We’ve made it through the preseason. Next stop: Real football.
FantasyPros analysts Mike Maher, Derek Brown, Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmaurice conclude a series of preseason roundtables by discussing the Colts’ quarterback decision, favorite injury stashes, last-minute advice for fantasy drafters and more.
Fantasy Football Roundtable
You can find the first four articles in our roundtable series here:
Fantasy Football Risers
Which player have you gained the most confidence in based on training camp and the preseason? Who are you much more comfortable drafting now than you were a month ago?
Mike Maher: I’m not the biggest Ricky Pearsall fan, but I do like his situation in San Francisco. With Brandon Aiyuk set to miss the beginning of the season and Jauan Jennings banged up, Pearsall could step in and be the No. 1 WR for this offense early in the year, at least in terms of target volume. And we know that as long as Brock Purdy stays healthy, this will be one of the better offenses in the NFL, with the ability to feed multiple playmakers.
Pearsall might be in the right place at the right time, and fantasy managers who pay attention to FantasyPros’ expert consensus rankings (ECR) should be able to get him in the right spot in their draft.
Pearsall’s overall ECR (76) is eight spots higher than his average draft position (ADP) right now.
Derek Brown: No, this isn’t me being a prisoner of the moment with Courtland Sutton and his 50% target share in Week 3 of the preseason. This is also related to Evan Engram‘s 64% route per dropback rate in that same preseason game, per Pro Football Focus (PFF).
If Engram isn’t going to play a full-time role and challenge Sutton for the team lead in targets, then Sutton will be the clear No. 1 receiving option in a Denver offense that I think takes another leap in 2025.
Andrew Erickson: A major question was whether Marvin Mims Jr. would play a full-time role in the Broncos’ offense entering his third year. That’s been the case throughout the preseason, making Mims a sleeper target in the double-digit rounds.
That said, Denver head coach Sean Payton hasn’t always carried over preseason usage to the regular season (via The Coachspeak Index), so be ready to pivot off Mims if Week 1 is accompanied by a lackluster role for the Broncos’ third-year speedster. But at ADP, I am willing to wait and see, because I like Mims’ upside in this offense. The Devaughn Vele trade can’t be ignored, as it opens up snaps for Mims and suggests the Broncos are happy with the developmental/growth of their young wide receiver corps.
Pat Fitzmaurice: It’s tempting to take a different Broncos receiver (Troy Franklin?) just to mess with DBro and Erickson. But, no, it’s Tyler Warren.
Warren has reportedly enjoyed a terrific first NFL training camp. He played nearly every snap with the Colts’ starters in his first two preseason games, and it looks like he won’t be coming off the field much. The Colts named Daniel Jones their starting quarterback over Anthony Richardson — a decision that probably bodes well for all Colts pass-catchers. And the hamstring injury receiver Josh Downs is dealing with could free up additional early-season targets for Warren.
Going into training camp, I had Warren ranked outside of the TE1 range. Now, I have him at TE9 and would be comfortable having him as my starting tight end.
Jonesing in Indy
Does the Colts’ decision to go with Daniel Jones as the starting quarterback over Anthony Richardson make you any more likely to draft Indianapolis players? If so, which Colt are you most interested in drafting?
Green Light on Colts
Andrew Erickson: Yes. Daniel Jones completes more passes and won’t be a threat at the goal line. Stock up for all Colts skill players.
Meh, Not So Much
Derek Brown: Nope. I didn’t move any Colts players in positional or overall ranking standings with the news. I have zero faith that Daniel Jones will force the Colts’ decision-makers to bump up the passing rate or hold the job for the entire season. It was a nothingburger.
Mike Maher: Not really. But also, maybe.
With Anthony Richardson, I would have concerns about every part of that offense. With Daniel Jones, I think he can be at least a competent passer as long as they can keep him upright. It won’t be great, but this raises the floor. Tyler Warren and Michael Pittman Jr. are more intriguing, but I’m still not going out of my way to target anyone in this offense.
Wheels Up for Warren
Pat Fitzmaurice: Tyler Warren, as noted above, although I probably would have been willing to draft Warren even if Anthony Richardson had won the job. I’m also more willing to draft Michael Pittman Jr. now. I’m not interested in Josh Downs, who’s going to lose target share as Warren asserts himself.
And just for the record, I think the decision to go with Daniel Jones over Richardson is absurd. The Colts drafted Richardson fourth overall, knowing he lacked the game experience most top quarterback prospects have. Now you’re pulling the plug on him after 15 NFL starts? If he flops again, so be it, but you have to find out immediately whether Richardson has a future for you.
