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
Giants’ rookie receiver Odell Beckham has done it again. In Week 15, he had career high marks with 12 receptions and three scores. Since he returned from injury in Week 5, Beckham is the fantasy WR3 and since Week 7, he is the top scoring receiver overall. I recently polled my Twitter followers asking them to rank their top five dynasty wide receivers. With so many options, including established players like Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant and Julio Jones, among others, Beckham was one of the most popular names. Many even ranked him as their top receiver overall. Former Rotoworld writer Chris Wesseling also recently explained that Beckham was his top rookie receiver by a comfortable margin and he’d consider ranking him as the top dynasty wide receiver.
2.) Jarvis Landry, WR MIA
With the attention that Beckham, and other rookies like Mike Evans, Kelvin Benjamin and Sammy Watkins have been receiving, it might be easy to forget about Beckham’s former LSU teammate, Jarvis Landry. Landry currently leads the Dolphins in receiving and over the past seven weeks, he’s established a safe fantasy floor of around 14 points. Since Week 9, Landry is the WR14, sitting just outside the WR1 range for the standard 12 team league. Expect Landry to continue to sit in the shadow if his peers and plan to take advantage this off-season.
3.) Jeremy Hill, RB CIN
This was supposed to be Giovani Bernard’s show in Cincinnati, but the Bengals just can’t keep rookie Jeremy Hill off the field. Hill really showed what he could do during a three game stretch when Bernard was out with an injury. Since that time, Hill is the RB7 in PPR leagues and even over the past four games since Bernard returned, Hill is still the ninth highest scoring back. With Hill now becoming more involved with the passing game, he can simply do more things better than Bernard and that should continue to show in their snap counts.
4.) Travis Kelce, TE KC
Travis Kelce and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid have taken a lot of criticism this season for the lack of looks going the tight end’s way, but I think that’s a bit unfair, at least from a fantasy perspective. Kelce is the TE6 on the season with half of his 14 games resulting in double-digit fantasy points. For players not named Gronkowski, that is pretty typical as the tight end position is naturally inconsistent due to blocking assignments and wide receivers earning more targets. That’s where an argument could be made for Kelce not seeing enough targets. The Kansas City wide receiver corps is among the worst in the league and, as has been noted often, has yet to find the end zone this season. The good news is Kelce may have turned the corner as his past two games have been among his three highest scoring of the season.
5.) Albert Wilson, WR KC
Speaking of Chiefs’ wide receivers, the only one I want near my dynasty roster right now is underrated rookie Albert Wilson. Wilson hasn’t really had a chance at much playing time until the past two weeks and he’s responded by posting nine or more points in each of the past two weeks. That may not sound like much, but considering Wilson only had nine fantasy points total entering Week 14, it shows he’s doing the most with his newfound opportunity. Matt Williamson of ESPN recently said he could see Wilson as a fantasy WR3 by the end of next season. Considering the overhaul that is needed at the wide receiver for the Chiefs, Wilson may be the safest bet to see extensive playing time in 2015. The best part is he could likely be found on your waiver wire.
Also considered: Teddy Bridgewater, Kerwynn Williams, Latavius Murray, Jonathan Stewart, Julian Edelman, Charles Johnson, Joseph Randle, Roddy White, Cole Beasley, Rob Gronkowski
Cold List:
1.) Jay Cutler, QB CHI
What a disaster this season has become for the Chicago Bears. After last season’s performance by rookie head coach Marc Trestman and his quarterback whispering leading Jay Cutler to one of his best statistical seasons, even with an injury, expectations were high. Cutler was given a fat new contract and the offense was ready to carry the team to playoff contention. Things haven’t gone their way to say the least and now their “franchise” quarterback has been benched for Jimmy Clausen of all people. Recent rumors have both Trestman and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker on their way out at the conclusion of the season, so why not go out with a bang. Clearly, Cutler’s future in Chicago is murky at best. Whether or not he even returns to the Bears could depend on their new head coach, if they do indeed fire Trestman. What’s not up for debate is how this affects Cutler’s dynasty value. He was already considered a mid-range QB2, and this greatly limits his upside.
2.) Johnny Manziel, QB CLE
You’ve all seen it by now. Johnny Manziel’s first career start went about as poorly as possible. It was filled with hurries and sacks, few passing yards and fewer rushing yards. All in all, it was one of the worst quarterback performances in recent memory, and that’s saying a lot. Whether this is fair or not, there were actually some very high expectations placed on Manziel by fantasy footballers, who expected him to step in and immediately make some Heismanesque plays. With last week in the rear view, we’ll now get to see if he can turn things around in the season’s final two weeks, and even more importantly…if he doesn’t, how the Browns respond. I don’t think it’s safe to assume that Manziel will be the starting quarterback in 2015.
3.) Alfred Morris, RB WAS
Redskins’ running back Alfred Morris is what he is, which is not much to get excited about. Yes, he’s a solid and reliable performer who doesn’t miss games, but is he a player who wins games for his fantasy owners? Although he’s RB14 on the season, over the past month, he’s only RB27 and has been held to less than five fantasy points in the past two games, fantasy playoff games when owners needed him most. Again, Morris is what he is and you know what you’re going to get, just don’t depend on him to be your top running back.
4.) Isaiah Crowell & Terrance West, RB CLE
It didn’t take long to see that the pair of rookie running backs for Cleveland, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West, were both better than free agent Ben Tate and the Browns also figured this out, parting ways with their free agent bust. That move gave dynasty owners the thought that one or even both of the rookies could be key players down the stretch of the regular season. Since Tate’s release following Week 11 though, Crowell is just RB23, while West is producing at even a lower clip than when Tate was around, scoring as RB54 since the release. One of these two, most likely Crowell, is still the favorite to be the team’s starter in 2015, but their combined lack of production is disappointing.
5.) Denard Robinson, RB JAX
Second year running back Denard Robinson has enjoyed a breakout season, but his season is now over after he suffered a foot injury. While the injury seems relatively standard considering the two month recovery timetable, a foot injury for a running back is never good news. Robinson is still the RB33 on the season, despite limited playing time early in the season, along with the missed game in Week 15. Since Week 7 when Robinson took over the starting job, he is RB19. While Robinson is not the prototypical running back, he clearly fills a need for Jacksonville after the failure of Toby Gerhart. Expect Robinson to be the starter headed into off-season workouts and take advantage of any drop in his value due to this injury.
Also considered: Giovani Bernard, Peyton Manning, Geno Smith, Darren McFadden, Reggie Bush, Trent Richardson, Bishop Sankey, LeSean McCoy, Tre Mason, Donte Moncrief
