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.
Quarterback
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Lamar Jackson – Jackson is an absolute fantasy beast and a guy that you can confidently draft as the top quarterback in your fantasy league. As his passing skills improve, Jackson could be the top fantasy quarterback for the next several seasons.
Matthew Stafford – There isn’t a lot of incentive for Stafford to come back before the end of the season. The Lions are out of the playoff hunt, and reports are mixed as to how many more games he will miss. After 11 seasons, and Detroit’s continued trend to fight for the bottom of the division, it becomes harder to trust Stafford in your fantasy league.
Josh Allen – Allen still struggles against tougher defenses (like he did this week against Baltimore), but he continues to improve as an NFL quarterback. At the beginning of the season, Allen went undrafted in many redraft leagues. Now he’s a solid QB2, and a good option for your dynasty roster, with the potential to improve even more next season.
Hindery
Ryan Tannehill – Tannehill makes a big move up from QB28 to QB18. I admit to being a bit skeptical of his early success as Tennessee’s starters but he has now strung together two months’ worth of excellent play. A change of scenery may have been exactly what was needed to turn his career around. He is 31-years old but still has plenty of prime years left. Tennessee is likely to try to lock him up long term as their starter moving forward and he will have some nice weapons at his disposal.
Drew Lock – The rookie jumps all the way up to QB24 after winning his first two starts. His performance was especially impressive in leading an upset at Houston. He has made some big throws on third down and in the red zone, showing an excellent arm. Head coach Vic Fangio noted after the game, "It's two games… Who's looking long-term right now? He's doing good. He's done well for two games. That's about all it is." While that is true, it looks like Lock is well on his way to locking down the starting job in 2020, which would be a big boost to his dynasty value.
Tom Brady - What little trade value Tom Brady still possessed is drying up. He is 42-years old, so all his value is short-term and even that is in question. Since the midway point of the season, Brady is the QB23.
Mason Rudolph – Rudolph falls from QB35 to QB50. Losing your job to an undrafted rookie is never a positive indicator for future success. It is hard to project Rudolph as anything more than a career backup at this point.
Running Back
Hindery
Derrick Henry - Henry moves up to RB8 on the strength of another late-season surge. He has been the RB2 since the midway point of the season and ranks 5th in PPR points at the position on the season. While it feels like he has been around a long time, Henry won’t turn 26-years old until February. Henry will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, which clouds his future at least somewhat. Tennessee will want him back but running back value is so difficult to pin down that we may see some complications in the process.
Austin Ekeler – Ekeler moves up to RB14 after yet another big fantasy game. We are now heading into Week 15 and Ekeler is still the RB3 in PPR scoring. With every big play he makes, it increases the odds that the Chargers will let Melvin Gordon walk in the offseason and make Ekeler the lead back in a committee next season.
LeVeon Bell – Bell slides a few more spots to RB24. He was held out due to an illness in Week 14 and something just feels off about his situation with the Jets. This is a guy who has had some off-field issues in the past, doesn’t seem to have much support amongst the Jets coaches, and has a huge contract. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he is cut this offseason. He will be 28-years old with a lot of wear and tear on his body and in search of big money. With a monster rookie running back class looming, Bell could sit on the market for a long time.
David Johnson – Johnson falls to RB32. It is hard to explain how he has fallen so far, so quickly. However, he looks like an average player who the new coaching staff doesn’t view as a starter. He turns 28-years old in a week and carries a big cap number. It is hard to see him back in Arizona next season and he might not have a big market for his services with a bunch of talented 21-year old backs available for cheap in the draft.
Grant
Derrick Henry – The Titans are making a late-season surge and Derrick Henry has been a big part of it. Since week 10, Henry is posting multiple touchdown games and well over 100 yards from scrimmage. He is a great anchor for your fantasy team and can safely be selected as an RB1.
Sony Michel – The biggest knock on Michel is that lately, he disappears in some games. This week he had just six touches for less than 10 yards from scrimmage. He hasn’t scored a touchdown since week 7, and his stock is falling fast in dynasty drafts.
Damien Williams – Going into this season, Williams was a late first-round or early second-round pick. Now a rib injury has him sitting out at the most important part of the fantasy season. With plenty of other options at running back, Williams looks to be a permanent part of an RBBC, even when he’s healthy.
Brian Hill – Hill isn’t going to turn into an RB1 between now and the end of the season. But he is trending upward with his production and is probably worth a roster spot on your dynasty team if only to see what happens over the summer and going into training camp next season.
Wide Receiver
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Kenny Golladay – Golladay has emerged as a legitimate top-tier wide receiver. The Lions future has a lot of question marks, but Golladay is the one guy you can count on from this offense for the next several years.
