuel nabbed two receptions for 23 yards. One of those touches included a screen which shows how the Bills want to deploy him. While Samuels has dropped in drafts, he’s the perfect flier candidate who could end up being very flex-worthy.
Dallas Goedert, TE, Eagles
Goedert seems to be the forgotten man in Philly. He finished as TE12 in fantasy points per game last season and is being drafted as such this season. With both DeVonta Smith and A.J Brown getting new contracts, the addition of Saquon Barkley and Jahan Dotson, can Goedert be a quality TE1? It will certainly be tough, and he’ll likely need to score in games for fantasy managers to receive the payoff. Like many of the Eagles’ starters, Goedert did not play in the preseason so we’ll have to wait until the regular season to see what he can muster up.