There isn’t a day that goes by this time a year when player’s values rise and fall. Don’t be caught uninformed on the big fantasy relevant news across the league. Here are some notable fantasy football players whose values are rising and falling recently.
Andrew Luck (Value UP) Luck is already shooting up draft boards with his stellar pre-season play. I’ve seen him play and I’m very sold on his talent. I expect him to finish top-10 in standard scoring among QBs this year, he’s just that good.
Donald Brown (Value UP) A tremendous late round value. He is nearly one of the last starting RBs taken off the board. I admit I am having a hard time projecting his value but he is getting good reviews for his play and he is the clear cut starter.
Denarius Moore (Value DOWN) I’ll be the first person to slam hard on the breaks on my former sleeper pick. He is having hamstring troubles which are a big red flag for receivers, especially since he has had hamstring troubles before. While I still believe Moore is probably the most underrated WR in the league when healthy, now is the time to temper enthusiasm for him.
Miles Austin and Andre Johnson (Value DOWN) I’m listing these two WRs together simply because they both are suffering from chronic hamstring issues. This was supposed to be the year that Austin finally stayed healthy, some owners thought. They thought wrong, it’s already started and Austin’s value has dropped like a heavy rock in the past few days, especially on the recent news that he is to miss all of pre-season. I am letting someone else take a chance on both Johnson and Austin. My prediction is that both of these receivers will never see a top-10 finish again in standard scoring among WRs.
Percy Harvin (Value UP) Harvin was nearly the best WR last year in games Christian Ponder started. What’s even better is that Harvin has praised Ponder this year as being dramatically improved. Harvin possibly has the highest upside of any player in all of fantasy this year. It is still only ‘upside’ though until we see a couple of regular season games.
Joe Flacco – (Value UP) It seems like every year that so many want to pick Flacco as a sleeper candidate. While now there is something backing up Flacco’s potential this year. The Ravens have said they are going to open it up more, they have been running no huddle during the pre-season. Torrey Smith is in his second year and appears poised to put up good numbers. Last but not least, Flacco is in a contract year. That said, it is still the Ravens. I wouldn’t expect anything special but Flacco should be a good backup QB with nice upside.
Kyle Rudolph (Value UP) It’s hard to get too excited about the Vikings, especially considering how poorly they played last year. Their team seems to have been dramatically improved in the passing game from last year though. Consider also that Adrian Petersen is coming back from a torn A.C.L. injury and you have a setup for the Viking’s to rely on the passing game even more. Rudolph has generated a lot of buzz this pre-season, he figures to fight for targets with Harvin and Jerome Simpson. Rudolph has nice upside and makes for a good speculative backup pick at TE.
Ryan Tannehill (Value UP) Tannehill was nearly left for dead after landing with Miami, a place where QBs seem to have gone in recent years to end their careers with a whimper. Tannehill might change all that. Originally thought to have been a reach by the Dolphins in this year’s draft with the 8th overall pick, it is now the Dolphins who can laugh. Tannehill, originally thought to be third string, has played so well during pre-season that he has become the opening day starter. While I don’t envision him being anything greater than a possible bye week fill-in, he makes for a decent speculative pick in the last rounds of drafts, especially in dynasty/keeper league formats.
Christian Ponder (Value UP) I’ve already talked about TE Rudolph and WR Harvin. If they are to be successful that will obviously be dependent on the play from the QB, Ponder. Ponder’s remarkable improvement from a year ago gives great room for optimism. Ponder is one of the best speculative late round picks I can think of late in the draft for next to nothing. If the hype is true then Ponder could be starting a lot of games for a lot of fantasy teams this season.
