NFL Players Whose Fantasy Football Value Rose Most with New Destinations

Many players this offseason didn't receive nearly the amount of money they wanted or even deserved credited to the shortened signing period. Fantasy leagues can be won or lost on too much hype on new scenery for an old veteran or someone who "slipped through the cracks," so to speak. These men warrant attention because of the latter and they should be on your radar come draft time.

Jerome Harrison

Harrison leaves Philadelphia, a city that barely has enough carries for its first string running back. Jahvid Best has been injury prone and rookie Mikel Leshoure is out for the season with a knee injury. Harrison has shown explosiveness in preseason action and he gives pass catching versatility like Best if the starter were to get injured.

His value will be the highest since his Cleveland days, but don't go too high for him. The tenth round is where you should look to select him.

Todd Heap

Heap looks to be one of the very few guys Kevin Kolb has to look to in tough situations. Ed Dickson was going to push Heap out of many snaps in Baltimore regardless of if he stayed with Flacco.

Expect Heap to get a good amount of red zone looks because of his big body. Take a flier on Heap late if you don't exactly get the right tight end you want earlier.

Tim Hightower

Mike Shanahan loves his running backs and he gets them on the cheap. Washington gave a sixth round pick, in addition to a near-40 Vonnie Holliday to Arizona, for the young ball carrier. Hightower has looked great so far in preseason and he'll beat out often-injured Ryan Torain and rookie Roy Helu for the starting job.

The Redskins will not be in the bottom five in rushing even though Hightower was part of a Cardinals' offense that was for multiple years. Hightower should go no lower than the eighth round in any draft.

Reggie Bush

Joining the Miami Dolphins is a positive not only for Bush's fantasy value, but for his career. He'll get opportunities to show that he can run in between the tackles without having to be in a deep stable of running backs. Miami may look to use Bush as a receiver when rookie Daniel Thomas is behind Henne.

Going from Drew Brees to Chad Henne is definitely a drop off, but there are less options to find for Miami. Reggie Bush will still have to healthy to accumulate points and that should be accounted for when drafting him.

Mike Sims-Walker

Sims-Walker is leaving a Jacksonville offense that was run-oriented and had a struggling offense line. He's healthy, as opposed to last season, and he's the most talented receiver the Rams have.

Sam Bradford and Josh McDaniels look to carve up the NFC West and Sims-Walker presents mismatches to the poor secondaries of San Francisco, Arizona, and Seattle. The tenth-to-eleventh round is a proper place to look for Sims-Walker to be taken off the board.

Willis McGahee

McGahee will be back to living the high life like he was on Nevin Shapiro's yacht. Maybe it won't be that good in Denver for the aging running back but he is in a good position. New Broncos coach John Fox favors a two back system and McGahee will get his fair share of opportunities in the red zone. He's looked good in preseason action and Knowshon Moreno will have struggles at certain points.

While Moreno has much more to athletically provide for the team, McGahee will have more touchdowns than he had with Baltimore the previous two seasons. Look for him in the ninth round.

Greg Olsen

Jeremy Shockey was brought in to Carolina before the team acquired Olsen from Chicago but Ron Rivera will use Olsen much more in the passing game. Leaving Mike Martz will have Olsen jumping for joy, or for overthrown Cam Newton passes.

Nonetheless, Olsen will be a good safety blanket for his rookie quarterback. If you miss out on an elite tight end like Jermichael Finley or Antonio Gates, selecting Greg Olsen late with be sufficient enough at the tight end spot.

Lee Evans

Evans will be a focal point in an offense that will look to go deep often with Joe Flacco's arm. Fitzpatrick wasn't by any means terrible in Buffalo for the wide receiver but Baltimore's offense is much better.

Anquan Boldin will work off Lee Evans more than the other way around. He'll be a starter all season for the Ravens seeing as how second round draft pick Torrie Smith has a lot of learning to do.