Courtland Sutton – The last man standing in Denver emerges as a great option for your dynasty team. Sutton is getting 6-7 targets per game – and that’s translating into decent, consistent performance. As Drew Lock grows in experience, Sutton will be the main beneficiary.
John Brown – Buffalo isn’t just a running team anymore and John Brown has emerged as a decent WR2 / Flex option for any PPR league. Buffalo’s on the rise and Brown has a chance to finish as a top 20 fantasy wide receiver this season.
Hindery
D.J. Moore – Moore moves up to WR8 in my rankings. He is 22-years old and is the fantasy WR10 as we head into Week 15, so there is a strong argument for Moore to be ranked even higher. One factor holding him back just a bit is the quarterback and coaching uncertainty in Carolina.
A.J. Brown – Brown moves up to WR18 and looks like the top rookie wide receiver. There was a pretty solid consensus about how strong a prospect Brown was in the fantasy community but legitimate concerns about his landing spot. The switch from Marcus Mariota to Ryan Tannehill has changed everything about the Tennessee offense and allowed Brown to emerge as a major playmaker.
Jarvis Landry - Landry moves up to WR20 and looks like an undervalued asset in dynasty leagues. Somewhat quietly, he ranks as the fantasy WR13 this season. He just turned 27-years old and is right in the middle of his prime years. With Odell Beckham already unhappy and agitating to get out of Cleveland, there is a good chance we see Landry as the clear #1 pass catcher for the Browns again next season.
Darius Slayton – Slayton leaps up to WR32. That may end up being way too high or way too low because we are dealing with small sample size and most of Slayton’s production has come on a handful of big plays. At this point in the season, Slayton looks like the steal of dynasty rookie drafts and an absolute home run of a late-round pick by Dave Gettleman. He leads all rookie wide receivers in fantasy points per game. Slayton missed most of training camp and the first couple weeks of the regular season with an injury. Since stepping into the starting lineup in Week 5, Slayton has been the fantasy WR17. He’s had three multi-touchdown games already.
Anthony Miller – Miller moves up to WR57. He is showing some signs of a mid-year-two breakout as the entire Chicago offense is starting to rebound a bit. He could be a relatively hot name this offseason if he keeps up his recent play over the final three weeks.
Odell Beckham – Beckham slides to WR14. The news he has been playing through a hernia injury is good in the sense that it provides some explanation for his disappointing fantasy season (WR28). However, it is yet another in a string of injuries for Beckham and another season of his prime basically lost. Plus, the fact that he already wants out of Cleveland after reports that he was a locker room cancer in New York is a bad look.
Julio Jones – The veteran moves down to WR21 in my rankings. I am typically more aggressive than most in dropping players as they approach and enter their 30s and Jones is no exception. In fact, he may be proof of the benefits of taking this sort of stance on players. Jones is having another good season (WR15) but we are seeing some signs of slippage, which was entirely predictable for a guy who will turn 31-years old in a couple of months.
Sammy Watkins – Watkins continues to slide and now ranks outside of my top-50 wide receivers. He had the monster performance Week 1 and since then ranks WR72. You can’t put him in your fantasy lineup at this point and it is hard to see a scenario where that changes anytime soon.
Tight End
Hindery
Noah Fant – The rookie moves up a few spots to TE6. Since the midway point of the season, Fant has put up top-10 fantasy numbers at the position. Within the context of his age (just turned 22-years old) and how difficult the transition to the NFL is for young tight ends, Fant’s performance as a rookie is impressive. It also helps that the Denver passing offense is showing signs of life with Drew Lock.
Kyle Rudolph - Rudolph has seen his value rebound a bit and he once again ranks as a top-15 tight end. He has been the TE5 overall since taking on a more prominent role after Adam Thielen’s injury and has made enough plays to remind you of how talented a red zone threat he is.
Gerald Everett - Everett slides to just outside the top-20 at the position. After a stretch where it looked like he had started to emerge as a real playmaker, he has taken a backseat to Tyler Higbee. Some of that was due to injury, but regardless of the reasons, it has allowed Higbee to make this a committee once again.
Grant
Travis Kelce – I love Kelce and would be happy to have him as my #1 tight end. But there are so many other rockstar tight ends in the league now, Kelce must take a little bump down. If you don’t end up with Kelce on your team, there are still plenty of other top tier guys.
Hunter Henry – Since returning from injury, Hunter has proven to be everything that you want from a top tight end. If he can stay healthy, you can expect his stock to continue to rise for the rest of this year.
If you would like to review our most recent Dynasty rankings, here is a link.
