5 Fantasy Football Players to Draft BEFORE Their ADP Spikes (Ep. 2140)

August 19, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The FantasyPros crew—Alfredo Brown, Andrew Erickson, and Tara Roberts—spend this episode identifying five players they believe are undervalued relative to their current average draft position (ADP). The core argument is that drafters should be proactive, not reactive: waiting for a player to fall to their “correct” ADP often means missing out entirely. The conversation moves round by round, from early reaches to late-round dart throws, and each pick is defended with specific reasoning about role, opportunity, and upcoming context.

Round 3-5: AJ Brown and Josh Jacobs

Erickson opens aggressively, arguing that AJ Brown should be taken in the late first or early second round, not the early third where his ADP currently sits. He points to Josh McDaniels’ track record of feeding his alpha receiver—citing Brandon Marshall in Denver and Davante Adams in Las Vegas—and notes that Brown was far from washed last year; he was simply disinterested in a stagnant Eagles passing game. Even so, Brown finished as WR11 in points per game. Erickson emphasizes that the Patriots ranked fourth in pass rate over expectation last season and face a tougher schedule, which should increase passing volume. He also highlights Brown’s near-total absence from red-zone usage in Philadelphia (three end-zone targets all season) as a reason to expect touchdown regression upward in New England. “I think AJ Br

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What you'll learn

1 5 Fantasy Football Players to Draft Before Their ADP Spikes (Ep. 2140)
2 (00:28) **Show Introduction** - Hosts Alfredo Brown, Andrew Erickson, and Tara Roberts set up the show: five players to draft ahead of current ADP, skipping rounds 1-2.
3 (01:04) **A.J. Brown (WR - Patriots) - Erickson's Round 1-2 Reach** - Erickson argues Brown should be drafted at the end of round 2, not falling to round 3.
4 (03:56) **Josh Jacobs (RB - Packers) - Tara's Round 3-5 Pick** - Tara buys the dip on Jacobs despite legal concerns and last year's perceived down season.
5 (07:54) **Chris Godwin (WR - Buccaneers) - Tara's Round 6-9 Pick** - Tara targets Godwin as a bounce-back candidate at a round 8 ADP discount.
6 (12:19) **Jonathan Brooks (RB - Panthers) - Erickson's Round 6-9 Pick** - Erickson says Brooks should be drafted in round 6, not falling to round 7-8.
7 (16:39) **Rapid Fire Name Game** - Hosts compare Brooks to other running backs at similar ADP.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Which fantasy football players should you draft before their ADP rises?

Alfredo Brown, Andrew Erickson and Tera Roberts break down five players they are willing to draft ahead of ADP before prices climb during peak draft season.

The crew discuss why A.J. Brown has overall WR1 upside in New England, how Chris Godwin could become a major draft-day value if he is healthy in Tampa Bay, and why Juwan Johnson is one of the best late-round tight end targets in fantasy football drafts.

Timestamps (may be off due to ads):

Intro - 0:00:00
A.J. Brown’s WR1 Overall Upside - 0:00:32
Josh Jacobs as a Discounted RB1 - 0:03:27
Chris Godwin’s ADP Could Spike Soon - 0:07:27
Jonathon Brooks’ Rising Fantasy Value - 0:11:49
FantasyPros Draft Intel - 0:17:14
Juwan Johnson as a Late-Round Tight End Target - 0:17:50
Outro - 0:23:24

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