Join the Footballguys Daily Update
Start your morning with our roundup of the most important stories in football - with the fantasy insight you need to make league-winning decisions. Delivered straight to your inbox, 100% free.
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
Cummings
Nick Foles/Mark Sanchez- Foles’ injury is by no means career threatening and shouldn’t have any impact on his 2015 success. That being said, we all thought that Foles was simply a product of Chip Kelly’s system and now Mark Sanchez gets a half a season to prove us right. If Sanchez leads this team to an NFC East title it will be awfully interesting what happens with Foles moving forward.
Ryan Tannehill- Tannehill finally has a good grasp of the Dolphins new system and it looks perfect for him. Tannehill is picking up points through the air and on the ground and has scored the 4th most fantasy points of any quarterback in his last 4 games. As long as this offense and this system can stick together Tannehill should be a solid QB1.
Tefertiller
Tom Brady – Brady was ranked low due to his age and slow start. It is not time to move him up to a level commensurate with his production. With Rob Gronkowski now healthy, the Patriots passer is putting up big fantasy points.
Philip Rivers – Rivers, too, was ranked too low. He has greatly surpassed expectations with strong play, especially early in season. In addition, coach Mike McCoy has done a tremendous job putting Rivers in a position to succeed. The Chargers have enough play-makers to keep Rivers at a QB1 level. I try not to overreact to last Sunday's poor performance. Rivers is still a quality fantasy option.
Running Back
Tefertiller
Montee Ball – It is now obvious that Ball will not be the unquestioned starter when healthy that many assumed when injured. Ronnie Hillman made a corresponding move up the rankings. We expect the duo to split touches in some variety, with Hillman possibly getting the majority of the snaps.
Mark Ingram – Ingram has played well enough to earn the starter's carries in New Orleans, even when Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas return to action. With free agency coming in the offseason, Ingram has a chance to land in a premium spot as the primary ball carrier.
Cummings
Jeremy Hill- Yes, it came against the Jaguars, but Hill’s performance was impressive no less. Giovani Bernard would be best served as a change of pace back and Hill staked his claim that he can be the grinder the Bengals need. If the Bengals show they get that I’ll move him even higher.
Ben Tate- In Tate’s last 3 games he has 31 carries for 65 yards. While that’s not all on him, the two rookie running backs have been more successful and it looks like we can all give up on the idea of Tate as a true RB1 on any team.
Tre Mason- Mason looked great against Seattle, but when the Rams limited his carries against Kansas City you had to wonder what they were thinking. This week he wasn’t great, but against a defense like the 49ers he wasn’t awful. More importantly, it once again looks like the Rams realize that Mason is the most talented back on the roster.
Wide Receiver
Cummings
Martavis Bryant- Bryant has had a spectacular start to his career and he gives the Steelers what they’ve needed for some time, a big red zone target. You shouldn’t expect him to keep this production up, but you also shouldn’t be selling high. He looks to have a long productive career ahead of him.
DeAndre Hopkins- Hopkins looked lost at times last year, and even this year, but right now he looks like the best wide receiver on the Texans roster. We knew he had the talent; it’s nice to see him putting it all together. He’ll still need to get that quarterback situation fixed if he ever wants to reach his potential.
Mohamed Sanu- I was skeptical of Sanu’s performance with A.J. Green out, because the Bengals didn’t really have anyone else to throw the ball to. However, if you look at Sanu’s performance in the 5 games that Green has played you’ll see a line of 21-329-3. It looks as if Sanu has indeed taken a big step forward and may make Marvin Jones irrelevant whenever Jones gets healthy.
Tefertiller
Antonio Brown – Brown moves into the WR6 spot in the rankings with his exceptional play. He is making a strong play to be ranked over some of the traditional Top 5 in rankings. It is difficult to refute the continued production and role in the Steelers offense. Brown should be getting more due for his strong play.
Sammy Watkins – There is no denying the talent of the rookie. He moves to the WR7 slot in our rankings. We see Watkins possibly moving to the Top 3 in the offseason. It is no coincidence that Watkins' play has increased with Kyle Orton now under center.
Allen Robinson – Robinson is the real deal. He has not received much publicity because the Jaguars are so far off the radar for many, yet the rookie has enjoyed a string of solid games in a row. We like his chances of being a perennial Top 10 player at the position once quarterback Blake Bortles develops.
Tight End
Tefertiller
Crockett Gillmore – The rookie tight end got the start a week ago as Owen Daniels was recovering from hip surgery. Gillmore is the type of player who can develop into a fantasy starter in a year or two. He is big, athletic, and has plenty of room to grow and develop after playing college ball at Colorado State.
Cummings
Mychal Rivera- I was high on Rivera early in the year and soured when he struggled out of the gates. Since Tony Sparano has taken over Rivera has gotten more involved and been TE3 over that span. He’s seen 16 targets in his last two weeks and looks to have earned the trust of the quarterback of the future in Oakland.
The Footballguys.com staffers have a dynasty-centric Google Hangout each Thursday. Here is a link to watch.
