Rising

Three QBs have thrown 6 TDs in a game this season.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, HOU
There’s no way I would ever expect him to throw six touchdowns in a game again, but “Fitzmagic” had to be in this article. He likely isn’t sniffing your lineup in leagues with one quarterback slot, but he has proven himself very usable in two quarterback leagues. I know some were weary of using him since he had the job yanked away a couple weeks ago, but it appears safe to use him in that second quarterback or superflex spot going forward.

Colt McCoy, WAS
The fumbles were ugly and the final score was ugly, but Colt McCoy’s fantasy day on Sunday was far from ugly. McCoy had 392 passing yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions. The Redskins are just bad enough where McCoy could be faced with more games like this where he has to throw a lot, and he did well enough that I don’t think there’s any risk of another quarterback change happening in Washington this season. If you are in trouble in multi-quarterback leagues, Colt McCoy could help you.

Falling

Colin Kaepernick, SF
Colin Kaepernick is stuck in a rough stretch that goes all the way back to Week 6. Since that Monday Night game against St. Louis, Kaepernick hasn’t thrown for more than 263 yards in a game, nor has he thrown more than one touchdown in any of those games. Those numbers typically wouldn’t be a problem with a running quarterback, but Kaepernick hasn’t been a running quarterback. Since Week 6, he has not rushed for more than 24 yards in a game, and he has zero rushing touchdowns this season. I would not want to trust Kaepernick in a playoff game in standard leagues.

Tony Romo, DAL
Two straight big weeks and an easy looking playoff schedule had Tony Romo owners drooling. Now? Not so much. A disaster game against the Eagles, one of the worst defenses in the league against the pass, should have owners slightly concerned. It’s tough to bench him in your fantasy playoffs given the easy schedule, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that he will be able to carry you to that title either.

Running Back

Rising

Tre Mason, STL
For a few weeks now, Tre Mason has been carrying the load in St. Louis. The problem? They kept playing incredibly tough run defenses, week after week. Then the Raiders came to town and Tre Mason finally had his first big break out performance. The Rams still have some more tough run defenses on the schedule, so this huge performance may not become a weekly event. But it’s good to know he has it in him, and good to know that the Rams are sticking with him. He’s a safe starter to due workload with the upside of a potential repeat of his Week 13 performance.

Fred Jackson, BUF
It appears Fred Jackson is finally back to full health, and with that health he has taken on the workhorse role in Buffalo. Entering Week 13, Jackson had not carried the ball more than ten times since Week 2, and no more than 12 times all season. Against the Browns he had 21 carries. He didn’t have a great fantasy day, but the fact that he is back to full health and is receiving a major portion of the backfield work in Buffalo makes him a starter for most fantasy teams.

Doug Martin, TB
In a pleasant surprise, Doug Martin actually had a decent fantasy day on Sunday. He only managed 58 yards and a touchdown, but that is an improvement for him. The important note here is that Martin dominated the carries, with Charles Sims only getting five and Bobby Rainey only getting one. He won’t carry any teams to titles, but he might at least become serviceable down the stretch in a season where running back has turned into a very shallow position.

Falling

Jeremy Hill & Giovani Bernard, CIN
Both running backs in Cincinnati are extremely talented, and each has proven that they can be a dominant fantasy performer when they are alone in the backfield. That’s the problem right now for owners: Hill and Bernard are not alone. The two are splitting carries almost equally, with a very slight edge to Jeremy Hill. They each remain very startable as the Bengals give them both plenty of work, but neither of them is likely to put up a week-winning performance as long as they both remain healthy.

Denard Robinson, JAC
Robinson went on a great run when he first took on the starting job in Jacksonville, but that run is long over. In his first three weeks as the lead back, he ran for 329 yards while averaging 5.77 yards per carry. In his last three games, he’s run for 129 yards and averaged 3.23 yards per rush. I’m not sure if it’s his fault or the fault of the Jaguars offense, but either way, utilizing Robinson in lineups isn’t nearly as appealing as it was when he first burst on the scene.

Jonas Gray, NE
The epitome of New England Patriot running back ownership in fantasy. A week after running for 201 yards and four touchdowns, Gray was punished for oversleeping and didn’t play a snap. Two weeks later, he returned to the field for one carry. He could have one more monster game in him, but it will happen on fantasy benches or waiver wires, because you just cannot trust Bill Belichick.

Wide Receiver

Rising

Keenan Allen, SD
For most of the 2014 season, Keenan Allen has been a major target in the Chargers passing game, but it just wasn’t translating to big fantasy games. Things have taken a turn for the better in the past two weeks. Entering Week 12, Allen only had one 100-yard game on his resume (every other game he totaled less than 75 yards), with just one touchdown. In the past two games, however, Allen has put up consecutive 100-yard performances and three total touchdowns. Given the success he had in 2013, I think this was just a matter of a long overdue breakout, and owners that were let down by him most of the year can now treat him like the weekly starter they thought they were drafting over the summer.

