This will be our final review of the CBS Sports Average Draft Position data. Next week, we'll use the CBS ADP for a first look at the waiver wire to see who might be available to add prior to Week 1. For context, this ADP is from Aug. 28.
With NFL rosters now set and injured players on the PUP list or injured reserve to open the season, we should have a great idea of where to draft guys. But that doesn't mean you should blindly follow the ADP.
Using the ADP is just a guide. You never want to follow ADP directly for your drafts. The idea is to see where you can find potential value picks -- and players going too soon that you might want to avoid.
This will be the busiest Fantasy Football draft weekend of the year. For those of you still drafting, good luck.
Round 1 ADP
1. Christian McCaffrey
2. Breece Hall
3. Tyreek Hill
4. Bijan Robinson
5. CeeDee Lamb
6. Saquon Barkley
7. Amon-Ra St. Brown
8. Jonathan Taylor
9. Ja'Marr Chase
10. Justin Jefferson
11. A.J. Brown
12. Jahmyr Gibbs
McCaffrey remains the No. 1 overall pick, but we have a change from last week with Hall moving ahead of Hill for the second selection. Lamb, despite getting a contract extension and ending his holdout, dropped to No. 5 overall from No. 4 behind Robinson.
We'll see if Lamb moves up in the first round, but I still like Hill as the No. 1 receiver. I don't love Barkley at No. 6, and I would draft Jefferson and Chase ahead of St. Brown -- for now. Chase not practicing Wednesday is not ideal, so he could fall behind St. Brown in my rankings.
I also don't love Gibbs in Round 1, although I have moved him up in my rankings since he returned to practice this week after dealing with an injured hamstring. I would rather see Garrett Wilson in Round 1 over Gibbs.
Quarterbacks
Josh Allen (No. 21 overall) and Jalen Hurts (No. 22) are being drafted in Round 2, and Patrick Mahomes (No. 25) is right behind that duo in early Round 3. That's the range you should expect those three quarterbacks to come off the board, and it's too soon for me.
My favorite values at quarterback are Kyler Murray (No. 76), Jayden Daniels (No. 95) and Caleb Williams (No. 98), and I have all three of those guys ranked as starters. Murray is my No. 6 quarterback, and I would rather draft him than C.J. Stroud (No. 48), Joe Burrow (No. 56), Jordan Love (No. 57) and Dak Prescott (No. 66). I also like Daniels, my No. 9 quarterback, ahead of Love and Prescott.
Love is being drafted too soon in Round 5, and I don't love Prescott in Round 6. I would avoid both of those quarterbacks at that cost.
Brock Purdy (No. 86) is another quarterback I would avoid at his price, but I love the cost for Trevor Lawrence (No. 116 overall) and Will Levis (No. 188 overall. Those are two of my favorite sleeper quarterbacks this season.
Running backs
Kyren Williams is the No. 7 running back in ADP, and we'll see if that holds after Sean McVay said Williams will be the Rams punt returner. I don't think it's a big deal, but the Rams have offensive line concerns right now, so I moved Williams behind Isiah Pacheco, Travis Etienne and Josh Jacobs.
Kenneth Walker III (ADP of 38.1) is one of my favorite values right now, and I would draft him toward the beginning of Round 3. Some of my other favorite running backs in the top 100 overall picks based on ADP are Tony Pollard (75.9), Brian Robinson Jr. (78.5) and Javonte Williams (80.8). I will draft all three of these guys as No. 2 running backs.
Zack Moss (81.8) is being drafted ahead of Chase Brown (101.7), but I would rather chase Brown because of the upside (see what I did there?). I also love the value for Jaylen Warren (95.4) and Tyjae Spears (103.4), and both will be significant factors in their backfields.
Nick Chubb (85.3) and Jonathon Brooks (104.9) could see their ADP fall because both are out for the first four weeks of the season due to knee injuries, although I love the cost for Brooks right now. Jerome Ford's ADP (97.5) is on the rise, and we should see a spike for Chuba Hubbard (131.1) as well. I would draft Ford and Hubbard as early as Round 9.
Three other running backs that I plan to target late are Ty Chandler (140.9), Jaleel McLaughlin (143.9) and Jordan Mason (no ADP on CBS right now). All three could be difference makers this season, especially Mason as the new handcuff to McCaffrey with Elijah Mitchell out for the season.
Wide receivers
My favorite receiver value right now is Drake London (ADP of 33.8), and I would draft him in Round 2 since he should have a breakout campaign in Year 3 with an upgraded quarterback in Kirk Cousins. I also love where you can get Jaylen Waddle (46.8), Malik Nabers (60.4), George Pickens (61.2), Tee Higgins (65.0) and Rashee Rice (72.2).
Waddle is worth drafting toward the end of Round 2, and I would draft Nabers in Round 3. There's a definite risk with Nabers since Daniel Jones is the Giants' quarterback, but Nabers has league-winning upside, especially if you can draft him in Round 5 or 6.
Pickens has dropped slightly with his ADP because of the Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors to Pittsburgh, but that has made Pickens a potential steal in Round 5 or 6. And I love the upside for Higgins, who will hopefully be motivated for a new contract.
Rice's ADP continues to climb since it appears like he won't get suspended, and he's worth drafting as early as Round 4. Some of my other favorite picks based on ADP are Chris Godwin (84.9), Christian Watson (93.2), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (114.1), Rome Odunze (114.9), Marquise Brown (116.9), Jameson Williams (121.2), Brian Thomas Jr. (122.5), Khalil Shakir (125.6) and Josh Palmer (133.6).
I love to leave my drafts with a few of these receivers, and three of my favorite sleepers are Thomas, Shakir and Palmer. All three could potentially be the best receivers on their teams, and all three could be top-30 Fantasy receivers in 2024.
Tight ends
I still don't understand how Travis Kelce is being drafted in Round 2 as the No. 23 overall player, which is 13 spots ahead of Sam LaPorta (No. 36), 21 spots ahead of Mark Andrews (No. 44) and 29 spots ahead of Trey McBride (No. 52). I would much rather have McBride, and I don't expect Kelce to run away from the tight end field this season.
I love the value for Kyle Pitts (ADP of 74.4), and he should have a breakout campaign this season thanks to Kirk Cousins. Jake Ferguson is also a good pick at 86.7, and I'm surprised he's going after David Njoku (86.5). I think Ferguson has more upside than Njoku this season.
My favorite tight end value this season doesn't have an ADP on CBS right now with Juwan Johnson. He was recently activated off the PUP list while recovering from foot surgery, and Johnson could emerge as a low-end starter this year. The new offense in New Orleans should benefit Johnson, who could be No. 2 on the Saints in targets behind Chris Olave.