Last week I said I won’t include Tom Brady again this week. He’s been listed under “falling” up to this point because he’s approaching rock bottom. I just want you to know that it was very difficult to omit him after that Monday Night game because it seems like the wheels have fallen off.

Onto the non-Brady members of the NFL:

Rising

Eli Manning, NYG
After an awful start in Week 1, Manning has turned things around, improving on a weekly basis. It seems that the more time the Giants spend in their new offense, the more they improve at running it. Despite that aforementioned Week 1 disaster, Manning currently sits as the No. 6 quarterback in fantasy, according to FFToday default scoring. Manning isn’t a must start, but is a solid option when the matchup is right – and his next three matchups are very right.

Tony Romo, DAL
Here we have another NFC East quarterback that has increased his scoring every week of the season thus far. Romo entered the year with known back issues and they were clearly affecting him early on. In Weeks 1 and 2, Romo threw for 457 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. In Weeks 3 and 4, Romo threw for 479 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. Certainly seems like his back is getting better.

Teddy Bridgewater, MIN
Thanks to a Matt Cassel injury in Week 3, Bridgewater received his first NFL start in Week 4. He surely did not disappoint. Bridgewater threw for 317 yards with no turnovers, while adding 27 yards and a score on the ground. Add Bridgewater onto the seemingly never ending pile of streaming quarterback options, though his injury is a concern for owners who may be considering him in the immediate future.

Kirk Cousins went from the top of the fantasy quarterback world to the bottom in the span of a week.

Falling

Kirk Cousins, WAS
So apparently Cousins is not invincible. It was beginning to seem that way after his hot start once entering the lineup, but that’s been derailed by a rough Thursday night against an average Giants defense. Cousins is still a solid start most weeks, but his most recent outing is a good reminder that he’s not a set-it-and-forget-it type of player.

Cam Newton, CAR
Over the last three weeks, Newton is only the 20th highest scoring quarterback in fantasy. He has only thrown one touchdown per game. The most important note: Newton only has eight rushes for 33 yards this season. Newton’s biggest appeal as a fantasy quarterback has always been his rushing. If he’s not piling up yards and/or touchdowns on the ground, Newton isn’t a fantasy starter. Keep an eye on him to see if he can turn it around on the ground in the next few weeks.

Geno Smith, NYJ
Earlier in the season, I liked Smith’s outlook as a spot starter. His recent play is beginning to make me change my tune. Smith has been a turnover machine this season with five interceptions and two fumbles in four games. He only has five total touchdowns. You do not want to put your fantasy trust in a quarterback with more turnovers than touchdowns.

Running Back

Rising

Matt Asiata, MIN
It’s rare to find a person who enjoys watching Asiata the football player. Fantasy football isn’t about viewing pleasure, though. It’s about numbers. Since Adrian Peterson’s suspension, Asiata is 11th among running backs in rushing attempts and tied for third at his position in receiving targets. Most importantly, he’s third at running back in fantasy points in the last three weeks. As long as he remains the Vikings’ leader in touches, Asiata should be strongly considered for fantasy lineups.

Jerick McKinnon, MIN
When I took on this as a weekly article, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would feature two Vikings running backs as “rising” at the same time. If you follow many fantasy football analysts on Twitter, you probably know that many people have been craving the idea of McKinnon getting an opportunity. Sunday, he got it, and he showed why he has people so excited. One hundred thirty-five rushing yards later, McKinnon will probably be the most popular pickup of the week. I have a feeling there are still some minimal carry games in his future, but you can’t ignore the talent.

Bishop Sankey, TEN
Slowly but surely, Sankey continues to get just a little more action than the week before. He is certainly trending in the direction of taking over the backfield entirely, but he’s not there yet. We need to see Sankey dominate the first-half touches in the Titans offense before fully committing to him as a fantasy starter. All signs point toward Sankey eventually being the man in Tennessee, however.

Falling

Pierre Thomas, NO
It’s clear that the New Orleans Saints are once again creating a headache for owners of their running backs in fantasy. The departure of Darren Sproles was supposed to turn Thomas into King of the Receiving Backs, but it hasn’t quite worked out that way. Through four weeks, Pierre Thomas is tied for 55th in rushing attempts and tied for 25th in running back receptions. At the moment, it’s very hard to consider Thomas a reliable fantasy commodity, even in PPR leagues, though I wouldn’t drop him yet.

LeSean McCoy, PHI
Just so we’re clear, I’m not giving up on McCoy. He still has it in him to turn things around and be the stud we all expected in the preseason. It’s still tough to ignore the last two weeks of production. Twenty-nine carries for 39 yards is miserable output. Keep starting him, but temper those game-changer expectations until we actually see the game-changing McCoy show up.

Donald Brown, SD
Sometimes, the fantasy math isn’t as easy at it seems. Take a three-headed backfield by committee and remove two members, you should have one awesome fantasy player, right? Wrong. In Week 4, Brown was handed the most ideal fantasy football scenario you could imagine: full ownership of projected backfield touches against a terrible defense. Brown turned in a 5.4-point performance in standard leagues. With his rough outing and the Chargers’ decision to break-in rookie Branden Oliver, it’s tough to trust Brown moving forward.

