November 16, 2016

Ricky Delgado looks at fantasy football risers and fallers for Week 10 of the NFL season, following the conclusion of Week 9 of the 2016 fantasy football season.

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 risers and fallers heading into Week 11 of the NFL season.

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Post-Week 10 Fantasy Football Risers

RISER - Tyrell Williams (WR, SD)

After Keenan Allen and Stevie Johnson were lost for the season very early in the year, the San Diego Chargers were left sans a top wide receiver. From the crop of remaining wideouts emerged Tyrell Williams, a 24-year-old second-year product out of Western Oregon University. Williams quickly made his presence felt, catching his first touchdown of the season in Week 2. Since then, he's become Philip Rivers' most trusted receiver, leading the Chargers in receptions, touchdowns and blowing away everyone else in reception yards, currently at 720.

With Rivers never showing fear in tossing the football, Williams is well positioned to be a threat every week of the season. Despite the fact that the Chargers are heading into a bye week, Williams remains a terrific option to close out the year, with matchups against the Raiders, Browns and Buccaneers remaining. Like the aforementioned Allen before him, he's taken complete advantage of his opportunity and looks to be a major player for San Diego in the future.

RISER - Colin Kaepernick (QB, SF)

After once again taking over the starting quarterback position in San Francisco, Colin Kaepernick has seen his share of struggles. Heading into Week 10, he was coming off a terrific, 398-yard performance against the New Orleans Saints. His chances of second consecutive strong performance, however, appeared slim with the Niners on the road against the dreaded Arizona Cardinals. The final results were quite successful, despite another defeat. Kaepernick completed 17 passes for 210 yards, ran 10 times for 55 yards and recorded a pair of touchdowns, one in the air and another on the ground.

Sure, the performance didn't blow us away fantasy wise, but for Kaepernick to follow up last week's game with this showing against such a tough opponent speaks volumes about his progress. While bye weeks are thinning as we move towards the home stretch of the season, the 29-year-old is emerging as a possible bench option. With matchups against the Dolphins, Bears, Jets and Falcons awaiting, he may even be a possible streaming option at some point.

RISER - Tyreek Hill (WR, KC)

Entering the 2016 season, Tyreek Hill was envisioned as the fourth wide receiver option at best in Kansas City, with Jeremy Maclin, Albert Wilson and Chris Conley ahead of him. While he's only managed to surpass Albert Wilson in targets and yards, he surprisingly leads the Chiefs in reception touchdowns with four. This past week, with Jeremy Maclin out, Hill led the receiving unit during the Chiefs' stunning comeback victory on the road against the Panthers.

The game saw him record season highs in targets and receptions, and while Maclin's injury surely played a role in the outcome, don't buy into this being an anomaly. Even prior to this game, Maclin was severely underperforming, which could allow someone like Hill to surpass him this season. If Maclin is to miss next week's home game against Tampa Bay, Hill becomes a must-add and perhaps a must-start.

Post-Week 10 Fantasy Football Fallers

FALLER - Alshon Jeffery (WR, CHI)

Believe it or not, Alshon Jeffery was already a strong candidate for faller of the week even before Monday's news. In case you hadn't heard, the 26-year-old former Pro Bowler was suspended four games without pay for a performance-enhancing drugs violation. In a season that has featured plenty of low points for both the Bears and Jeffery, this is arguably rock bottom. Prior to his suspension, he was leading the Bears in targets and receiving yards, but had only managed one single touchdown all year.

Having already matched the number of games he played last year, he's on pace for his worst season since 2012. Perhaps the severe struggles of the Chicago Bears have played a role in his decline, but Jeffery's value has continued to slip and this latest suspension may be the final nail in his coffin for many fantasy football managers who feature him.

FALLER - Minnesota Vikings (D/ST)

Just over a month ago the Minnesota Vikings were the hottest thing going in the National Football League. Through the first five weeks of the season, they were undefeated, sitting in first place of the NFC North and heading into a bye week. Ever since then, however, things have spectacularly unraveled as they've lost four consecutive games to fall into a first place tie with the Detroit Lions. At the forefront of this collapse has been the team's defensive unit, which has fallen on hard times after a strong start.

The unit had allowed just 66 points through the first five games, but has surrendered 89 in the last four. Additionally, the team has only managed three sacks during the losing streak, as opposed to a whopping 19 through the first five games, while managing half the amount of turnovers they forced during the first five games. With elite defenses being hard to come by in the NFL, Minnesota might not yet deserve to be dropped, but they could very well be deserving of a benching at this point.

FALLER - Jonathan Stewart (RB, CAR)

The Carolina Panthers have been a massive disappointment in 2016, currently 3-6 and last in the NFC South. Of course, this is in the aftermath of their Super Bowl appearance, and one of last year's stars is at the forefront of this failure. Running back Jonathan Stewart, who was elected to his first Pro Bowl last season, is managing just 3.6 yards per carry, his lowest since 2012. His total yardage is on pace for a three-year low and his receiving yards have also taken a hit.

A major reason for Stewart's decline has been his inability to remain healthy. Though he wasn't projected to be a top running back, he's performed well under his ADP and is stuck in a rough situation with his team flailing along. If you still feature Stewart on your team, all hope is not lost, as the Panthers will host the Saints and travel to Oakland the next two weeks. Should Stewart post big numbers, there may be hope after all.