With four weeks of trends and usage under our belts, the outlooks for many players are beginning to crystalize. With that in mind, we’re digging a bit deeper with the dynasty risers and fallers than the last few weeks. Let’s dig in.
Dynasty Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers
Dynasty Fantasy Football Risers
Woody Marks (RB – HOU)
Although Nick Chubb started the game for the Texans, Woody Marks led the team in snaps, carries, targets, and production. The rookie out of USC finished Sunday as the week’s RB6 with 28.1 PPR fantasy points, tallying 17 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown while adding four catches for 50 yards and another score. Marks’ workload has increased each week of the season, but his 21 touches in Week 4 are far more than his previous high of seven. We knew that Marks would put a dent in Chubb’s workload, particularly in the passing game, but we’re at a point where Marks has simply been the better runner and may be taking over the Texans’ backfield.
Omarion Hampton (RB – LAC)
With 27.5 PPR fantasy points on Sunday, Omarion Hampton posted his first 100-yard rushing game with 128 yards on 12 carries. He caught five passes for 37 yards and has now tallied 11 receptions across the last two weeks to go with 198 rushing yards. The Chargers have been much more pass heavy than anticipated, but with Hampton becoming a consistent target and dominating the carries, that’s far from a bad thing for the rookie’s value. After a slow start, he’s shaping up to have the rookie season dynasty managers anticipated when they drafted him early in the first round.
Kyle Pitts (TE – ATL)
The long-awaited Kyle Pitts emergence is finally upon us. Maybe. Considering his history, we should proceed with caution, but it’s been a strong start to the season for Pitts who posted a season high 70 yards and a touchdown on five grabs. The unfortunate aspect is that Pitts snaps were limited when the Falcons played with the lead, but Michael Penix Jr. has not been afraid to get him involved. This could be partially due to Darnell Mooney‘s health, but nonetheless, Pitts is a weapon the Falcons are making use of.
Kendre Miller (RB – NO)
After being all but buried by the last coaching staff, Kendre Miller has seen his usage increase each week of the season thus far. On Sunday, he toted the rock 11 times for 65 yards and a touchdown for 12.5 fantasy points. With Alvin Kamara‘s elite pass catching chops, Miller isn’t going to be involved in that department and he needs a favorable game script to truly make an impact, but it’s good to see him coming on this season.
Quentin Johnston (WR – LAC)
Another player that many had left for dead, Quentin Johnston has rebounded like Dennis Rodman in the 90’s. Johnston has cleared 70 yards receiving in every game this season, topping out at 98 this week. He scored his fourth touchdown of the season and delivered 23.8 PPR points, his second game above 20 this season with his lowest output coming in at 14.9 in week 3. His 13 targets were six more than any other Charger and it’s safe to say that he’s becoming a favorite of Justin Herbert‘s.
Isaiah Bond (WR – CLE)
Don’t look now but Isaiah Bond has been working his way up the depth chart in Cleveland. After passing up Jamari Thrash, Bond began eating into Cedric Tillman‘s snaps in recent weeks and with Tillman’s injury, Bond played the second most snaps among Browns receivers this week while drawing six targets. The Browns guaranteed Bond’s three-year contract when he was signed, which is unheard of for an UDFA, so they have plans for him and he should continue to get more involved as the season goes along.
Oronde Gadsden (TE – LAC)
With Will Dissly out, Oronde Gadsden has leapfrogged Tyler Conklin as the preferred pass catching tight end for the Chargers. Gadsden played 25% of the snaps a week ago before reaching nearly 50% of snaps this week. The rookie caught five passes last week, tallying 46 yards and while he caught just two passes this week, the usage is encouraging.
Blake Corum (RB – LAR)
Blake Corum has quietly been eating into Kyren Williams‘ workload. Although his nine carries for 21 yards are uninspiring, he was averaging 7.1 yards per carry prior to this week while he saw just four fewer carries than Williams. Each player drew four targets and while Williams is still the clear leader of the backfield, Corum is moving in the right direction.
Dynasty Fantasy Football Fallers
David Njoku (TE – CLE)
With the emergence of rookie Harold Fannin, David Njoku’s stock has fallen considerably. He posted season lows across the board with just three targets, catching two for 11 yards and 3.1 fantasy points. He has yet to top 40 yards or hit double digit fantasy points this season and could be a trade candidate as the deadline nears. At this point, that would be the best thing for Njoku and his dynasty managers.
DJ Moore (WR – CHI)
Despite running a high volume of routes, DJ Moore has not only been overtaken by Rome Odunze as the number one option, but he’s failed to make much of an impact at all. With four catches for 38 yards on Sunday, Moore has notched just 59 receiving yards across the last two weeks. Week 3 is the only time he has cleared 10 points, thanks to his lone touchdown this season.
Dalton Kincaid (TE – BUF)
Although his fantasy output has been somewhat encouraging, Dalton Kincaid’s snaps are far too limited to be a consistent fantasy starter moving forward. In year three, Kincaid should be getting on the field more, but his snaps are trending in the wrong direction. We knew he would be splitting time with Dawson Knox when they don’t share the field together, but Jackson Hawes led the Bills tight ends in snaps on Sunday. Kincaid is the top tight end target, but Hawes and Knox, who each played more, both saw one target while Kincaid saw two. With four targets to the tight ends, Kincaid needs to be getting each and every one to be a consistent contributor. It might be a good time to sell high on Kincaid.
Dylan Sampson (RB – CLE) & Jerome Ford (RB – CLE)
Coming into the season, I made the case that Dylan Sampson could run away with the job before Quinshon Judkins got his shot. Although Sampson was impressive, Judkins has a firm grip on the backfield after Week 4. Jerome Ford and Sampson saw two carries combined while Judkins tallied 21. Judkins also out targeted the others with four compared to two for Ford and one for Sampson.
Josh Downs (WR – IND)
A trendy sleeper pick looking to build on his elite advanced metrics, Josh Downs has been nothing short of a letdown, especially with Daniel Jones‘ emergence. The biggest issue Downs faces is his limitation to playing in the slot exclusively. Even with Alec Peirce out of the lineup this week, it was Adonai Mitchell who saw a boost while Downs retained his usual role, only playing in three receiver sets. He caught four-of-five targets for just 24 yards on Sunday, good for 6.4 fantasy points. He’s topped 50 yards just once this season and is far from startable, let alone a breakout candidate.
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