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) Latavius Murray, RB OAK
Raiders’ second year running back Latavius Murray had a nice game in Week 11, leading the team in rushing and tied for the lead in receptions. Over the past few days there was even word the team was finally ready to give him a bigger workload and that finally paid off as Murray broke out in the Raiders’ matchup against the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football. The good news is Murray looked explosive and showed us all why he’s been stashed on dynasty rosters for the past year and a half. He scored two first half touchdowns, including a long 90 yard run. The bad news is the primary knock on Murray, his inability to stay on the field quickly came into play as he suffered a head injury on a kickoff return late in the first half. The future is bright though for Murray, assuming the Raiders are finally committed to moving away from Darren McFadden.
2) Jonas Gray, RB NE
We all know that Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots like to play games with the running back position and we all were witnesses on Sunday Night Football as Jonas Gray shocked the dynasty world. Gray racked up nearly 200 yards and four touchdowns, which equaled the amount of rushing touchdowns scored by all other running backs in Week 11. It was obviously the best game of Gray’s short career and likely will be his highlight for years to come. The question arises…is Gray the next starting running back for the Patriots or just a band-aid until a safer or more talented option presents itself? Even though the team signed LeGarrette Blount this week following his release by the Steelers, I still view Gray as the lead back for the remainder of the season. He should get his shot to prove he’s worthy of the running back rotation for 2015, considering both Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen could be elsewhere next year.
3) Mike Evans, WR TB
I generally try to mix it up in this article and not focus on the same player over and over, but Tampa Bay rookie wide receiver Mike Evans is making that impossible. Over the past three weeks, not only is Evans the top scoring wide receiver, he’s the top scoring player overall, setting a new team record for receiving yards over a three game span along the way. After Evans’ big game in Week 11, I mentioned on Twitter that Evans could be the top valued wide receiver in dynasty leagues, expecting to be called all sorts of names. What I got instead was support for that statement, meaning his value has catapulted up into the Dez Bryant, Calvin Johnson, A.J. Green range already. If you haven’t acquired Evans already, it might be too late.
4) Coby Fleener, TE IND
After his disappointing 2013 season, where he failed to establish himself as either a reliable fantasy asset or a reliable pass catcher for the Colts, many dynasty owners had given up on tight end Coby Fleener, opting instead for his teammate Dwayne Allen. This year, both are playing well, with Allen currently the TE10 and Fleener close behind as TE13 in PPR leagues. Fleener’s fantasy standing has been propped up by his best two games of the season over the past three weeks, including a career high in receiving yardage in Week 11. Considering the Colts have multiple pass catching options for quarterback Andrew Luck to choose from, Fleener may not have the consistency you’d want from a fantasy starter, but paired with the ankle injury Allen suffered last week, Fleener’s dynasty value is on the rise.
5) Melvin Gordon, RB WISC
It may come as a surprise to see this name here, but at this time of the dynasty season, many teams are out of the playoff running and starting to consider which players they might be able to snag in the 2015 dynasty rookie draft. That search should begin with University of Wisconsin’s running back Melvin Gordon. While Gordon has had a great all-around year, taking the place of current Patriots’ back James White, this week was the game changer. Gordon set the all-time single game FBS record with 408 rushing yards in just three quarters as he sat out the final quarter of a blowout victory. Gordon is now likely the favorite to be the first running back drafted in May’s NFL Draft, though there’s plenty of time for things to change. Gordon is also the leading candidate to be selected with the 1.01 pick in dynasty rookie drafts.
Also considered: Le’Veon Bell, Bryce Brown, Alfred Blue, Kenny Britt, Charles Sims, C.J. Anderson, Odell Beckham, Jr., Mark Sanchez, Mark Ingram, Denard Robinson, Isaiah Crowell
Cold List:
1) Ben Tate, RB MIN
It hasn’t been the best week for running back Ben Tate. This past off-season, Tate signed with the Cleveland Browns, who had been reportedly targeting him to fix their woeful running game. In addition to signing Tate though, they also drafted Terrance West and signed undrafted free agent Isaiah Crowell. That was the first bad sign for Tate. Since the season started, Tate has dealt with injuries and a roller coaster depth chart, which seems to change every week. In Week 11, Tate didn’t touch the ball a single time and that put him over the edge. He lashed out to reporters when questioned about his role, or lack thereof. With that, Tate was sent packing and the excitement of dynasty owners was ignited. Brief dreams of Tate landing in Indianapolis were dashed when he was claimed by…the Vikings. This is the same team who seemingly doesn’t know what to do with talented playmakers like Jerick McKinnon and Cordarrelle Patterson. I see very little upside in Tate in this offense and the fact that one team has already dumped him is clearly a bad sign.
2) Brandin Cooks, WR NO
The surprisingly struggling New Orleans Saints’ offense just got a little worse as they lost jitterbug rookie receiver Brandin Cooks for the season. Cooks suffered a broken thumb in the team’s Week 11 game and while the prognosis originally had him returning in as little as two weeks, as that time lengthened, the team chose to place him on the injured reserve list. While a relatively minor injury such as this would not typically affect a player’s value, this loss of game time could drop Cooks quite a few spots in the rookie wide receiver battle, while players like Odell Beckham, Jr. continue to impress.
3) Ahmad Bradshaw, RB IND
Colts’ running back Ahmad Bradshaw is the type of player I call a perishable player, meaning he only has value for a short period of time. With Bradshaw, this is due to the combination of his age and lengthy injury history, and it’s another injury that has Bradshaw on this list. In the Colts’ Week 11 game against the Patriots, Bradshaw suffered a broken leg, ending his season and putting his off-season activities and even pre-season in doubt, as well as his future with the Colts. As good as Bradshaw has been this year, the Colts must consider moving on and finding a more reliable back as their starter.
4) Montee Ball, RB DEN
After missing several weeks, the Broncos were glad to have Montee Ball back in action. After all, he was their starter to begin the season and now Ronnie Hillman was also banged up, so Ball was an integral part of the game plan. Unfortunately, Ball lasted only a few snaps and didn’t even carry the ball before aggravating the groin injury and exiting the game. Ball will miss an additional two weeks, with Hillman likely out during that same time frame. This will give C.J. Anderson the chance to shine in the Broncos’ high-powered offense, while the dynasty value of Ball continues to free fall.
5) Todd Gurley, RB UGA
Since I included Gordon on the Hot List, I thought it was fitting to wrap up this injury-riddled list with a college back, Georgia’s Todd Gurley. Up until last week, Gurley was considered a sure fire stud and the running back who would break the two year streak of no running backs being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, and he could still be, but it just got tougher. Gurley suffered a torn ACL, ending his season and, most likely, his college career. Most scouts are now considering Gurley a second or third round pick, which could mean he lands in a better situation than he might of as a mid to high first round selection. This injury could also offer some dynasty teams picking in the middle of the first round hope they never would’ve had prior to the injury when Gurley was viewed as the hands down top choice. So, in the end, the injury hurts Gurley’s value, but he should have plenty of time to rehab and come back, possibly even before the 2015 NFL season begins.
Also considered: Pierre Garcon, Bobby Rainey, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Cordarrelle Patterson, Doug Martin, Zac Stacy, Marques Colston, Derek Carr, Matthew Stafford, Bernard Pierce, Devonta Freeman
