Each week, Footballguys staff members will share the big movers in their respective Dynasty Rankings. Since the contributors will rotate, please check in weekly. The focus of this article will be on the “why” more than the movement itself. Dynasty Rankings are fluid, and we hope that sharing the rationale will help you in your quest to create dynasties with all your teams. The diversity of rankings will result in a variety of opinions weekly.
Quarterback
Tefertiller
Dak Prescott – Prescott will be healthy to begin the season. At this point of the season, the rankings are a reflection of both expected offseason value and future production. The Cowboys quarterback ticks both boxes. Prescott was on a record pace pre-injury and he leads an offense chocked full of elite weapons.
Jalen Hurts – The rookie climbs the rankings as he gets a golden opportunity to shine. While we do not love his long-term prospects – and worry about his ability to throw the ball well consistently – Hurts has a four-game audition for the 2021 starting job. He played well against an elite New Orleans defense Sunday. In a related move, Carson Wentz tumbled down the rankings as the Philadelphia coaching staff does not believe in his future outlook.
McNamara
Josh Allen - I have been hesitant to move Josh Allen up in my ranks to date. As a general matter, it is better to take your time with anointing a quarterback than to rush into it and make a costly mistake. Allen has shown the ability to win from the pocket in a way I truly did not expect. A huge factor in this progress has been Buffalo’s acquisition of Stefon Diggs, who has grown into a bonafide WR1. Entering the season there would have been no debate between taking Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson first in dynasty formats. Now, ranking Allen over Jackson is perfectly reasonable.
Grant
Deshaun Watson – Houston is going to go into a bit of a rebuilding period. Their offensive line is terrible, and Watson ends up holding the ball too long for receivers who cannot get open. Will Fuller and Brandon Cooks cannot be counted on every week and the running game of David Johnson and Duke Johnson Jr is average at best. Watson gets a ding at the end of the season – but still a solid quarterback if you are looking to draft one early.
Daniel Jones – Jones has played in 25 games during his first two seasons. In that time, he has 32 passing touchdowns and 17 interceptions. However, he has also fumbled 28 times and lost 16 of them. That means Jones fumbles more than once a game and has given the ball away more than he has passed for a score. Unless your league does not penalize players for turnovers, Jones is not a guy you want in your starting lineup.
Jalen Hurts – One game does not make a career, but the table is set for Hurts to come in and lead the Eagles into the playoffs despite having just four wins after 13 games. The NFC East is bad enough for a team with 7 wins to make the playoffs and Philadelphia could be just that team. Even if Hurts does not win another game but puts on a decent performance, he’s going to enter 2021 in a quarterback competition at the minimum. Maybe he’ll be nothing more than a fantasy backup, but you have to be considering him now based on his upside alone.
Running Back
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David Johnson – Johnson has played in just nine games this season, and while he is averaging a serviceable 4.0 yards per carry, it is hard to build a solid fantasy squad around a guy who you cannot count on. Johnson has only played a full 16 games once in the last five seasons, and the Texans eventually cut Lamar Miller for the same reason. If Johnson cannot stay healthy, he will be nothing more than a fantasy backup / bye-week starter going forward.
Cam Akers – Akers has come on strong over the last three weeks and has firmly cemented himself into the starting lineup for the Rams. He has 54 touches over the last two games and has played more than 100 snaps while racking up almost 290 yards from scrimmage. While Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson have put up decent numbers, Akers is really going to be their feature back. As the Rams fight hard to make the playoffs, expect Akers to continue to post big numbers the rest of the season.
Wayne Gallman – Saquon Barkley is going to be the feature back in New York if he is healthy, but Gallman has really done well as his replacement in the last few weeks. He has already posted career highs in touches, yards from scrimmage, and touchdowns. He is the only guy from the Giants that you want on your team this season. He is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and you can expect several teams to be in the market to bring him over as one of their feature backs.
McNamara
Saquon Barkley - Saquon Barkley is going to find himself in an interesting spot in the offseason. After posting the RB2 finish as a rookie, Barkley sustained injuries in 2019 and was limited physically when he returned, only to miss nearly all the 2020 season with an ACL tear. He is going to enter the offseason out of sight and out of mind for a lot of dynasty GMs, while others, including Dalvin Cook, Derrick Henry, D’Andre Swift, and Jonathan Taylor look to finish their seasons on a high note. The recency of these performances may create value movement that overshadows the profile Barkley had entering the 2019 season. If so, this is a prime value opportunity.
Miles Sanders - There has been handwringing in the dynasty community about Miles Sanders in recent weeks, but his big week 14 performance is a reminder not to overreact in dynasty. Profiles are very important in dynasty, and when the situation creates a disparity in valuation, there is a clear buying window. Some of the bad narrative of the 2020 season for the Philadelphia offense is likely to rub off on Sanders in the offseason, which creates a good buying opportunity.
Tefertiller
Nick Chubb – Chubb breaks into the elite tier of running backs. He has looked spectacular when healthy. In coach Stefanski’s running attack, Chubb has been able to excel and get huge holes to run through. While Kareem Hunt may still be in the picture in 2021, Chubb will anchor the backfield.
Antonio Gibson – Gibson has burst onto the scene and shown excellent vision and acceleration. He is a long-term fantasy starter and should be considered a strong buy this offseason. Washington does not have many offensive weapons and will rely on Gibson more in the future.
Jonathan Taylor – Taylor took a few games to get going but has since flashed the ability fantasy managers expected. Things are slowing down for him. The rookie is being patient and waiting for his blocks to develop.
