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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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Kirk Cousins – Cousins didn’t do much against Washington this week, but he had 10 touchdown passes in the previous three and has thrown just 1 interception in his last 175 pass attempts. With Dalvin Cook keeping defenses honest and the team gaining confidence, Minnesota is on the rise and Cousins is a solid fantasy quarterback option now.
Sam Darnold – Hard to watch this young kid regress but it’s definitely happening. The Patriots made him look silly and Jacksonville beat him up pretty good this week too. He’s the future of the Jets so he still warrants consideration, but he’s taken a step backward and will need some time and guidance to get back to a guy you (and the Jets) can count on every week.
Jameis Winston – Unless you play in a league that doesn’t penalize for interceptions, Winston is a guy you must approach with caution. If he keeps turning over the ball at this rate, Tampa Bay is going to start looking elsewhere for a quarterback.
Jacoby Brissett – Admit it – when Andrew Luck retired, you thought Brissett was going to bomb. I know I did. But Brissett has proved us all wrong and he’s a solid, consistent performer on a team with a lot of young talent.
Hindery
Aaron Rodgers – Rodgers moves up from QB12 to QB7. He had put together a few mediocre seasons in a row and was QB17 through the first four weeks of 2019 when I ranked him QB12. Over the last four weeks, he has been the QB2 behind only Deshaun Watson. He’s put up big numbers even without Davante Adams the last few weeks. For the first time in a while, it is easy to feel very optimistic about Rodgers’ fantasy prospects.
Matthew Stafford – He moves up four spots from QB15 to QB11 in my Week 9 update. It is not just that Stafford has been playing well (QB9 at the midway point of the season). He benefits comparatively from the struggles of so many younger quarterbacks who have seemingly regressed this season. Stafford may not be a star and he is 31-years old, but he is a guy you feel good about having in your lineup most weeks. There are not that many quarterbacks you can say that about right now.
Jacoby Brissett – Brissett moves up from QB19 to QB15. He has the Colts tied for the 2nd-best record in the AFC at the midway point of the season and it looks like he is going to be the starter for Indianapolis for the foreseeable future. Brissett is on pace for 32 passing touchdowns against 7 interceptions. The Colts are also well positioned to continue to improve. The team’s cap is in great shape and the Colts will continue to add weapons in free agency and the draft. Plus, Parris Campbell ’s speed will help open things up further once he gets healthy.
Baker Mayfield – Mayfield falls six spots in my QB rankings to QB13. It is hard to believe he has just touchdown passes and 12 interceptions midway through the season. As a rookie, he threw 27 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions. With the improved weapons and a year of seasoning, to see him take this big of a step back is shocking.
Running Backs
Hindery
Aaron Jones – Jones moves up from RB12 to RB8. While Jamaal Williams continues to have a role (he is the fantasy RB28) but the Packers offense has made such a big jump forward this year, Jones has been able to put up huge numbers without a true workhorse workload. He is the RB3 at the midway point in the season in large part due to leading the NFL in touchdowns (11).
Chris Carson – Carson moves up from RB19 to RB11. Players like LeVeon Bell and David Johnson may have a longer track record and more pedigree than Carson. However, we have now seen enough from Carson at this point to feel pretty good about his staying power. He is the RB8 at the midway point of the season, just turned 25-years old, and looks to be at least the medium-term answer for Seattle.
Kerryon Johnson – Johnson falls from RB11 to RB20. I’ve always been a little bit leery of Johnson due to his long injury history and atypical running back build. He has now landed on IR for the second straight season. Johnson is young and talented, but Detroit is likely to use Johnson as part of a committee moving forward to try to keep him healthy.
Todd Gurley – He just put up 44 total yards with no receptions in a dream matchup against the Bengals. It just doesn’t seem like the old, dominant Gurley is going to come back. He is still a solid back, but it has now been almost 11 months since Gurley had an impactful fantasy outing.
Grant
Leonard Fournette – Fournette has silenced the critics who said his heart wasn’t in the game anymore and he fits well with Jacksonville’s ‘Underdog’ image right now. He’s going to finish as one of the best fantasy backs this season and if this pace continues, he’ll be a top ten dynasty pick next summer.
David Johnson – Johnson’s been banged up and Chase Edmonds is getting a lot of press. As the Arizona offense tries to re-invent itself, this is the wrong time for Johnson to be sitting on the sidelines. He is still a talented guy but doesn’t look like a guy you can count on for RB1 numbers every week.
Joe Mixon – An example of a talented back behind a terrible offensive line, trapped in a struggling offense. There isn’t much to be excited about in Cincinnati this season, and Joe Mixon’s lack of production is just one more disappointment.
Tarik Cohen – The Bears are struggling on offense, and Cohen is the guy who is taking the biggest hit. The Bears are still trying to get him involved, but his output continues to decline, and he doesn’t have the touches per game to sustain his fantasy value. He’s probably not starting for your fantasy team every week right now and won’t be until the Bears figure out how to get back on track.
