2020 Fantasy Football Design Prep: Ranking risers and fallers

You never want to put too much weight on training camp when preparing for your Fantasy football drafts, and that might be even more true than ever this year, when practices are closed to the public and media members are limited in how much they can actually divulge about what they are seeing. When all we have to go on are quotes and beat writer breakdowns of what’s going on, it probably makes more sense to just stick with your pre-camp priors.  

Well, for most players, at least. For example, while it may not matter too much that beat writers are saying Damien Harris or Cam Newton look like the best options at their position in camp, but it should matter a whole lot that both seem to be getting progressively more of the first-team reps in practice for Patriots. Whether a player has taken a big step forward is hard to tell even when we have preseason games going on, but we can certainly learn something about where a player is lining up, or how much more work he is getting than his competition.

We’re just over two weeks away from the start of the 2020 season, so it’s time to start finalizing your rankings ahead of Draft Day. Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, Heath Cummings, and Ben Gretch will be updating their rankings right through kickoff between the Chiefs and Texans to open the season, and with one week of real practices in the books for most NFL teams, here’s who they’ve moved up and down based on the news so far. 

Rankings risers

QB Risers

• Jamey: Cam Newton (Jamey’s rank: QB13) — If he’s the starting quarterback for the Patriots as expected — and can stay healthy — he has top-five upside.
• Dave: Tom Brady (Dave’s rank: QB8) — Every report out of Tampa Bay is glowing about Brady’s arm and acclimation into a new offense. Lots of positives about the offensive line, too.
• Heath: Cam Newton (Heath’s rank: QB13) — He looks like he’s establishing himself as the starter in New England. That makes him my first choice if I don’t get a top-12 quarterback.
• Ben: Cam Newton (Ben’s rank: QB13) — Looking progressively more likely to be the Week 1 starter, one of my favorite bold calls of the year is Newton could rush for double-digit touchdowns in this offense. 

RB Risers

• Jamey: Damien Harris (RB39) — With Sony Michel and Lamar Miller battling injuries, there’s a path for Harris to be the starting running back in New England for Week 1.
• Dave: Damien Harris (RB37) — There are really three: Harris, Antonio Gibson and Bryce Love. But only Harris has a pathway to being the first- and second-downs back for his team.
• Heath: Ronald Jones (RB25) — He got a small boost from Ke’Shawn Vaughn’s absence at the start of camp and Bruce Arians’ vote of confidence.
• Ben: Damien Harris (RB37) — Running back is where your rankings should be most malleable given how opportunity-dependent the position is, but no RB has risen more for me of late than Harris.

WR Risers

• Jamey: Preston Williams (WR42) — With every positive report for Williams coming off last year’s torn ACL, I continue to get more excited about him. He’s a top-100 overall player now.
• Dave: Preston Williams (WR45) — I started training camp with Williams off my radar. Can’t do that anymore! It sounds like he’s fully recovered from last November’s torn ACL.
• Heath: Henry Ruggs (WR47) — The fact that the Raiders are talking about playing him in the slot gives me more hope for his target share.
• Ben: Jalen Reagor (WR43) — The first-round rookie looks ticketed for an early role, and I’ve been a fan of his prospect profile all offseason. 

TE Risers

• Jamey: Chris Herndon (TE12) — He’s in a great spot with the Jets, who need playmakers in the passing game. I was excited for him before his disappointing sophomore campaign, but his breakout should happen in Year 3 in 2020.
• Dave: Chris Herndon (TE18) — I haven’t bought his hype in the past, but considering the late-round price tag, you could easily shrug him off if he starts the year slowly.
• Heath: Chris Herndon (TE15) — With all the Jets injuries it could be a very consolidated attack in New York. That helps Herndon, who is getting a lot of buzz.
• Ben: T.J. Hockenson (TE10) — Early comments from Hockenson about not being 100% have given way to a steady drumbeat of positive reports for my favorite late-round breakout tight end. 

Rankings fallers

QB Fallers

• Jamey: Tom Brady (QB11) — I dropped Brady to No. 11 just because I expect Matt Ryan and Drew Brees to have slightly more upside.
• Dave: Jimmy Garoppolo (QB25) — With all the injuries to the 49ers receiving corps, I’m finding less and less motivation to draft Garoppolo.
• Heath: Dwayne Haskins (QB29) — It’s hard to trust Haskins as your No. 2 quarterback with Alex Smith looking over his shoulder.
• Ben: Aaron Rodgers (QB15) — I don’t have a specific QB faller in camp, but other risers have slid Rodgers further down my ranks. I don’t see clear top-five upside anymore because of the offense and Rodgers’ declining mobility. 

RB Fallers

• Jamey: Melvin Gordon (RB19) — It’s looking more and more likely that Gordon is headed for a 50-50 split in touches with Phillip Lindsay, which makes it hard to draft Gordon before Round 4.
• Dave: Kerryon Johnson (RB50) — Knee braces? Admissions he’s not as flexible or quick as rookie D’Andre Swift? Swift drawing comparisons to Alvin Kamara? Pfft, I’m done with Johnson — and the Lions might be, too.
• Heath: Devin Singletary (RB28) — He is a No. 3 running back for me now and it sounds like he has his hands full trying to keep Zack Moss off the field. 
• Ben: Darrell Henderson (RB48) — A hamstring injury might cost him the rest of camp, and put him behind the 8 ball to start the season in a three-way backfield. 

WR Fallers

• Jamey: T.Y. Hilton (WR24) — I expect Hilton to be a solid value pick in Round 6, but his hamstring injury and the other mouths to feed in Indianapolis make it hard to get overly excited about a 30-year-old receiver.
• Dave: T.Y. Hilton (WR29) — In reading between the lines, I’m thinking an injury-plagued receiver with falling efficiency on a team with more offensive versatility than ever isn’t a good thing.
• Heath: Denzel Mims (Not ranked) — I had high hopes for Mims in his rookie year, but he’s missed too much time now. I’d only draft him in very deep leagues.
• Ben: Denzel Mims (WR68) — The case for Mims was largely built around early opportunity, but a camp injury has thrown that possibility into question.

TE Fallers

• Jamey: Jared Cook (TE17) — The addition of Emmanuel Sanders, the healthy return of Alvin Kamara and the fact that Cook was largely touchdown dependent in 2019 make him someone I’m mostly ignoring on Draft Day this year.
• Dave: Rob Gronkowski (TE12) — I’m getting the sense Gronk will be a red-zone weapon and little else, making him a touchdown-or-bust tight end who would be worse for full PPR than non-PPR. 
• Heath: Rob Gronkowski (TE9) — Gronkowski has taken a bit of a hit with all the positive reports about O.J. Howard. There may be too many mouths to feed in Tampa.
• Ben: Rob Gronkowski (TE13) — We’ve had little to go on all offseason, and with the latest being that he might not even be the Bucs’ clear No. 1 tight end, I’ve dropped Gronk outside my top-12 tight ends.