The Hot Sheet looks at which top players are excelling, and which ones are struggling on a week-to-week basis. Following the latest on-field trends can make our weekly lineup decisions easier while allowing dynasty players to always understand the current value of players around the league.
The value of the players mentioned on the Hot List is rising, thanks to their performance on the field. On the other hand, Cold List players are struggling and losing dynasty value as a result.
Hot List:
1) Kareem Hunt, RB KC
Recent Weekly Fantasy Finishes:
Week Four: RB8
Week Five: RB16
Week Six: RB4
Week Seven: RB1
It’s now long forgotten thanks to his recent play but fantasy players were actually worried about the outlook for RB Kareem Hunt early in the season. While QB Patrick Mahomes and the passing game was on record pace, Hunt was limited to 75 rushing yards or less in the first three games and saw only one target in each contest. He was missing out on the fun. Over the past four games, Hunt has rushed for 80 yards or more in each and has averaged 4.5 targets per game. Playing in the league’s top offense, Hunt is now among the safest weekly options and also carries a high upside. With many other RBs taking a hit in value, Hunt is shining.
2) George Kittle, TE SF
Recent Weekly Fantasy Finishes:
Week Four: TE2
Week Five: TE9
Week Six: TE22
Week Seven: TE3
In a year in which the tight end position has been a disaster, 49ers sophomore TE George Kittle has been dominant. He leads his team with 32 receptions for 527 yards. No other 49 has more than 245 receiving yards. Kittle already has five top ten weekly finishes on the season and is currently the TE4 for the season. Despite being a fifth-round pick, Kittle has quickly vaulted himself up the ranks and is now in the same tier as fellow second-year TEs Evan Engram, O.J. Howard and David Njoku.
3) James White, RB NE
Recent Weekly Fantasy Finishes:
Week Four: RB3
Week Five: RB7
Week Six: RB15
Week Seven: RB4
One of the biggest surprises of the season has been the consistent production from Patriots pass-catching RB James White. White, who joins Rams RB Todd Gurley and Giants rookie RB Saquon Barkley as the only players to score as a top 24 fantasy back in each of the first seven weeks, already has a career-high seven touchdown this season. White has taken advantage of the early-season injury to RB Rex Burkhead and the Pats will now be without rookie RB Sony Michel for an undetermined amount of time. White has already set new career-highs with 189 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns.
4) Kerryon Johnson, RB DET
Recent Weekly Fantasy Finishes:
Week Three: RB25
Week Four: RB26
Week Five: RB32
Week Seven: RB9
While many of the class of 2018 rookie RBs have been disappointing, Lions RB Kerryon Johnson has shined. The only issue is he’s doing that shining with limited touches as the Lions employ a three-man backfield committee. This has obviously impacted Johnson’s fantasy production, though what we have seen is enough to spike Johnson’s value. It all came together in Week Seven when pass-catching RB Theo Riddick was out with a knee injury. Johnson saw a new season-high of 21 touches, which led to 179 total yards and an RB9 finish for the week. Johnson’s October dynasty ADP of RB18 is easily his highest valuation yet.
5) Mitch Trubisky, QB CHI
Recent Weekly Fantasy Finishes:
Week Three: QB31
Week Four: QB1
Week Six: QB5
Week Seven: QB2
After Bears QB Mitch Trubisky finished as the QB1 against the weak Tampa Bay pass defense back in Week Four, most fantasy players chalked it up to the perfect matchup and a fluke performance. Then, he did it again. And again. Trubisky has now put together three consecutive games as QB5 or better and has cracked the top 12 scorers overall for the season. While he’s thrown for over 300 yards in all three games, a big difference has been Trubisky’s rushing numbers. After averaging around five carries for 21 yards in the season’s first three games, Trubisky has upped those numbers to five rushes for over 60 yards in the past three contests. Like some other quarterbacks in the league, including Bucs QB Jameis Winston, Trubisky is still making some serious mistakes as a passer which has somewhat limited his value gain.
