Each week, Footballguys staff members will share the big movers in their respective Dynasty Rankings. Since the contributors will rotate, please check in weekly. The focus of this article will be on the “why” more than the movement itself. Dynasty Rankings are fluid and we hope that sharing the rationale will help you in your quest to create dynasties with all your teams. The diversity of rankings will result in a variety of opinions weekly.
Quarterbacks
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Justin Herbert – Herbert jumps five spots from QB20 to QB15 after an earlier-than-expected ascension into the starting lineup. He’s not only held his own, he looks fantastic. Considering the Chargers offensive line isn’t in peak form, nor is the supporting cast, Herbert’s start is all the more impressive.
Joe Burrow - Burrow jumps three spots into the Top 10, at QB9. Although his early fantasy success has been more volume-driven than efficient, he’s still gaining quality experience and making sound decisions more times than not. The Bengals need to continue to bolster his supporting cast, which makes his future less than secure, but right now few quarterbacks under the age of 30 have a higher upside.
Daniel Jones - Jones falls seven spots to QB22 from QB15. There’s been no growth, either in the Giants' fortunes or Jones' decision-making. It’s become harder to project Jones as a future every-week starter. Mapping his potential outcomes, the probability leans more toward lifelong high-end backup than franchise savior.
Matt Ryan - Ryan falls out of the top 10 (QB12) after Falcons owner Arthur Blank cleaned house following the team’s 0-5 start. When asked about Ryan’s future, Blank was noncommittal, which is both shocking and alarming. While it’s likely Ryan stays in Atlanta and has many years of fantasy value left, we can no longer bank on continuity. He could be fighting for a starting job – likely on an offensively-challenged roster – elsewhere in 2021 and beyond.
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Derek Carr - In his seventh year, the time has arrived for Derek Carr to be considered a fantasy starter. With 11 touchdowns and only one interception, he is on pace to break career passing yardage and touchdown numbers as the Raiders evolve their offense with their new receivers. Still yet to turn 30, Carr has to be re-evaluated as an upper-echelon QB2 or playable with the right matchup. He has become one of the more reliable players to start on any given week.
Andy Dalton - The devastating injury to Dak Prescott opens the door for Andy Dalton to see what he can do in an explosive offense. Dalton was never in the bottom 25% of starting quarterbacks while in Cincinnati, but he never looked elite either. A third-ranked fantasy season in 2013 was a clear anomaly, but he has to be lifted significantly in rankings for this season and beyond. The Cowboys will be in many shootouts and Dalton is poised to parlay any good play into another starting opportunity.
Parsons
Jimmy Garoppolo - Garoppolo continues to fade down my dynasty board. I was never a fan above consensus at or near his career valuation peak, but his downturn this season is especially worrisome as one in the cluster of quarterbacks with the starting moniker but without true insulation for long with poor play. Garoppolo is recovering from injury, but that withstanding, he has been a quarterback more brazen with his decision-making than his arm abilities deserved. Garoppolo is outside my top-25 dynasty quarterbacks.
Dwayne Haskins - It is hard to be bullish on Haskins with his benching down to the QB3 depth chart position and things unraveling quickly with Washington. The franchise is far from upstanding in their handling of almost anything football related in recent years, but Haskins has done little to inspire long-term confidence from a fantasy standpoint either in two partial seasons of starting opportunities. Haskins is in the Josh Rosen bucket of young retread prospects, likely being a backup in 2021 and needing to be a model within a new franchise to garner future starting stints to gain a foothold with a team.
Running Back
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Kenyan Drake - After a dominant fantasy finals performance last year, Kenyan Drake has been to put it kindly, average in 2020. He is still the dominant ball carrier for now in Arizona, but for how long? He has unfortunately disappeared from the passing game as Chase Edmonds is the preferred option. On a one year prove-it deal, Drake hasn’t so far, and his future becomes cloudy. He has to take a significant hit in a difficult running back market,
Chase Edmonds - Chase Edmonds isn’t seeing more than a handful of carries but has become the preferred pass catcher in the backfield over Kenyan Drake. Whether this evolves as the season progresses, either way, remains to be seen. For now, Edmonds is the guy that has upside written all over him and must move up rankings. He is flex worthy at best right now but running backs who touch the ball ten times a game is not available very long in dynasty leagues.
