Two of my favorite things are Best Ball and DRAFTERS, and each week this offseason, I want to share with you my insights on both. With DRAFTERS releasing their main event tournament, excitement has been growing each day ever since. Each week, I want to break down what has changed from the previous week regarding NFL news, Best Ball news, and the top ADP Risers and Fallers on DRAFTERS. It's useful to compare Best Ball to the stock market and day trading stocks, but instead of stocks, we are looking at NFL players, specifically those players' Average Draft Position (ADP). We are constantly seeking to identify players of value in our drafts and avoid those who might be overvalued.
Each week, I will use updated DRAFTERS data to show the APD movement of the top risers and fallers on the site. ADP is often driven by the news that week and what some of the major touts in the industry might be saying about said players, and the result will be a shift in the ADP market
Let's look at last week's data (7/1-7/8) and find the top 10 Risers and Fallers for the past week:
DRAFTERS Weekly Best Ball Risers
Top 10 Risers
| Position | Player | Team | ADP Rise |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE | Juwan Johnson | NO | 3.0 |
| RB | DJ Giddens | IND | 2.3 |
| RB | Will Shipley | PHI | 2.2 |
| RB | Rico Dowdle | CAR | 2.0 |
| WR | Joshua Palmer | BUF | 1.8 |
| WR | Tee Higgins | CIN | 1.7 |
| RB | Brashard Smith | KC | 1.6 |
| QB | Dak Prescott | DAL | 1.6 |
| TE | Harold Fannin Jr. | CLE | 1.6 |
| RB | Chuba Hubbard | CAR | 1.5 |
Other names on the rise (11-20 ADP Risers): Zack Moss, Savion Williams, Geno Smith, Darius Slayton, Isaac Guerendo, Elijah Arroyo, Patrick Mahomes II, Cam Skattebo, Tyler Warren, and Pat Bryant.
The Risers Takeaways: We have five running backs in the risers this week with DJ Giddens, Will Shipley, Rico Dowdle, Brashard Smith, and Chuba Hubbard. Outside of Hubbard, these are all RB2/3 types, and as we are in the middle of summer, we are seeing more of a thirst for going wide receiver position early and falling back on some of the later-round running backs. Shipley and Dowdle look like solid values here with the rookies Giddens and Smith being more of pure dart throws.
At quarterback, we have Dak Prescott as the lone riser, and this comes off the news that he is fully healthy and ready to roll for 2025. The fact that the Cowboys don't have a legit running back makes you think that the passing game could be the focus in 2025, so it makes sense to see a rise in ADP for Prescott. We have two tight ends on the list this week with Juwan Johnson and Harold Fannin Jr. Both of these players are heading into the season with bleak outlooks for their teams and with not a strong core of players are the wide receiver position so that could be a reason we are seeing them rise up the draft boards. We only have two wide receivers on the riser list this week. One is Joshua Palmer, who is stuck in a weird ADP position in drafts, as not a lot of WRs have a similar ADP, so if you need a WR in that range, he seems to get bumped up. Tee Higgins is an interesting riser, as there has been little news to push him up the boards other than the fact that the Bengals look to be a pass-happy offense once again.
Out of the risers this week, I want to target Johnson, Shipley, Dowdle/Hubbard, Prescott, and Higgins. I am happy to slightly fade Giddens, Palmer, Smith, and Fannin as they rise up the board.
DRAFTERS Weekly Best Ball Fallers
Top 10 Fallers
| Position | Player | Team | ADP Fall |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE | Cade Otton | TB | -2.3 |
| TE | Dalton Schultz | HOU | -2.3 |
| QB | Jaxson Dart | NYG | -2.1 |
| RB | Blake Corum | LAR | -2.1 |
| WR | Darnell Mooney | ATL | -1.9 |
| RB | Tyjae Spears | TEN | -1.9 |
| WR | Jack Bech | LV | -1.9 |
| WR | Travis Hunter | JAC | -1.9 |
| RB | Kareem Hunt | KC | -1.8 |
| TE | Darren Waller | MIA | -1.8 |
Other names on the fall (11-20 ADP Fallers): Tre Harris, Hollywood Brown, Quentin Johnston, Pat Freiermuth, Ray-Ray McCloud III, Kyle Williams, Bhayshul Tuten, Tua Tagovailoa, Austin Ekeler, and Michael Wilson.
The Faller Takeaways: We have some veteran tight ends in Cade Otton, Dalton Schultz, and Darren Waller in the faller section this week. Waller, who just signed with the Dolphins a week ago, is already leveling out his ADP as he took a big spike up, but now drafters realize that they might have been too high on him on the jump. Jaxson Dart, Jack Bech, and Travis Hunter are this week's rookies who are seeing a fall. Rookies tend to fluctuate in ADP as the summer progresses, as we don't have a lot of information on them until we actually see them in game situations. Hunter is interesting as he has more hype than any other rookie entering the season, but with his dual position eligibility, it has drafters second-guessing.
The interesting names on this fallers list for me are Darnell Mooney and Tyjae Spears, who I think both are great picks right now, but the fact that we might get a slight discount on them makes it even more appealing. Blake Corum is another player I have a slight interest in, particularly in the context of Drafters and the 20-round drafts. I think he can fit in nicely as your RB6 in Round 20 to give you some injury leverage later in drafts. Kareem Hunt is the last name on the list, and to me, the Chiefs running back room is 4-5 backs deep and just not worth the headache of a draft pick outside of Pacheco.
Weekly News and Notes
- RB Najee Harris LAC - Expected to be ready for the season after "superficial" eye injury.
- WR Demarcus Robinson SF - Pleads no contest to DUI charge. Still could face suspension from the NFL.
- RB Kyren Williams LAR - Looks more explosive heading into 2025.
- RB Joe Mixon HOU - On track to be ready for Training Camp.
- WR Calvin Austin III PIT - Remains the WR2 on the Steelers' depth chart.
- RB Kimani Vidal LAC - Fighting for RB3 role in LA.
- RB Jaylen Wright MIA - Likely to see a bigger role.
- TE Tyler Conklin LAC - With Will Dissly ahead of him and Oronde Gadsden II newly drafted, the TE room will be crowded.
- QB Dak Prescott DAL - Declared himself fully healthy and ready to go.
- WR Jermaine Burton CIN - Is rebounding nicely, according to Bengals beat writers.
Best Ball Industry News
Drafters - Drafters released a $2.5 million Best Ball tournament with a $20 entry fee and a top prize of $500,000. It is currently 31,800/140,004 full, and has seen 3,300 new entries in the last week.
Drafters has also released their $3 Best Ball Championship Mini II, which is now 12,000/46,140 full, and it has a $25,000 prize to first place.
Author Bio
I have been playing Best Ball for six-plus years now and have learned valuable lessons along the way. I want to share that knowledge with our customers at Footballguys.com. My name is James Brimacombe, and my username on DRAFTERS and around the various Best Ball and DFS sites is "Eaglezzz". I will be honest with you each week as I try to help guide you on your own personal Best Ball journey in 2025. I have made mistakes over the years, but have also done a few things correctly. I will always share my knowledge from both perspectives. You can always follow me on Twitter as I share my Best Ball thoughts there daily and am always happy to answer questions via replies or DMs. You can follow along here @JamesBrimacombe.
New users at DRAFTERS: use promo code "FOOTBALLGUYS" for a 100% deposit match up to $100. Have fun, and see you in the lobby!
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