Matt Forte ready to rebound

You can never take too much stock into the preseason, but things do happen that can influence your fantasy draft. Again, don't buy into too much preseason hype because it can be overblown, but you can't ignore the preseason. Try to find a happy medium. Below is a look at some of our key findings from training camp and the first two weeks of preseason action.

Bears running back Matt Forte sure doesn't look like the back from last season. In his last preseason game, Forte had an 89-yard touchdown run and finished with more than 100-rushing yard in limited action. He is displaying much better burst and quickness. He is a top buy-low candidate after last season. Remember, he was a top-five pick in many leagues last season and now he is going as a No. 2 back this season although his stock is going up.

It took just a game for Giants undrafted rookie free agent receiver Victor Cruz to make a name for himself. He caught three touchdown passes in the Giants first preseason game, becoming a hot item for fantasy teams. We wouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves, though, as the Giants are deep at receiver. Cruz is likely to the No. 4 in New York if all goes well, giving him minimal fantasy value this season. But even with that said, Cruz is an exciting talent with some ability. He could be a big fantasy factor in a season or two.

Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin has been hurt in each of the first two preseason games, but isn't going to miss times because of the injuries. He is expected to return to practice this week from his latest shoulder injury and could even play in the next preseason game. Don't move Maclin down your rankings because of his injury problems during the preseason.

We have hyped him on our site, but Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is living up to that hype during the preseason. He has looked sharp, especially his last time out. He was 13-for-18 for a touchdown this past week. Stafford is displaying much better accuracy this season, going 21-of-29 in two preseason games. If he keeps progressing, Stafford has a chance to do some big things this season with much better offensive weapons surrounding him.

It is pretty amazing, but Patriots receiver Wes Welker seems pretty healthy. He is well less than a year from major knee surgery, but is already playing in games. He suited up for his first preseason game this past week and caught two passes for 20 yards. At this point, barring a setback, Welker seems a pretty sure bet to start the season healthy and get near his normal playing time early in the season. He should be moving up your rankings.

This isn't a huge deal, but second-year undrafted quarterback Chase Daniel is making a strong run to be the Saints top backup. He played most of the game this past week and was quite impressive, throwing three touchdown passes while leading the Saints to victory. Patrick Ramsey was brought in to be the backup, but Daniel is making a strong push to overtake him for that job. And we all know it has a lot more meaning this year since Drew Brees was on the cover of Madden, right?

The Bucs got some bad news Saturday as starting quarterback Josh Freeman broke the tip of his right thumb during their game. The good news is Freeman should be ready for the start of the season. But he needs the practice time to develop a rapport with his receivers, so this injury is a setback as Freeman isn't likely to practice much before the start of the season.

The Seahawks apparently got permission to negotiate a contract with Chargers disgruntled receiver Vincent Jackson but it didn't seem to go well as a deal wasn't struck. Jackson continues to have too high of an asking price, which could ultimately cost him his season this year. At this point, we wouldn't be surprise to see him sit out the whole year.

Vikings receiver Percy Harvin gave many quite the scare after he collapsed on the practice field last week. He had to be taken to the hospital. He continues to battle migraine issues, but the Vikings are confident the problem can be corrected. This is an obvious concern, but we aren't moving down Harvin in our rankings just yet. He had similar issues last year and missed just a game, which wasn't related to his migraine issues. If problems still persist a week from now, then we will start to panic a little more.

It has been a mild upset, but Bears tight end Greg Olsen is actually getting targets in their new offense. Most wrote him off this season after Mike Martz came on board. Martz has no history of using the tight end. But Martz is actually featuring Olsen a lot so far. He had a team-high three catches Saturday and has been one of the most targeted players during practice. At this point, he is good buy-low candidate as you can get him as a backup tight end. He could really out produce his draft position this season if the trend continues.

If you haven't noticed, things are getting messy in Washington. Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth is upset at the team and head coach Mike Shanahan isn't happy with Haynesworth. Shanahan says Haynesworth needs to practice if he hopes to play. And Haynesworth says he is suffering from a condition known as rhabdomyolysis, which can cause nausea, muscle swelling and the heat can make the condition worse. Haynesworth claims the team knows about the condition, but isn't disclosing this, making him look bad. Either way, it seems unlikely this situation end peacefully.

Chargers running back Ryan Mathews continues to move up our draft board. He has done nothing to dispel he is a top fantasy back during two preseason games. He has run well and even caught some balls out of the backfield (103-rushing yards on 21 carries and three catches for 24 yards). He is the real deal. At this point, the only concern is the goal-line work, but Mathews seems a good fit for this role once he gets his feet wet. Consider him a low-end No. 1 back at this stage of the game.

Coach Todd Haley continues his head games with running back Jamaal Charles but Charles is running well and producing in big chunks when given the chance. Charles is averaging seven yards per carry during the preseason while Thomas Jones is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. Charles is clearly the better option and most fantasy teams believe he will get a ton of work. I was in a FSWA (fantasy sports writers association) draft Friday and Charles was a first-round pick. And this draft contained some of the top writers in the industry, so that should tell you something about how some feel about Charles this coming season. We wouldn't worry too much about Haley downplaying Charles.

Bucs rookie Mike Williams has emerged as the No. 1 receiver in Tampa. This isn't a huge surprise as he is a big-time talent, but his off-the-field baggage hurt his draft stock. He has a chance to lead the Bucs and all rookie receivers in many offensive categories, so start moving him up your draft board. The Bucs won't have a great passing game, but No. 1 receivers bring some fantasy value no matter what team they play.

If you have any questions or comments, please email Jeff Paur at jeff@rtsports.com