We've entered the stretch run of best ball season. While many grinders have been ripping drafts since February, there's still a huge contingent of fantasy football players who are starting their best ball journey now as a way of getting ready for season-long drafts.
That means lobbies will look different and drafts will be more volatile. There is, of course, the added volatility variable that comes with camp reports and preseason games. Every year we see major market movement this time of year as job battles start to get settled and injuries crop up.
It's important to keep historical context in mind. These late risers can often be fool's gold that drafters end up overpaying for. Heck, Amari Cooper got into the top 200 late in draft season last year before deciding that retiring was a better idea than playing for the 2025 Raiders. Smart guy.
Point being, we have to keep our heads on a swivel this next month. We can't be ostriches with our heads in the sand and ignoring all the non-injury news and market movement. But we also can't be goldfish-brained and jump on every hype case.
It's easier said than done, of course. There will be some swings and misses. What we'll do in this article is identify some players who are either already on the rise or could be on the rise in the coming weeks.
Best Ball Analysis: Late-Round Risers in Preseason
| PLAYER | POSITION | TEAM | ADP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrus Allen | WR | Chiefs | 194.1 |
| Ja'Kobi Lane | WR | Ravens | 196.4 |
| Pat Bryant | WR | Broncos | 198.5 |
| Terrance Ferguson | TE | Rams | 179.6 |
| MarShawn Lloyd | RB | Packers | 176.3 |
| Dontayvion Wicks | WR | Eagles | 180.0 |
| Mason Taylor | TE | Jets | 215.7 |
| Adam Randall | RB | Ravens | 215.8 |
Before we really dig in here, a quick disclaimer that De'Zhaun Stribling is now going too high to qualify. His ADP boom has already happened, moving up 34.2 spots since July 1 thanks in large part to Ricky Pearsall's season-ending surgery. He could still move up from his 137.3 ADP on Underdog, but most of the movement has already occurred, depending on what the electrical substation has in mind.
Cyrus Allen, WR, Chiefs
June ADP: N/A
August ADP: 194.1
Allen has crashed the party since Chiefs camp opened. He was an interesting late-round pick in rookie drafts this spring but wasn't on the best ball radar at all. The idea of a player with his profile contributing for a contender this year seemed almost impossible.
He parlayed his strong sophomore season at Louisiana Tech into a scholarship at Texas A&M, but he was largely lost in the wash there with just 18 catches in 10 games in 2024. Allen resurrected himself at Cincinnati with 51 grabs for 674 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2025 before a solid combine showing helped him land with Kansas City in the fifth round.
Allen hit the ground running in camp, generating all sorts of buzz from the Chiefs beat.
New story. In 3 days, Cyrus Allen has done more than the Chiefs could've expected. In fact, he has been more than just impressive. He has the Chiefs dreaming & recalculating what he could be in the NFL.https://t.co/MiUaYzzPqq
— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) August 1, 2026
Rashee Rice and Cyrus Allen both in 11-on-11s today. First time both have done that on the same day, IIRC.
Ashton Gillotte has headed to the training tent and is rehabbing on the side.
— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) August 10, 2026
Having Patrick Mahomes' trust is a pretty encouraging sign.
The Chiefs offense is a bit of a mystery this year. We've seen it work well with this core of Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice before, but both seem pretty volatile this year even at ADP. Xavier Worthy has yet to live up to the draft capital. The run game should be more prominent with Kenneth Walker in the mix and Patrick Mahomes coming off an ACL injury.
The oddsmakers have the Chiefs as the No.11-ranked scoring offense this year. It's going to take another player stepping up to get there. Now, we've seen hype cases like this flop before. We don't have to look that far back to remember guys like KeAndre Lambert-Smith or Jordan Whittington.
With Allen, though, his ADP is still reasonable. At 194, he's probably the last receiver on your roster or close to it. When you game out where he could end up, what's the stopping point where you wouldn't take him over the other closest receiver at ADP? The Dontayvion Wicks/Tank Dell/Antonio Williams tier in the low 180s? The Zachariah Branch/Malik Washington/Jerry Jeudy tier in the late 170s?
