Rising

Josh McCown, TB
In his last two games since returning as the Bucs’ starter, McCown has scored at least 23.2 points (according to FF Today default scoring). He finished fourth at the position in Week 10 and ninth in Week 11. If you look back to the beginning of his season, we’re talking about a guy that has ranked in the top 10 at quarterback in three of his five starts. None of the matchups were too difficult, but he’s putting up numbers all the same. McCown looks like a great 2QB league option, and is definitely usable in standard leagues in a good matchup.

Zach Mettenberger, TEN
Now three starts into his NFL career, Mettenberger might not be such a bad fantasy option in deeper leagues. In two of his three starts, he has scored at least 21.2 fantasy points. He has five touchdowns in those three games. For people scrambling in deep or 2QB leagues for extra help at quarterback, look no further than the rookie in Tennessee.

Rivers has thrown 1 touchdown the last two weeks and hasn't cracked the QB top 20 since Week 8.

Falling

Philip Rivers, SD
For the first eight weeks of the season, Rivers was looking like a stellar fantasy option at quarterback. Since that time, he has stumbled. In Week 9, Rivers only managed 7.2 fantasy points against the Dolphins. Coming out of the Chargers’ bye, he could only put up 13.6 against the lowly Raiders. Now there is news out that he is dealing with some kind of rib injury. Keep riding him for a couple more weeks, but don’t be shy about exploring streaming options if he doesn’t bounce back soon.

Robert Griffin III, WAS
In two games since returning to the Washington lineup, Griffin has thrown more interceptions (three) than touchdowns (two). He finished 15th at quarterback in Week 9, and 16th in Week 11. His matchups in those weeks were far from intimidating, as those mediocre games came against Minnesota and Tampa Bay. If he can’t step up against those defenses, it’s tough to trust him in any matchup right now. The rookie season version Robert Griffin III is long gone.

Running Back

Rising

Jonas Gray, NE
After a 201-yard (Tuesday stat change), four-touchdown performance, obviously Jonas Gray had to make this list. It’s clear that when the situation calls for it, Gray is the back to own in New England. He should be owned in all fantasy leagues, and in a lot of cases warrants starting consideration given the lack of depth at the position, but just remember this is still the Patriots. In matchups against tough run defenses, Gray may be largely ignored or disappear all together.

Tre Mason, STL
After racking up 29 carries on a day where no other members of the Rams had more than two, it seems Tre Mason has finally finished his takeover of the starting role in St. Louis. A few weeks ago he looked like the back to own, then St. Louis insisted on sticking with a committee. If Week 11 is a sign of things to come, it is a committee no more. Tre Mason is worthy of starting consideration, while the rest of the Rams backfield can be dropped.

Latavius Murray, OAK
It took until the second half of their tenth loss of the season, but it appears the Raiders may finally be preparing to hand over the keys to the backfield to Latavius Murray. It didn’t take long for him to show that he may be the best member of that backfield. His upside is capped by A) playing for the Raiders and B) still having Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew around, but Murray makes for an interesting add just to see what happens if he does get a full workload.

Falling

Darren McFadden, OAK
When one player goes up, another must come down. Last week I featured McFadden in the falling section, and one week later it seems he has fallen even further. Now McFadden may be falling in the eyes of his own team. He will still likely receive work going forward, but I can’t imagine that Oakland saw Murray’s performance late in the game Sunday and will decide to go back to the way things were. There is no upside for the 0-10 Raiders to keep pushing Darren McFadden, so there is also no upside to fantasy owners continuing to play (or even own) him.

Andre Ellington, ARI
For a while this season, Ellington was considered a locked in RB1. It was with good reason, week in and week out it seemed like he was performing well. The last two weeks, however, things have gone awry. Against the Rams and Lions, he rushed for a grand total of 65 yards on 37 carries. That’s only 1.76 yards per rush. Those two defenses are tough against the run, but Ellington was truly shut down. You’re probably starting him weekly if you have him, but keep your expectations at more of an RB2 level than top tier.

Shane Vereen, NE
We’ve seen what Vereen can do when the Patriots make him a major part of the gameplan, but the problem right now is that it’s impossible to predict when he’ll get that usage. The game against the Colts seemed like a prime “Vereen game,” but instead it was all Jonas Gray. In the end, both Patriots running backs will probably each be headaches for owners the rest of the way. It just happens to work out that one is rising and one is falling based on where we perceived them before Week 11.

