Highlighting a few key risers and fallers,
the Dynasty Dashboard assists in keeping you on top of
player valuation changes as they are developing. Further, a deep
sleeper or largely overlooked player worthy of consideration for
a spot on your roster will also be identified each week. Keep an
eye on the dashboard and drive your team toward dynasty league success.
Accelerating
Check the numbers, Moore is pushing to
be a WR2.
Denarius
Moore - During his rookie year, the lockout-shortened
offseason and a change of QBs mid-campaign were definite hurdles
for Denarius Moore to overcome. He had little time to learn the
offensive system and build adequate rapport with Jason Campbell
or Carson Palmer, yet it didn’t take long for Moore to emerge as
a player with tremendous upside. While his rookie season had some
ups and downs, including three games missed due to injury, he finished
with 618 yards and 5 TDs through the air and 61 yards and 1 TD on
the ground. The numbers were solid for the 5th round pick out of
Tennessee, but more than the numbers, his game tape was something
to be excited about. Moore frequently made plays that jumped off
the screen in 2011.
Entering this season, the Raiders brought in a new head coach and
offensive coordinator. So, Moore had a new system to learn once
again. Sadly, a hamstring issue in the summer cut his training camp
and preseason action short and also caused him to miss the opening
week of the regular season. Moore missed some critical time getting
up to speed with the new playbook and feeling things out with Palmer
in the new scheme. A healthy camp and preseason would have greatly
benefited the young WR, but it simply didn’t happen. Instead,
Moore worked his way back into the playing rotation in Week 2 and
largely had to learn on the move once his hamstring was cooperating.
In only five games played this season, Moore has posted 323 receiving
yards and 3 TDs. Using standard FFToday scoring, his numbers good
enough to put him at 23rd in fantasy points per game at WR. It’s
been a decent start to the season for Moore, but he’s started
to step it up a bit in the last few weeks. Despite a relatively
quiet game this past Sunday against the Jags, one where he had almost
no impact in the first half, Moore is still producing impressive
numbers in recent weeks. In his last three games played, he is averaging
4.3 receptions for 70.3 yards and 0.7 TDs on 8.0 targets. It appears
to me that Moore is now in proper game shape and has a good grasp
of the new offense. Further, Moore and Palmer are beginning to dial
in in their timing with one another. If Moore can remain largely
healthy this season, he seems very likely to continue posting big
numbers. I believe his is making a push to sneak into low-end WR2
territory in 12-team dynasty leagues.
Demaryius
Thomas - Despite having Tim Tebow chucking him the rock
in 2011, Demaryius Thomas had a great latter part of the regular
season and playoffs. Thomas’ performance during that stretch helped
prove that he had the potential to be a studly producer for fantasy
teams. Further, the move to Peyton Manning at QB only served to
bolster the case for Thomas going forward. The future Hall of Fame
QB didn’t have to be at the top of his game in order to vastly improve
the QB play for the Broncos. Not even halfway through his first
season with Manning and Thomas (as well as Decker) is already proving
to be more productive. Thomas is not the most polished WR at this
point in his career, but his physical skill set is excellent and
working with Manning could help take his game to the next level.
Think of it this way, Thomas has a bunch of top-notch ingredients
in his cupboard and he simply needed a master chef like Manning
to come along to execute a world-class recipe, properly utilizing
those ingredients.
Through six games played on the year, I can definitely smell something
special cooking for Thomas. He is averaging 5.3 receptions for 91.7
yards and 0.5 TDs per game. Using FFToday standard scoring, this
is good enough to put him at 8th in points per game at WR. When
you take look at the numbers that Thomas has posted in his last
10 or 12 games played and you also factor in his youth (24 years
old) along with his overall skill set, it is hard to come away thinking
he is anything less than a low-end WR1 in typical dynasty formats.
I have trouble coming up with even 10 players at the position that
I’d rank above Thomas right now. While I believe Calvin Johnson,
A.J. Green and Julio Jones are a step above him, Thomas is now somewhere
in the mix in the next tier of WRs. He is the type of player that
dynasty owners should look at as one of the primary building blocks
for their team.
