November 8, 2017

Fantasy football risers and fallers heading into Week 10 of the NFL season. Jason Katz looks at players whose fantasy value has changed over the past week.

Whether due to their own play, the play of others, or injuries, players' stock increases and decreases on a weekly basis. Perhaps more than any other, the NFL is a league that experiences ups and downs at a rapid pace. With only 16 games, there’s little room for error and seemingly endless opportunities for improvement. The same goes for fantasy football, and managing rosters effectively is key to winning that championship.

Throughout the season, players get hot and see an increased role while others struggle and fight to stay relevant. Experienced fantasy players know this happens every year. In this weekly column, we’ll showcase those who have taken important steps forward and those who have taken steps back.

These are the key fantasy risers and fallers heading into Week 10 of the NFL season. Dynasty owners, check out our separate Dynasty Risers/Fallers segment each week as well.

Week 10 Risers

Tyrod Taylor (QB, BUF)

Taylor was the overall QB2 last week after posting season highs in passing yards (285) and total touchdowns (3). While most of his work came in garbage time, we take the points however they come. Taylor has now posted QB1 numbers in three consecutive weeks and heads into a home game with a high scoring offense in New Orleans. Taylor's new toy, Kelvin Benjamin, should make his Bills debut this week as well. After all the offseason talk of Taylor potentially losing his job, he's kept the Bills in contention and looks as safe and reliable as ever.

Marvin Jones (WR, DET)

Quietly, Jones has averaged over 20 fantasy points per game the last three weeks. He's scored three times during that span and is averaging 12 targets per game. Jones has been a legit WR1 option for three straight weeks. While I hesitate to declare him a WR1, it is now week 10 and getting increasingly difficult to deny realities like this. I want to say I'll put him there if he does it again, but is three weeks in a row not enough? You never want to be the guy that's a week late on these things. Marvin Jones - WR1.

Alshon Jeffery (WR, PHI)

The bonus WR! Jeffery deserves a spot here after he posted his second consecutive useful game. He's seen 19 targets over the past two weeks and was actually efficient last week against Denver, catching six of 11 targets for 84 yards and two touchdowns. I still have my doubts about Jeffery, but the production is starting to match the name value. He gets a spot on the risers while playing with the guy I consider to currently be the third best QB in the league.

Christian McCaffrey (RB, CAR)

There are a few different ways I could've gone here (Alvin Kamara, Carlos Hyde, Matt Forte), but I'm going with McCaffrey because the others had already entered the circle of trust at some point. This is McCaffrey's ascendance. Jonathan Stewart is done. Cooked. Washed. Finished. Send him out to pasture. That's why McCaffrey saw a season high 15 carries last week. JStew tried his hardest to give the game to New Orleans - literally giving them the ball twice. I had more fantasy points than Stewart last week (which was the second time this season you would have been better off with me in your lineup than Stewart). CMac, on the other hand, posted his third 20 point fantasy game of the season and has scored double digits in five straight now. He could be a back end PPR RB1 rest of season.

Jared Cook (TE, OAK)

Did you know Cook has 18 receptions over the past three weeks? He's been a high floor TE1. The post-post-post-post hype prospect may finally be putting it together. He is of no use this week as his team has the week off, but Cook has officially entered the circle of trust for fantasy TEs. With Amari Cooper continuing to struggle, Cook is the de facto number two option in the passing game. He is reliable until he proves otherwise.

Week 10 Fallers

 Kirk Cousins (QB, WAS)

Yes, it was against the vaunted Legion of Boom, but Cousins flopped for the second week in a row, failing to reach double digit fantasy points for the first time all season. Cousins threw for just 247 yards and no scores despite his team winning at Seattle. With Minnesota looming, we could be looking at another down week for the Captain.

Mike Evans (WR, TB)

Evans had been solid, yet unspectacular this season. That all came crashing to a halt last week when he caught just one of six targets for 13 yards. As if that wasn't bad enough, Evans went and got himself suspended for a game. The rest of season schedule is quite favorable for Evans, but essentially losing two weeks during the heart of the season is not.

Will Fuller (WR, HOU)

The bonus WR! Fuller has to be here because he was the WR2 by average points before last week's dud. The problem is the dud is likely to continue as it is abundantly clear there is only room for one relevant WR with Tom Savage calling the shots and that man is going to be DeAndre Hopkins. Fuller's touchdown rate was unsustainable anyway, but the man was still at least a WR3, if not a WR2. Now, he's probably not even startable.

Aaron Jones (RB, GB)

This easily could've been LeSean McCoy or Doug Martin. However, those two are proven commodities coming off down weeks. Jones is an upstart rookie that just had the rug pulled out from under him. After looking like a locked in RB2 the previous four games, Jones came out of the bye and posted just 12 yards on five carries. To make matters worse, he was both out-snapped and outplayed by Ty Montgomery. Does this mean Montgomery is back in as the main RB? I have no idea. What I do know is that the entire Packers offense is a dumpster fire with Brett Hundley just holding onto the ball for days and never taking shots downfield and Mike McCarthy completely incapable of creating a game plan to cater to his non Aaron Rodgers QB.

Cameron Brate (TE, TB)

To be fair, the guy had posted double digit fantasy points in six straight games before last week's stinker. However, it's not just that Brate caught one of four targets for nine yards. It's also that the Bucs are a dumpster fire of an organization. Jameis Winston is terrible at football and also isn't playing for at least the next couple weeks as he deals with multiple injuries to his right shoulder. Mike Evans is suspended for a game. Doug Martin has been ineffective. The Bucs aren't doing much of anything on offense. Next week against the Jets looks like a favorable spot, but the Jets can just key in on Brate as the primary option. I wouldn't want any part of the Bucs offense is I could avoid it.

More Week 10 Lineup Prep