Dynasty Roundtable: 10 Biggest 2025 Risers and Fallers

Fahlsing, Blaylock, Zacharias, Kashuba, and Brown give their biggest risers and fallers through the halfway point of the 2025 fantasy football regular season.

Jeff Bell's Dynasty Roundtable: 10 Biggest 2025 Risers and Fallers Jeff Bell Published 10/16/2025

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The flip from Week 6 to Week 7 marks the halfway point of the 13-week fantasy regular season. A perfect time to assess the landscape for the year. We asked Dynasty staffers Josh Fahlsing, Jeff Blaylock, Mike Kashuba, David Zacharias, and Hutchinson Brown for their biggest risers and fallers of the 2025 season so far.

Question of the Week

Who is your biggest Dynasty Riser and Faller halfway through the 2025 fantasy football regular season?

Riser: RB Rico Dowdle, Carolina | Faller: RB Chuba Hubbard, Carolina

Fahlsing: This will seem like recency bias, but hear me out. Six weeks into the fantasy season, Hubbard has gone from taking the lion's share of the team's carries to, at best, perhaps a 50/50 split for Carolina carries out of the backfield. The flip side of that coin? Dowdle has gone from a Hubbard handcuff to 5th in rushing yards despite only starting two games so far.

The biggest question is what happens as Hubbard gets healthy and Dowdle inevitably slows down a bit? The team clearly liked Hubbard and had plans for him after signing him to an extension last year. Before he was injured, he'd done enough to maintain the majority of the backfield work. In the three weeks both backs played fully healthy, Hubbard outcarried Dowdle 43 to 19. Hubbard's highest total in one game was 17 carries, and including Week 4, he had outcarried Dowdle 53 to 28.

However, the team liked Dowdle enough to bring him in during the offseason, and you cannot overlook what he's done since stepping in for Hubbard. In two weeks as the lead back, he's received the same 53 carries it took Hubbard four games to accumulate. Now, part of that increase is due to Hubbard's absence, but it signals to me that the coaching staff trusts Dowdle to carry the load, and, boy, has he responded.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales would not commit to Hubbard coming back as the starter when he's healthy again. This is an obvious signal that Dowdle might have earned a bigger role, either as the starter or in a duo, similar to how running backs have been deployed in places like Detroit over the past few years. Ultimately, this becomes a backfield where both players become solid flex plays. Before Hubbard's injury, he was handling 67 percent of the team's carries. Dowdle's performance in his absence makes it unlikely that Hubbard steps back into that kind of volume.

So, when I look at this backfield based solely on carries, I see Hubbard as a player who has lost a role where he handled almost 70 percent of the team's rushes. Even if Hubbard works his way back to a 50/50 split, I think his value has taken the biggest hit in the first six weeks of the season, while Dowdle has significantly benefited from the corresponding bump.

Riser: WR Quentin Johnston, LA Chargers

Brown: Simply put, Quentin Johnston is a baller. After a disappointing rookie season, many dynasty managers discounted his potential. While his Year 2 numbers—711 receiving yards and eight touchdowns—represented a significant step forward, skepticism lingered due to a high-profile struggle with key-moment drops. Entering his third season, Johnston was overlooked mainly in drafts. The Chargers' subsequent investments—a Day 2 pick in Tre' Harris, the signing of veteran Keenan Allen, and the emergence of Ladd McConkey—further diluted his market share. However, through the first six weeks of the 2025 season, Johnston has definitively separated himself as the primary wide receiver to target in the Chargers' offense. His route tree has become markedly more sophisticated, his consistency at the catch point has improved dramatically, and he is now consistently showcasing elite athleticism, making impactful plays both at the point of the catch and after the reception. Johnston currently ranks as a top-fifteen fantasy receiver in PPR formats. While he is presently managing a hamstring injury, his dynasty value continues to climb rapidly. He was always considered a developmental prospect out of college, but the Chargers' patience and investment appear to be delivering an elite return.

Faller: QB Kyler Murray, Arizona

Brown: Murray has consistently faced questions regarding his status as a long-term franchise quarterback. Throughout his seven-year career, his performance has moderately underwhelmed relative to his expectations as a number one overall pick. Despite these disappointments to the Arizona fanbase, he has historically been a fantastic fantasy asset, finishing as a top-twelve quarterback in fantasy points per game in nearly every season, with multiple top-five finishes. 

This season, the calculus has fundamentally changed. The Cardinals currently sit last in their division at 2-4, and the Arizona offense appears dysfunctional. While external factors—such as Marvin Harrison Jr.'s slower-than-expected production and questionable coaching/play-calling—are contributing factors, Murray must shoulder a fair portion of the blame. His performance has been frustratingly inefficient. As a former number one overall pick, Murray's leash has been extended, but it is unequivocally running out of slack. Given his substantial $57 million dead cap hit in 2026, a move is difficult. However, the Cardinals face minimal financial penalty to move on in 2027. Following his inconsistent tenure, a new direction at quarterback within the next one to two years would not be a shocking development, placing Murray's career as an NFL starter in serious jeopardy as he approaches 30. Critically for dynasty managers, his fantasy production is no longer offsetting his real-life issues. While he is on pace for a commendable 600 rushing yards, he has not finished as a top-twelve weekly quarterback this season, consistently relegating him to the QB2 conversation. Not only is Murray's long-term NFL status questionable, but the fantasy electricity that defined the early phase of his career appears to be fading. He was priced near the QB1 threshold in most pre-season dynasty rankings, but his early-season tape and production mandate a significant tumble down the ranks.

Riser: RB Cam Skattebo, NY Giants

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