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.
Hot List:
1) Andrew Luck, QB IND
I’ve tried to ignore the top scoring player in all of fantasy football these past few weeks as I write this article, usually choosing to focus on players who might be more of a surprise, but I have to give Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck his due. Although he has finished as a top ten fantasy quarterback in each of his first two seasons, this is the year he’s truly breaking out, averaging over 30 fantasy points per game and showing no signs of slowing down. Luck should continue to shred defenses and he’s turning his pass catchers into stars, just as his predecessor once did in Indianapolis.
2) Golden Tate, WR DET
Another player enjoying a breakout season that can no longer be ignored is Lions’ wide receiver Golden Tate, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks. Tate signed with Detroit to be a complement to all-everything wideout Calvin Johnson, but with Johnson nursing an injury and missing recent action, Tate has been his replacement instead of his sidekick. Over the three game span without Johnson, Tate is the WR4 in PPR leagues, including nearly 60 points he’s scored over the past two weeks. The bad news for Tate fantasy owners is that it looks like Johnson will return after the team’s Week Nine bye, but the good news is Tate has proven himself to be a valuable playmaker and should continue to see enough opportunities to make him worthy of a weekly start in all fantasy formats.
3) Donte Moncrief, WR IND
With veteran Reggie Wayne battling an injury and Hakeem Nicks battling his own lingering issues, many saw a breakout game coming for Donte Moncrief in Week Eight and that is exactly what happened. Moncrief is one of those players who greatly benefits from playing with a quarterback like Luck. Who are we kidding…everyone benefits from having Luck as a teammate, but Moncrief might have been the biggest beneficiary last week. He hauled in seven balls for 113 yards and a touchdown. Not only did he breakout, but his performance was good enough to rank him in the WR1 range for the week. While a Wayne return could slow Moncrief’s progress, head coach Chuck Pagano has already acknowledged they must use Moncrief more, but like many of the top offenses, there are many mouths to feed. The rookie from Ole Miss may not be a reliable weekly starter for the remainder of this season, but his stock is on the rise and his future is bright.
4) Ronnie Hillman, RB DEN
Entering the season, expectations were high for Broncos’ running back Montee Ball. After all, Knowshon Moreno had already shown us what the Denver starter could do for fantasy teams and with him now in Miami, the door was wide open for the second year back from Wisconsin. Of course, Ronnie Hillman was another young back on the Broncos roster, but he’d already shown he couldn’t pass protect or hang onto the ball well enough to hold down the job, right? Based on the past few weeks, we were all wrong. With Ball out with an injury, Hillman has flourished and rumors are he won’t be losing the job, even when Ball is healthy. Hillman is a top ten running back over the past month and based on the recent history I mentioned of Denver running backs, Hillman should remain a valuable asset for the remainder of the season, at least. Hillman is also just 23 years old, meaning this burst could earn him some long-term dynasty value as well.
5) Lorenzo Taliaferro, RB BAL
One of the surprises of Week Eight was the healthy scratch of Ravens’ running back Bernard Pierce. At the last minute, rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro looked like he might be a good fantasy starter, even though he was expected to play behind veteran Justin Forsett. Taliaferro delivered as he not only got the expected red zone carries, resulting in a pair of rushing touchdowns, but he even led the team in receiving with 42 yards. The Ravens have seemingly given up on Pierce, and you can’t blame them. That will benefit the late round rookie Taliaferro, who is easily worth a roster spot and maybe can be considered as a bye week starter in PPR leagues.
Also considered: Tom Brady, Zach Mettenberger, Chris Ivory, Denard Robinson, Mark Ingram, Jonas Gray, Sammy Watkins, Allen Robinson, Mohamed Sanu, Jeremy Maclin, Brandon LaFell, Rob Gronkowski, Martavis Bryant, Charles Sims
Cold List:
1) Travis Kelce, TE KC
If you bought into the early season Travis Kelce love, you’ve got yourself a top twelve tight end and a bright future, but you’ve also had a frustrating past few weeks. Although Kelce is TE11 on the season, he falls out of the top 20 over the past month. It’s easy, and a bit of a cliché, for fantasy players to complain about how players are used, but this really is a situation that makes little sense from an onlookers’ perspective. Kelce has displayed his talent and the Chiefs are sorely lacking playmakers, yet he continues to see few targets each week. Again, Kelce has tons of promise and is only 25 years old, but here’s to hoping he can see his role in the Chiefs’ offense increase.
2) Isaiah Crowell & Terrance West, RBs CLE
The Browns’ running back situation has become one of the most perplexing in the entire league. There’s no doubt they have one of the deepest and most talented backfields in the league, even though that depth chart is made up of a first year starter and a pair of rookies. With starter Ben Tate hurt early in the season, the rookie duo of Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell got their shot and both played well. In fact, there was speculation that Tate would not be a factor this season. Instead, Tate returned and reclaimed his job. In Week Six, West was a healthy scratch and it appeared as if the team was handing the RB2 job to Crowell, gaining him a great deal of dynasty value. In the two games since then, West has been back on the field and Crowell has just five fantasy points. This situation is a fantasy tease as we try to guess which back will play the larger role each week. I still like both players going forward, but their usage and the guessing game it requires has been frustrating and their value has been affected.
3) Teddy Bridgewater, QB MIN
In the first start of his NFL career, Vikings rookie Teddy Bridgewater lit up the Falcons for over 300 yards and got fantasy owners dreaming of what the next few years might bring. Since that game, Bridgewater suffered an injury that cost him a game and in the three weeks he has played, he’s only QB27, behind multiple players who have played one less game due to their bye week. Considering teams are allowing a much smaller window to evaluate their young players, Bridgewater needs to turn things around quickly to ensure the Vikings don’t start wondering if they made the right move in trading up for the former Louisville quarterback.
4) Brian Quick, WR STL
After a couple years of mediocrity and disappointment, this looked to be the year Rams receiver Brian Quick would breakout and earn a huge boost in dynasty value. That’s just what was happening, until Quick began to lose targets to Jared Cook over the past three weeks. Then, in Week Eight, we saw the deathblow to Quick’s short term value as he suffered a shoulder injury which will keep him out of action for the remainder of the season. For me, I saw enough from Quick to trust him to maintain some long-term value heading into the 2015 season, but there have to be some questions, especially with the expected change on offense.
5) Marqise Lee, WR JAX
Want to know how I know Jaguars’ rookie Marqise Lee is struggling lately? I didn’t even realize he’d returned from his hamstring injury three weeks ago! Over those three games, Lee has totaled five receptions for 55 yards and is not on the fantasy radar at all. Meanwhile, his fellow rookie teammate Allen Robinson has established himself as the team’s top receiver, Allen Hurns continues to contribute and Cecil Shorts is back from his injury. Lee could certainly turn things around in the next year or two, but his dynasty value is sputtering as he struggles to earn a meaningful role.
Also considered: Geno Smith, Bishop Sankey, LeSean McCoy, Doug Martin, Hakeem Nicks, http://www.nbcsports.com/edge/player/NFL/6681/Charles-ClayCharles Clay, Torrey Smith