Favorite Fantasy Football Injury Stashes
Is there an injured player worth drafting and stashing on injured reserve (IR) early in the season?
Pat Fitzmaurice: Darnell Mooney could miss some early-season games with a shoulder injury. He had a 93% snap share last year, and the Falcons didn’t make any significant offseason additions at wide receiver.
Mooney fell just short of 1,000 receiving yards last year. His FantasyPros Real-Time ADP as of this writing was WR54, 145th overall. At that price, he’s worth drafting and stashing.
Andrew Erickson: There are still a lot of players with questionable tags, and you might have to wait until Week 1 before you can stash them in an IR slot. But you can draft them instead of a D/ST or kicker and make the transaction prior to Week 1.
Take Tyjae Spears and stash him on IR. He was someone I was very high on before the high-ankle sprain as a third-year running back breakout. Spears was always going to be a stash behind Tony Pollard. And the Titans’ opening schedule features some tough defenses, so you wouldn’t be starting Spears anyway. But if Pollard disappoints, well, maybe Spears gets more run than most anticipate once he’s back healthy.
Mike Maher: I could maybe get down with stashing Brandon Aiyuk, but only if I can get him super late in drafts.
Aiyuk wasn’t having a great year last year, even before tearing his ACL, and now we have questions about when he is going to be ready to play and what his role in the offense will be when he’s back. Who knows, but maybe the return of Christian McCaffrey helps fix things in San Francisco, and there is more volume to go around. But FantasyPros has Aiyuk’s bust risk as very high, and I am inclined to agree.
I will roll the dice on Aiyuk as an upside stash, but only if I can get him super late in drafts. And someone else in my league is likely willing to take that swing 2-3 rounds before I am.
No Preferred Stash
Derek Brown: Unfortunately, not. Right now, all of the players with talent and a possible pathway to fantasy relevance in 2025 are looking likely to suit up for Week 1. This easily could change, though, so stay up to date with all of the news.
Last-Minute Fantasy Football Draft Advice
Here’s a chance to offer some final words to fantasy managers who have drafts in the coming days. Which one player do you most want to urge them to draft, and why? Which one player do you most want to urge them not to draft, and why?
Derek Brown: Tetairoa McMillan is the bet I’m making to be one of the players who will define the fantasy football season. He has the talent and opportunity to be this year’s Malik Nabers.
The vibes have been pretty bad around Judkins for weeks. He missed camp with off-the-field issues and remains without an NFL contract. Judkins was an interesting pick earlier this offseason before all of this surfaced, and he looked like a strong bet for volume on a bad offense.
With all of these precious camp reps missed, Judkins could be stuck in a three-way committee backfield in Cleveland even when he does finally suit up. At his cost in drafts, that’s not someone I’m interested in. The upside doesn’t justify the risk.
Pat Fitzmaurice: Draft Zach Charbonnet in the eighth round. The Seattle running game is going to be much improved this year under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Charbonnet is a good pass-catcher, too. He’ll have Flex value right away and will absolutely smash if Kenneth Walker III (not the most durable fellow in the league) were to miss time.
Don’t draft Trey McBride. The Cardinals must get receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. going, and a Harrison breakout season would likely mean a statistical haircut for McBride. Plus, McBride’s touchdown allergy dates back seven years to his freshman year at Colorado State. Bypass McBride in the late second or early third round and draft Omarion Hampton instead.
Mike Maher: Whether it be as a high-upside QB2 or your QB1 in a late-round quarterback strategy, J.J. McCarthy is going so late in drafts that he is essentially free. But we all saw the season Sam Darnold had last year in this offense, and folks, McCarthy is going to be a lot better than Darnold.
McCarthy has some rushing upside to boot. He’s currently QB20 in FantasyPros ECR, and that is just too low. Either double-tap quarterback with McCarthy as your QB2, or punt the position entirely until you start getting closer to his ADP and then snatch up the value.
Don’t draft Breece Hall. There is too much smoke coming out of New Jersey right now about Braelon Allen having a bigger role. Justin Fields should open things up for that running game, but even in a best-case scenario, Hall is sharing touches with Allen and losing red-zone touches to both Allen and Fields. Hall’s price is too expensive for those question marks.
Andrew Erickson: Drake London is the best click in round two and a dark horse to be the overall fantasy WR1 this season.
It seems obvious, but don’t draft Joe Mixon. Don’t fall for the “value” he might seem to be. He’s just going to burn a hole in your roster and be underwhelming even if he actually comes back. Friends don’t let friends draft Joe Mixon.
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