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 six of the 2016-17 NFL season.

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out FantasyAces DFS contests. New users that sign up on Fantasy Aces and make a $20 deposit will receive RotoBaller's full season NFL Premium Pass for free (including Premium DFS), normally a $59.99 value. Expert DFS research, sample lineups, matchup ratings and lots more!

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• NFL rookie fantasy football rankings
• Best ball fantasy football rankings
• Superflex fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Post-Week 6 Fantasy Football Risers

RISER - Martellus Bennett (TE, NE)

When he arrived in New England this offseason, Martellus Bennett was expected to be an elite second tight end option behind the game’s best at the position, Rob Gronkowski. With Tom Brady out for the first four games of the season, Bennett’s stock wasn’t very high heading into the campaign, but heading into Week 5, he had significantly surpassed expectations. The 29-year-old had already recorded two 100-yard games, incredibly outperforming a hurt Gronkowski. With Brady returning against the Browns this past week, the general consensus was that order would be restored and “Gronk” would once again emerge as the top TE, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Bennett would catch a season-high six passes for 67 yards and three touchdowns. Those who started Bennett were rewarded with the best fantasy performance by a TE this year. At this point, it seems Bennett won’t be taking a backseat on this team and he should continue to remain relevant as the season moves forward.

RISER - Dak Prescott (QB, DAL)

There’s been a legitimate case to feature Dak Prescott on this list every week since the start of the NFL season. The rookie out of Mississippi State has been on a role since the preseason, and has gotten quite comfortable as the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys in Tony Romo’s absence. Prescott doesn’t dish out many touchdowns, having passed for just four through five games, but he’s also managed to rush for three. Perhaps most important of all, however, is his knack for avoiding turnovers, having thrown zero interceptions thus far. So when the question comes over whether Tony Romo should be the starting QB on this team when he returns from injury, it should be noted that the veteran has never in his career gone five games without a pickoff. Trust Prescott with a spot on your team if you happen to be in a league where he’s free.

RISER - DeMarco Murray (RB, TEN)

Following his abysmal season with the Philadelphia Eagles last year, DeMarco Murray’s value took a significant hit heading into 2016. Now with the Tennessee Titans, he became available for much cheaper and in later rounds. If you happen to be one of those lucky fantasy football managers who snatched him up, you’ve been rewarded with extraordinary results. Murray has stormed out of the gates to the tune of 633 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns. Even in the two weeks which have seen him fail to score, his total yardage has been enough to make him a worthy starter. At this point, he’s the star of the Titans offense and commands must-start status every week. While he won’t ever be his 2014 version that saw him pile on nearly 2,300 yards, this version of DeMarco Murray appears to be a significant improvement from 2015.

FALLER - Eli Manning (QB, NYG)

Despite his two Super Bowl trophies, Eli Manning has never been a quarterback you can completely trust. Yes, he’s worthy of providing elite fantasy numbers, but he always seems a turnover away from falling completely apart. This year, like many others, Manning was drafted virtually everywhere, with some even gambling on him as a starter. Unfortunately for those who took that gamble, Manning’s been off to quite the poor start. The 35-year-old has failed to rank in the top 10 at his position every week of the season, twice ranking in the lower 20s. This past week, against a Green Bay Packers offense that was missing their top two cornerbacks, Manning mustered just 199 yards and one touchdown in an incredibly demoralizing performance. While some may hesitate, it may not be such a farfetched idea to cut Manning from your team considering how things are playing out with his top wideout.

FALLER - Jarvis Landry (WR, MIA)

Heading into 2016, Jarvis Landry was widely envisioned as a top 50 fantasy football player and top wide receiver on the Miami Dolphins. While the latter has turned out to be true, the former has not been accurate, as Landry has been a bust early on in the season. The 23-year-old has only managed to record one touchdown and has been relatively quiet for three of the season’s five weeks so far. Perhaps the biggest detriment to Landry currently and looking forward is the quarterback situation with the Dolphins. While head coach Adam Gase has given him a public vote of confidence, Ryan Tannehill has gotten off to another underwhelming start this season and could be facing down his final year as the starter in Miami. If Gase ultimately makes the decision to change the quarterback, Landry’s numbers could shift even more.

FALLER - C.J. Anderson (RB, DEN)

It would’ve been hard to forecast C.J. Anderson landing on this list after his outstanding season debut. Way back in the first game of the 2016 NFL season, the 25-year-old rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown, while tacking on 47 additional receiving yards with another touchdown. Since then, he’s managed exactly 47 more receiving yards in four additional games. Additionally, he’s only averaging 50 rushing yards per game since and has managed just two more touchdowns in the process. While the Broncos continued their winning ways, they finally lost their first game of the season in Week 5. Anderson’s status as fantasy starter shouldn’t be altered in the aftermath of these struggles, but these next games are crucial to his season. With the Chargers awaiting in two of the next three games, Anderson’s performances must improve.