Fantasy football is officially here!
While many fantasy drafts have already taken place, the biggest draft weekend of the year is right on our doorstep. Regardless of your league's rosters or rules, it's time to pay closer attention to the players whose roles have become more clearly defined.
This is the time of year when NFL teams have been making serious roster decisions. Players get put on (and oftentimes stay on) the physically unable to perform (PUP) and non-football injury (NFI) lists. Players are released or traded at the cut-down deadline, which opens up a clearer path to touches for others.
Beyond these moves, sometimes the public just finally comes around on a player they've previously been low on. Regardless of the reasons, you can get some really great value in your fantasy draft if you stay on top of the news. That's why, in this article, I'm going to highlight a few players who are moving up in my rankings as we get closer to the start of the season.
This is by no means a complete and definitive list, but it's a great starting point when you're looking for value heading into your drafts. Let's get to it!
Rashee Rice, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
Rice was involved in a serious traffic accident earlier this year. The legal process is still ongoing and once that concludes, the NFL will conduct its own investigation. He is not suspended at this time, but that can change at any point.
Barring suspension, Rice should still have plenty of games as the WR1 in a high-scoring Chiefs offense. Last season, Rice finished as WR27, but that only tells part of the story. From Weeks 12-17, Rice ranked WR4 in fantasy points thanks to a massive uptick in targets. Over that span, he had a 27.8% target share, ranking sixth in targets, fourth in receiving yards and second in receptions. He was the preferred target for Patrick Mahomes in that offense, even above Travis Kelce.
If Rice didn't have the legal situation looming over him, he'd likely be drafted as a top-15 to top-20 wide receiver. However, as of this writing, his ADP has him as only the No. 33 WR being taken off the board, going at the end of Round 9. That's incredibly low given both his talent and production as a rookie. If you want Rice (my WR24) you'll likely have to grab him in Round 5 or 6, well before one of your fellow managers decides to pounce.
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers
The Panthers drafted RB Jonathon Brooks to be the future of their backfield, but he's starting the season on the NFI list after suffering a torn ACL during his final year at Texas. That means he'll be out for at least the first four weeks of the season, with the potential to miss even more time after that.
Don't assume that the rookie, who still hasn't practiced with Carolina since being drafted in April, will immediately come back at top form as soon as his required four-week absence is over. Our impeccable injury analyst, Stephania Bell, has made it very clear that "return to play" is not the same as "return to performance" -- and, in this situation, we're talking about a rookie who hasn't even touched a practice field with his new team. Brooks will still need to ramp up to a full-time workload while digesting everything the NFL is throwing at him. And he'll have to do that in the middle of the season for potentially the worst team in football.
Last season, Hubbard took over the starting RB role in Week 6 and didn't relinquish the gig for the rest of the season. He wasn't very efficient, but he was given a steady dosage of volume. As the starter, Hubbard ranked fifth in the NFL in touches and 14th in scrimmage yards. Sure, it was tough for him to be uber-efficient in such a low-quality offense (led by a struggling rookie QB), but he was still a nice bye-week fill-in during his time as a starter, averaging 12.6 fantasy points per game over that stretch.
Hubbard will get plenty of run as the starting RB in this offense. He's coming off the board as RB45 (in the 16th round), a full six rounds after Brooks. He's basically "free." Scoop him up as a late-round starter for your bye-week needs.
Jerome Ford, RB, Cleveland Browns
Similar to the Panthers situation I just mentioned, Ford is coming off the board a full round after Nick Chubb, who is starting the season on the PUP list after suffering a brutal knee injury last year. If you've listened to Fantasy Focus this year, you've heard Stephania Bell talk about her concerns with Chubb coming back and playing like "the Nick Chubb we've all come to know and love."
Look, there's no way to know how quickly he'll progress through rehab and get back to game shape. Unfortunately, given the nature of his injury, I'm bypassing Chubb altogether and targeting Ford as another late round RB to stash on my bench.
I'm not drafting him as a starter, especially since he's coming off the board in the 13th round, but I am drafting him as a bye-week fill-in who should have a decent floor when called upon to carry either my RB2 or flex spot. He's not always exciting, but after averaging 12.4 FPPG as a starter, Ford has moved up my rankings and is now my RB33.
Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders
A little trivia question: Can you name all of the failed starting quarterbacks whom McLaurin has had to endure during his tenure in Washington? Yeah, neither can I. That's how bad it has been for him!
For 2024, he will have the No. 2 draft pick, Jayden Daniels, under center and McLaurin is clearly the most talented pass catcher in Washington's offense. Jahan Dotson is now in Philadelphia and Luke McCaffrey, Olamide Zaccheaus or Dyami Brown project to be the WR2 here.
Only three teams have a lower projected win total (6.5, per ESPN BET) than the Commanders. This is a team that will be "playing from behind" more often than not, so it's finally time to see what McLaurin can do with a real quarterback. I recently moved him up into my top 30 wide receivers (highest among ESPN rankers) and, since he's coming off the board at the end of Round 9 as a WR4, I'm buying the value on him this season.
Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
I've gone back and forth all offseason about how high to rank Nabers. After assessing, re-assessing and triple-checking the Giants' roster, I don't see any way that Nabers isn't one of the most involved wideouts in fantasy football this season.
The other options for New York include Wan'Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt, just to name a few. There's not a lot of target competition behind Nabers and his skill set. It would be surprising to see him average 10 targets per game, but 8.5 certainly isn't out of the question.
He'll have some huge weeks in his rookie season as the top skill position player for the Giants. I've moved him all the way up to WR15 (again, highest among ESPN rankers) and I'll be thrilled to grab the exciting young rookie as a low-end WR2/high-end flex for my fantasy squad.