The past week was a flurry of news, roster moves, and injury updates that have impacted the draft landscape in a major way. Now, the biggest draft weekend of the year is here. If you're anything like me, you have multiple drafts between now and the start of the season. With tons of drafts being completed every day, the ADP market is moving quickly and our job as fantasy managers is to understand where the values are. 

Just a couple weeks ago, the biggest ADP movers were only moving up or down by a couple picks. Now, we have multiple players moving a full round (or more) up and down draft boards over the past week. I went through the list of ESPN ADP movers and wrote up the ones I think fantasy managers need to be most aware of as you prepare for your draft.

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ADP Risers

Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers

The biggest riser in ESPN ADP over the last seven days is in the Carolina backfield. It was no surprise when the Panthers put Jonathon Brooks on the NFI list, which confirms he will miss at least four games, which leaves a path to significant volume for Hubbard if he can hold off Miles Sanders. I agree with the market that Hubbard is the one you want in this backfield to start the season. What I am less sure about is how much of a step forward the Carolina offense will take now that HC Dave Canales is in town and Bryce Young is in his second season. 

If Carolina remains one of the worst offenses in the NFL this season Hubbard's upside will be severely limited, but if you are weak at RB and need early-season touches, there aren't many other options available after pick 140. 

Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos

Denver wasted no time naming their rookie the starter (take notes, Patriots) and the market has responded by pushing the ADP of its top pass-catcher up more than 10 spots. The coaching staff doesn't seem to have confidence in the Broncos' secondary receiving weapons so I'm expecting Sutton to see a heavy target share this season. 

In a down season for the Broncos last year, Sutton still managed to put up 777 receiving yards and 10 TDs for a respectable fantasy finish. With Jerry Jeudy no longer on the roster and rookie QB Bo Nix replacing Russell Wilson, there is upside for Sutton to outperform what he did last season. As the WR41 off the board right now there also isn't a huge opportunity cost for betting on this Denver offense via Sutton. 

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers' QB1 returned to practice last week in a positive sign for his recovery from a foot injury. Fantasy managers are rightfully concerned about the outlook for the Chargers on offense, but Herbert is still one of the most talented passers in the league. His ADP is up a full round over the last seven days but he is still just the QB17 in ESPN ADP. 

I still have enough questions about the Chargers' offense that I wouldn't want to show up to Week 1 with Herbert as my starting QB in a 1-QB league, but he is the ideal QB2 if you take a big swing at the position in the earlier rounds (see Anthony Richardson below). Herbert going after the likes of Kirk Cousins, Tua Tagovailoa, and Aaron Rodgers is laughable and I will gladly pass on all of them to target him and bet on the talent.

Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs

In my opinion the market has been too slow to respond to the news that Rashee Rice is unlikely to be suspended this season. After he became a full-time player last season, Rice performed at a WR1 level and has a chance to be the top pass-catcher in the Chiefs' offense as Travis Kelce ages out.

Even with the recent rise, Rice is a seventh-round pick in ESPN ADP which is a massive value. He should be going multiple rounds higher and is one of my top targets in home league drafts. Grabbing Rice as the WR3 or WR4 on your team feels like cheating, but if your leaguemates will let you have that value then you gotta take it. 

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ADP Fallers

Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers

On the opposite side of Chuba Hubbard's rise is Jonathon Brooks' fall down draft boards. The rookie RB will miss at least the first four games of the season, and Carolina is unlikely to rush him into a large workload before he is fully recovered.

I still think Brooks can be a valuable part of fantasy rosters down the stretch, but you definitely don't want to spend too much draft capital on a player who may not help you for multiple months. With his ADP now solidly into the triple digits, Brooks is approaching the territory where I would consider drafting him, but I would still encourage you to wait and see if he will slide past ADP in your home league drafts since he is listed as 'Out' on most draft platforms.

If you can stash him in an IR spot I actually don't mind spending a late-round pick on Brooks if he falls far enough in your draft. Having an ascending young RB hitting your lineup over the second half of the season can be the piece that puts you over the top to win your league. 

Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams

This one is a bit of a surprise as Corum was not going very high in drafts yet his ADP is nearly a full round later than it was a week ago. If anything, I expected Kyren Williams to be on the fallers list after news of his punt return duties sent Fantasy Football Twitter (X?) into something of a panic. 

Corum remains one of the most valuable handcuffs in drafts and has a shot to carve out more of a standalone role if he impresses early in the season. He isn't a priority target for me, but he's not a bad pick at his current ADP.

Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions

Another player I was surprised to see falling down draft boards is Lions WR Jameson Williams. The offseason drumbeat has been overwhelmingly positive for Williams, and Detroit should have one of the best offenses in the NFL this season. The team did sign Tim Patrick recently, but I don't expect that to impact Williams' role in a meaningful way. 

Fantasy managers are understandably nervous about Jameson Williams after the slow start to his career, but there is very little downside to taking a talented (and still young) WR in the double-digit rounds of your fantasy draft. At this price you'll be drafting him as a bench receiver so if he struggles for the first few weeks of the season you can cut him for the hottest name on the waiver wire that week. If he really has taken a step forward, he profiles as the kind of player who can single-handedly win you a week by delivering multiple long TDs. Don't be afraid to give Williams one more chance this season.

Anthony Richardson, Indianpolis Colts

Everything in Anthony Richardson's NFL career so far has been at the extremes. He showed an elite weekly ceiling as a rookie, but his season was cut short due to injury. This preseason he went from a near-perfect drive to throwing a pick-six. Richardson is a great litmus test for football fans vs. fantasy players because he is going to make plenty of mistakes this season, but he is also going to score a ton of fantasy points when on the field. 

In my opinion, Richardson deserves to be at the end of the elite QB tier due to his rushing upside and the fast paced offense he plays in. With this slide he is now going closer to Joe Burrow than C.J. Stroud, which makes Richardson one of my favorite QBs to target in drafts. I'm absolutely buying the dip and would encourage everyone else to as well. The goal is to win your league and Richardson can definitely help you do that. Let your leaguemates draft scared while you take Richardson and enjoy having one of the most exciting players in the NFL on your team.

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