Quarterbacks
Moving Up
Tom Brady has a 55% completion rate through eight weeks.
Jason Campbell, Browns
After his 293-yard, two-touchdown, no-interception performance against a stout Chiefs secondary, Campbell is worth adding in most formats as your QB2.
Moving Down
Michael Vick, Eagles
While opposing defenders have had a hard time catching Vick, it appears that Father Time isn’t having that same problem. After three weeks of resting his injured hamstring, Vick lasted just three series before re-injuring it.
Tom Brady, Patriots
Another dud. Another Moving Down. There is no way that anybody should feel compelled to start him, provided they have a decent alternative. It’s called changing with the times, folks.
Running Backs
Moving Up
Andre Ellington, Cardinals
Don’t believe Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians when he says Rashard Mendenhall will get his job back when he returns to the lineup. Ellington has been flat-out the better of the two this season, averaging a nifty 7.7 yards per carry. Sure, he had an 80-yard touchdown run this week, but even with that play removed, he would still be at 6.0 yards per carry. And he also chips in as a receiver, with 22 receptions for 198 yards and a score on the year. He rates as a solid flex play or high-end RB3 over the balance of the season.
Frank Gore, 49ers
With a depleted and largely ineffective group of wide receivers, the 49ers have turned to Gore and the running game. End result: five straight wins. Let’s assume they won’t change their MO on offense. Gore has been a beast during the winning streak with 516 total yards and six touchdowns. After a Week 9 bye, the 49ers face a stingy Panthers run defense, but they follow that up with some plum matchups the rest of the way.
Darren McFadden, Raiders
Was it just a blip or is McFadden ready to reward his believers over the second half of the season? Pick your answer. He was effective this week against the Steelers with 73 yards and a pair of scores on 24 carries as the Raiders never trailed. Just remember, that doesn’t happen often and it definitely impacts his touches.
James Starks, Packers
Starks looked good this week, running for 57 yards and a score on seven carries and continuing his strong performance thus far in 2013. Unfortunately, injuries have derailed him once again, as has the presence of rookie Eddie Lacy. We all know about Lacy’s injury history, however, and Starks is now up to 244 rushing yards and a pair of scores on just 41 carries while averaging 6.0 yards a pop.
Moving Down
LeSean McCoy, Eagles
With the Eagles having problems at quarterback, McCoy’s production has suffered. He hasn’t found the end zone in three games and has produced just 81 and 65 total yards in his last two games. The upcoming schedule isn’t horrible but the quarterback play in Philadelphia just might be if rookie fourth-round pick Matt Barkley has to start until either Vick (hamstring) or Nick Foles (concussion) is ready.
Stevan Ridley, Patriots
His stat line this week was decent (14 carries for 79 yards and a score) but Ridley shared the load with Brandon Bolden (10 touches) and LeGarrette Blount (11). Bolden figures to lose his role when the Pats go no-huddle once Shane Vereen returns. Vereen also figures to cut into Ridley’s time in the base offense.
Rashard Mendenhall, Cardinals
Done as a starter and not active on game day due to a toe injury. The Cards have almost certainly moved on and so should you.
Wide Receivers
Moving Up
Marvin Jones, Bengals
Who else? After his eight-reception, 122-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Jets, Jones gets the nod. He is likely available in several leagues and it is becoming increasingly clear that he is the Bengals’ favored choice to start opposite A.J. Green, rather than fellow second-year player Mohamed Sanu. Jones has good speed and decent size and he is looking like the long-term starter in Cincinnati.
Calvin Johnson, Lions
Based on the games he has played (he missed one), Johnson is on pace to finish the season with 1,759 yards and 15 touchdowns, which would give him 265 fantasy points at season’s end—40 more than he had last season. If some bottom feeder in your keeper league is willing to let him go, you need to be asking what the price will be.
Kenny Stills, Saints
Marques Colston looks like a shell of his former shelf, Lance Moore just returned from injury, Robert Meachem has always been hit-and-miss, and Jimmy Graham is on a limited snap count. That means Stills just might be Drew Brees’ favored target over the balance of the season. The Saints average 14.2 yards per pass attempt on Stills’ targets and he has taken three of his 23 looks to the house. That warrants a bigger role in the offense.
Terrance Williams, Cowboys
If you didn’t already know it, all you had to do was see Williams 60-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a slant pattern this week to know that he is the real deal. The rookie third-round pick has touchdowns in four consecutive games and there is little reason to think that Miles Austin is going to eat into his targets, even if he gets healthy from the hamstring that kept him out this week.
Drew Davis, Falcons
Meet the Falcons’ new No. 2 receiver. And that means something when Harry Douglas is No. 1 (no, I’m not totally buying into Douglas’s impressive two-game run). Davis had five receptions for 77 yards and a score this week and should prove useful, at least until Roddy White returns. Whenever that is.
Aaron Dobson, Patriots
I told you Dobson, not Kenbrell Thompkins, was the Patriots’ rookie wide receiver to have. Dobson has more targets than Thompkins in the last three games with Thompkins getting just one look this week.
Moving Down
Marques Colston, Saints
I don’t know if he’s injured or on a steep, downhill slide into oblivion, but Colston has just six receptions for 44 yards in his last three games. At this point, he isn’t even startable in 12-team leagues that start three WRs.
DeSean Jackson, Eagles
Anybody who went into the season hoping to ride the Chip Kelly fantasy wave to a championship has had their team crash over the last couple of weeks (yours truly included). Jackson caught eight balls for 63 yards this week after his three-reception, 21-yard performance a week ago. However, he is most effective when Michael Vick is under center, and his performance figures to take a big hit if rookie Matt Barkley is forced to start this week.
Sidney Rice, Seahawks
Hurt. Again. Ineffective. Again. Take away the game where he beat up on the Jaguars and Rice has been abysmal this season. Again.
Tight Ends
Moving Up
Sorry, folks, nothing exciting at TE this week, so nobody gets the Moving Up treatment.
Moving Down
Garrett Graham, Texans
Based on his performance in a limited role in the Texans’ first four games (12 rec for 126 yds and 3 TDs), it seemed like Graham would be a solid replacement for the injured Owen Daniels. Not so much. In Houston’s last three games, Graham has hauled in just eight of his 17 targets for 78 yards with no touchdowns.