DeAndre Hopkins, HOU
The Texans may have believed that Ryan Mallett was their best option, but for DeAndre Hopkins fantasy owners, it’s clear that Ryan Fitzpatrick is the best one for the job. In two games with Mallett, Hopkins averaged 8.5 targets and didn’t have more than 80 receiving yards in either game. In the last four games started by Fitzpatrick, Hopkins has averaged 10 targets and hasn’t had less than 95 yards in a game. And did I mention he just went off for 238 yards and two touchdowns? It would be pretty tough to bench Hopkins right now.

Kenny Stills, NO
It’s hard to trust New Orleans Saints wide receivers, but it might be time to start putting your trust into Kenny Stills. If his two big back-to-back weeks came out of nowhere, I’d still be hard-pressed to trust him. Considering they came directly after the loss of Brandin Cooks, however, it’s tough to ignore the connection. Given the Saints’ Patriots-like history of messing with fantasy owners’ heads, there will surely be a terrible week coming for Stills, but for now it seems like owners that need wide receiver help can start utilizing him with a little more confidence.

Stedman Bailey, STL
Seemingly out of nowhere, Stedman Bailey has suddenly become a relevant name in the fantasy world. In the last two weeks, Bailey has more than doubled his targets, receptions and yardage totals in 2014. Once a total afterthought for fantasy owners, Bailey is suddenly a guy that has to be considered for lineups going forward. It’s incredibly tough to trust him yet, but he should at least be on rosters for later use in case his upward trend continues.

Falling

Martavis Bryant, PIT
“What goes up, must come down” is a phrase that fits Martavis Bryant perfectly. He started on fire in his first four weeks, going off for 310 yards and six touchdowns. In the last two weeks, Bryant surely has come down, totaling only 34 yards and no touchdowns. He’s clearly a guy with high upside, but that doesn’t make him a weekly fantasy starter. Bryant is a good guy to use if you need a home run, but not if you’re looking for a safe floor.

Mike Evans, TB
Evans is another rookie who has returned to Earth since posting a few straight monster performances. In a three-game stretch in Weeks 9-11, Evans put up 458 yards and five touchdowns. Since that time, he has gone two straight games with under fifty receiving yards. Evans clearly has the talent, but a lot will depend on how the Tampa Bay offense performs as a whole, and there’s never a guarantee that the Bucs will do well enough to support big fantasy days from Evans.

Andre Johnson, HOU
It was nice to see Andre Johnson find the end zone for the second time this year, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has been trending downward all season. He’s still getting a decent number of receptions, but that’s all Johnson really has going for him. It’s been five weeks since his last 70+-yard performance, and he has zero 100-yard games. Pile that on the overall lack of touchdowns, and Andre Johnson clearly just isn’t the same must start fantasy starter that he has been for most of his career.

Tight End

Rising

Jordan Reed, WAS
It’s looking like Colt McCoy has a special connection with his tight end. In two McCoy starts, Reed has totaled 16 receptions for 163 yards. Considering he only has 32 catches in six games since returning from injury, it seems clear that having McCoy at the helm can only help Reed. He’s not necessarily a must start since he did just have a two game stretch in Weeks 11 and 12 with only three total catches, but we’ll take what we can get in this season at a position with such little depth.

Heath Miller, PIT
Very quietly, Heath Miller has put together a solid fantasy season. He is the number 13 tight end for 2014 in FFToday default scoring. Miller has scored at least seven fantasy points in three of the last five weeks in standard scoring, and at least 12 in those games in PPR. He isn’t in the category of must starts, but very few tight ends are. Coming off consecutive strong games, Miller makes for a surprisingly decent option.

Falling

Mychal Rivera, OAK
A common theme in this article has been players that had a nice stretch of weeks being unable to sustain their success. Rivera is another example. He had a stretch of three games where he caught 21 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns; since that time, he’s only caught seven passes for 69 yards and no scores. For a short time, the Raiders tight end seemed like a solid option, but now he’s someone who can be ignored.

Owen Daniels, BAL
In the past, Joe Flacco has always been considered a guy that likes throwing to his tight ends, but that hasn’t proven to be the case lately. Owen Daniels hasn’t caught more than two passes or been targeted more than five times in over a month. He only has three games this season with at least fifty yards receiving, and has only scored one touchdown since September. It’s reasonable to consider streaming him in a great matchup, but hopefully you have better options.

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