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
Andrew Luck is a top five dynasty Quarterback.
Andrew
Luck - Luck and Robert
Griffin III will forever be linked with another and their successes
measured against the other. Expectations for each player are off
the charts, and this is the case in real terms as well as in fantasy
football. From a dynasty league perspective, both QBs are already
emerging as elite options for the long haul. Just looking at the
stats that they have produced in the first half of their rookie
seasons is mind blowing. RGIII got off to a bit of a quicker start
and immediately had many of us buying into the hype. However, lately
it has been Luck that has been turning heads and putting up out-of-this-world
fantasy numbers.
In the last five weeks, only 6 QBs have posted a higher points-per-game
average than Luck (using FFToday standard scoring). He has been
red hot in the last month and has analysts singing his praise in
nearly perfect harmony. His huge game against Miami on Sunday actually
earned him the record for most passing yards in a single game by
a rookie (433 yards). Frankly, it’s hard to come up with much
to say about Luck’s level of play that hasn’t already
been said. He is as good as advertised, if not better, and is already
proving to be a truly special player.
Luck has all of the measurables you could want in a QB and he also
has the football IQ and work ethic to match it. If NFL executives
could have the perfect QB designed in a laboratory, the end result
likely would look suspiciously similar to Andrew Luck. The sky is
the limit for the first-year player. His numbers already place him
in the QB1 range in fantasy football, but when you consider his
upside as he progresses in the coming years, the case can easily
be made that he should be in top five at his position in dynasty
leagues. While I’m not one that often gets carried away with
the hype of rookies and young players, I do believe that RGIII and
Luck are both top 5 dynasty QBs today.
Chris
Givens - Previous to the Danny
Amendola injury, I highlighted Givens and Brian
Quick as solid stash candidates. The opportunity for someone
to emerge from the St. Louis receiving corps was significant. Outside
of Amendola, the veterans leading the way at the position leave
much to be desired. And even though Amendola has proven to be a
very reliable possession receiver, he is limited in what he brings
to the table. Well, in the last few weeks, Givens has earned more
playing time and he has clearly emerged as a player capable of making
big plays down the field.
Givens has now logged 5 consecutive games in which he has registered
a reception of 50 yards or greater. According to the Elias Sports
Bureau, this is longest streak among active players and is the first
time it has been done since Pat Studstill performed the same feat
for Detroit back in 1966. During this impressive stretch of five
games, Givens has averaged 64.8 yards and 0.4 TDs. The fourth round
draft pick out of Wake Forest is making a significant splash in
his rookie campaign. Admittedly, I don’t think his ceiling
is as high as several of the other WRs in his draft class, yet he
is proving that he can be a very productive pro. If Givens can continue
to learn and fine tune some things in coming seasons, he can definitely
blossom into a more substantial contributor for the Rams and fantasy
teams.
Downshifting
Darren
McFadden - Coming into this season, it seemed as though
there were two distinct camps regarding McFadden’s dynasty stock.
Camp 1: McFadden has elite skills and playmaking ability. The injury
history is the only thing that is keeping him from being mentioned
in the same breath as guys like Arian
Foster and Ray Rice. Camp 2: McFadden is a good RB, but he is
not elite. He’s had some big moments, but hasn’t been consistent
enough when you look at his entire track record as a Raider. Further,
the injuries are significant red flag. --Unfortunately for McFadden
owners, it is looking like things are shaking out a bit more in
line with how Camp 2 had envisioned things.
In eight games played this season, McFadden is averaging 80.6 yards
from scrimmage and 0.25 TDs per game. Using FFToday standard scoring,
he is 26th in fantasy points per game at RB among those that have
played 5 games or more. This level of production simply isn’t
getting it done for those that penciled in McFadden as their RB1
for this season (and beyond). On its surface, the lackluster stats
are a bit of a head scratcher. Has the Lisfranc injury from last
year slowed him down or is his slow start more of a result of Oakland’s
implementation of the zone blocking scheme?
