The first third of the NFL regular season is almost done, and it’s about that time when dynasty teams fully emerge as either competitors or rebuilders. Knowing the players who are rising and falling in value is crucial for making these pivotal decisions about teams. Here’s the top risers and fallers thus far in the season.
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Dynasty Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers
Risers
We all saw it coming, but Breece Hall has officially dusted Dalvin Cook in terms of effectiveness and snap count. Hall played his highest share of the season on Sunday, on the field for 66% of snaps after seeing a 52% snap share last week. He’s staying on the field in short yardage situations and taking on more passing work than he was earlier in the season. Even though he was less explosive on the ground in Week 6, the increased usage in the passing game helped to aid his 20.3 fantasy points. He should be an RB1 the rest of way, and looking healthy again at the age of 22, he’ll stay there for a long while to come.
After totaling 14.2 fantasy points on Sunday, Curtis Samuel has now scored less than two fewer fantasy points this season than Terry McLaurin. He has also more than doubled Jahan Dotson‘s total. Samuel has now surpassed 14 fantasy points in each of the last three weeks and has reached double digits in four of six games. His target rate over the last three weeks is just shy of 20% and although he hasn’t done much on the ground, he has registered four carries this season.
Chuba Hubbard (RB – CAR)
The best performance by a Panthers running back all season came on Sunday, when Chuba Hubbard ran for 88 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. It came with Miles Sanders on the shelf, of course, but Hubbard has quietly been outperforming Sanders all season. The third year back handled a workhorse-type role on Sunday, playing 53 of 68 snaps. It’s looking increasingly likely that Hubbard will retain a large role when Sanders returns, if not remain the backfield leader.
Seemingly left out of the rookie tight end party thus far, Michael Mayer posted a season- and career-high in targets (6), receptions (5), and yards (75) on Sunday while also leading the Raiders in receiving yards. Mayer out-snapped Austin Hooper in Week 5 by six snaps, but buried Hooper this week with 57 snaps compared to 24 for Hooper. Looking at this season, it’s easy to forget that rookie tight ends are notoriously slow starters, but it looks like we are seeing the tide turn after five weeks for Mayer.
We all know Drake London can play. His 203 yards over the last two weeks aren’t surprising in that sense. But the Falcons aired it out 47 times on Sunday, easily marking a season high. Desmond Ridder attempted 37 passes the week before, and he threw for over 300 yards in both outings. It’s encouraging to see Arthur Smith show a willingness to join the 21st century and play a modern brand of football at times, and equally as encouraging to see London take advantage. It remains to be seen if the latest trend will continue, but at least it raises London’s ceiling.
Fallers
I’ve been optimistic on Dameon Pierce this season, but he has failed to build on a strong rookie season. His offensive line has done him no favors this year, so there is a built-in excuse for Pierce, but it doesn’t matter when he is out-snapped by Devin Singletary. Pierce played just 21 snaps on Sunday, compared to Singletary’s 34, and carried the ball just one more time, 13 to 12. Singletary was more active in the passing game, with 18 routes to Pierce’s 7, and he out-gained Pierce by 62 yards to 34. Singletary also found the endzone, solidifying another dud performance from Pierce.
Jahan Dotson (WR – WAS)
As you read in the risers list, Curtis Samuel has more than doubled Jahan Dotson’s fantasy points this season. Although he was a trendy breakout candidate of many, Dotson hit a new low on Sunday with a goose egg. A single target was the only thing that allowed Dotson to appear in the box score. He has failed to surpass 40 yards in a game all season long and has only hit 30 yards twice. While the single target was his fewest yet this season, Dotson still ran 25 routes and has maintained his WR2 status on the team. But it’s pretty clear that his role in Eric Bieniemy’s offense just isn’t clicking.
Hayden Hurst (TE – CAR)
After joining the Carolina Panthers this summer, Hayden Hurst was viewed as a potential backend TE1. It hasn’t turned out that way, as Hurst caught one pass for 16 yards on Sunday, marking his third game with just one reception. After tallying 41 yards and a score in week 1, Hurst has been held to 21 yards or fewer in each game since and has failed to pass 5.1 fantasy points. Hurst is sharing snaps with Tommy Tremble in a bad offense that isn’t prioritizing the tight end position.
With apologies to Tutu Atwell, the return of Cooper Kupp and continued utilization of Puka Nacua has relegated Atwell back to a distant third option. Atwell ran 23 routes on Sunday, just five fewer than both Kupp and Nacua, but he was only targeted once. Kupp led the way with nine targets and Nacua saw six. It was an unfavorable game script for Atwell, as the Rams handled the Cardinals and didn’t need to throw as much. But the disparity in targets between Atwell and the top two options is concerning. It also represents the lower floor of Atwell now that Kupp has returned. He will still have his moments, but Atwell is unlikely to be a reliable contributor as long Kupp and Nacua are healthy.
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