The NFL preseason is important to monitor from a fantasy football perspective. At the same time, individual player production should be taken with a grain of salt over merely exhibition contests. That being said, the purpose of this article is to assess players receiving preseason hype and determine if fantasy owners should buy or dismiss their praise for the regular season. A few of the names mentioned below are sleepers, while others are proven commodities. Regardless of experience level, it is imperative to determine if the buzz surrounding their names is warranted or unjustified. In other words, do any of the players deserve the hype that they are currently receiving? I answer that pressing question from a redraft and dynasty perspective in the information provided below.
2017 Draft Kit: View printable cheat sheets, sleepers & mistakes to avoid 
Rico Gathers (TE – DAL)
Similar to that of other success stories at the tight end position in the NFL like Jimmy Graham and Antonio Gates, Rico Gathers is a converted college basketball player who is making a run at a full-time career in football. The Baylor product is listed at 6′ 6″ / 285-pounds, which makes his upside mouth watering behind an aging Jason Witten in Dallas.
A concussion has derailed the Gathers hype train, but it is clear that the Dallas Cowboys have made it a priority to test the tight end’s skill set in the preseason. In fact, the 23-year old has registered receiving lines of 3-59-1 and 4-47-1 across two exhibition games thus far. In the process, he has earned respective target totals of 4 and 6 in each contest. The preseason is a small sample size to base significant merit off of, but the presence of Gathers as an enormous red zone target is undeniable.
Assuming that he is able to crack the 53-man roster, Gathers should be viewed as a flier in redraft leagues. While it remains unlikely that he contributes in the regular season, there are far less appealing options currently being drafted ahead of him with little to no path to fantasy relevancy. From a dynasty perspective, Gathers is a must-add off of the waiver wire if available based on his athletic profile alone.
Kenny Golladay (WR – DET)
As a third-round pick out of Northern Illinois, Kenny Golladay has been the beneficiary of offseason praise since the NFL Draft. The 6′ 4″ / 213-pound wide receiver owns an impressive collegiate resume with career receiving lines of 73-1129-10 (2015) and 87-1156-8 (2016).
In his first glimpse off preseason action as a professional in the NFL, Golladay recorded 3 receptions for 53 yards receiving and two touchdowns on merely four targets. After the performance, the 23-year-old became one of the most popular topics of conversation in the fantasy football community. In his second preseason game, the talented receiver came back down to earth with 1 reception for 6 yards.
Based on his level of success in training camp and the preseason, is Golladay’s level of hype warranted? For me, the answer is no. There’s no denying his talent or pedigree, but the wide receiver’s situation with the Detroit Lions is an entirely different story. Is it possible that Golladay continues to impress and is subsequently forced onto the field during the regular season? Of course. It is also reasonable to expect him to earn a smaller target share than established pieces in Detroit like Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, Eric Ebron, Theo Riddick and Ameer Abdullah.
All that being said, Golladay needs to be on the radar as a flier in redraft formats for 2017. In dynasty, he is arguably now worth a selection in the back-end of the first-round for rookie drafts. Golladay deserves the praise that he has generated, but expectations need to be tempered for the regular season.
DeVante Parker (WR – MIA)
As the center of offseason attention for the Miami Dolphins, it should come as no surprise that DeVante Parker is featured in this article. The entire organization has expressed nothing but positive words about the Louisville product, and he is firmly on the breakout radar for 2017.
At one point this offseason, Parker’s outlook appeared rather bleak after the loss of Ryan Tannehill due to injury. Miami then prompted to sign Jay Cutler, who could salvage Parker’s value after all. The duo’s first preseason action together was promising, as the 24-year-old wide receiver collected a reception for 16 yards receiving with a slew of big plays called back due to penalty. After the exhibition game, Cutler stated that he views Parker as a faster version of Alshon Jeffery.
Cutler’s statement and praise will undoubtedly have a positive impact on Parker’s redraft ADP, but it could simultaneously produce unreasonable expectations. Remember that under the direction of Adam Gase in 2016, Parker accrued 56 receptions for 744 yards and four touchdowns en route to a WR50 finish in PPR formats. While an increase in overall output should be expected because of Cutler’s presence, fantasy owners should tread with caution before labeling Parker as a surefire asset after a similar narrative was written in 2016.
Doug Martin (RB – TB)
Despite his required three-game suspension to begin the 2017 regular season, Doug Martin has been on the receiving end of praise from fantasy owners this preseason. A positive spike in value could also be linked to Martin’s personality on HBO’s television program Hard Knocks, as he has been featured as a centerpiece of the show. In an effort to win back the trust of fantasy owners, Martin will need to accomplish a lot more than simply entertaining viewers in 2017.
Across his five-year career to this point, Martin has been the definition of a boom-or-bust asset in fantasy circles. Outside of his two 1,400-yard rushing campaigns, the Boise State product has failed to eclipse 494 yards rushing in any other season. Martin’s durability and availability have also been prominent issues, as he has missed 23 regular season games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2013.
While the 28-year-old particularly impressed in his second preseason game to the tune of 30 yards rushing and a touchdown with two receptions for 11 yards, he is best viewed as a middle-round selection in redraft leagues. From a dynasty perspective, those with Martin shares should capitalize on the praise that he is currently receiving by selling high on the veteran tailback because of his volatile track record.
De’Angelo Henderson (RB – DEN)
As is often the case in the NFL, opportunity supersedes pedigree. So far this preseason, that’s precisely what De’Angelo Henderson has thrived off of due to the absence of Devontae Booker and Jamaal Charles in Denver. The former is recovering from a fracture in his wrist, while the latter has missed time in the preseason because of lingering knee issues. In the meantime, Henderson has tallied 84 yards rushing and a touchdown across two exhibition games.
Henderson was a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft, but leads Coastal Carolina’s school record books in carries (721), yards rushing (4,635) and rushing touchdowns (58). Production at any level of football should be noted, and Henderson’s is no exception. At the same time, his current praise is difficult to justify with C.J. Anderson in the driver’s seat for Denver’s starting running back position. In the event that Henderson is able to push for or secure backup duties for the Broncos, he is worth a dart throw in the later rounds of redraft leagues. In dynasty, the 24-year-old is certainly worth a roster stash based on the buzz that he has created so far this offseason.
Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Google Play | TuneIn | RSS
Cory Evans is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Cory, check out his archive and follow him @CoryEvansNFL.