Wide Receiver

Rising

Mike Evans, TB
Evans is on an incredible run the last three weeks. He has exactly seven receptions in all of those games. Those 21 total receptions led to 458 yards and five touchdowns. He has clearly surpassed Vincent Jackson as the Buccaneer to own in fantasy. Unless you’re super deep at wide receiver, Evans is probably safely in your lineup every week without a second thought.

Kenny Britt, STL
After a season of mostly disappointing performances, Britt exploded in Week 11. In general, it’s tough to fall in love with a player that randomly has a game like he did (four receptions, 128 yards, one touchdown) this late in the season, but the big game happened to come with a quarterback change. I wouldn’t necessarily force Britt into any lineups yet, but it wouldn’t hurt to see if his big connection with Shaun Hill continues in upcoming weeks.

Jordan Matthews, PHI
Something appears to be brewing between Mark Sanchez and Jordan Matthews. Matthews has 558 receiving yards in ten games this season; 245 of those yards have come in the two games started by Sanchez. In the eight games started by Foles, Matthews averaged just fewer than seven targets per game. In two with Sanchez, he’s averaging 8.5 targets per game. If Matthews maintains this rapport with Sanchez, he can be added to the long list of rookie wide receivers that will heavily influence the fantasy playoffs.

Falling

Julio Jones, ATL
You’re still starting him weekly, but you surely have been disappointed with Julio Jones in recent weeks. Jones has finished with fewer than 60 receiving yards in three of the last four weeks, and he has not found the end zone since Week 3. As far as I can tell, it has nothing to do with him, and everything to do with the Falcons offense just being unable to get it together. Continue treating him like a WR1 when making lineup decisions, but it might be time to stop expecting the guy who was drafted to be a significant weekly difference maker.

Mohamed Sanu, CIN
In the last two weeks, Sanu has become a much lesser used member of the Bengals’ offense. From Weeks 3-9, Sanu was never targeted less than eight times. In the past two weeks, he’s been targeted seven times and six times, respectively. Sanu only has five receptions for 43 yards total in those two games. Don’t give up on him completely, given how much attention he got in those earlier weeks, but it’s tough to roll him out there given recent results.

Mike Wallace, MIA
Over the first five games of the Dolphins season, Wallace was targeted at least 10 times in three of those games. In their last five, Wallace has not been targeted more than eight times in a single game. His production has suffered as a result. In the first five games, Wallace had 25 catches for 313 yards and three touchdowns. In his last five games, he has 19 receptions for 244 yards and two scores. I can’t explain it, because Ryan Tannehill has been going in the other direction, improving as the season goes along. Wallace is still a usable asset, but he’s not a must start by any means.

Tight End

Rising

Coby Fleener, IND
The less popular fantasy tight end in Indianapolis might have already been rising before his teammate’s injury. In Week 9, Fleener caught four passes for 77 yards and a touchdown (on 11 targets). In Week 10, in a game where Dwayne Allen was forced off the field, Fleener caught all seven of his targets for 144 yards. Keep an eye on Allen’s status: Fleener is a very solid start in any week without Allen, and might be usable (but with not nearly the same upside) even if Allen is on the field.

Jacob Tamme, DEN
Here is a case where the rise is almost completely because of injury. Tamme only had six receptions on twelve targets entering Week 11, and then caught four passes on 10 targets with Julius Thomas out of the game. Tamme isn’t a definite start even with Thomas out, but could be worth a shot if you’re desperate. Whenever Thomas returns you can return Tamme to the waiver wire.

Falling

Jordan Reed, WAS
Given their connection in 2013, it’s a big surprise that Robert Griffin III’s return to the lineup has hindered Jordan Reed. In three full games with starters that aren’t Griffin, Reed was targeted 24 times with 20 receptions. In the two most recent games with Griffin back in, Reed only has three receptions on four targets. To top it off, he is now dealing with a hamstring issue. I would not be excited about depending on Reed as my lone tight end the rest of the season, I’d at least like to seek out another option on waivers and play matchups.

Antonio Gates, SD
It should come as no surprise that Philip Rivers’ recent downswing has affected other members of the Chargers. In the last two games, Antonio Gates only has six receptions for 60 yards on eight targets. If the Rivers’ rib problem is real, it looks like it might be a problem for Gates as well. I’d continue putting Gates out there weekly given his high touchdown upside, but I’ll be concerned until we see Rivers return to being Philip Rivers.

Suggestions, comments? E-mail or find me on Twitter.