Fantasy Football Preseason Stock Report for Michael Thomas, Antonio Gibson, George Pickens, More

Obviously, we shouldn't overreact to preseason or training camp too much. Once these players start seeing live action, though, it would be silly to just downright ignore it.

Therefore, I'm highlighting players whose projections I adjusted in my 2022 rankings, which can be found here.

Fantasy Football Stock Report

Quarterbacks

Zach Wilson: DOWN

Wilson suffered a multi-week injury in Week 1 of the preseason. There was some concern it was potentially a season-ending ACL tear, so arthroscopic surgery was the best-case scenario for him.

Either way, his ADP should drop over the next week since his Week 1 status is in serious jeopardy. Also, his mobility and rushing upside might be limited once he can return.

If Joe Flacco has to start the first couple of games for the Jets, it shouldn’t impact players like Breece Hall, Elijah Moore or Garrett Wilson. I’ll be looking for their ADPs to drop over a potential Zach Wilson absence and get them at a discount.

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Running Backs

Antonio Gibson: DOWN

All of the concerns about taking him as a low end RB2 reared their ugly head during a 15-minute span:

Should you just fade him completely because of that 15 minute stretch? Of course not. But the risks in drafting Gibson at ADP are very real.

Keaontay Ingram: UP

In his preseason debut, Ingram posted a 7/27/1 and 2/10/0 line, flashing the potential he showed at USC.

Ingram was a sneaky sixth-round pick for the Cardinals and has enough talent where becoming the “Chase Edmonds role” in this offense is in his range of outcomes. Eno Benjamin currently owns the backup role, but this will be a volatile backfield, and we need to at least monitor Ingram as a potential high-upside backup.

You can see all of Ingram's Week 1 touches here:

Dameon Pierce: UP

In my RB Upside Ratings, I predicted Marlon Mack would begin the season as the “starter” in Houston, but that Pierce would eventually become the Texans' lead back.

After Pierce's preseason debut performance, that timeline may have sped up, and the rookie could be the Texans' Week 1 starter. The Florida product is talented enough to be a three-down back workhorse, and his physicality reminds me of a Chris Carson or Cam Akers kind of back who seeks contact:

Pierce is worth drafting once he falls outside of the top 35, but that’ll be tougher to do going forward as his ADP will likely shoot up.

Travis Homer: UP

Homer looked great in the first week of preseason action. I don’t think he’s a RB we need to target in any format, specifically. Still, it’s a reminder that neither Rashaad Penny nor Kenneth Walker will provide much receiving usage when this backfield is at full health.

Homer will probably see the most playing time on third down and in the 2-minute offense. His presence will be frustrating for managers who have either Penny or Walker.

Wide Receivers

Drake London: NEUTRAL

London injured his knee in his preseason debut. It’s considered minor and might knock him out of practice this week, but he should be ready for Week 1.

If anything, London's ADP could drop over this news, and I will gladly take him at a discount. He reminds me of a Mike Evans/Keenan Allen hybrid, and he’s the favorite to score the most fantasy points of all rookie WRs this season.

London might be held out for the rest of the preseason, so his ADP will likely be held in check. It’s probably a good thing your league mates won't get to see any more highlights from him before your draft.

Here’s his crisp 24-yard catch and run, which will probably be his only reception in the preseason.

Jamison Crowder: DOWN

Isaiah McKenzie and Khalil Shakir have been trending up, which means Jamison Crowder’s job security is on shaky grounds. It didn’t help that he had his lone target bounce off his hands for an interception:

Crowder was an appealing late-round flier because of his potential high-floor role in this offense. However, with his future role as a full-time player in question, I rather target other WRs with upside in his range.

Romeo Doubs: UP

The hype for Doubs has been building up the past couple of weeks. After this 33-yard TD from Jordan Love, his ADP is going to shoot up even more.

Doubs is certainly worth a flier in the WR65 range since he could become Aaron Rodgers' No. 1 or 2 target with a wide-open depth chart after Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling left Green Bay.

I still think Lazard offers the most value in the WR40-45 range since he will likely be Rodgers’ top target this season, especially in the red zone.

Michael Thomas: UP

Michael Thomas has been dominating at camp, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it does mean that he likely entering the 2022 season at or close to 100% health. His ADP has been held back due to concerns about his health, but it’s trending upward with glowing reports of him at camp.

George Pickens: UP

George Pickens was one of the starts of the first week of the preseason, and I was getting *Cris Carter vibes from him based on a couple of nice grabs he made along the sidelines. He still has a long way to go to become a Hall of Fame-caliber wideout like Carter, but I liked what I saw in his debut.

Pickens' draft stock will shoot way up this week, but he likely needs an injury to either Diontae Johnson or Chase Claypool to offer consistent WR4/Flex value. Still, it's clear he has a bright future. He was a first-round talent, and the only reason he went in Round 2 was his junior year at Georgia being limited due to his ACL recovery and off-the-field concerns.

Pickens is worth taking a flier on if he falls outside of the top 60 at WR, but the odds of him lasting that long are lower after this week.

Tight Ends

Isaiah Likely: UP

Likely has been making noise in camp, and it translated onto the field with a 4/44/0 performance in his debut. The Ravens haven’t had a good No. 2 TE since Hayden Hurst left, so they may have a reason to run more 2-TE sets this season with a weak WR room and a talented rookie TE in Likely. He might be a TE2/3 option if Mark Andrews ever missed time.

In the meantime, we can salivate over his potential upside:

Mike Gesicki: DOWN

The Dolphins have been using Mike Gesicki more as a blocker in camp, which would be devastating news for his fantasy value if he runs fewer routes in the new scheme.

The arrival of Tyreek Hill is going to lower Gesicki’s target share, but a dip in routes run rate would drop Gesicki from the low-end TE1 range to a mid-range TE2.