Preseason is the time where fantasy owners get a taste of what’s to come once the games start mattering, and as a result, opinions can run wild with a few good or bad performances. So here, I’ve decided to compile a list of players who are trending upward or downward due to overarching storylines from the summer.
Fantasy football draft strategy: Preseason Week 3 quarterback stock report
Preseason can provide a roller coaster effect on the average draft positions of quarterbacks for fantasy owners. We break down the fantasy implications that Week 2 of the preseason provided.
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This is about who is rising or falling, so if you don't see a name like "Andrew Luck" in the "Trending Up" section, it's because he's already made it to the top. Let's have a look:
Trending Up
For all the talk among fantasy nerds like myself about Marc Trestman being the "QB whisperer," my vote for that title has to go to Chip Kelly. Getting production way over the pay grade of guys like Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez absolutely accounts for something, and Sam Bradford appears next in line for production, health permitting.
Keep in mind that the suboptimal tandem of Sanchez and Foles combined for 4,518 passing yards and 27 touchdowns, which would be welcome production for any fantasy owner who doesn’t have one of the premier quarterbacks that cost early-round investments. If those numbers are Bradford’s ceiling, people have every reason to be encouraged. Currently, Bradford can be had in the 11th round, although it’s a jump from his 14th-round average draft position from earlier in the month. He remains a high-upside QB2.
Fantasy owners won't stop being high on Ryan Tannehill, as he's seen his ADP climb all the way into the eighth round and into low-QB1 territory. Whether that will be justified remains to be seen, but the optimism results from obvious factors. Tannehill put up serious production at times in 2014, including a 396-yard outing with four touchdowns versus the Minnesota Vikings, as well as notching four total touchdowns versus the Denver Broncos.
With that said, Tannehill did all of that without Jordan Cameron, Kenny Stills, Greg Jennings and Devante Parker, who, to be fair, has yet to return from a foot injury. The added weapons offer Tannehill plenty of upside as well as having another year in offensive coordinator Bill Lazor's system. As a result, it's difficult to say that the excitement surrounding the fourth-year quarterback is unjustified.
Trending Down
Everyone -- breathe. He's going to be fine, with or without Jordy Nelson. I don't have to sit here and justify why Rodgers is a tremendous quarterback who will continue to put up absurd numbers, because fantasy owners know this already.
That said, owners who drafted him before the Nelson injury tended to be aggressive when filling their quarterback position, going for Rodgers as early as the first pick overall. Owners are being a bit more conservative when selecting Rodgers now, as his ADP has fallen close to the third round, which is still early, considering the depth at the position. While waiting to draft him wouldn’t be unwise, panicking over him would.
The Kelvin Benjamin injury has left Cam Newton firmly out of QB1 territory and is now the 14th quarterback being drafted on average. The Benjamin loss is undoubtedly damaging to Newton's value, but those who draft him pretty much do so for his dual-threat ability. The rushing yards will still be there, as will the rushing touchdowns to supplement any shortcomings in the passing game.
Newton remains in a cluster of quarterbacks with similar ADPs, like Eli Manning and Philip Rivers, who both have far more viable weapons and could be had at a similar investment. Though upside remains, chances are, if Newton is a fantasy owner's starting quarterback, he or she missed out.
"Polarizing" was once a word to describe Andy Dalton, who seemed to have as many supporters as detractors at one point. But now, after posting yet another awful playoff performance and a disaster of a preseason outing versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the silver lining is pretty difficult to find, even among his defenders.
Dalton has essentially fallen out of the fantasy discussion, with the exception of two-QB and deep leagues. With a 13th-round ADP, Dalton is the 21st quarterback being taken in drafts. But it's worth mention that the return of a healthy A.J. Green and Marvin Jones, along with a possible leap on the horizon for Tyler Eifert, there are still factors that could direct Dalton back to his 2013 form, where he posted 33 touchdowns and nearly 4,300 passing yards. Fantasy owners would be wise to spend just a late-round pick on Dalton, but to completely ignore his upside would be myopic.
