The Hot Sheet looks at which top prospects are excelling and which ones are struggling on a week-to-week basis. The consensus top-flight players may not always appear on this list because we are trying to help you find the next group of breakout players before your league mates do.
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Hot List:
1) Odell Beckham, Jr., WR NYG
The hottest player in dynasty leagues over the past week has easily been the rookie wide receiver of the New York Giants, Odell Beckham, Jr. On the big stage on Sunday Night Football and facing divisional rival Dallas, Beckham made an all-time great catch, pulling in an overthrown ball for a one-handed touchdown reception. While the catch was amazing, it overshadowed another overall impressive showing from the former LSU Tiger, as he caught ten passes for 146 yards and a pair of scores. Beckham’s play on the field has dynasty owners moving him up in their rankings and comparing him to other top rookie receivers like Mike Evans and Sammy Watkins. In fact, many dynasty players I asked this week said they would consider taking him in the first round of 2015 dynasty startup drafts, valuing him among the top 12 overall players.
2) CJ Anderson, RB DEN
This has been somewhat of a strange year for the Denver backfield. The Broncos began the season with Montee Ball, their former second round pick who ended his rookie season on a hot streak. The team felt good about Ball and so did dynasty owners, investing early draft picks in the former Badgers’ running back. Ball disappointed though and then got injured, leaving the Broncos scrambling as they looked to Ronnie Hillman. Hill played well for a short stretch, but then he too suffered an injury. Finally, the team looked to CJ Anderson, a former undrafted free agent and he has carried the team. Anderson is the top scoring fantasy back since Hillman suffered his foot injury in Week 10, averaging over 25 fantasy points per game in PPR leagues. While I have my doubts about Anderson’s ability to keep the job long-term, he’s an obvious fantasy starter for the next few weeks as the fantasy playoffs commence.
3) Josh Gordon, WR CLE
There was much speculation about how the return of Browns’ wide receiver Josh Gordon would play out in Week 12. Of course, Gordon was returning from a ten game suspension for a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy and after we saw what he could do last year, fantasy players were drooling in anticipation of Gordon’s comeback. Then came some reports that threw cold water on those high hopes as Gordon would reportedly be placed on a limited snap count, which would obviously place a ceiling on his potential production. Things didn’t exactly play out that way though as Gordon played the majority of the snaps and exploded for 120 receiving yards on eight catches. Another encouraging sign, as if we needed one, was the 16 targets Gordon saw, a Week 12 NFL high. Gordon is already back to being an automatic weekly start and the longer he stays out of trouble off the field, the higher his dynasty value will rise.
4) Jordan Matthews, WR PHI
I don’t have to tell you how amazing this rookie wide receiver class truly is, but lost in the attention given to Mike Evans, Sammy Watkins and Odell Beckham, Jr. is the top-end play of Eagles’ rookie Jordan Matthews. Over the past month, Matthews is the WR6 in PPR leagues, which coincides with the time Mark Sanchez took over as the starter for an injured Nick Foles. With Sanchez, Matthews is receiving essentially the same amount of targets, but his receiving yards, touchdowns and receptions have all increased on a per-game basis. When you also consider that Matthews has become a go-to target in one of the league’s top offenses, there’s a lot to like about his long-term value.
5) http://www.nbcsports.com/edge/player/NFL/8615/Charles-JohnsonCharles Johnson, WR MIN
Here’s a player who might still be sitting on your dynasty waiver wire, though I’d suggest you change that now if that’s the case. Possessing stud-like measurables, but hailing from small school Grand Valley State, Johnson snuck into the final round of the 2013 NFL Draft, chosen by the Packers. An injury derailed his rookie season and he bounced around a bit, spending time with Green Bay and Cleveland, before being cut by both. Earlier this season, the Vikings gave Johnson a shot, but by this time, many dynasty owners had already given up on him. Over the past two weeks, Johnson has looked like the best receiver on the team and is scoring as a mid-range WR2. While that may not scream Hot List, considering he’s scored more fantasy points in each of the past two games than he previously had in his career, he’s clearly on the rise.
Also considered: Justin Forsett, Zach Mettenberger, Latavius Murray, LeGarrette Blount, Robert Woods, Tre Mason, Mike Evans, Ryan Tannehill, Jeremy Hill, Dan Herron, Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills
Cold List:
1) Robert Griffin III, QB WAS
This felt like it had been a long time coming, but Robert Griffin III was benched this week in favor of Colt McCoy. Simply put, Griffin had been ineffective and the Redskins were losing because of it. It will be interesting to see how the team works around Griffin’s contract, but it appears to the casual fan as if the team is ready to move on. Clearly, McCoy is not their future and they’ve already dumped one coaching staff in order to keep Griffin, so that leaves few options. Regardless of how the remainder of 2014 plays out, Griffin’s dynasty value has taken a major hit and it will be difficult to recover. If you are a Griffin owner, the only real option now is to hold and hope he gets a chance elsewhere or can somehow turn things around in Washington.
2) Terrance Williams, WR DAL
In the first five weeks of the 2014 season, Cowboys’ wide receiver Terrance Williams was on a tear and asa mid-range WR2 and gave quarterback Tony Romo a reliable second option in the passing game. Since that time though, Williams is just WR78, falling 60 spots from his hot start, and is not even an option for fantasy owners as the playoffs near.
3) Sammy Watkins, WR BUF
In Weeks Eight and Nine, Bills’ rookie receiver Sammy Watkins had a pair of huge games that had dynasty owners moving him up to the top tier with established studs like Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas. Since that time though, Watkins suffered a groin injury that has hampered his play. In the past three games combined, Watkins has less than 20 fantasy points. Even Josh Gordon, with only one game played, has bested that mark. The good news for Watkins and his fantasy owners is that this struggle is mostly due to the injury and once he’s fully healed, he should be back to his normal young stud status. The bad news is that might not happen this year as those groin injuries can linger.
4) Trent Richardson, RB IND
After veteran Ahmad Bradshaw suffered the broken leg that will keep him out for the remainder of the season, I and many other fantasy players were sucked back into the dangerous trap that is thinking Trent Richardson is good at football. Over his past two seasons with the Colts, Richardson has continued to disappoint and even now with the starting job and a large number of touches seemingly opening up, the struggle continues. Things are so bad the Colts actually chose to start journeyman Dan Herron over Richardson. Both players gave fantasy owners about the same production, but that doesn’t speak very highly of Richardson. Expect Herron to continue to start the remainder of the season and don’t be at all surprised when the Colts bring in another option to start in 2015.
5) Jerick McKinnon, RB MIN
I mentioned a player the metrics crowd was intrigued with earlier in http://www.nbcsports.com/edge/player/NFL/8615/Charles-JohnsonCharles Johnson and here we have another, rookie running back Jerick McKinnon. After a big performance in mid-season, McKinnon won the starting job, replacing plodder Matt Asiata, but has been largely ineffective since that time. McKinnon took over as the team’s lead back in Week 6, but is only RB22 since that time, making him a weak RB2. McKinnon still has a lot of upside and can be an exciting playmaker, but he’s not making the most of this opportunity.
Also considered: Bishop Sankey, Michael Floyd, Blake Bortles, Charles Sims, Cordarrelle Patterson, Pierre Garcon, Kendall Wright, Allen Hurns, Antonio Gates, Jace Amaro