Devonta Freeman - Devonta Freeman looked like a real-life NFL running back again against Dallas. But it’s the Cowboys. Where to now? He should be considered against the right matchup in 2020 and beyond that is uncertain. The Giants don’t have anyone else right now and Freeman will get significant carries. Behind that line and with Daniel Jones playing poorly the upside is limited. Good enough to be fantasy relevant though.
Parsons
Darrel Williams - I am one of the biggest Williams fans out there. This is not a thriving population. But I am rethinking my stance in recent weeks. Williams looks to be touchdown-centric at best and I think his athletic limitations would make him not on the RB1 weekly spectrum if Clyde Edwards-Helaire were out of the lineup in future weeks. DeAndre Washington was activated from the practice squad before the game in Week 5 but did not play as a coach’s decision. If Edwards-Helaire misses time later in the season, Washington may very well be the answer to ‘who is the most valuable Chiefs back now?’ I am not recommending dropping Williams at this time but could see that in a few weeks if Washington starts to play and showing (likely) more than Williams even in a backup capacity.
Anthony McFarland - McFarland made his NFL debut recently and I am officially intrigued by his fit with Pittsburgh. McFarland offers a dynamic movement to his game and burst which none of the other Steelers running backs possess. If James Conner is out during the rest of this season, I could see McFarland, not Benny Snell, being the ‘right’ answer for the most valuable fantasy option during that time period.
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Kenyan Drake - Drake falls ten spots from RB18 to RB28. Things aren’t clicking in Arizona, and Chase Edmonds looks better with fewer touches. The Cardinals only committed to Drake for 2020, and it’s a strong bet they move on in 2021, leaving Drake unlikely to land a featured role elsewhere. It’s hard to value Drake higher when his most likely outcome is a committee contributor or backup in future seasons.
Mark Ingram - Ingram appears to have fallen off a cliff, as the Ravens continue to win but are relying on a three-back committee with Ingram being the least effective of the trio. With Gus Edwards looking capable of a full-time role, and J.K. Dobbins a future 300-touch star, Ingram’s days as a weekly fantasy asset may be numbered.
Nick Chubb - Chubb falls three spots to RB10. He’s still a top-10 fantasy asset but the season-ending injury combined with Kareem Hunt’s exemplary play warrants incremental caution. If he returns to form in 2021, he’ll deservedly move back into the “must-haves” but unfortunately, history hasn’t always been kind to explosive players post-injury; particularly when there are elite alternates on the roster.
Todd Gurley - Gurley slides back into the Top 20 (RB19) after a strong first month. This week’s long breakaway touchdown illustrates Gurley is healthy and hasn’t lost (much of) a step. While Dan Quinn’s firing raises the volatility of his situation, it seems unlikely the team will become more pass-happy – having already been among the most pass-happy teams in the NFC.
Wide Receiver
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D.K. Metcalf - Metcalf has been a sustained producer from the start of his NFL career after quizzically falling in the NFL down to Seattle at the end of Round 2. Metcalf is paired with one of the best combinations of age, upside, and track record quarterbacks in the NFL (Russell Wilson) and has a create-a-player profile on a now-unlocked Seattle offense. Round 1 of startup drafts in January feels like a given at this point and I would not be surprised if teams looking at a longer-term lens with age (specifically at wide receiver), view him as their overall WR1 for an initial team build.
Chase Claypool - Claypool moves up my board, but less than most would assume. Claypool is on the early-career success track with his production to-date. I would point out the crowded depth chart and the perfect-storm feel of his Week 5 performance remains and a majority of dynasty teams did not get credit for his 40+ PPR points as they were most likely on the bench, not the starting lineup. Claypool has a boom-bust prospect profile and while the boom seems imminent now, historically these profiles rarely stay clicked to ‘boom’ for a sustained period.
Hicks
Tee Higgins - Tee Higgins was undervalued heading into redraft and dynasty leagues heading into 2020. He was the first pick in the second round and had strong credentials. He has shown a visible rapport with fellow rookie Joe Burrow and the pair are likely to get better together and forge a formidable partnership. The disintegration of A.J. Green is hardly surprising, and Tyler Boyd is not a number one type. Higgins moves up rankings significantly.
Chase Claypool - Some calls you get wrong and some you get right. The Pittsburgh Steelers did not need to spend another high round pick on a wide receiver. Given their phenomenal record of drafting at the position for decades, his measurables, and his college tape, I was all over Chase Claypool in every league, redraft, or dynasty. A four-touchdown day doesn’t happen every game, but it is a clear sign that he has elite potential. He had more targets than JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and James Washington combined against the Eagles and while it could be a true one-off performance, there is no receiver on this team I have ranked higher.
