Fantasy Football Players On the Rise as the Season Nears: Ollie Gordon, Ricky Pearsall, Tyler Warren and More

As the NFL regular season nears, fantasy football drafts really pick up.

If you have still not drafted, I'm here to point out some risers and fallers on the FantasySP Average Draft Position list. We'll cover risers in this story, then get the fallers in another article.

Let's dive right in!

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Quarterbacks

Daniel Jones is the biggest riser, up nearly 16 picks to pick 251.71 on average.

It's easy to see why he's on the rise after he was named the Colts' starting quarterback over Anthony Richardson Sr. Jones is just a deep-league fantasy asset, but could be streamed near the start of the season in the right matchups.

Joe Flacco is up about four picks, and is going near pick 161 on average.

He was named the Cleveland starting quarterback, so it makes sense to see him on the rise as well. Flacco is another deep-league option only, but could be a decent draft pick if he holds the starting spot for most of the year.

Running Backs

Chris Rodriguez is a big-time riser on the ADP list at the RB spot. He's up 191 picks, but is still at pick 277 on average.

He's on the rise after Brian Robinson Jr. was traded away. Rodriguez now is probably second in line for carries out of the backfield, behind only seventh-round pick Jacory Croskey-Merritt (who is up nearly 56 picks to pick 101.71 on average).

Both guys could factor into the ground game, while Austin Ekeler is more of the pass-catching catching back for the Commanders. Ekeler is up about four picks, and is going at pick 109.29 on average.

This backfield isn't set in stone, and it might take weeks before we have an idea on how things are going to look. It makes sense that all three guys are on the rise, and I'd expect their ADPs to keep improving before the season kicks off.

Miami's Ollie Gordon is up nearly 28 picks to pick 166.43 overall.

He could start the season as the team's No. 2 back as Jaylen Wright works through an injury. De'Von Achane is the starter, and has already dealt with an injury of his own, so Gordon is looking like a sneaky good option early on as the Dolphins look to manage the injuries for the top-two backs on the depth chart.

With a late redraft standard league pick, I think it makes some sense to take a swing on Gordon. There's not much risk involved, and you could walk into a fantasy gold mine if Wright and Achane are banged up and missing time this season. Stash Gordon on your bench for the time being.

Wide Receivers

Roman Wilson is a notable fantasy wideout on the rise over the past week. He's up nearly 12 picks to 263.57 on average.

He's still just a deep-league option, but he appears to be in line to start alongside DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin III. On a Steelers' offense desperate for playmakers, Wilson could turn into a decent fantasy asset in time.

He'll be a deep-league option until he proves it, but I'd be willing to take him in some deeper fantasy setups. Wilson is a player to keep tabs on early in the season, as he could be a standard league waiver wire add or streaming option in a hurry.

San Francisco's Ricky Pearsall is up about four picks and going near pick 81 on average now. 

He might lead the wideout room early in the season with Brandon Aiyuk out and Jauan Jennings injured as well. Russell Gage Jr., Jordan Watkins (who is also nursing an injury) and Skyy Moore are the team's other wideout options to kick off the season.

Pearsall did some nice things in his rookie season and has a chance to separate himself at WR1 in San Fran with a good start to the season. He and tight end George Kittle (38 ADP) will star for the offense, at least early on.

Draft Pearsall as a fourth fantasy wideout and you have a legit starting option for at least the start of the year. He could turn out to be one of the bigger fantasy draft steals by the end of the year if he really takes off.

Tight Ends

Tyler Warren and David Njoku are both slightly rising as the season nears. Warren is up nearly four picks to 92.29 on average, and Njoku is up two picks to 91.57 on average.

Warren has been steadily rising pretty much since the start of the preseason. He figures to be pretty heavily involved offensively for a Colts' offense searching for playmakers outside Jonathan Taylor.

Warren could thrive with Jones at quarterback to start the year, and he could remain as a big part of the team's offense even when/if they go back to Richardson. I like him as a checkdown option, and a pass catcher who offers something different than any wideout on the team does.

I'm fine even getting Warren as my starting fantasy tight end for the season. I'd draft another guy after him as well, but I really believe the rookie is going to deliver a big fantasy season.

Njoku has been underrated in my eyes pretty much all year. Cleveland doesn't have many playmakers around either, and with Flacco at quarterback, I could see Njoku delivering really good numbers inside this offense.

Give him a draft pick near his ADP, or after, as he still drops in a lot of my fantasy drafts or mock drafts. Njoku has top-end fantasy upside and could lock down the position every week for you.