Let’s look at some dynasty risers and fallers after four weeks of NFL action. Here are 11 dynasty fantasy football risers and fallers in value.
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Dynasty Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers
Dynasty Fantasy Football Risers
I wrote a lot about Dontayvion Wicks as a sleeper this season, with the only thing holding him back being the Packers’ deep receiving core. Of course, we’re not in the business of projecting injuries and are certainly not rooting for them in any capacity, but Christian Watson‘s high-ankle sprain opened the door for Wicks to emerge on Sunday. He showed up and showed out with five grabs for 78 yards and two scores, finishing the day with 24.8 fantasy points. Prior to Watson’s injury, the two were sharing the role while Romeo Doubs plays on the outside and Jayden Reed runs out of the slot. After the injury to Watson, Wicks was the primary receiver opposite of Doubs, rarely leaving the field. Wicks has been one of the most efficient receivers in the league since his arrival last season. When efficiency meets a larger role, good things are bound to happen. This could very well be the beginning of a Dontayvion Wicks breakout, proving he’s too good for a part-time role.
For some reason, after the season he had last year, there continued to be much discussion about who the Texans’ No. 1 WR would be. Tank Dell is an incredible talent and Stefon Diggs has proven he still has a lot to offer, but Nico Collins is simply a tier above the two. On Sunday, Collins caught 12 of his 15 targets for 151 yards and a touchdown, good for 33.1 fantasy points on the day. Collins is now the WR1 this season in standard and half-PPR while coming in at WR2 in PPR scoring. He has cemented himself as one of the best receivers in the business. His chemistry with C.J. Stroud is undeniable, but his size, ball skills and fluidity make him nearly unstoppable with Stroud at the helm.
Up until Week 4, Xavier Legette topped out at a 59% snap share. With Adam Thielen sidelined, Legette racked up 87% of the snaps and made the most of them. He saw a career-high 10 targets, resulting in six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown, adding in two rushes for another 10 yards. Legette has put to bed any speculation about whether he or Jonathan Mingo is the superior player. With Andy Dalton slinging the rock, we can expect more weeks like this from the first-round pick.
If you have the week for Russell Wilson‘s return circled, forget about it. Although the Steelers lost their first game of the season, Justin Fields cooked for 312 yards and a passing touchdown while using his legs to tally 55 yards and another two trips to the end zone. His 31.98 fantasy points were the most of any quarterback this week, and the highest of any quarterback in a game this season. He did register one fumble, but that’s just his second turnover of the season. As long as the Steelers are winning games, it’s tough to imagine Fields not in the lineup. And when Fields is in the lineup, he scores fantasy points and makes fantasy start sit decisions easy.
It was Alec Pierce who stepped up in the first two weeks with Josh Downs sidelined, but Downs’ return has quickly put the WR2 debate to rest. Downs was quiet in his Week 3 return but showed why he is so valuable to this offense in Week 4 with eight catches on nine targets for 82 yards and a touchdown. Adonai Mitchell received plenty of buzz coming into the season but remains uninvolved, leaving the underrated Downs as a big piece of the Colts’ offense.
Although this is painfully obvious, I have yet to write about Jordan Mason. With the impending return of Christian McCaffrey, it’s difficult to consider Mason as too much of a dynasty riser. However, he’s now put four of the best running back weeks together we’ve seen this season. On Sunday, Mason notched his third 100-yard rushing game while scoring his third touchdown. He’s the RB5 on the season and is positioning himself to have a role when McCaffrey returns.
Dynasty Fantasy Football Fallers
Did anybody actually expect this to go well? After the Cowboys fumbled their way through free agency and the draft, Ezekiel Elliott made his return to Dallas as the Cowboys’ starting running back. As expected, it hasn’t been pretty. Elliott rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries in Week 1, but since then, he went six for 16 in Week 2, three for six in Week 3 and five for 19 in Week 4. Rico Dowdle is clearly the more explosive back. The Cowboys have few options at the position, so Elliott may fall into the end zone a few more times this season, but he’s not playable.
If I didn’t know any better, I would think Adonai Mitchell skipped town after the preseason. Mitchell’s training camp and preseason was met with plenty of buzz and hype, but he’s caught just two passes through four weeks, and zero over the last two games. He was pegged as the perfect complement to Michael Pittman and Josh Downs in this offense, but is still well behind Alec Pierce in the rotation. I believe Mitchell’s time will come eventually, but that time feels further and further away every week.
The Browns are a complete mess, and I’m not so sure Amari Cooper wants to be playing for Cleveland. After offseason rumors swirled that the Browns offered Cooper up in a Brandon Aiyuk trade, he’s struggled to get anything going with Deshaun Watson. He posted 27.6 points in Week 3, thanks in large part to two touchdowns, but outside of that, Cooper has combined for just 15.2 points across the other three games. He’s getting plenty of targets, but hasn’t been able to generate big plays and it feels like this offense may never create a big play again. With the Commanders on deck, next week would be a good time to get going, but it’s tough to envision that happening with Watson under center. Is it Jameis Winston time yet?
The Jets versus Broncos was void of nearly any offense throughout the game, thanks largely to the rainstorm, but Garrett Wilson has yet to live up to the lofty expectations of he and Aaron Rodgers playing together. Wilson has scored just one touchdown and has posted yardage totals of 60, 57, 33 and 41 through four weeks. Touted as one of dynasty’s most valuable wide receivers, that’s not going to cut it. With a bevy of young receivers shining week in and week out, Wilson is due for a tumble down the dynasty rankings.
“He plays the same position as Jerry (Jeudy),” Sean Payton said in reference as to why Marvin Mims didn’t get the usage or production we hoped for last season. Well, Jeudy is now playing in Cleveland. Yet, Mims is still seeing around 10 snaps per game. He has just two receptions for 19 yards this season. Through four weeks last year, Mims had recorded nine receptions for 242 yards and a touchdown. Troy Franklin, who was inactive the first two weeks, has since passed Mims up in the rotation and it appears Mims is little more than a return man for the Broncos.
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