5 Players Moving Up: Preseason Week 2

Photo: Joe Nicholson, USA Today Sports

Assuming a player's regular season trajectory based on one preseason game is tricky. It's a minuscule sample size that barely represents the entire picture. But fantasy football is a game that takes place over the course of 18 weeks. Everything is a small sample size. A fantasy team’s manager is responsible for moving and evolving with each data point. Does one overreact, react normally, or underreact? Helping you respond accordingly is what this article is intended to do. Here are this week's preseason risers.

WR Christian Kirk, Jacksonville

Christian Kirk is the presumed WR1 on the Jacksonville Jaguars going into the 2022 regular season. His hefty contract indicated that he was a priority for a team undergoing an offensive overhaul. Doug Pederson is now the head coach of the Jaguars, but served as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for five years. He never produced a WR1 during his entire tenure there. However, a significant development occurred during the Jaguars' preseason game last week. Kirk was targeted on a ludicrous 36.3 percent of his routes run. For reference, during the regular season, elite wide receivers are targeted on 24 to 30 percent of their routes run. So regression is expected. The last time Pederson had a wide receiver corps comparable to his current corps was in 2017. The WR1 that year was targeted on 21 percent of his routes run.

Additionally, Pederson's offense favors the tight ends. Tight ends during Pederson's tenure either ranked first or second in the league at the position. This is an Evan Engram nod. Regardless, last week’s showing should be a significant nod to Kirk's established role as the WR1 in the Jaguars' offense. Kirk is currently wide receiver 41 in redraft leagues with an ADP of 93. That is an outstanding value. Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars' offense is on the rebound. Lock him into your drafts as a priority pick in the later rounds when searching for wide receiver depth.

RB Dameon Pierce, Houston

Well, that didn't take long. After only one preseason game, Dameon Pierce has secured the RB1 spot on the Houston Texans. Pierce is still an incredible value going into the eleventh round of drafts. However, that is sure to rise as the preseason unfolds. Regarding Pierce's 2022 utilization, during Lovie Smith's tenure as a head coach with the Chicago Bears from 2004 to 2012 and The Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014 to 2015, starting running backs were accustomed to seeing over 220 carries per season. Additionally, Matt Forte averaged 70.6 targets per year under Smith. Even if Pierce's ADP rises to the fifth round, he should be considered safe to draft. Feel free to go ahead and pull the trigger on Pierce as a rock-solid RB2 for 2022.