Scott Engel looks at players who are changing in fantasy value during the preseason.

Here's a look at players who are either climbing or falling in value based on recent preseason news and trends.

RISING

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Panthers: He scored twice in Carolina’s preseason opener, while highly-touted rookie Jonathan Stewart remained sidelined with a toe injury. Williams appears to be motivated by Stewart seriously threatening his playing time, whereas in the past he never seemed to have the determination to fully surpass DeShaun Foster on the Carolina depth chart. He is playing with a renewed sense of purpose, at least for now, and you should consider drafting him as a promising RB3 option.

Jerricho Cotchery, WR, Jets: The arrival of Brett Favre gives an instant boost to both of New York's starting WRs, especially the rising Cotchery, who posted impressive receptions and yardage totals last year. Cotchery is a solid possession receiver who can also make things happen after the catch, and he may prove to be Favre's most dependable target. He certainly will see a healthy boost in TD production from last year and be a fine WR2 in 2008. He hovers just around the top 20 right now at his position, in my estimation.

Ben Obomanu, WR, Seahawks: The loss of Bobby Engram pushes Nate Burleson into a No. 1 receiver role, which he may not be suited for, but also opens up another starting job. Courtney Taylor and Jordan Kent have already been mentioned as prime candidates, but Obomanu seems to be a bit more polished and ready to handle an expanded role than the other two. He runs pretty good routes and isn’t intimidated by starting-level defensive backs. Obomanu is a good final-round pick while you also monitor Taylor and Kent as possible free agent pickups. Obomanu caught four passes for 72 yards and a TD against the Saints in 2007.

Ben Utecht, TE, Bengals: More fantasy players may know about him now after he caught four passes for 34 yards and TD on Monday against Green Bay. Utecht is going to become a fine third option for Carson Palmer this season, and he is a superb value selection once the top 10 or so tight ends are off the board in yearly fantasy drafts.

Ray Rice, RB Ravens: Most hard-working fantasy players know about his climbing value, but I'm just here to confirm that Rice now becomes a more appealing upside selection with Willis McGahee's most recent knee problems. Not all "smaller" backs can be effective fantasy producers, but Rice's good vision and ability to make defenders miss can make him more outstanding than other guys his size (5-8, 205). He may not be consistent if asked to play more often, but he will have some good outings, for sure.

Marvin Harrison, WR, Colts: Okay, okay, I am still not crazy about him, and I did call him “Moises Alou with a football helmet” recently. Yet I cannot argue that his first appearance in a preseason game was somewhat encouraging. Still, an older receiver with recent problems in both knees does scare me, so I wouldn't draft Harrison earlier than the eighth round.  While a few weeks ago I wouldn't have considered him at all because I didn’t want the lingering worries, now, I can be somewhat comfortable with him as a third receiver on my fantasy team with some insurance behind him.

Robert Meachem, WR, Saints: This one is pretty obvious after his illustrious preseason opener. Yet with Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey, plus Reggie Bush being used as a pass-catcher, Meachem is going to get a lot of opportunities to break open often in 2008. Yes, he has been very quiet to this point in his career, but Meachem has a lot to prove and is playing in a very good passing game with a top-notch QB. He's a terrific pick as an upside receiver and will prove many preseason performances are meaningful.

Ricky Williams, RB, Dolphins: Ronnie Brown looks like he is going to be an injury risk in 2008, while Williams has been looking sharp, rejuvenated and more motivated during the preseason. He rushed for 31 yards on five carries in the exhibition opener, and he could see increased playing time at any point with new QB Chad Pennington keeping defenses honest. Williams is a very appealing pick as a third or fourth fantasy RB.

FALLING

Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seahawks: He can't carry the offense all by himself. Injuries have depleted his receiving corps and the Seahawks could have done better in revamping their running game during the off season. Hasselbeck looked sharp in the preseason opener, but now he falls from just outside the top five fantasy QBs to the bottom of the top 10.

Julius Jones, RB, Seahawks: Maurice Morris started in the team's preseason opener and clearly outshined Jones. Right now, it doesn’t look like Jones is set for the comeback year that some expected, and he is battling for playing time. I am simply going to avoid him on draft day, because he may split carries, may not start, and certainly won’t be much of a TD producer.

Darrell Jackson, WR, Broncos: I was backing him as a sleeper as recently as last week, but now rookie Eddie Royal has apparently passed him on the depth chart. Jackson still has the potential for a rebound year, but now I will wait to see how he performs early in the regular season as a possible free agent pickup rather than drafting him late.

Tatum Bell, RB, Lions: Not that his stock could drop much further, but Bell was ineffective in the preseason opener.  Now, he's running with Detroit's second-team offense. Just another friendly reminder that he is a wasted fantasy draft choice.

Greg Jennings, WR, Packers: Now that it is official that Favre is not returning to Green Bay, you can move him back down on your cheat sheets. Aaron Rodgers won't get him the ball deep nearly as often.

D.J. Hackett, WR, Panthers: Like Jackson, he suddenly finds himself on the wrong list this week. He has been struggling with more injury problems during the preseason, and he is about to officially lose the "sleeper" label while gaining further notoriety for being brittle.

Jonathan Stewart, RB, Panthers: Just so we're sure you saw the DeAngelo Williams scouting report above. Stewart has quickly gone from an upside selection to a first-year player who has fallen behind the pace of the rest of his teammates. He goes from fourth-rounder to sixth or even seventh rounder.

Marc Bulger, QB, Rams: He looked pretty bad in the preseason opener, without the support of a true quality running game and shoddier pass protection. Even when Steven Jackson returns, I still don’t want him as a starter with the poor blocking and shaky crew of receivers other than Torry Holt.

Scott Engel was the 2006 Fantasy Sports Writer's Association Fantasy Football Writer of the Year. You can e-mail Scott with questions or comments at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Comments (2)

Subscribe to this comment's feed