Fantasy football performance of sleeper, bust wide receiver candidates from preseason Week 4

The NFL preseason is finally over. After 15 games on Thursday night, we’re done with the exhibition part of the year and now head into the games that count. This is also the time of year when fantasy drafts kick into high gear and owners finalize their Week 1 starting lineups. It’s an exciting time to be a football fan.

Not many starters played in the final preseason game — teams mostly have their depth charts figured out by now, and we mostly saw just deep reserves play on Thursday. So for the sleeper and bust candidates, we’ll examine only the players who took the field in the fourth game, along with some key injured players whose regular-season status remains uncertain. Let’s take a look at the wide receivers.

Geronimo Allison, Green Bay Packers — You might remember Allison from last year as he came out of nowhere to have eight catches and 157 yards in the Packers’ last two regular-season games. He’s since been handed a one-game suspension and is deep down the depth chart behind Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and Davante Adams. Still, Allison had a nice little game Thursday, including this impressive catch that was called back by a penalty:

With Aaron Rodgers still dealing, Allison could be on the WR3 radar if any of Green Bay’s starting receivers get hurt.

Dede Westbrook, Jacksonville Jaguars — Westbrook has been one of the bright spots in a Jaguars preseason mired by quarterback play. He had another huge game in the preseason finale, racking up six catches for 115 yards against the Atlanta Falcons. Westbrook is also healthy after an injury scare earlier in the month. The Jags passing game will be hurting for fantasy value with Blake Bortles and Chad Henne struggling, but Westbrook is an intriguing waiver wire flier in deeper leagues.

Kasen Williams, Seattle Seahawks — When Jermaine Kearse trade rumors started floating around Thursday, it all but confirmed that Williams is making the final roster. He’s earned it with an impressive preseason that finished up with two catches for 57 yards against the Oakland Raiders. Williams is a long shot to be a fantasy producer this year — he’s still behind Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, Paul Richardson, and Kearse at the moment — but his pure talent makes him an interesting bench stash in the deepest of leagues.

John Ross, Cincinnati Bengals — The speedster’s first preseason couldn’t have gone any worse. Ross missed most of training camp with offseason shoulder surgery, didn’t play until the third preseason game, and then picked up a knee injury Thursday night that could keep him out for Week 1. His talent is undeniable, but staying healthy was one of Ross’s biggest knocks coming out of college. He’s a valuable dynasty stash, but it’s looking increasingly unlikely that Ross will be a major fantasy asset in 2017.

Tajae Sharpe, Tennessee Titans — One of last year’s sleeper darlings never came close to living up to the hype, and now he’s buried on the depth chart with Eric Decker, Corey Davis, and Taywan Taylor in town. Sharpe had a poor performance in the last preseason game with just one catch on five targets, which won’t help his cause. Even if he makes the final roster, he’s well off the fantasy radar this year.