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 of your teams. The diversity of rankings will result in a variety of opinions weekly.
QUARTERBACK
Simpkins
Cam Newton - Before the season started, Cam Newton lost his best receiver to injury. I saw no possible way that Newton could have a productive season ahead. Not only has he been productive, he’s among the top ten quarterbacks in most scoring formats. Newton is proving that he can’t be counted out, even when faced with a lack of surrounding talent. He will move into my top three dynasty quarterbacks upon my next rankings update.
Parsons
Blake Bortles - The weapons are coming together and Jacksonville is finally a viable offense and fantasy breeding ground. Bortles still has some young quarterback errors weekly, but the positive plays are piling up. Julius Thomas adds a red zone element to Allen Robinson's downfield prowess as Allen Hurns in the intermediate game. Bortles has moved up significantly since the offseason.
Peyton Manning - I was already out on Manning this offseason and projected doom from all but Demaryius Thomas and C.J. Anderson in Denver. I missed on Anderson, but Manning looks like one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. The number of poor throws by Manning weekly is jarring and Brandon McManus is the most dependable play with Denver consistently stalling for field goals.
Tefertiller
Matt Ryan – I was already the lowest of the Footballguys dynasty staffers on Ryan, by a good margin, but it was time to move him out of the Top 10. The Atlanta offense is moved by the running game, not Ryan. I could find no reason to keep Ryan ahead of Andy Dalton, Philip Rivers, and Eli Manning.
Brock Osweiler – The older Peyton Manning looks each week, the more I move Osweiler up the rankings. His time is coming, quickly. The Broncos offense could easily make the youngster a Top 8 dynasty quarterback.
Colin Kaepernick – Kaepernick is not developing like many expected. He is not a player worth investing dynasty equity into as the upside is dwindling. Until Kaepernick can develop as a passer, he will not be a dependable fantasy option. Please do not see a decent game against a bad pass defense as reason that Kaepernick has turned the corner.
RUNNING BACK
Tefertiller
Devonta Freeman – Freeman moves from RB15 to RB5 in the rankings. He has put together an impressive month of football. Many talk about the touchdowns, and yes, they are impressive. But, the burst and receiving ability enable the second-year runner to keep the Falcons offense moving and picking up first downs.
Todd Gurley – Gurley is a workhorse and coach Jeff Fisher is going to ride the rookie. He is now RB2 in the rankings, just behind Bell. There are few bellcow backs, especially young ones. Gurley is a star.
Dion Lewis – Lewis also moves up. After bouncing around several teams, Lewis has found a home in New England. The contract extension received last week solidified his standing as the lead back in the Patriots backfield.
Jamaal Charles – We are still sad for Charles after he tore an ACL last Sunday. Quickly approaching 30 years of age and coming back from a serious knee injury should limit Charles' value this coming offseason.
Simpkins
Thomas Rawls - With Lynch and Jackson banged up, we’ve gotten to see an increased amount of Thomas Rawls over the last few weeks. Rawls has topped over a hundred yards in two of those contests. A very physical runner, Rawls has shown great balance, power, and burst on his carries. Lynch came back this week, but we know hamstring injuries have a nasty habit of lingering. If called upon to carry the load full-time, we’ve seen that Rawls is more than capable. Now that the Seahawks have seen it, I think it makes them more likely to include Rawls in their long-term plans at the running back position.
Parsons
Eddie Lacy - A few weeks ago I started to watch Eddie Lacy critically as I was never sold on his upside coming out of Alabama. If not for landing in Green Bay, I wonder what his dynasty value timeline would look like. Now with a bum ankle and a few extra pounds, Lacy is looking like a slightly better version of Trent Richardson...you know, the running back out of the NFL before 25 years old? Yep, that one. Lacy's value has been cut in nearly half from this offseason and James Starks is running circles around him. Starks is no stiff, but Lacy is having trouble getting through the line of scrimmage without a gaping hole.
Bishop Sankey - I continue to like what I see on tape with Sankey more than the box score or how the Titans prefer seemingly every running back on the roster over the former second round pick. Sankey badly needs a team change and, while I have not lost all hope, Sankey has seen a significant value decline this season.
