All successful investors know they have to pay attention to the stock market. This is also true for football fans who are poised to invest their draft picks in players. Knowing which players are surging and who is tanking can be quite beneficial.
Even better is understanding the stock market according to the world’s best high-stakes fantasy minds. Fulltime’s Advanced ADP Tool monitors the ups and downs of FFWC drafts and can be one of the most useful weapons in the arsenal of the well-prepared fantasy football manager.
Here are the 2021 fantasy football risers and fallers using our Advanced ADP.
Risers
Antonio Gibson (RB) Washington Football Team – In the early FFWC drafts, Gibson barely slipped into the bottom of the second round but after seeing his preseason usage, which has included a promising role in the passing game, Gibson has cracked the top-10 in a handful of drafts. Overall, Gibson is now firmly entrenched as a top-10 running back and regularly being selected near the turn of the first round. Those that envisioned Gibson being used in a Christian McCaffrey-type role may just be right, and high-stakes drafters are buying in.
Tee Higgins (WR) Cincinnati Bengals – Initially, Higgins was being selected in the fifth round after teammate Ja’Marr Chase but Chase’s struggles have cemented Higgins as Cincinnati’s top target. Higgins is now going a full round earlier and has even gone in the third round. High-stakes drafters still like the Bengals’ offense overall but it now appears that Higgins is the preferred option.
Darrell Henderson (RB) Los Angeles Rams – Before the Cam Akers injury, Henderson was a ninth or tenth-round target. That changed overnight as Henderson shot up into the top-50 but after the Rams traded for Sony Michel, Henderson has settled into the fifth or sixth round. There are still a lot of questions about LA’s backfield usage, so experts view Henderson as a high-risk, high-reward mid-round target. As for Michel, he has shot up from outside the top-200 (and even undrafted in a couple of FFWC drafts) to the ninth round.
Marquez Callaway (WR) New Orleans Saints – No player has shot up draft boards more than Callaway, who went from undrafted to sneaking into the sixth round. Callaway’s huge performance on Monday Night Football was undoubtedly the catalyst for his meteoric rise and the announcement that Jameis Winston would be the club’s starter didn’t hurt. Callaway has stepped up as the Saints’ top wideout in the absence of Michael Thomas and he appears to have earned the club’s No. 2 role, giving him solid WR3/4 value on a week-t0-week basis.
Gus Edwards (RB) Baltimore Ravens – Edwards opened up FFWC drafts as a solid 11th-round target and was already slowly climbing the ranks. Obviously, he’ll be one of the hottest targets in all drafts moving forward following the J.K. Dobbins injury. Look for Edwards to garner RB2 status and top out as a late third or early fourth-rounder.
Rhamondre Stevenson (RB) New England Patriots – A fourth-round rookie out of Oklahoma, Stevenson opened the summer buried on the depth chart but has rumbled his way to fantasy significance with an impressive showing in New England’s preseason tilts. Stevenson (6-0, 227) has drawn LeGarrette Blount comparisons but Stevenson is actually a good receiver in addition to being pretty agile for a big man. The trade that sent Sony Michel to LA opened up some touches for Stevenson behind Damien Harris and he’s gone from undrafted to an 11th round prospect in two weeks.
Justin Fields (QB) Chicago Bears – Once available as late as the 17th round, Fields has looked tremendous on preseason action and is now commanding 12th and 13th round attention and this is with Matt Nagy continuing to insist that Andy Dalton will open the season as Chicago’s starter. As soon as he’s named the stater, Fields will offer QB1 upside and high-stakes drafters are eager to get a piece of that action.
Fallers
Saquon Barkley (RB) New York Giants – Despite concerns over his surgically repaired knee, Barkley was still commanding a top-10 pick early. Now, despite the fact that Barkley has finally been cleared to practice, he’s dipped down to the 15th-overall pick and oftens slides even further. It’s still not certain how much of a role Barkley will have early on and that lack of preseason action has worried some. Love the talent, but Barkley looks like a risky proposition in the first round and a half.
Ja’Marr Chase (WR) Cincinnati Bengals – While teammate Tee Higgins has surged, Chase’s preseason struggles to catch the ball after a long layoff has led to his tumble down the Advanced ADP standings. After opening up inside the top-40, Chase is 44th overall but is regularly now being nabbed outside of the top-50. There is still a lot to like about the promising rookie but seasoned FFWC veterans are appraoching with caution.
Miles Sanders (RB) Philadelphia Eagles – Uncertainty about Sanders’s status as the lead back has caused his ADP to plummet more than two rounds. Throughout training camp, beat writers have alluded to both Boston Scott and now Kenneth Gainwell as being candidates to take touches away from Sanders, who was notoriously awful as a pass-catcher in 2020. There’s still plenty to like about Sanders overall but his RB2 status is losing steam.
Kenny Golladay (WR) New York Giants – Golladay injured his hamstring early on in camp and has been absent from practices and games ever since. That, and uncertainty about Saquon Barkley has caused New York’s skill position players to slip. Golladay went from an early fifth-round ADP to the middle of Round 7 in recent FFWC drafts.
Jalen Hurts (QB) Philadelphia Eagles – The constant rumors of Philadelphia’s staff being linked to Deshaun Watson and other quarterbacks hasn’t helped Hurt’s value to the high-stakes community. Hurts opened as a sure-fire top-10 QB and even went with the 89th pick but has plummeted down to 151.9 overall ADP. There is a lot to like about Hurts as a runner but the jury is still out on his accuracy and FFWC vets aren’t eager to take their chances.
Adam Trautman (TE) New Orleans – Trautman opened the draft season as a top-150 prospect and desirable TE2 but has plummeted off the board after a so-so showing and knee injury. The injury isn’t expected to linger and the announcement of Jameis Winston as the starter should help Trautman rebound but for now, he’s not a player to target.
These high-stakes fantasy legends put their reputation on the line just in time for your big draft!
Pro ($19.95 value) is INCLUDED for FREE with Your FullTime Membership!
Head back to the PreSeason PRO Hub to see the High-Stakes Players’ One Sleeper, One Breakout, and One Bust.
Lastly, If you have time to prepare, make sure you mock in our Mock Draft World Championships. No better way to practice for the real thing.
