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Drew Allar Shines Among 8 Top Preseason Risers in Fantasy Football

The NFL preseason is underway, and these players are certainly rising fast up the fantasy football rankings.
Thomas Carelli|
Aug 13, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Drew Allar (16) leaves the field after playing the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
Aug 13, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Drew Allar (16) leaves the field after playing the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The NFL Preseason is underway. 6 games went live on Thursday night, with another seven slated for Friday night, August 14. In typical yearly fashion, needles are being found in a haystack, being labeled as "risers" in the realm of fantasy football. These are the players who are attracting eyes early on in both training camp and preseason football.

Tyjae Spears

When the first-team Titans offense took the field for their first preseason game, we saw a notable split in the backfield. Spears appeared to own much of the RB1 work, out-snapping Tony Pollard 13-to-9. While a low sample size, Spears did also play better football, averaging 8.8 yards per attempt to Pollard's 5.5. Nonetheless, both players had strong nights. It may point to a split that could ultimately favor Spears.

Jeremiyah Love

The debut for Love went as advertised. The Cardinals' first-round draft pick has 11 rushing attempts for 58 yards. He even attracted 3 targets, all of which were caught, resulting in 14 receiving yards. The Cardinals appear intent on using Love, as has been debated in the context of a potential backfield split with Tyler Allgeier. With the first-team offense, Love also plays 8 of their 11 snaps. We do maintain our current ranking which has Love a low-end RB2,as below consensus on a perceived-to-be-bad offense. More must be seen.

De'Zhaun Stribling

Boy, did things go well for Stribling in his NFL debut. He has been hyped to become the 49ers' WR2, ahead of Christian Kirk. Stribling proved his worth against the Titans, catching 7 balls on 8 targets for 63 total yards. Stribling played a total of 17 passing snaps, meaning that his target share was over 40%. Should Mike Evans grow unhealthy at age 34, Stribling realistically can be the WR1 on a top-5 NFL offense.

Germie Bernard

Reports out of Pittsburgh have strongly suggested that Roman Wilson has earned the WR3 spot over rookie Germie Bernard. However, in the Steelers' first preseason game, Bernard caught 4 balls for 51 yards while Wilson only caught one for 7 yards. The wide receiver pair played 28 and 27 snaps, respectively. Being with the second-team offense, a Bernard rise could be an overreaction, where Drew Allar is not Aaron Rodgers.

Drew Allar

Is Allar the long-term option in Pittsburgh? He certainly is in that conversation. Aaron Rodgers will be retiring after 2026. The Steelers will then need a quarterback, and if they do not earn a top draft pick, they may turn to the Penn State product.

Allar's debut could not have gone any more perfectly. He completed 10 of 13 passes against the Packers' second-team offense, resulting in 153 yards and 2 touchdowns. His passer rating was a near-perfect 154.8. Allar must be bought in dynasty leagues.

MarShawn Lloyd

Lloyd took every snap with the Packers' first-team offense. He has the RB2 job well in his hands, ahead of Chris Brooks and Pierre Strong Jr. If Josh Jacobs is suspended, Lloyd will rank as a borderline top-15 running back on a weekly basis.

Keaton Mitchell

Mike McDaniel's press conference is to be taken with a grain of salt. He is a jokester and will mess with the press in the process. Nonetheless, the Chargers did go out and get Mitchell at McDaniel's request.

McDaniel does seem keen on using Mitchell, which has caused the former Raven to rise in our projections to RB49. He is just behind Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Tyrone Tracy Jr., while ahead of Marshawn Lloyd and Isiah Pacheco. More than anything, Mitchell will be an attractive week-to-week cheap play in DFS.

Mike Washington Jr.

The Raiders rookie running back is solidifying himself as Ashton Jeanty's handcuff. He fielded 6 rushing attempts for 63 yards, which featured a long run of 53 yards against the Cardinals. Meanwhile, Dylan Laube struggled to gain just 11 yards on 5 rushing attempts. If you draft Jeanty, you might as well grab Washington in the final rounds as an insurance policy.

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Thomas Carelli
THOMAS CARELLI

Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.

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