It may be a jarring number in terms of raw spots, but chasing ADP up from the 200s to the 170s is a lot different than the 170s to the 140s.
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Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, Ravens
June ADP: 213.3
August ADP: 196.4
As a lifelong Ravens fan, I always have a healthy amount of skepticism for pretty much any receiver the team drafts. Their track record in that regard is abysmal. So when the Ravens drafted both Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt this spring, I thought maybe one would contribute a little bit this year in the best-case scenario. It's still early, obviously, but Lane looks like he might be more than just a bit player this season.
In 27 years of covering the Ravens, I'm not sure I've seen a rookie have a training camp quite like wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane.
Every day, Lane produces a highlight-making catch. And today, he has Derrick Henry leaping in the air in celebration. pic.twitter.com/o86oFdqfmj
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) August 8, 2026
Drafters are certainly buying the hype. Lane has gone from a last-round flyer on Underdog to a fringe 16th-rounder with potential to climb even further depending how the rest of the preseason goes.
There's been a bit of cognitive dissonance from how the draft markets view the Ravens vs. how the oddsmakers view them. The Ravens rank second in implied points per game this season but only have one pass-catcher (Zay Flowers) drafted in the first 10 rounds. The market is relatively cool on Mark Andrews (11th round).
Obviously, there will be plenty of touchdowns on the ground between Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, but this ADP shape tells us either that we need to be drafting Zay Flowers a lot higher, or that one of these late-round WRs is going to crush their ADP.
I like Flowers plenty, but I'm more inclined to see what's behind door No. 3. This offense needs a bigger-bodied target with the ability to win at all levels of the field. Lane seems like the best bet among himself, Rashod Bateman, Elijah Sarratt and Devontez Walker.
Like Allen, it's completely possible that we see Lane enter the 16th-round discussion by the end of draft season. There's still time to get in on Lane and end up with some closing line value.
Check out our Fantasy Football ADP Report for a comprehensive tool with live-updated ADP data for multiple league formats and sites.
Pat Bryant, WR, Broncos
June ADP: 211.7
August ADP: 198.5
Slowly but surely, Bryant is getting some late-summer helium. The market seemed hesitant to go after any Bronco pass-catcher beyond Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton for pretty much the whole summer. Bryant, Troy Franklin and Evan Engram were last-round flyers on Underdog.
A buzzy camp has given the market confidence that Bryant can be that third option in this offense. There's utility to that. Bo Nix had the most pass attempts in the regular season last year and plays behind arguably the best offensive line in the league. Even if you're not a huge Bo-liever, that's the type of offensive environment that can support three options in the passing game.
Now, Bryant's rookie year numbers didn't exactly pop last year but they were fine enough for a third-rounder playing 38 percent of the snaps.
If he projects to get the type of route and snap share that Troy Franklin had a year ago while Waddle and Sutton soak up a ton of attention from the secondary, there's a path for Bryant to at least be a useful best ball pick at his current ADP. Barring an injury ahead of him, I don't foresee a huge jump from here for Bryant, but getting into the low 180s is possible.
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Terrance Ferguson, TE, Rams
June ADP: 203.0
August ADP: 179.6
I wrote about the Rams' 13 personnel usage earlier this summer and how they lapped the field in those formations. That creates an interesting dynamic where we will see more tight ends on the field for the Rams than other teams, but what will it mean for fantasy?