Travis Fulgham - In a year full of surprises, the emergence of Travis Fulgham is one of the biggest. Fulgham wasn’t even one of the seven wide receivers on the Eagles roster for week one and had to be content with landing on the practice squad. With Eagle receivers falling like nine pins, Fulgham was called up and made a couple of nice plays against the 49ers. What he did against the Steelers was astounding. With the likely return of several others soon it could be a freak occurrence or the emergence of a new weapon.
Devin Duvernay - Devin Duvernay has looked exciting every time he has touched the ball and is getting more involved every week. His upside is limited behind the running game, Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown, but he probably has overtaken Miles Boykin and Willie Snead in the pecking order. Duvernay has more flexibility in his game and is worth an upgrade. Worth storing on a deeper roster.
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JuJu Smith-Schuster – Smith-Schuster falls eight spots to WR14 from WR6. While that may seem like a massive move, it’s important to remember this is probably a contract year for the young receiver. Meanwhile, rookie Chase Claypool has emerged as an unstoppable playmaker. Smith-Schuster could still be an every-week fantasy asset for years to come, but he’s no longer worth valuing as a lock.
Chase Claypool - Claypool soars 23 spots to WR29 from WR52. Honestly, this still may be way too low for the rookie, but we can’t let this week’s four-touchdown game sway our analysis too heavily. Claypool was a ‘tweener coming into the league; some scouts saw him as a tight end. But it’s evident the Steelers not only see him as an outside receiver, but he’s already shown an ability to run a full route tree and win outside in man coverage.
Robby Anderson - Anderson moves up five spots to WR43 from WR48, as he’s adapted to his new digs in Carolina faster than even the optimists hoped. Anderson has outplayed D.J. Moore and is the perfect fit for Joe Brady’s dynamic downfield attack. Another few weeks of performing at this level, and Anderson could push for top-25 consideration.
CeeDee Lamb - Lamb moves up three more spots to WR12. Dallas’ beat writers called Lamb the best receiver in Dallas during training camp, and it’s clear after the first five games it wasn’t hyperbole. While Amari Cooper is also playing at an All-Pro level, Lamb has effectively neutered Michael Gallup and looks like a perennial All Pro with years of 1,000-yard seasons in his future.
Tight End
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Robert Tonyan Jr - Tonyan vaults 22 spots from TE40 to TE18. His three-touchdown game put everyone on notice, myself included. The Packers entered the year with questions at tight end, and while most of us bet on Jace Sternberger as the sleeper, it was Tonyan we should’ve rostered. He’s massive and has become a better route runner. Most importantly, Aaron Rodgers trusts him.
Hicks
Tyler Higbee - Some analysts were very high on Tyler Higbee this year after his phenomenal play during the last half of 2019. A three-touchdown performance against the Eagles in week 2 looked promising, but many of us were worried about the return of Gerald Everett. Higbee went statistically crazy last year once Everett was injured. Everett’s return has Higbee playing more like the first 58 games of his career and a fantasy risk moving forward. Worth moving down significantly.
Cameron Brate - The loss of O.J. Howard and the limitations of Rob Gronkowski mean that good old reliable Cameron Brate will be fantasy relevant again this year. With two fantasy starting-caliber seasons in his resume, don’t be surprised if he does it again. As they said about Cris Carter, all he does is catch touchdowns. A significant rise in rankings.
Parsons
Robert Tonyan Jr - Tonyan is on a torrid production stretch and the perfect storm situation can fuel this being at least a season-long environment. Paired with the white-hot Aaron Rodgers and no sustained WR2 role behind Davante Adams, Tonyan is a strong athlete taking full advantage of his opportunity, plus Jace Sternberger not being a challenger to the starting role. Considering the nomadic nature of the tight end position beyond the top tier or two of names, Tonyan is easy to make an argument to be in, or near, the top-20 for dynasty purposes.
Jack Doyle - Doyle has been invisible this season and the recent surge for Trey Burton and Mo Alie-Cox make the depth chart at best a committee for Doyle, who was already a ho-hum talent needing strong volume to be viable. Doyle is droppable in all but 2TE formats especially considering the limitations of the Colts passing game (read: Philip Rivers) overall.
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