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ADP Movers in Fantasy Football: JCM is Rising!
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Fantasy football is heading into the last week of the offseason! This is the last week that I’m tracking the fantasy ADP (Average Draft Position) movers. We’ve got some big-time movers this week, so let’s take a look at what can give you an edge for your draft.
With the NFL season kickoff just a little over a week away, many fantasy managers are wrapping up their drafts this week. Camp is wrapping up, and we just finished the final week of preseason. There are a lot of key takeaways in this week’s ADP movers.
A few trades have taken place that shifted NFL depth charts. We’ve got a couple of movers affected by those trades, along with a few guys who got some injury-related news.
Please keep reading to get what you need to know in my last ADP Risers and Fallers article for this season! Need more consistency? Sign up today to get full access to all the tools available at BGFS!
Fantasy Football ADP Updates (with consistency) – 8/25/2025 Fantasy Football: ADP
RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt WAS ADP Movers.
Probably the hottest topic on fantasy X (formerly Twitter) over the past week or so has been the Washington Commanders RB1 spot. After trading Brian Robinson Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers, the hype train took off for Jacory Croskey-Merritt!
Croskey-Merritt was drafted by the Commanders in the 7th round of this year’s NFL draft after he transferred from New Mexico to Arizona last season. Unfortunately, he was limited to only playing one game during the regular season (due to eligibility issues). He played well in the East-West Shrine Bowl this past January, and he showed enough to be drafted late.
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(ADP +55.0, pick 115.2, Rostered 58.8% on ESPN redraft/snake)
Playing for New Mexico in 2023, Croskey-Merritt ran for 1,190 yards (6.3 YPA), collecting 18 total touchdowns along the way. In the only game he played last season for Arizona, he had 106 yards rushing (8.2 YPA) and a touchdown.
With Robinson gone, most are assuming that Croskey-Merritt is going to take over the RB1 spot in Washington. He’s the biggest amongst ADP movers this week, up over 50+ spots. He’s being taken around where Robinson was before this week, at pick 115 in fantasy drafts. I have a few shares of Croskey-Merritt in dynasty leagues, and I’m okay drafting him in the 9th or 10th round in redraft leagues. If he keeps moving up, though, I’m out.
RB Brian Robinson Jr. SF
The domino effect of the trade, as mentioned above, has Brian Robinson Jr. moving down in ADP this week. He’s actually down over 40 picks due to the thought process that he lost his RB1 job and now is relegated to a bench player.
I do agree that moving from the starting position to a backup role should lower his ADP, but I think this is a bit of an overreaction. Robinson moves to the San Francisco 49ers, a team that’s notoriously had productive running backs. For the 49ers, Robinson will be the direct handcuff to Christian McCaffrey.
(ADP -41.9, pick 147.1, Rostered 68.5% on ESPN redraft/snake)
Robinson was RB30 this past season in points per game, splitting time with Austin Ekeler (the pass-catching back). He averaged 11.4 points, just ahead of Zach Charbonnet and, ironically, Ekeler, who both averaged 11. Despite splitting time with Ekeler, Robinson managed to be quite consistent. His 64% Clutch Rate (CR) was good for 21st overall amongst running backs.
Robinson has a high ceiling in an offense where Jordan Mason averaged 17.1 points per game over the first four weeks when he filled in for McCaffrey last year (he missed 13 games last year). The 49ers will want to keep McCaffrey healthy over the season, which could lead to standalone value for Robinson as well. In the 12th round, I’ll take a chance on Robinson as a high-end handcuff.
RB Austin Ekeler WAS
This is the third ripple effect of the Robinson trade. Austin Ekeler was the primary pass-catching back for the Commanders last season. With the trade of Robinson and the draft capital worry of Croskey-Merritt, some believe Ekeler takes on more of an RB1 role this season.
Ekeler averaged 11 points per game and was tied for RB31 last season (with Zach Charbonnet). Last season, he played in 12 games, but he only received 10+ carries in two of them. In those two games, he averaged 17.7 points, which would’ve made him RB6 for the season, just ahead of De’Von Achane (17.6).
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(ADP +22.0, pick 112.3, Rostered 78.7% on ESPN redraft/snake)
Robinson had a 64% CR last season, but Ekeler outperformed him in consistency at 67% (8 of 12 games). Ekeler has averaged over 4 receptions per game for his career, and he’s only a couple of years removed from scoring 18 total touchdowns (2022). Even splitting time last year, he still averaged 61.1 yards per game from scrimmage.
