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
Wood
Brock Osweiler - Peyton Manning's failings and Osweiler's reasonably solid play in his first start are enough to vault Osweiler up a tier. Needless to say his play in the coming weeks will continue to drive volatility in his ranking, but he has the chance to exit the season solidly among the top 12-15 at the position given his age, coaching staff and supporting cast.
Jameis Winston - Winston has shaken off early season struggles and played exceptionally well in the last month, even pulling the Bucs into playoff contention. His talent was never in question, but his focus and willingness to reduce turnovers was...until this last month. It's rare for a rookie starter to be this poised, particularly without a supremely talented supporting cast. Winston is among the top 10 assets at his position.
Ryan Tannehill - Tannehill is just a year removed from a Top 6 season, and is young enough to reassert his position. For now, the Dolphins erratic play and uncertain coaching situation are enough to drop Tannehill out of the QB1 tier.
Matt Ryan -Some may call this an overreaction (dropping the quarterback from QB4 to QB11) but I don't like what I've seen of Ryan lately. He remains an above average NFL passer, but he hasn't shown the poise or growth commensurate with his prior elite dynasty ranking.
Hindery
Cam Newton - There are a number of factors pointing to Cam Newton potentially emerging as the #1 dynasty quarterback down the stretch of the 2015 season. First, Newton is simply playing at an incredibly high level. After passing for just 18 touchdowns last season (and averaging just 20.25 per season over the first four years of his career), Newton has already thrown 20 touchdowns through the first ten games. He is on pace to shatter his career-best mark of 24 touchdown passes. Plus, after seeing his rushing touchdowns decrease every season (down to just five in 2014), Newton is currently on pace for double-digit rushing scores for the first time since his rookie season. Second, the future looks brighter than ever in terms of Newton’s passing targets. Old standby Greg Olsen still looks great and is signed long-term. In recent weeks, Devin Funchess has started to emerge as a real threat and potential star. With Kelvin Benjamin added back to the lineup in 2016, Newton will have by far his best cast of pass catchers ever. The future is bright for the Carolina offense. Lastly, the dynasty landscape at the quarterback position increases Newton’s value. Other young star quarterbacks have struggled mightily this season (Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck) and many of the top veterans are starting to show signs of slowing down (Aaron Rodgers). Newton could be the last man standing in terms of elite dynasty quarterbacks.
Running Back
Hindery
Thomas Rawls - While Rawls is tough to value due to the continued presence of Marshawn Lynch in Seattle, it is impossible to ignore the staggering 255 yards of offense Rawls put up in Week 11. He has earned a major role in the Seattle offense going forward even while Lynch is around. Rawls also looks like he has done enough to establish himself as the heir apparent in Seattle. With a team built around defense and a run-heavy offense, the starting running back job in Seattle is one of the league’s best situations for big fantasy production. Rawls has to be considered right alongside the other top rookie backs not named Todd Gurley in the same tier as more highly-touted players like Melvin Gordon, Ameer Abdullah and Jeremy Langford.
Wood
Jeremy Langford - Langford was off my radar until Matt Forte's injury pushed Langford into a starting role. He's played well and has shown an ability to be a 3-down back thanks to solid pass protection and receiving skill. Although I don't see Langford as an elite talent, he's done enough (combined with Forte's age/injury) to be considered a viable multi-year starter.
Ronnie Hillman - Hillman went from young budding star to forgotten man back to the top runner in Denver. He's outplayed C.J. Anderson and won the coaches' trust, and now has a workhorse role for a run-heavy team. I'm not sure I can completely discount Anderson over the next few seasons, but Hillman has shown enough to vault multiple tiers in my rankings.
Darren McFadden - Many will say I'm not high enough on McFadden, but this is a major leap in rankings for a guy I viewed as roster fodder a month ago. He's proven his critics -- myself included -- wrong by securing the top spot in the Cowboys backfield.
Joseph Randle - No runner has taken a more precipitous fall than Randle. A month ago he was the starter running behind the league's top offensive line. Now he's a malcontent that was tendered his release by the same team that opted to pay Greg Hardy $10mm+.
C.J. Spiller - Spiller continues to plummet into irrelevance as his move to New Orleans has not panned out the way we expected. He's not a part of the Saints game script with enough regularity to view Spiller as anything more than a back of the roster dynasty commodity.
