The Flex: Your Sleeper Is Already Waking Up
The Snap
De'Zhaun Stribling is not hiding anymore. The 49ers rookie caught 7 of 8 targets for 63 yards in the preseason opener, and Yahoo ADP reacted like somebody pulled a fire alarm. He is now 130.8 overall, up 26.3 picks in one week.[1] ESPN's market had him outside the top 200 last week and inside the top 170 by Tuesday.[2]
The box score is the dessert. The role is dinner. Stribling worked outside and in the slot, and Yahoo's Hayden Winks now projects him into two-WR sets immediately.[3] Ricky Pearsall is expected to miss the season, while Christian Kirk has missed practice time. This is not a fourth-quarter hero bullying future insurance salesmen. This is a Round 2 rookie taking available starter work and doing something with it.
The easy sleeper window is closing. He is still affordable, but the room has the scent now. Do not pay for the whole breakout before it happens.
The Calendar Says
This is Preseason Week 3, with 21 days until the regular season opens on September 9.[8] The next date that matters is August 20, when Raiders-Texans and 49ers-Chargers start the week's slate.[4] Starters often sit now, so joint-practice reps, depth-chart order and early hooks beat a 90-yard fourth quarter against guys checking LinkedIn at halftime.
Around the League
Jonathon Brooks
Brooks is up 8.6 picks to 95.8 overall in Yahoo drafts while Chuba Hubbard is down 5.1 to 75.2 with a hamstring injury.[1] Paying two rounds more for the hurt back while the healthy one just started is how your league mate ends up explaining “veteran presence” in September.
MarShawn Lloyd
With Josh Jacobs out, Lloyd handled 5 touches on Green Bay's first 8 plays. His Yahoo ADP rose 9.5 picks to 132.1.[1] That is clean contingent value, first-team work first, price second, imagination nowhere in the equation.
Breece Hall
Aaron Glenn said Hall will miss 2 to 3 weeks with a groin strain but is expected back for the opener.[5] Before the injury, Hall played 10 of 11 first-team snaps in the preseason opener.[3] The workload signal was loud. The soft-tissue risk is louder today. Keep him on the board, not on autopilot.
Eagles Receivers
Philadelphia's updated depth chart lists DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon and Dontayvion Wicks as its three starting receivers.[6] Lemon is still the caution flag, not the buy. His Yahoo ADP has fallen 10.9 picks to 119.6 after two weeks sidelined by a hamstring issue.[1] A printed depth chart does not run a route.
Stock Watch
Climbing
De'Zhaun Stribling: Yahoo 130.8, up 26.3. The market finally saw the targets, but his projected two-WR-set role is the actual reason to care.[1][3]
Jonathon Brooks: Yahoo 95.8, up 8.6. Hubbard is week-to-week, and Brooks already showed starter usage. The backfield price gap is upside down.[1][5]
MarShawn Lloyd: Yahoo 132.1, up 9.5. Five touches on eight opening plays is not subtle. He is Green Bay's next man up until the Packers show otherwise.[1]
Slipping
Chuba Hubbard: Yahoo 75.2, down 5.1. A week-to-week hamstring issue plus Brooks' rise makes a seventh-round price feel like paying yesterday's bill.[1][5]
Kyle Monangai: Yahoo 104.7, down 8.7, after a hyperextended knee that is expected to cost him multiple weeks.[1][5] The double-digit rounds are reasonable. Round 9 is paying full freight for a player in rehab.
Makai Lemon: Yahoo 119.6, down 10.9. He is listed with the starters, but two missed weeks matter more for a rookie receiver than a PDF generated in the communications office.[1][6]
The Sleeper Shelf
De'Zhaun Stribling, WR, 49ers, Yahoo 130.8, RISING: Two-WR-set path, 7 catches, 8 targets, 63 yards. The shelf called it before the market sprinted 26.3 picks.[1][3]
Jonathon Brooks, RB, Panthers, Yahoo 95.8, RISING: Starter usage plus Hubbard's hamstring has turned a committee discount into a legitimate lead-back outcome.[1][5]
MarShawn Lloyd, RB, Packers, Yahoo 132.1, RISING: First-team touches put real teeth behind the Josh Jacobs handcuff case.[1]
Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, Ravens, Underdog 168, WR69, RISING: He moved 23 picks in one week after turning camp buzz into a 16-yard touchdown.[2][7]
Josh Downs, WR, Colts, Yahoo 105 overall, HOLD: The price is still playable, but Keenan Allen's arrival adds short-area competition. No victory lap here.[1][3]
Tyjae Spears, RB, Titans, ADP not re-verified, HOLD: The rotation thesis survives. No fresh price means no fake movement tag. We run a shelf, not a séance.
The Flex Call
Fade Jordyn Tyson before pick 120. Yahoo still shows him at 91.7, but the rookie is expected to miss roughly two months with a hamstring injury and could open the season on injured reserve.[5] A 28-pick discount is not dramatic. It is the price of burning a bench spot through September and possibly October.
Injury Desk
Yahoo's tracker reported Hall's 2 to 3 week groin timeline, Emeka Egbuka as day-to-day, week-to-week with a toe injury, Hubbard as week-to-week with a hamstring injury, and Monangai expected to miss multiple weeks with a hyperextended knee.[5] Todd Bowles would not commit to Egbuka for Week 1. That is uncertainty, not an absence declaration.
Sources
1. Yahoo Sports, biggest ADP risers and fallers as of August 18
2. NFL.com, 15 rookies worth a late-round pick
3. Yahoo Sports, Hayden Winks' rankings shifts after Preseason Week 1
4. ESPN, 2026 NFL schedule scoreboard
5. Yahoo Sports, NFL training camp injury report
6. Eagles Wire, updated depth chart for the Patriots preseason game