Sony Michel – The Patriot continues to roll, and Michel is being a lot more opportunities when they do. His upside is limited by his 20-22 touches a game cap, but he does make the most of it when he’s in there. Solid RB2 in any format, although a little less valuable in PPR leagues.
Wide Receivers
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JuJu Smith-Schuster – Smith-Schuster has clearly underperformed this season – but the scary part from a fantasy perspective is just how far off a cliff he falls without Ben Roethlisberger under center. In his last three games, Juju has just 11 receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown. Julio Jones had 10 receptions for 150 yards this week with Matt Schaub at quarterback. Great wide receivers find a way to contribute, no matter who is throwing the ball.
Tyler Boyd – A.J. Green continues to miss time and Boyd continues to show promise. Now there’s talk that Green might be traded because there is little reason for him to come back for the Bengals this season given how far they have fallen. Whether Green moves on now or after the season, Boyd stands to benefit either way.
John Brown – The Bills may not throw the ball much, but when they do, Brown is usually the target. He has value from a dynasty perspective, but he’ll never be a true WR2 for your fantasy team. Brown has value and can contribute in a pinch, but his upside is severely capped. Bump him up a bit in a PPR format as he’s good for five or more receptions each week.
TreQuan Smith – While many expected Smith to emerge as a decent fantasy option this season, it has clearly never happened. He’s been banged up for most of the season, and even if he’s healthy enough to play, he has barely touched the stat sheet. If the Saints are considering trading for other wide receivers before the deadline, that doesn’t bode well for Smith.
Hindery
Mike Evans – Evans moves up from WR10 to WR6. The top tier of wide receivers is packed pretty tightly together, so the move isn’t that huge in the grand scheme of things. While Evans can be frustratingly inconsistent, he is the fantasy WR6 at the midway point of the season. The big weeks (like his monster against Tennessee yesterday) make it easy to live with the occasional no shows.
Stefon Diggs – Diggs was the WR52 after Week 5 and was disgruntled in Minnesota. His recent fantasy explosion seemingly came out of nowhere. Over the last three weeks, he has outscored all other receivers by more than 19 fantasy points and shot up from WR52 to WR9 for the season. The airing of grievances in Minnesota has actually led to what looks like an extremely positive outcome for all involved.
Brandin Cooks – Cooks continues to slide in my rankings and is now down to WR28. He is on pace for a 54-802-2 stat line. At this rate, he is going to finish below guys like Cole Beasley. It is clear Cooper Kupp is the star of the Rams offense and Cooks is going to have to compete with Robert Woods and Gerald Everett for the remaining targets.
Josh Gordon – Gordon has seen his dynasty trade value plummet yet again. New England is desperate for wide receivers and decided that Gordon (with a minor injury) wasn’t good enough to keep around on a bargain-basement contract. It is probably time to give up any hope that Gordon will ever bounce back to fantasy stardom.
Tight Ends
Hindery
Austin Hooper – Hooper moves up to TE3. At the midway point of the season, Hooper is the highest-scoring tight end. You can make a solid case for him as the TE1, but Travis Kelce and George Kittle rank just ahead of him for me just based upon their longer track records of putting up big numbers.
Gerald Everett – Everett moves up from TE19 to TE11. He is slowly but steadily emerging as a major factor in the passing game for the Rams, earning 10+ targets in two of the past four games. He also benefits from the injuries and general struggles of several tight ends that were ranked ahead of him three weeks ago.
Foster Moreau – Moreau moves up 14 spots to TE23. The Darren Waller extension limits his upside over the medium term and Moreau may end up being a better real-world tight end than fantasy player. Still, he has been very impressive as a rookie and is worth stashing in deeper leagues to see how he develops moving forward.
Zach Ertz – Ertz falls to TE5. Over the last four weeks, he has been outscored by his younger teammate, Dallas Goedert. Goedert is a talented enough young player that it is easy to see his emergence seriously limiting Ertz’s fantasy upside moving forward. Goedert still has two and a half years left on his rookie deal. Even if Philadelphia doesn’t extend Goedert, Ertz is going to have to share with him until Ertz is 31 years old.
Grant
T.J. Hockenson – Hockenson’s performance has fallen sharply in the last three weeks, and he has just eight receptions for 74 yards over that span. In a dynasty format, he has decent value, but other tight ends have emerged to provide better week over week production.
Darren Waller – Waller was dirt cheap during the offseason, and if you were smart or lucky enough to nab him, you are rolling. Waller had a monster week against the Packers with 126 yards and two touchdowns. This week he only had two receptions, but still managed to find the end zone. He’s on pace to hit 100 receptions and 1000 receiving yards this year.
Will Dissly – Dissly was placed on IR with a torn Achilles tendon. He’ll miss the rest of the season and his recovery will be long and hard. His long-term potential is now in question as he’s finished his first two seasons on IR. His per-game potential gives him some value, but right now, he’s just taking up space on your roster on the hope he comes back 100%.
If you would like to review our most recent Dynasty rankings, here is a link.
