Big performances seemingly come out of nowhere every week in the NFL. Sometimes it’s the first splash from an NFL player, like Dyami Brown, and sometimes it’s a regurgitated name that pops in every now and then, like Taysom Hill or Tevin Coleman.
As much as I’d love to write about Coleman’s rosy reunion with Kyle Shanahan, there are more important trends to note, believe it or not. Spoiler alert: Tevin Coleman is not a dynasty riser this week.
With the big, random performances and fun storylines, it’s easy to miss some player trends along with risers and fallers.
Let’s look at the dynasty’s latest risers and fallers following Week 5.
Risers
Gabe Davis & Khalil Shakir (WRs – BUF)
Josh Allen brought the flame thrower out for this one, throwing for 424 yards and four touchdowns, so anybody wearing a blue uniform was bound to find success on Sunday. Still, it was an immediate lift to Gabe Davis’ stock after just four catches for 50 yards in the last two weeks as he recovered from an ankle injury. As one of the most polarizing players in the fantasy football community, Davis’ low production allowed questions surrounding his value to resurface. He quickly answered those questions, catching a 98-yard touchdown on the game’s third play. He was extremely efficient, catching three passes for 171 yards and two scores. While we would like to see more than six targets and three receptions, target share has never been his thing, and it hardly matters when he and Allen are recreating Da Bomb. Regardless, he’s been a big play machine with Josh Allen and proved that’s not going away.
With Isaiah McKenzie and Jamison Crowder sidelined, Khalil Shakir took advantage of his expanded role. In his first game, the rookie caught three of five targets for 75 yards and a touchdown seeing extended action and playing primarily out of the slot. McKenzie is due back next week, but Crowder will likely miss more time, and Jake Kumerow remains hobbled by a high ankle sprain. Shakir is little more than a stash at this point, but he may have earned himself a larger role with this performance. Either way, it’s nice to see a rookie with upside perform when called upon, which should result in a value boost.
Most of his production came on a 69-yard touchdown run, but nobody can take that away from Kenneth Walker, as he totaled 88 yards on eight carries. With Rashaad Penny suffering a broken tibia, Walker will take on the lead role in the Seahawks’ offense, which I don’t see him relinquishing for a long time. Although he’s been quiet so far this season, Walker is a gifted runner and a capable pass catcher in an offense that has been surprisingly good. He should be in the RB2 range with an RB1 upside. After this season, Rashaad Penny will be a free agent, and now Walker has the crease he needs to take over the backfield.
Rachaad White has seen increased playing time in the last two weeks, with 24 snaps in week 4 and 31 on Sunday. He carried the ball five times and was targeted four times on 22 routes, producing 14 yards rushing and 28 receiving. While it’s not enough to be a lineup consideration, he’s eating into Leonard Fournette‘s workload and is playing a sizeable role on pass downs. He scored a rushing touchdown last week and has now tallied 78 receiving yards across the last two games. It’s certainly possible, if not likely, that this backfield turns into more of a timeshare as White continues to build Tom Brady‘s trust.
The quietest success story this season is Jakobi Meyers, who has now tallied 52.8 fantasy points in three games. He returned from a two-week absence due to a knee injury and picked up right where he left off, catching seven of eight targets for 111 yards and recording 24.1 points. He’s the WR8 this season with a per-game average of 17.6. He played 14 more snaps than the next closest wide receiver while running the most routes and garnering the most targets with a 38% target share. He’s clearly the Patriots’ WR1 and looks like a long-term solution to the Patriots pass-catching woes.
With Damien Harris exiting the contest in the first quarter, Rhamondre Stevenson rumbled his way to 161 yards on 25 carries, adding two catches for 14 yards. He finished with 19.5 fantasy points, recording a total of 52.5 points across the last three weeks. He’s averaging 5.5 yards per carry on the season and showing why his ADP surpassed Harris in August. He saw just two targets on Sunday, but that was still good for fourth on the team, as the Patriots only threw 21 times. He had seen five targets in the last two games before Sunday, taking most of the passing work out of the backfield. The severity of Harris’ hamstring injury is unknown at this time, but we do know that he will be a free agent after the season. Stevenson’s stock is on the rise.
Donovan Peoples-Jones (WR – CLE)
Donovan Peoples-Jones will mostly fly under the radar in dynasty circles, making him a good buy. He caught four of seven targets for 50 yards on Sunday, tallying 121 yards in the last two weeks combined. He’s seen 16 targets during that time span, producing 21.1 fantasy points. All of this has occurred with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, who has played well, but Deshaun Watson will provide a huge boost when he returns in week 12. Especially for Peoples-Jones, primarily known as a deep target, something Watson loves to have at his disposal.
Just kidding…kind of.
Fallers
Cam Akers & Darrell Henderson Jr. (RBs – LAR)
Split backfields are often correlated in the opposite way. When one is on the rise, the other is falling. This situation is a bit different, as neither of the Rams’ running backs provides value. Darrell Henderson did not receive a carry on Sunday but received five targets, catching four for 30 yards. Cam Akers, meanwhile, carried the ball 13 times for 33 yards but saw just one target. Brandon Powell stepped in to receive the only other running back carry for Los Angeles. It’s unclear if the Achilles injury zapped Akers of his explosiveness or if he simply isn’t very good. Still, there’s been nothing to get excited about from the former Seminole this season. We could ask the same question about Henderson, but he didn’t suffer an Achilles injury, so we already know which side he falls on.
We could just list the Los Angeles Rams offense outside Cooper Kupp in this section, but Allen Robinson stands out as a significant faller. He caught three passes for 12 yards on Sunday, bringing his yardage total to 107 on the season, which Kupp has cleared in four of five games this season. Robinson’s stock has been down for some time, but we got a glimpse of hope when he signed with the Rams that the Bears’ offense was holding him back. Positive training camp reviews and Sean McVay endorsements led to a resurgence of his value, likely for the last time. Van Jefferson is rumored to be returning in week 8 and very well may pass Robinson in the pecking order.
Najee Harris primarily built his value on volume, which is a dangerous game. He averaged over 19 carries and 4.4 receptions per game last season, totals that are down to 13.8 and 2.6 this season. On Sunday, he carried 11 times for 20 yards and caught three passes for 16 yards. He’s averaging just 3.2 yards per carry and has surpassed 50 rushing yards in just two of five games this season. Admittedly, I’ve never been in on Harris, but I certainly don’t root for players to fail, and I’m not looking for a victory lap, but the truth is, he’s not a special player.
With Keenan Allen sidelined for the last four weeks, a door was opened for Josh Palmer to step through and show that he’s a reliable piece of the passing attack. Instead, Palmer has done very little with the opportunity aside from a 99-yard performance in week 3. He saw six targets on Sunday, an improvement on the one he saw in week 4, catching three of them for 24 yards. He’s up to 183 yards on the season with just 84 outside of week 3. Palmer was an intriguing young player and dynasty stash but may be nothing more than a reserve at the NFL level.
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