Wide Receiver

Rising

Steve Smith, BAL
We’re beginning to reach the point in the season where we have to start believing what we’re seeing. Smith, despite a rough start to the start, is still chugging along as he is now ranked the No. 4 wide receiver in standard scoring leagues. Even if an eventual fall off a cliff is coming, his owners should certainly ride out the hot streak with him in the lineup until that day comes.

DeAndre Hopkins, HOU
At this point, it seems like the only thing holding Hopkins back from elite status is Houston’s insistence on targeting Andre Johnson more often. I don’t blame them as Johnson is probably one of the best wide receivers in recent memory. Despite seeing fewer targets, Hopkins continues to put up fantasy points, as he’s given us either a touchdown or over 100 yards in all four weeks up to this point. He’s a trustworthy fantasy starter.

Kelvin Benjamin, CAR
It’s looking like Benjamin has broken the mold when it comes to rookie wide receivers in fantasy football. Not only is he the target leader on his own team, but he’s tied for eighth among wide receivers in that category. His size combined with the composition of the Panthers’ roster, it’s hard to imagine that the target pace, or his scoring pace, will slow down. It seems that it might be time to drop the stigma that comes with being a rookie wide receiver because Benjamin has joined the ranks of weekly fantasy starters.

Falling

Cordarrelle Patterson, MIN
Here is where Patterson ranks among wide receivers: tied for 53rd in targets, tied for 49th in receptions and 43rd in receiving yards. On top of all of those stats, he has zero receiving touchdowns. He showed how exciting he can be with his long rushing touchdown in Week 1, but this was the same guy who was going in the top 20 at his position in fantasy drafts. He should be contributing through the air yet it’s just not happening. Until Minnesota starts involving Patterson in their offense, he can be considered one of the biggest wide receiver busts of 2014 through four weeks.

Kendall Wright, TEN
After making 94 catches in 2013 Wright looked like a solid PPR option in 2014. The only thing that could potentially hold Wright back was supposed to be Justin Hunter, but he isn’t doing anything either. Through September, Wright is 51st in FFPts/G in PPR, 62nd in standard. With the Titans quarterbacking so far, a huge turnaround doesn’t seem imminent.

Marques Colston, NO
Colston is another guy getting a disappointing number of looks through the air. Jimmy Graham is dominating the targets, while Brandin Cooks is second on the team. On top of only being third in targets on the Saints, Colston has only caught half of them. It should come as no surprise that Colston has done very little for his fantasy owners this season. There’s no need to force Colston into lineups, though in the Saints offense, I’m sure he still has some good weeks in him.

Tight End

Rising

Larry Donnell, NYG
With each week that goes by, it’s looking more and more like Donnell is here to stay. He has at least five receptions in every game this season. The only other tight ends with at least five in every game are Jimmy Graham and Martellus Bennett. Donnell is clearly Eli Manning’s favorite target when the Giants get close to the end zone. I wouldn’t expect any more three-touchdown weeks, but it wouldn’t be insane to expect a lot of weeks with at least one. Donnell has made a very quick ascension from an unheard of player to a weekly starter.

Delanie Walker, TEN
Here is a player that is looking like one of the safer options at the tight end position from week to week. Walker is fourth in receptions and second in yards among all tight ends. Walker has also been a big red zone target, scoring in three of four weeks so far. Keep rolling him out as the only trustworthy member of the Titans offense.

Travis Kelce, KC
The coming out party everyone was waiting for finally happened. Anyone who followed the Chiefs at all could tell the offense is better with Kelce, but for some reason Kansas City kept holding him back. In Week 4, they finally let him go and he came up big. After an eight catch, 93-yard performance against the Patriots, it’s clear that he has arrived.

Falling

Vernon Davis, SF
I don’t love the idea of including a player whose fall is injury related, but I think this is a special case. If Davis was pronounced “out” for a while, I wouldn’t bother including him. We’re seeing a guy that is starting games but not finishing them, however. It’s not an enjoyable experience rolling out a questionable tight end every week. I would consider benching him until he is stable.

Ladarius Green, SD
The Travis Kelce breakout is what people have been dreaming of with Green since the beginning of last season. Green just isn’t a major part of the Chargers offense right now. I said it in Week 2 and I’ll reiterate it here since another two weeks have gone by: It’s unnecessary to own Green as long as Antonio Gates is around.

Rob Gronkowski, NE
The apparent downfall of the Patriots offense isn’t doing Gronkowski any favors. Recovering from an offseason ACL surgery might not be helping either. Gronk has still given his owner a touchdown in three out of four weeks, which is exactly what they expected, but he still hasn’t cracked four receptions or 44 yards in a game. If you own him, you’re still using him, but you’re not getting that top-end production when you do it.

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