NFL Barometer: Vereen's Looking Very Good

RISING

Denard Robinson, RB, JAC

Toby Gerhart appears to be done as Jacksonville's starting running back, as Robinson's first start of the year yielded more production (127 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries) than Gerhart provided in five games (123 yards and a touchdown on 48 carries) this season. Robinson is still a bit of a project as a relatively recent QB/WR convert, and he had just 94 yards on 28 carries prior to playing against Cleveland's weak run defense Sunday, so consistency may be an issue. However, a clear starting running back usually has fantasy value by default in most leagues, and it's hard to see Gerhart, Storm Johnson or strict passing down back Jordan Todman putting much heat on Robinson in the immediate future.

Jerick McKinnon, RB, MIN

Coach Mike Zimmer said prior to last week's game that the Vikings intended to give Matt Asiata more work at the expense of McKinnon, but he was apparently either not serious or changed his mind, because McKinnon secured his biggest workload yet against the Bills. The immensely explosive rookie finished with 19 carries for 103 yards and two catches for minus-2 yards. The numbers might not look that impressive, but remember that the Bills are arguably the best run defense in the league, allowing just 3.2 yards per carry and zero touchdowns on the ground through seven games. McKinnon looks like a top-20 fantasy back these days, and maybe even top 15.

Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown, RB, BUF

C.J. Spiller will miss all but perhaps the last two games of the year after suffering a broken collarbone Sunday, and Fred Jackson is expected to miss roughly a month after suffering a groin injury in the same game. That leaves the Bills with Dixon – who has 137 yards on 27 carries (5.1 YPC) in 2014 – and Brown, who was inactive for the first seven games despite the Bills giving up a fourth-round pick to acquire him from Philadelphia in the offseason. Brown's inactivity all year is rationalized by the idea that he sat only because he wasn't a special teams asset, but it's still concerning that the Bills made no effort to make room for him in the offense. He's likely to earn some sort of workload split with Dixon, in any case, because Brown is definitely an explosive player, whereas Dixon is a borderline fullback with a career rushing average of 3.4 yards per carry.

Dwayne Allen, TE, IND

It's time to entertain the possibility that Allen is not just a blocking tight end in the midst of a lucky touchdown spree, but rather one of the league's above average pass-catching and fantasy tight ends. After snagging three passes for 52 yards and a touchdown on six targets against the Bengals on Sunday, Allen is up to 21 catches for 305 yards and five touchdowns on 33 targets in seven games. That's a strong average of 9.24 yards per target, and a touchdown every 6.6 targets. Those are Gronkowski-like numbers, and Allen is playing in an offense whose quarterback is on pace for 5,328 yards and 43 touchdowns through the air. Even though Andrew Luck's production likely isn't sustainable, Allen seems destined to settle around the 700-yard, 10-touchdown range in 2014.

Travaris Cadet, RB, NO

Cadet has quietly established some PPR relevance in recent weeks, catching 15 passes on 20 targets for 129 yards and a touchdown in New Orleans' last three games. He should see even more opportunities in the upcoming weeks now that Pierre Thomas, New Orleans' primary pass-catching back, is expected to miss 2-to-3 games with a shoulder injury. Cadet has demonstrated a wide receiver-like skill set going back to his days at Appalachian State, so there's no reason to think he can't continue producing as a pass-catching specialist out of the Saints' backfield.

Shane Vereen, RB, NE

There might not be a more fickle coach than Bill Belichick when it comes to running back rotations, so Vereen's owners probably shouldn't let their hopes get sky high. However, Thursday's game against the Jets nonetheless seems like a big step forward for Vereen's fantasy value. Playing against one of the more effective run defenses in the league, Vereen led the New England rushing attack with 43 yards on 11 carries, and he added five catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns. There's a chance that Jonas Gray will step into the more traditional running back role previously held by Stevan Ridley (knee), but Gray finished Thursday's game with just 12 yards on three carries.

FALLING

Pierre Thomas, RB, NO

In a backfield that also includes Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson, Thomas could hardly afford to let Travaris Cadet get his foot in the door of the Saints' running back rotation. Unfortunately for Thomas, Cadet has 15 catches on 20 targets over New Orleans' last three games, and the issue figures to only get worse now that Thomas is set to miss 2-to-3 games with a shoulder issue suffered against Detroit on Sunday. Although he has 26 catches after seven games (29 targets), Thomas has just 30 carries for 133 yards and two scores.

Markus Wheaton, WR, PIT

Wheaton's audition as Pittsburgh's second wide receiver started well in Week 1, and it looked like the 2013 third-round pick had the modest skills necessary to replace the decent, but not quite good Emmanuel Sanders. Since catching six of seven targets for 97 yards against the Browns in Week 1, however, Wheaton has caught just 18 of 34 targets for 180 yards and no touchdowns in six games, including zero catches on two targets against the Texans on Monday. Meanwhile, rookie fourth-round pick Martavis Bryant made his debut Monday, catching two passes on five targets for 40 yards and a touchdown. Wheaton seems poised to lose many or most of his targets to Bryant going forward.

Jarrett Boykin, WR, GB

Boykin's days as a featured target in the Green Bay passing game were numbered as soon as the Packers spent a second-round pick on Davante Adams in the most recent draft, and Adams' ascent in recent weeks seems to have ultimately brought those days to an end. Boykin suited up for Sunday's game against Carolina as he returned from the groin injury that kept him out for three weeks, but he didn't see a single target on 12 snaps. Even as his health improves, it's hard to see where Boykin might get a chance to make a predictable fantasy impact. Adams caught a 21-yard touchdown pass against the Panthers, and has averaged 7.63 fantasy points in standard leagues since Week 5.

Andy Dalton, QB, CIN

Dalton was without all of A.J. Green, Tyler Eifert and Marvin Jones against Indianapolis on Sunday, to be fair, but his performance against the Colts was still stunningly bad. He finished with 126 yards and no touchdowns on 38 pass attempts – good for just 3.3 yards per pass – and at one point he even had just 12 yards on 17 pass attempts. Those numbers are so bad that they all but overrule any 'fluke' explanation, and instead are definitive confirmation of Dalton's status as a below average starting quarterback in the NFL. It's at the very least something to keep in mind if he leaves Cincinnati and gets a starting opportunity on a team without an A.J. Green-like wideout to carry his stats.