Wide Receiver
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Travis Benjamin - The Browns may be a moribund franchise but Benjamin has been just short of elite this year; and you have to assume he would be a top tier fantasy commodity with a better quarterback situation. He's shown enough to warrant strong consideration before his fair value rises into the elite tier.
Michael Crabtree - Crabtree has played well enough to rank even higher than WR35, but my rankings are incremental and iterative. Crabtree will continue to move higher if he maintains his current level of play, but as his age and the fact he's playing for a new contract, I'm not willing to fully buy in until we see if he gets a long-term deal in Oakland OR signs with another team as a starter.
Victor Cruz - Another lost season makes it much harder to hold onto Cruz in all but the deepest of leagues. NFL history has not been kind to receivers with as much missed time as Cruz, and the Giants are certainly set to move on without him.
Charles Johnson - Johnson falls out of my Top 90 to complete his journey back to irrelevance after an exuberant (and irrational) preseason hype cycle.
Hindery
Emmanuel Sanders - The downward spiral of Peyton Manning may end up hurting Sanders more than any other player. It looks as though this Denver offense will be Brock Osweiler’s for most of the rest of the season (and probably in 2016 and beyond). Osweiler may be a better fit in Gary Kubiak’s system and a solid NFL starter, but the downgrade compared to prime Peyton Manning is immense. The immense 101 catch, 1,400-yard season Sanders put together in 2014 looks like it is likely to be a major career outlier. Kubiak’s offense will be run-heavy and feature the tight ends and Demaryius Thomas. There will be some targets left over for Sanders; but likely not enough to make him anything more than a fantasy WR3.
Michael Crabtree - Crabtree was a hot dynasty commodity during a big 2012 season that saw him amass 85 receptions, 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns. However, an Achilles injury and the subsequent collapse of the San Francisco offense left Crabtree’s dynasty stock in the dumpster. He is rehabilitating his reputation in a major way while playing 2015 on a one-year deal in Oakland. First, hindsight now makes the struggles in San Francisco in recent years look to be less due to Crabtree and much more due to Colin Kaepernick. Second, Crabtree has been passing the “eye test” with flying colors. He looks quick, athletic and powerful and still maintains the excellent hands and ball skills that made him so highly regarded as a young player. In recent weeks, he has been outplaying stud rookie Amari Cooper and has arguably emerged as the WR1 in Oakland. Crabtree is on pace for more than 90 receptions and 1,100 yards and should be a hot commodity in free agency next March. If he stays in Oakland or lands in another advantageous location, he should maintain WR2 value going forward and does not turn 29-years old until next fall.
Tight End
Hindery
Jimmy Graham - Recent weeks have seen more non-impact performances from Graham. It was concerning to see his struggles in the early part of the season, but there was still hope that the slow start was a fluke or just trouble adjusting to a new system. As we enter Week 12, it is becoming impossible to ignore the obvious: Graham is “just a guy” in fantasy terms. How else do you describe a 29-year old tight end on pace for just 800 yards and three touchdowns?
Tyler Eifert - Eifert is not going away. In the last three weeks, the 25-year old emerging star has scored five more touchdowns. Eifert is on pace for 17 scores this season. Perhaps there will be some touchdown regression and Eifert’s 65-catch, 750-yard pace is not overly impressive. But Eifert passes the eye test in a real way and could see his role in the Cincinnati offense continue to increase going forward as both Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu are set to hit free agency after the season. It’s highly unlikely the Bengals will be able to keep both with A.J. Green already making superstar money at the position.
Wood
Gary Barnidge - There's no more surprising player in the NFL this year than Barnidge -- a journeyman who has suddenly become an unstoppable force for a team that lacks much punch otherwise. He and Travis Benjamin are bright spots in an otherwise sad situation. I'm loathe to bet on Barnidge beyond this season, but in a week position for dynasty prospects, he has to rank in the Top 10 at present.
Martellus Bennett - Bennett has struggled this year in spite of a resurgent Bears passing attack. The fact Zach Miller has outplayed Bennett in recent weeks was enough to drop Bennett to the bottom of the TE1 tier. At his current trajectory, he could easily fall outside of the top 15 by season's end.
Julius Thomas - Injuries and a lack of a consistent role make it hard to buy into Thomas as an elite dynasty asset. The emergence of the Allens (Robinson and Hurns) makes Thomas the third leg of the stool, at best.