In my view, both of these things could be contributing, but I believe
the latter has been more impactful. In recent weeks, I’ve
seen some good burst out of the former Razorback, it simply hasn’t
amounted to much on the stats sheet. The zone blocking scheme seems
to be the larger issue for McFadden and the Oakland offensive line.
I don’t know if more time is needed to iron things out in
the new scheme or if McFadden will continue to struggle in it no
matter what. This is definitely reason for concern. Further, McFadden’s
recent high ankle sprain is worrisome in the near term. As it stands
right now, McFadden’s dynasty stock is subtly starting to
slip. I now see him as a low-end RB1 or high-end RB2. If it weren’t
for his enormous upside, he’d probably be slipping even more
significantly.
Alex
Green - A few months back, it seemed like James
Starks had the lead RB gig locked up in Green Bay. With Ryan
Grant not re-signed, there was an obvious opportunity for Starks
to step up and become the clear leader in the team’s rushing attack.
Unfortunately for Starks, injuries and subpar play nixed those plans
and the team moved on to sign free agent RB, Cedric
Benson, with expectations that he’d carry a heavy load for them
on the ground. Benson’s production was decent through five games,
averaging 3.5 yards per carry and 69.0 yards from scrimmage per
game. Sadly, a foot injury sustained in Week 5 put him on the shelf
for several weeks and left the Packers considering “Plan C” at RB
(Alex Green).
Green Bay drafted Alex Green out of the University of Hawaii in
the third round of the 2011 draft. He saw limited action with the
team as a rookie due to an ACL injury. Coming into this season,
Green was looking at a role as a backup RB or perhaps that of a
change-of-pace back. However, as detailed previously, the situation
changed for the young RB and he eventually found himself starting
for the Packers. In his last four games played, he has logged a
total of 75 carries for 207 yards on the ground; an average of 2.8
yards per tote. He also put up 11 catches for 90 yards during that
stretch. Given the amount of work that Green has received in the
last month, his numbers have been very disappointing.
Many Green owners likely had hopes that their young RB would emerge
as a fantasy factor when given the opportunity to prove himself.
Sadly, that did not come to fruition and now the Green Bay backfield
is mired in committee mediocrity. Starks has popped back on to the
scene and is slated to share carries with Green for the time being,
and then, of course, Kuhn is in the picture as the dreaded goal
line vulture. Further muddying the water in coming weeks will be
the return of Cedric Benson. From a fantasy perspective, the Green
Bay backfield is a mess. Alex Green had a golden opportunity, but
he was unable to capitalize on it.
Spotted in the High Beams
Rod
Streater - Those that paid close attention to the Raiders
in the preseason know that Streater generated some nice buzz for
the team during that stretch. With all of the WR injuries the team
had suffered, the little known rookie out of Temple got a lot of
playing time and was reasonably productive with it. He, by default,
became Palmer’s go-to receiver in the preseason. However,
once the Oakland WR corps got somewhat healthy, Streater’s
role clearly shrunk. Yet, despite his decreased involvement in the
aerial assault, Streater is still seeing some good action and making
an occasional nice play when given the opportunity. This past week,
he registered 4 catches for 54 yards and a TD against the Buccaneers.
At 6’3” tall and 200 lbs, Streater is a long and lean
WR. He has flashed some sneaky-good playmaking ability, but doesn’t
have elite speed at his position and needs to become more consistent.
That said, Streater is getting a real shot to contribute as a rookie
and he’s been a solid producer for the Raiders through the
first nine weeks of the season. Admittedly, the eventual return
of Jacoby
Ford and potential development of Juron
Criner have me a bit skeptical about where Streater fits into
the team’s long-term plans. However, if he keeps making strides,
the team will have to find a way to continue to work him into the
mix. Further, because Oakland doesn’t have a bunch of established
producers at WR, Streater has at least a fighting chance to carve
out a nice role for himself moving forward.
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