Other Players Considered: Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, A.J. Green, Todd Gurley, Dak Prescott, Adrian Peterson, Michael Gallup, John Brown, Michael Thomas, DeAndre Hopkins, Andrew Luck, Marlon Mack, Tarik Cohen, Adam Thielen, Kirk Cousins, Jameis Winston, O.J. Howard, David Njoku, Alshon Jeffery, Devin Funchess, Tyrell Williams, Matt Ryan, Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, Odell Beckham, Julio Jones
Cold List:
1) Blake Bortles, QB JAX
Recent Weekly Fantasy Finishes:
Week Four: QB10
Week Five: QB11
Week Six: QB23
Week Seven: QB31
We should’ve seen this coming. Blake Bortles has endured a tenuous stretch as quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He nearly lost the starting job in training camp last year before ultimately helping his team make a deep playoff run. Despite his regularly poor play on the field, “garbage time” Bortles has rewarded fantasy players who have taken a chance, finishing as the QB4, QB14, and QB13 over the past three seasons. On Sunday, the Jags offense again struggled and Bortles was benched in favor of backup QB Cody Kessler. While Bortles has been named the Week Eight starter, it is concerning that this door has been opened and it is a near certainty that the Jags will be on the quarterback hunt following the season.
2) Antonio Callaway, WR CLE
Recent Weekly Fantasy Finishes:
Week Four: WR63
Week Five: WR82
Week Six: WR73
Week Seven: WR88
Things looked bright for talented rookie WR Antonio Callaway way back in Week Two. He had his first career touchdown and totaled 81 yards and with WR Josh Gordon gone, he looked like the new deep threat for the Cleveland Browns. Since then, the rookie with a history of off-field issues has totaled 13 receptions for 116 yards. The worst part is he’s done that on 36 targets. Callaway has caught just 42% of his targets on the season. Only WR Kelvin Benjamin is worse among wide receivers with at least 30 targets. Perhaps this can be chalked up to Callaway’s inexperience or the fact that he didn’t play football at all last season. Regardless, his dynasty value is taking a hit.
3) Matthew Stafford, QB DET
Recent Weekly Fantasy Finishes:
Week Three: QB14
Week Four: QB14
Week Five: QB18
Week Seven: QB15
The numbers above might not seem to warrant Cold List treatment and they wouldn’t for many players but we’ve become accustomed to big scores from QB Matthew Stafford and the Lions Offense. Things have changed this year though as the team has transitioned to more of a balanced offense, running the ball much more often than recent years. Stafford has just one top ten weekly finish on the season and even the high-end QB2 ranks you see above are due to multiple touchdown passes in five straight games since the disaster of an opener. With many young signal callers vaulting up the ranks this season, Stafford is in danger of falling outside of the top 12 dynasty quarterbacks.
4) Jordan Reed, TE WAS
Recent Weekly Fantasy Finishes:
Week Three: TE12
Week Five: TE36
Week Six: TE17
Week Seven: TE19
Just like Stafford above, these weekly fantasy ranks don’t look bad on their own until considering the big picture. As previously mentioned, tight end has been ugly all season with injuries to potential TE1s like Greg Olsen, Delanie Walker, Evan Engram and O.J. Howard among others. This means the remaining healthy players should crack the top 12 with regularity. Redskins TE Jordan Reed has only one weekly top-ten finish this season. That looks even worse based on the many injuries suffered by Washington’s top pass-catchers, including WR Jamison Crowder, RB Chris Thompson and WR Paul Richardson. Each player has missed multiple games, yet Reed has not been able to take advantage.
5) D.J. Moore, WR CAR
Recent Weekly Fantasy Finishes:
Week Three: WR112
Week Five: WR41
Week Six: WR56
Week Seven: WR61
Even as a rookie, WR D.J. Moore entered the season with high expectations placed on him by dynasty owners. After he quickly ascended to the rookie WR1 spot and was a first-round rookie pick is virtually every offseason draft, Moore looked like an NFL ready player that could contribute right away. While the Panthers did have WR Devin Funchess as their WR1, there was plenty of doubt if his 2017 breakout season was simply a product of being the last man standing on a battered receiver depth chart. That hasn’t been the case and Moore has not done his part either. Moore has not seen over five targets or posted more than 60 receiving yards in any game yet this season and he scored his lone touchdown back in Week Two. Moore will make an excellent trade target next offseason but his quiet rookie campaign has hurt his value.
Other Players Considered: Calvin Ridley, Ricky Seals-Jones, Courtland Sutton, Corey Davis, Nelson Agholor, Corey Clement, Marvin Jones, Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Phillip Dorsett, Allen Robinson, Jordan Howard, Nyheim Hines, Alex Smith, Pierre Garcon, Josh Reynolds