Dynasty Movement: Week 9

Week 8 reminded us how fluid Dynasty values are. We have ventured deep enough into the season that teams are proactively playing alternatives for struggling players, and slow starts are turning into lost years. We asked our staff to highlight their most significant moves. 

Staffers Jason Wood, Andy Hicks, Maurile Tremblay, Ryan Weisse, Darin Tietgen, and Sean Settle share their Dynasty ranking movement.

Dynasty Movement at Quarterback

Cam Ward, Tennessee

Tremblay - Going into Week 8, Ward's future as the starter was in serious doubt. Days earlier, the Titans had traded Jeffery Simmons to Chicago for first-round picks. They should be in a position to draft a franchise quarterback in 2027 if they want to replace Ward. But at Cincinnati, Ward played the best game of his career: 304 passing yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and 41 rushing yards. He did it without his top receiver, Carnell Tate, and he lost his two best offensive linemen during the game. The more aggressive game plan produced 36 points, Tennessee's most in nearly six years. One great game in an overtime loss doesn't erase a 4-21 record as a starter. But it should buy him more time to prove himself.

Kyler Murray, Minnesota

Tremblay - Minnesota's first loss, 19-15 at Detroit, turned worries about Murray into an open debate about the starting job. He missed reads. He was inaccurate. On one snap, he passed up an open Justin Jefferson from a clean pocket and got sacked. He is arguably playing the worst football of his career. Should the Vikings turn to Carson Wentz? Should they trade for Kirk Cousins? Daniel Jones? Murray is 29 and playing for his next contract, but it's looking like he'll be a backup in 2027, if not before then.

Caleb Williams, Chicago

Wood - Williams has moved onto the medal stand, now sitting third among dynasty quarterbacks. He has fully embraced Ben Johnson’s demanding coaching and is executing the Bears' offense at a level never before seen from a Chicago passer. With organizational alignment, stable leadership, and a deep corps of young playmakers around him, Williams needs only to stay healthy to cement his status as an elite dynasty cornerstone.

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore

Wood - Injuries are inevitable, and I am loath to slap players with simplistic labels of durability or fragility. Yet Jackson has missed so much time that it's impossible to ignore in the valuation process. More concerning than the missed games, however, is his ongoing transition away from being a focal rushing weapon. His rushing attempts per game have plummeted from 11.1 in 2021 to just 3.8 in 2026, dropping consistently along the way: 11.1, 9.3, 9.3, 8.2, 5.2, and 3.8. If Jackson no longer provides an elite rushing baseline, he ceases to be a top-tier dynasty asset, particularly since he is tracking to finish with fewer than 25 touchdown passes for the fifth time in six seasons.

Hicks - The number one ability is availability, and Jackson is struggling there. In three of the previous five years, he missed four games, but this year will be his worst by far, with a possible 12 games missed. He turns 30 next year, and his rushing numbers are already falling rapidly. His passing is, as always, elite, but his fantasy numbers come from his rushing, which will diminish rapidly. If he can stay fit. His upside puts him near the top, but with the downside more prevalent now, he has to move down to become a borderline dynasty fantasy starter

Weisse - I have been hesitant to move Jackson down my rankings, but at some point, the injury concerns become too much to ignore. Jackson is still one of the most talented quarterbacks in football, but he is also 29 years old, and that is not exactly young for a quarterback who relies so heavily on his legs. The injuries are piling up, and I worry we are getting closer to the point where his rushing won't make up for the missed games. I am not ready to write Jackson off, but I can no longer justify ranking him among the elite dynasty quarterbacks. He falls two tiers in my rankings, from QB5 to QB9.

Dak Prescott, Dallas

Hicks - Prescott will be 34 at the start of next season. He needs to bear some responsibility for the state of Cowboys football. He ranks high in fantasy this season, but it’s all smoke and mirrors. Two games produced seven touchdowns and zero interceptions, while the other six games have seven touchdowns and five interceptions. If Dallas makes a move in the offseason on the coaching front, the Cowboys only have one more season with him on the books before his salary cap numbers become avoidable. It is time to move him down.

Brock Purdy, San Francisco

Tietgen - Purdy has the benefit of having a generational talent behind him in Christian McCaffrey, which softens the defense to the point where he has wide-open avenues to throw to an abundance of pass catchers. It also helps that you have a Hall of Fame tight end in George Kittle to throw to. But aside from McCaffrey and Kittle, what else does this offense really have? Purdy has been making average receivers look really good for several years. He's come a long way from being Mr. Irrelevant in 2022. He's accurate and always makes wise decisions in the pocket. And while he's not the running threat that a guy like Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen is, he's nimble enough to add some rushing yards here and there. He's just 26, and you gotta think the Niners add some weapons on the outside in the coming drafts to give Purdy more options.

Bo Nix, Denver

Tietgen - A couple of weeks ago I wrote that I thought Nix would rebound. Since then, he's put up two semi-respectable games, but nowhere near what he did in 2025 or his abilities as both a passer and a runner. The team brought in Jaylen Waddle as a true number-one receiver, and it's been an unmitigated disaster. Courtland Sutton? Barely rosterable at this point. The run game has been in flux on top of everything else. Right now, Nix just doesn't look like a legit QB1 from a fantasy perspective. In superflex leagues, he remains a nice QB2 because there just HAVE to be some bigger games ahead, right?

Dynasty Movement at Running Back