This article is part of our NFL Barometer series.
RISING
Lorenzo Taliaferro, RB, BAL
Bernard Pierce figures to regain his role as the starting Baltimore running back once he returns from his thigh injury, but it's fair to wonder whether the injury-prone Pierce will be able to hold off Taliaferro from that point, let alone stay healthy. A fourth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina, the bruising Taliaferro had a big game against the Browns on Sunday, running for 91 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Taliaferro lacks long speed but has standout short-area movement for a runner pushing 230 pounds, and there's a chance that he will end the year as Baltimore's leading rusher given Pierce's injury history and Justin Forsett's fixed role as a change-of-pace runner.
Kirk Cousins, QB, WAS
Cousins looked rather awful in 2013, completing just 52.3 percent of his passes and averaging 5.5 yards per attempt; but he has been rather brilliant in the two games he has appeared in this season. He followed up a solid but modest 250-yard, two-touchdown showing at home in Week 2 with a 427-yard, three-touchdown showing in Philadelphia on Sunday. His completion percentage sits at 64.2 percent and his YPA is 8.4, so he seems to have turned a corner in his development. He has a great group of pass catchers around him and head coach Jay Gruden made Andy Dalton a 30-touchdown player in Cincinnati, so Cousins could post QB1 production going forward.
Travis Kelce, TE, KC
It's taking much too long, but
RISING
Lorenzo Taliaferro, RB, BAL
Bernard Pierce figures to regain his role as the starting Baltimore running back once he returns from his thigh injury, but it's fair to wonder whether the injury-prone Pierce will be able to hold off Taliaferro from that point, let alone stay healthy. A fourth-round pick out of Coastal Carolina, the bruising Taliaferro had a big game against the Browns on Sunday, running for 91 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Taliaferro lacks long speed but has standout short-area movement for a runner pushing 230 pounds, and there's a chance that he will end the year as Baltimore's leading rusher given Pierce's injury history and Justin Forsett's fixed role as a change-of-pace runner.
Kirk Cousins, QB, WAS
Cousins looked rather awful in 2013, completing just 52.3 percent of his passes and averaging 5.5 yards per attempt; but he has been rather brilliant in the two games he has appeared in this season. He followed up a solid but modest 250-yard, two-touchdown showing at home in Week 2 with a 427-yard, three-touchdown showing in Philadelphia on Sunday. His completion percentage sits at 64.2 percent and his YPA is 8.4, so he seems to have turned a corner in his development. He has a great group of pass catchers around him and head coach Jay Gruden made Andy Dalton a 30-touchdown player in Cincinnati, so Cousins could post QB1 production going forward.
Travis Kelce, TE, KC
It's taking much too long, but it appears that head coach Andy Reid is slowly recognizing Kelce for what he is: the best pass catcher on Kansas City's roster. Kelce has seen his snap count percentage rise from 32, to 37, to 65 from Weeks 1 through 3, and in each game he provided high-level efficiency as a target. After catching three passes for 36 yards and a touchdown on four targets on Sunday, Kelce is up to 10 catches for 166 yards on just 15 targets. As a quarterback averaging less than 6.5 yards per attempt since arriving in Kansas City last year, Alex Smith should literally beg Reid to give Kelce a full play count going forward. The trio of Donnie Avery, Dwayne Bowe and Anthony Fasano has just 273 yards and a touchdown on 45 targets – that's just 6.1 YPT as opposed to Kelce's 11.1 mark.
Kelvin Benjamin, WR, CAR
Benjamin's rookie year is off to a fantastic start, as the first-round pick out of Florida State is up to 16 catches for 253 yards and two scores after catching eight passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against Pittsburgh on Sunday. As expected, Benjamin and Greg Olsen are the only two starter-level targets for Cam Newton to throw to, leaving both players with by-default value due to the mere fact that they're absorbing a huge percentage of an elite quarterback's targets. Benjamin is up to 27 targets – tied for 14th most in the league – and his average of 9.4 yards per target means he seems entirely qualified to continue serving as Newton's No. 1 wideout. Benjamin really could finish this year as a top-25 fantasy wideout.
DeAngelo Williams, RB, CAR
The Carolina running back rotation is usually something to avoid like the plague, but the rotation just got a whole lot slimmer in light of Mike Tolbert's fractured leg and Jonathan Stewart's knee sprain, so Williams has a major opportunity in front of him. Williams (thigh) is expected to return after a two-game absence as the Panthers take on the Ravens, and with Tolbert and Stewart out, Williams should have a floor of 15 touches from scrimmage. Fozzy Whittaker (also banged up) and the unheralded Darrin Reaves are the only other two backs currently on the roster.
FALLING
Robert Griffin, QB, WAS
As Kirk Cousins' stock ascends, so falls Griffin's. It was unthinkable to imagine Griffin being benched for almost any quarterback in 2012, let alone the backup fellow rookie selected 100 picks after him. Yet it is Cousins who now has the grip on the starting quarterback spot in Washington, as head coach Jay Gruden acknowledged that Cousins will have the chance to remain the starter even after Griffin returns from a dislocated ankle in roughly two months. If Cousins keeps playing like he did over the last two weeks, it won't be a question who gets the job.
Ryan Tannehill, QB, MIA
Griffin isn't the only top-10 pick quarterback from the 2012 draft with a loose grip on his starting role. Although the Dolphins' offense is not particularly talented at the skill positions and head coach Joe Philbin looks incapable of getting the most out of his players, there's no doubt that Tannehill's play has been quite bad in 2014. Though he has just two interceptions, Tannehill is averaging a hideous 5.0 yards per pass and has just four touchdowns on 124 attempts. Although Tannehill should remain the starter, Philbin won't outwardly endorse him at the moment.
The Buccaneers
We have an early favorite for the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. After getting clobbered 56-14 by the Falcons on Thursday, it's clear that the Buccaneers are bad in all aspects of football, posing little resistance on defense and executing so poorly as an offense that even garbage time numbers are scarce. Players like Doug Martin, Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans are still worth owning in most leagues, but the game plan and quarterback position seem capable of sinking the team, making it hard for owners of Buccaneers players to get a decent return on their fantasy investments.