Downshifting
Sam
Bradford - In 2010, the Rams drafted Sam Bradford out
of the University of Oklahoma with the number 1 overall pick in
the draft. Being selected first has obviously come with very high
expectations from his organization and Rams fans (as well as dynasty
owners). Unfortunately for the third-year QB, since he has been
with St. Louis, the team has cycled through a few different offensive
coordinators. Further, they have played musical chairs at offensive
line and wide receiver. These are key positions that a QB relies
on and Bradford has had no stability in either area. As things stand
currently, his line is a subpar group and his receiving corps is
as well. Sticking with the cooking theme for a moment longer, this
isn’t a recipe for success for a young QB. Frankly, this scenario
is all too reminiscent of how things started out for Alex Smith
in San Francisco after he was selected number 1 overall by the team
in 2005.
While I think that Bradford is probably talented enough to be an
impact player for fantasy teams, his situation is a significant
roadblock right now. In general, I do believe that in dynasty leagues
talent trumps situation when evaluating players, as situations are
always changing, but both variables factor heavily into the equation.
Looking at the remainder of this season and all of next, I have
significant concern that Bradford will be able to turn the corner
and deliver the type of results that many were counting on. I wouldn’t
feel too comfortable with Bradford serving even as my primary backup
QB. The upside is still there, but it is dependent upon St. Louis
upgrading their offensive personnel, and doing so could take time.
Jermichael
Finley - A couple of years ago, Finley was in the discussion
for being at the top of the heap among fantasy TEs. A strong finish
in 2009 and a great start to 2010 had the buzz at nearly a deafening
decibel level. Unfortunately, an injury in Week 5 of 2010 ended
Finley’s season and put temporary brakes on the hype train. Heading
into 2011, the locomotive got back up to speed in no time and people
once again had Finley ranked among the elite at his position. Yet
despite the phenomenal season by Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay
aerial assault, Finley failed to live up to the lofty expectations.
He had a solid campaign with 767 receiving yards and 8 TDs, but
he struggled with drops and ultimately only finished fifth in total
points at the TE position (using standard FFToday scoring). Guys
like Gronkowski, Graham and even Hernandez really distanced themselves
from Finley last season.
Entering this year, many still high hopes that Finley could right
the ship and live up to his huge potential. The talent is clearly
there and the situation in Green Bay is among the best in the league
for WRs and TEs. On top of that, an injured Jennings opened the
door for others on the team to have a bigger impact in the receiving
game. But yet again, Finley just hasn’t delivered. A banged
up shoulder has likely impacted his play, but that is life in the
NFL. With only 26 catches for 241 yards and 1 TD through 7 games,
Finley owners have to be very disappointed. Frankly, they might
now be looking at other options at the position. While I wouldn’t
advise shipping Finley away at his presumably deflated price, his
production has definitely shifted him down the TE rankings board.
The good news is that he is only 25 years old and if he can get
healthy and fine tune some of the mental aspects of his game, he
still has great upside. It’s just frustrating that said upside
hasn’t been realized by Finley yet.
Spotted in the High Beams
Vick
Ballard - Unheralded rookie RB, Vick Ballard, ran the
ball 20 times for 84 yards against Cleveland last week. He also
had 1 reception for 19 yards. Statistically, he had a nice outing,
with over 100 yards from scrimmage. Filling in for the injured Donald
Brown, Ballard was the first Colts rookie to log 20 or more carries
in a single game since Kenton Keith did it back in 2007 (remember
him?). Previous to last week, Ballard had not even hit double-digit
carries in a single game for the Colts, so he clearly got a big
boost in workload with Brown out. And while he obviously didn’t
set the world on fire, Ballard was reasonably productive with his
first big opportunity.
Ballard owners should be encouraged by his play last week, but they
shouldn’t give that one performance undue weight. Things lined
up nearly perfectly for the first-year back out of Mississippi State
to have a nice game. The injury to Donald Brown left a void for
Ballard to help fill and the timing was great for Ballard because
Cleveland’s run defense has struggled this season. Further,
because the Colts led during the bulk of the matchup, they were
able to lean much more heavily on the ground game than they typically
have this season. It was sort of perfect storm for Ballard to get
a nice chunk of carries and make the most out of them. Once Brown
returns, I would be surprised if Ballard sees much more work than
merely a change-of-pace RB. However, until Brown is back in the
lineup, Ballard should continue to benefit from increased touches.
Looking further into the future for the Colts rushing attack, there
doesn’t seem to be any clear answers for the team. Ballard
could win the lead RB gig at some point, but he doesn’t appear
to be a special talent, so it’s by no means a lock.
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