There is certainly concern over Ekeler’s advanced age; he’s 30 years old. But last season, we saw several other “older” running backs turn back the clock; Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Alvin Kamara all finished as RB5 or better in points per game. With his potential upside, I’d prefer to draft Ekeler in the 9th round ahead of both Croskey-Merritt (9th) and Robinson (12th).
TE Tyler Warren IND ADP Movers.
Many fantasy managers are facing the dilemma of when to pick a tight end this draft season. With the top 3 tight ends being uniform across the board (Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and George Kittle in some order), it’s important to find some value later on in drafts. Insert Tyler Warren, the Indianapolis Colts’ 1st round pick, 14th overall, this year.
While at Penn State in 2024, Warren had several accolades. He was named the Big Ten Tight End of the Year while being a second-team Associated Press All-American. His 7th place Heisman Trophy voting finish was the highest for a TE in almost 50 years (1977, Ken McAfee finished 3rd).
(ADP +22.9, pick 102.6, Rostered 82.6% on ESPN redraft/snake)
Warren finished tied for second in receptions in the FBS last year with 104. He has 1,233 receiving yards to go along with 8 receiving touchdowns. His finalist voting for the Paul Hornung Award (the most versatile player) was largely based on the fact that he also threw a touchdown and rushed for 4 more touchdowns (218 rushing yards, 8.4 YPA).
Warren joins a slightly crowded receiving room in Indianapolis; however, he has the talent to rise above them. With the potential to be in the top 2 for targets on the Colts this upcoming season, he’s a great 8th-round pick at TE if you missed out on the top 3 guys. Fantasy managers are catching on as he’s among the top ADP movers this week (+22 spots).
WR Michael Pittman Jr. IND
Speaking of the Indianapolis Colts’ receiving room, the returning alpha WR from last season, Michael Pittman Jr., looks healthy. He played with a back injury (broken back) and Anthony Richardson, 11 starts, 47.7% completion, as his quarterback last year.
This season, the Colts brought in Daniel Jones and have already named him the starting quarterback for the season. That should improve the quarterback position, and all reports indicate that Pittman is going to enter the season healthy. His 111 targets last season were the lowest since his rookie year. In the previous three seasons, he averaged 142 targets and 99 receptions.
(ADP +20.5, pick 104.7, Rostered 81.5% on ESPN redraft/snake)
Last year was rough for Pittman; however, he still ranked as WR48, at 10.4 points per game. In 2023, he was WR15, averaging 15.3 points per game (would’ve been good for WR17 last year). His CR, like the rest of his stats, suffered last season at 38%. When healthy, though, in 2023, he had a 75% CR.
There is plenty of target competition this season for Pittman with Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, Adonai Mitchell, and the rookie TE, Tyler Warren. However, Pittman has shown in previous years that he’s an alpha WR who’s capable of being a target hog. With Jones at QB, I’m willing to take a shot on a Pittman rebound season in the 9th round.
RB Joe Mixon HOU ADP Movers.
I’ve written about Joe Mixon twice in the last 3 weeks, here and here. The biggest question mark has been the health, and we haven’t been getting any news until now.
The Houston Texans transferred Mixon to the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list on Monday. This guarantees that Mixon is going to miss at least the first four games of the 2025 season.
(ADP -13.1, pick 100.7, Rostered 90.0% on ESPN redraft/snake)
I’d normally list off a few key pieces of information for Mixon here, but there’s not much else to know. The Texans are most likely going to roll with Nick Chubb as the starter in week 1. There’s a chance this becomes a committee involving Dameon Pierce and rookie Woody Marks at some point.
All of that said, last week I mentioned the risk of his being an absolute zero was too much. Well, now that risk is even higher in my mind. He’d have to drop to the last round or two in any draft for me to even think about taking him. It’d strictly be in leagues where I had an IR spot and could stash him immediately. And I wouldn’t hesitate to drop him if I needed the spot.
We will all be enjoying the first game of the NFL regular season next Thursday! This ends my offseason ADP movers articles, and I hope you got some useful information! Be on the lookout for my weekly “Under the Radar” articles in season, as well as other pieces! I’d love a follow on X, @JKeasy, and I look forward to talking football with you all!
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