WIDE RECEIVER
Parsons
DeAndre Hopkins - How can anyone not raise Hopkins' dynasty value? He is churning out historic production on a pedestrian-at-best offense without an even-average quarterback. Even Larry Fitzgerald a few years ago is impressed. He wins contested balls, runs quality routes, and is doing it against top cornerbacks who know the ball is consistently coming his direction every week.
Stefon Diggs - Diggs is one of the strongest metric prospects at wide receiver to come from Day 3 in the last 15 years. With Charles Johnson's poor start, Diggs has a golden opportunity (like Johnson did himself in 2014) to assert himself as a top target for Teddy Bridgewater.
Tefertiller
Allen Hurns – Hurns has quietly been a consistent fantasy starter this season. While Robinson gets the publicity, Hurns goes unnoticed. He will only get better as quarterback Blake Bortles improves.
Donte Moncrief – In an offense with plenty of stars, Moncrief shines bright. He is still very young, younger than many of the receivers in this coming NFL Draft. We have high hopes that Moncrief will be a fantasy starter for a long time. Also, Moncrief has scored a touchdown and had a solid outing in the four games Luck has started this season.
Simpkins
Donte Moncrief - We saw Luck look increasingly in Donte Moncrief’s direction until he was injured in week three. Some wondered if that would continue when Luck returned, especially after Andre Johnson’s performance against the Texans in week five. Luck stepped back into the game and immediately continued to heavily target Moncrief, while Johnson returned to being a relative non-factor. Only 22 years old, Moncrief will have many years to benefit from catching passes from the prolific Andrew Luck, sending his dynasty value to new heights.
Stefon Diggs- I’m urging owners to be cautiously optimistic, but I have to admit that Diggs looked excellent in his first career start. He carried the offense on a day when Bridgewater wasn’t his best and the Chiefs were selling out to stop Peterson. While I doubt he’ll keep Johnson on the bench, Diggs showed us why we want to hold on to him if we have him and why we should try to acquire him on the cheap if we don’t.
TIGHT END
Tefertiller
Jimmy Graham – It was time to move Graham out of the TE2 spot in the rankings. He fell down to TE5. In an offense that does not pass frequently, there is not enough volume for Graham to get enough targets. The talent is still there, just not enough opportunity every week. We are not swayed by the solid outing against the Panthers.
Tyler Eifert – Eifert moved up to TE2 with his strong play this season. He has quickly become the second option, behind A.J. Green, in the Bengals offense.
Jordan Reed – Reed has missed two games with a concussion. He has battled concussions his throughout college and professional careers. His career is in jeopardy. Derek Carrier would make an immediate jump if Reed is ruled out for weeks or months. Washington traded for Carrier and the athletic tight end has played well since taking over for Reed.
Simpkins
Derek Carrier- When Niles Paul and Logan Paulsen both suffered season-ending injuries, Washington quietly but wisely acquired Derek Carrier from the 49ers. I felt it was only a matter of time before Carrier would see the field because he was only sitting behind the oft-injured Jordan Reed. My prediction came true, and though he didn’t see a glut of targets in week five, he converted one of them for a touchdown. Carrier possesses better-than-average athleticism and has the skillset to be a true move tight end. Look for his role to continue to increase in Washington as the staff discovers what a talented chess piece they have at their disposal.
Parsons
Gary Barnidge - No one saw Gary Barnidge coming this offseason. Some liked Robert Housler in Cleveland as a dark horse fantasy candidate, but most thought no tight end would be productive there this season. Barnidge has quality athleticism and amidst a pedestrian wide receiver group, Barnidge emerged. What started as a bye week filler a few weeks ago has turned into a weekly starter for dynasty owners.
Owen Daniels - I thought Daniels had a shot to be a sneaky high TE2 or low TE1 this season. Even a couple juicy matchups could not shake the over-the-hill Daniels into fantasy production thus far. At his age and with Denver's offense dying on the vine, Daniels should on all but the deepest dynasty league's waiver wire.