Cam Akers – Akers flashed big-time potential in Thursday night’s victory over the Patriots. His supporters were validated as the Rams coaching staff finally gave the rookie the primary workload … and he delivered.
Wide Receiver
McNamara
Stefon Diggs - Stefon Diggs is going to be an interesting offseason debate player. He is a mid-career wide receiver linked to a quarterback who helps his value and projects to finish with a top 12 seasonal finish. His value is a similar situation to Calvin Ridley as both are established wide receivers who have a resume of production, who fit in age between the “up and comers” like Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb, and those approaching the proverbial age cliff-like Deandre Hopkins and Michael Thomas. This could make him overlooked in offseason startup drafts.
Brandon Aiyuk - Brandon Aiyuk has a defensible case as WR2 in the 2020 draft class. Aiyuk has been ascending in recent weeks, including over 20 PPG in his past three games, while posting a WR3 line on the season in only 10 games. Aiyuk has done this production with largely suboptimal situations, with a backup quarterback and injuries around the offense. Aiyuk profiles as a more prototypical wide receiver than Deebo Samuel and can secure a major role in the offense in years to come. The question to monitor will be the quarterback, and any bad narratives about the quarterback position will keep Aiyuk’s price reasonable.
Tefertiller
Brandon Aiyuk – Aiyuk is a potential fantasy WR1 and is getting little publicity for his strong rookie campaign. Paired with Deebo Samuel in the Shanahan offense, Aiyuk has a bright future. His ceiling will rise when the team finally upgrades the quarterback position.
Gabriel Davis – Davis is shining with John Brown out of action. He is quietly having a break-out season. Paired with Stephon Diggs and Cole Beasley, the Bills have a great young receiving corps who are not talked about much.
Darnell Mooney – The speedster is one receiver who is consistently moving up the rankings. He has been overshadowed by poor quarterback play, but we expect the Bears to address the position in the offseason. Mooney is a receiver to target this offseason in dynasty leagues.
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Mike Evans – Evans has double-digit touchdowns this season for the first time in 2016. But his yards per reception have dropped 17.5 for the previous two seasons to just 13.1. Between Chris Godwin, Scott Miller, and Antonio Brown, Evans is not seeing the targets or production he has from previous years. Evans still a solid fantasy option, but there is too much competition in Tampa for Evans to justify a WR1 designation.
Collin Johnson – The Jaguars are pretty terrible this year, and the revolving door at quarterback does not help, but Collin Johnson is starting to see more action in the offense now. He has racked up 17 targets, 10 receptions, and almost 200 yards receiving including a touchdown. He is worth keeping an eye on for the rest of the season as the Jaguars are going to be testing out their roster for next season.
NKeal Harry – The New England Patriot receiving corps is a mixed bag of question marks, but Harry appears to be the odd man out as of late. Over the last three games, he has just nine targets, five receptions, 64 yards receiving, and just one touchdown. He is not a guy you can count on, even in a flex position right now.
Michael Pittman – Pittman has emerged as one of the key components to the Indianapolis passing game, drawing 19 targets over the last three games. He has just one game with more than 100 yards receiving and just one touchdown, but going into the offseason, Pittman is a guy to keep an eye on. T.Y. Hilton is not ready to retire yet, but as Pittman progresses, he could cut into Hilton’s touches. He’s worth a flyer roster spot for now.
Tight End
Tefertiller
Robert Tonyan Jr – Tonyan has shown he is the long-term answer for the Packers. With the lack of viable wide receivers, Tonyan has developed a rapport with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He is an ascending tight end prospect who should be seen as a multi-year fantasy TE1.
Adam Trautman – Admittedly, Trautman may be ranked too high, but he has shown promise in the Saints offense. Jared Cook is a free agent after the season and the job is Trautman’s long-term. He is slowly becoming more incorporated into the offense and will see his role increase as Drew Brees comes back from injury.
Jordan Akins – Akins is very athletic and had some big catches early in the season before injuries knocked him out for a few weeks. The Texans offense will look different next year with a new coaching staff, but we see Akins as an ascending prospect.
Grant
T.J. Hockenson – The Lions do not much to be excited about this season, but T.J. Hockenson is definitely a bright spot in their future. Hockenson has consistently produced all season and over the last four games he has 35 targets, 22 receptions 284 yards receiving, and a touchdown. He has already beaten his totals from last season and will probably finish the year in the top five for fantasy tight ends. He is just finishing his second season in the NFL and will go into next season as one of the top fantasy tight ends in most redraft leagues. It is hard to get consistent play out of the tight end position, but Hockenson is one of those guys you can count on from week to week.
Dan Arnold – All he does is catch touchdowns. Four of his last six receptions have been for touchdowns. Four touchdown catches in the last four games. Arnold is a guy who definitely deserves a roster spot in your dynasty/keeper league. However, he is not quite at that starter position yet. He has just two games this year with more than two receptions and has two games with none. If the Cardinals keep using him in the red zone, he could blossom into a flex or even a starter play. Right now, though, he belongs on someone’s roster. Grab him if you can.
McNamara
T.J. Hockenson - T.J. Hockenson has the makings of an elite tight end. He has a stellar college resume, top 10 NFL Draft pedigree, and a second season breakout. Depending on how you rank players, anywhere in the top 5 tight ends is reasonable for Hockenson. He has a combination of production and longevity that is highly valued at the tight end position.
If you would like to review our most recent Dynasty rankings, here is a link.
