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Risers and Fallers for Week 2 Fantasy Football

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. Experienced fantasy players know it happens every year.

A player gets hot and sees an increased role, while others struggle and fight to stay relevant. Here we’ll showcase those who have taken important steps forward and those who have taken steps back. Here are the risers and fallers following week one of the 2016-17 NFL season.

Editor's Note: Purchase a full season NFL Premium Pass (including DFS Premium), and also get MLB Premium + DFS for free through the playoffs. Premium DFS research, lineup picks, expert lineups, tools and more. You can see screenshots of our NFL Premium and MLB Premium and DFS tools. What are you waiting for?

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Post-Week 1 Fantasy Football Risers

RISER - Theo Riddick (RB, DET)

Fresh off his three-year contract extension with the Lions, running back Theo Riddick had himself a strong season debut in a comeback victory at Indianapolis. The former Notre Dame product rushed for 45 yards on seven carries, while catching five passes for 63 yards, recording one touchdown on the ground and another in the air.

While he serves as a back, Riddick’s great value comes through the air, where he figures to remain a major part of Matthew Stafford’s offense. Just last year, the 25-year-old tied for most receptions by a running back, doing so in less targets, while recording the second-most receiving yards at his position. Available in plenty of leagues, he should warrant some looks.

 

RISER - Carson Wentz (QB, PHI)

The number two pick of this year’s NFL draft was a surprise week one starter given all the events that transpired leading up to this game. Initially, Wentz wasn’t expected to see the field this year, a belief that was reinforced when he suffered a hairline rib fracture in game one of the preseason. After the Eagles traded Sam Bradford, however, it was announced that the North Carolina native would start the team’s season opener. He went on to complete 22 of 37 pass attempts for 278 yards and two touchdowns.

Wentz played with poise and no fear, but exactly how much of this do we buy? After all, it came against the lowly Cleveland Browns, who passed on Wentz and are seemingly already preparing for another high draft pick. Looking ahead, he’ll have three apparent favorable matchups in his next five games (Week 2 @ Chicago, Week 5 @ Detroit, Week 6 @ Washington) which may warrant consideration. Wentz has definitely caught the eye of many and should see a rise in ownership.

 

RISER - Eli Rogers (WR, PIT)

It should be worth noting right at the start that this performance, in all probability, resulted from the absence of Markus Wheaton. Regardless, 23-year-old Eli Rogers was impressive in his regular season debut. The Louisville alum, who missed all of last season with a foot injury, looked explosive on the field, catching six passes for 59 yards and a touchdown.

Along with experienced players like Antonio Brown and DeAngelo Williams, Rogers was one Ben Roethlisberger’s favorite targets. When Wheaton returns it’ll be interesting to see Rogers’ role on the team play out, but just like Wheaton gained relevancy behind Brown and Martavis Bryant, Rogers could ultimately play the same role. Like Carson Wentz, he should only garner more attention for now, but another strong performance in week two could unleash him as a big-time waiver wire pickup.

 

Post-Week 1 Fantasy Football Fallers

FALLER - Tyrod Taylor (QB, BUF)

Following an encouraging 2015 season, the Buffalo Bills decided to show Tyrod Taylor the money, signing him to a contract that, while team friendly, assures Taylor gets rewarded handsomely, at least this season. With Tom Brady out the first four weeks of the season in New England, there was greater hope from other AFC East teams that the Patriots could finally be dethroned.

The Bills were one of those teams, but Sunday’s uninspiring performance against the Baltimore Ravens felt like a heartbreaker. At the center of it all was Taylor, who completed 15 of 22 passes for a measly 111 yards and zero touchdowns. On the ground things weren’t much better, with only 11 rushing yards on five attempts. What makes Taylor a noteworthy faller, however, is the loss of Sammy Watkins, his top option with the Bills. If early forecasts are true and Watkins misses several weeks, Taylor and his owners could be in for a long season.

 

FALLERCoby Fleener (TE, NOR)

Considering Drew Brees’ famous tendency to feed tight ends, newcomer Coby Fleener figured to play a major part in New Orleans’ offense this year. The 27-year-old was one of Andrew Luck’s favorite targets in Indianapolis, and a better quarterback figured to bode well for him. He turned out to be a bust in week one, however, despite New Orleans’ frequent scoring.

While Brees threw for 423 yards and four touchdowns, Fleener caught just one pass for six yards. This could simply be a result of Fleener and Brees still adjusting to their new partnership, but what if there’s something else here? It’s clearly not time to consider dropping Fleener, and it may not even be time to panic, but week two should prove a clear indicator. The Saints’ opponent, the New York Giants, had troubles against the tight end the entire time in week one. Fleener must come up big to reinstate ownership confidence.

 

FALLER - Devonta Freeman (RB, ATL)

Devonta Freeman exploded onto the scene last year following Tevin Coleman’s injury. Ironically, Coleman earned the starting role heading into the season due to Freeman sustaining an injury himself. Upon regaining the starting role with Atlanta, Freeman became a waiver wire darling. He would gain 1,056 yards on the ground, 578 in the air, and score 14 touchdowns altogether.

His terrific season earned him a Pro Bowl selection and second team All-Pro, while skyrocketing his fantasy value at the same time. Heading into this year there was no running back controversy, with Freeman the clear starter. In week one, however, he struggled massively. Averaging just 1.8 yards per carry, he would record just 20 rushing yards and 20 receiving yards. Making matters worse, Coleman outperformed him, leading the team with 95 receiving yards. If only for a week, Freeman’s meteoric rise took a significant hit, and it appears he’ll now split carries with Coleman.

 




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