Our Fantasy LIVE crew hashed out their differences about a few players whose preseason hype may or may not have exceeded their fantasy average draft position (ADP). Check out what the guys had to say about a few players in the above video, while I share my two cents on these and a few more players below. So, what do you think -- are these players a summer fling or the real thing?
Summer fling:
Zac Stacy (ADP Round 4)
Terrance West (ADP Round 14)
Bishop Sankey (ADP Round 7)
Montee Ball (ADP Round 2)
Real thing:
Eric Decker (ADP Round 10)
Toby Gerhart (ADP Round 7)
Golden Tate (ADP Round 12)
Cordarrelle Patterson (ADP Round 6)
Zac Stacy (Summer fling): Marcas thinks the Rams running back won't be able to produce the same way this season as he did during the 2013 campaign for several reasons. Quarterback Sam Bradford is once again lost for the season with a torn ACL. St. Louis relied very heavily on the run game last year due to a slew of injuries and a lot of Stacy's output was solely based on volume. Although with his current Round 4 ADP, he poses decent RB2 value. Just remember that the NFL is a "what have you done for me lately" type of league, and there are viable options behind Stacy if he stalls early on.
Eric Decker (Real thing): Akbar thinks Decker is a summer fling, but I disagree mainly because his Round 10 ADP is so low. When Decker left the Mile High City for the Big Apple, his fantasy value automatically took a bit of a hit. He went from being the No. 3 option with the Broncos to the No. 1 option for Gang Green. He finished as a top 10 fantasy wideout with 11 touchdowns and over 1,200 yards last season and although he might not get double-digit touchdowns this year, he should see a ton of targets in a Jets offense that lacks reliable pass catchers.
Toby Gerhart (Real thing): Rank says Gerhart is the real thing, and I'm on his side. The 27-year-old rusher finally has his chance to prove that he can be used as a featured back in the NFL. While Jacksonville doesn't have one of the most prolific offenses in the league, Gerhart is in line for upwards of 300 touches which automatically means fantasy value. If you think you can wait on him until his current ADP of Round 7, think again. I've seen him go as high as Round 4 in several mocks and real drafts and he comes with RB1 upside.
Terrance West (Summer fling): When training camp started, the Browns rookie rusher seemed to be in a heated battle and had a shot to give Ben Tate a run for his money in the Cleveland backfield. Not so fast. Marcas thinks Tate has clearly won the No. 1 job, depleting West's value. The main concerns with Tate are his durability issues coupled with the fact that the Browns are going to run the ball a lot more than they're going to pass it. West could be an interesting late-round handcuff with virtually no risk at a Round 14 ADP.
Bishop Sankey (Summer fling): The Titans rookie running back has had a lot of playing time this preseason but hasn't shown Rank enough to prove worthy of his current Round 7 ADP. He's struggled in pass protection and he has two fumbles so far. Shonn Greene is the projected starter in Tennessee and there will likely be a committee approach in place that also includes Dexter McCluster. Sankey needs to do more in order to be a reliable fantasy option.
Golden Tate (Real thing): Believe it or not, the Lions finally have a legitimate No. 2 wideout to line up opposite of Calvin Johnson. Akbar has no doubt that he's the real thing. Last season in Seattle, Tate had career highs in receptions (64) and yards (898) and managed that in an offense that ranked second to last in the league in passing attempts. In Detroit's new offense run by OC Joe Lombardi (who comes from the pass-heavy New Orleans Saints), Tate is poised to exceed his 2013 numbers. And with Megatron attracting tons of attention from defenses on the other side of the line, Tate is an absolute steal at his current Round 12 ADP and has WR2 upside.
Montee Ball (Summer fling): Of the players being discussed in this article, Ball carries the highest amount of risk with a Round 2 ADP. After missing some time with an appendectomy, he recently returned to practice and might see some playing time in the Broncos final preseason game next week. Of course, he's got the fact of Peyton Manning as his quarterback going for him but there are questions about his ability to carry a season long workhorse type of load. It's only Ball's second year in the league and he just doesn't have a big enough sample size for me to risk taking him so early.
Cordarrelle Patterson (Real thing): One of the most hyped wideouts of the summer, the second-year breakout candidate is in a great position to put up huge fantasy numbers in 2014. He's emerged as the No. 1 option in the Vikings receiving corps. With Norv Turner running Minnesota's offense, Adrian Peterson keeping defenses on their toes and Patterson's full season of experience under his belt, 2014 just might be the perfect storm of oppoortunity in which he can produce well above his current ADP of Round 6.
Matt Franciscovich is an associate fantasy editor at NFL.com and he's sure that fantasy football is no summer fling. Or fall or winter fling for that matter. Spring is a different story. You can follow him on Twitter _**@mfranciscovich**._