| season | team | plays | epa/play | total plays | pct | usage rank | epa rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | LAR | 388 | 0.214 | 1260 | 30.8 | 1 | 3 |
| 2025 | PIT | 135 | 0.08 | 1032 | 13.1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2025 | ARI | 115 | 0.108 | 1074 | 10.7 | 3 | 5 |
| 2025 | CHI | 123 | -0.055 | 1255 | 9.8 | 4 | 12 |
| 2025 | IND | 90 | -0.063 | 1011 | 8.9 | 5 | 14 |
| 2025 | CAR | 88 | -0.114 | 1059 | 8.3 | 6 | 17 |
| 2025 | ATL | 74 | -0.124 | 1036 | 7.1 | 7 | 21 |
| 2025 | KC | 71 | -0.122 | 1048 | 6.8 | 8 | 20 |
| 2025 | PHI | 69 | -0.082 | 1067 | 6.5 | 9 | 15 |
| 2025 | BAL | 60 | 0.069 | 956 | 6.3 | 10 | 8 |
The fantasy community has dubbed Ferguson as the one to target, as his ADP has risen almost 27 spots over the summer. It requires a little bit of projection because Ferguson ran just 164 routes last year and caught just 11 of 25 targets. But 11 catches for 231 yards and three touchdowns is still pretty interesting.
There's been buzz about Ferguson being the No. 3 target in this offense over the summer. If that's the case, there's a good argument that Ferguson should be going even higher. Depending on how the rest of the offseason goes, Ferguson could find himself leaping a couple more tight ends in the pecking order, such as AJ Barner, T.J. Hockenson and Dalton Schultz. With slides from Oronde Gadsden and Kenyon Sadiq, maybe Ferguson ends up ahead of them as well. That would equate to an ADP leap of almost 50 spots.
I like Ferguson plenty but I might start putting the brakes on my shares if he leaps the likes of Barner and Schultz. This is an offense that will be cycling through a lot of tight ends, and Puka Nacua and Davante Adams are going to soak up a huge percentage of the targets.
In PPR formats like DraftKings, I'm a little less inclined to go after Ferguson because the target floor looks murky. Still, I can't deny the per-catch upside, making him an appealing TE3 target in Underdog drafts.
MarShawn Lloyd, WR, Packers
June ADP: ~200
August ADP: 176.3
Green Bay's backfield situation is getting pretty interesting. The market has started to move on Lloyd in particular. Josh Jacobs is dinged up in camp and has a potential legal battle looming, though we've seen the NFL kick the can down the road on disciplinary action before.
Even so, the market is always looking for upside candidates at running back late in drafts. I understand the case for looking at a non-Jacobs option in Green Bay. Jacobs enters his age-28 season coming off of a year in which he had 13 touchdowns and nearly 1,000 yards in 15 games, but the explosiveness was not as evident as it was in his first year in Green Bay. He had just three rushes longer than 20 yards and no 100-yard games.
An argument could be made that it might be best for Green Bay to lighten Jacobs' workload a bit. The team has been waiting on Lloyd for two years at this point after injuries sapped his ability to stay on the field. If Lloyd is ever going to get going at this level, this has to be the year.
I've written about how, historically, it's really difficult to get hits at running back once you get past the 14th round. That's not to say we can't find those gems; we just need to have our eyes open about the type of bet we're making on late-round RBs.
I'm unlikely to chase Lloyd's ADP rise much further, but I don't want to go into the season with no shares, either. On Underdog teams where I'm taking a fifth running back, Lloyd profiles as one of the better last-stop saloons.
Other Players to Monitor
- Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Eagles (📈 12 spots to pick 180): The Makai Lemon rookie outlook is getting worse by the day, and Wicks stands to benefit. He's on a one-year, $12M deal and appears to be showing out in camp thus far. Even if Wicks' profile isn't all that exciting, having a clear path to targets is definitely working in his favor.
- Mason Taylor, WR, TE, Jets (ADP 215.7): The market seems to be cooling on Kenyon Sadiq, who is down about 20 spots since June, but it hasn't pushed up Taylor yet. That presents a nice buying opportunity on the second-year tight end in the last round. It won't take much for him to move into the top 200, especially if Sadiq's Week 1 status starts to come into question.
- Adam Randall, RB, Ravens (ADP 215.8): Will the new coaching staff put as much emphasis on Justice Hill as the John Harbaugh regime? I'm not so sure. Randall is still somewhat raw as a prospect given that he transitioned over from receiver in his last year at Clemson. But he's free in drafts and may work his way up the depth chart during the season. He'll be someone to monitor the rest of the month.
