This article is part of our NFL Barometer series.
RISING
Charcandrick West, Knile Davis, RB, KC
Jamaal Charles' torn ACL leaves the Chiefs offense with a shortage of about 20 touches from scrimmage per week, and a rotation between West and Davis will need to step up to replace Charles. Although the bulky Davis might push especially for short-yardage work, he has just 25 yards on 11 carries this year, whereas West has 12 carries and two receptions in the last two weeks alone, so West appears to have more momentum between the two.
Gary Barnidge, TE, CLE
It's difficult (impossible?) to recall the last time a previously obscure 30-year-old tight end broke out for a three-game stretch like Barnidge just enjoyed, a span in which he turned 26 targets into 20 receptions for 319 yards and three touchdowns. Part of his success is certainly due to the extreme number of pass attempts by Cleveland - Josh McCown threw 141 passes during that span - but Barnidge has been highly efficient on a per-target basis, so he should remain productive even if the volume declines. At 6-foot-6, 250, with mid-4.6 speed, Barnidge always had the athletic profile of an impact receiver.
DeMarco Murray, RB, PHI
Finally, after giving fantasy owners basically nothing in the first month of the year, Murray found his rhythm in the Philadelphia offense against the Saints on Sunday. After rushing for 47 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries and catching 11 passes for 76 yards through Week 4, Murray
RISING
Charcandrick West, Knile Davis, RB, KC
Jamaal Charles' torn ACL leaves the Chiefs offense with a shortage of about 20 touches from scrimmage per week, and a rotation between West and Davis will need to step up to replace Charles. Although the bulky Davis might push especially for short-yardage work, he has just 25 yards on 11 carries this year, whereas West has 12 carries and two receptions in the last two weeks alone, so West appears to have more momentum between the two.
Gary Barnidge, TE, CLE
It's difficult (impossible?) to recall the last time a previously obscure 30-year-old tight end broke out for a three-game stretch like Barnidge just enjoyed, a span in which he turned 26 targets into 20 receptions for 319 yards and three touchdowns. Part of his success is certainly due to the extreme number of pass attempts by Cleveland - Josh McCown threw 141 passes during that span - but Barnidge has been highly efficient on a per-target basis, so he should remain productive even if the volume declines. At 6-foot-6, 250, with mid-4.6 speed, Barnidge always had the athletic profile of an impact receiver.
DeMarco Murray, RB, PHI
Finally, after giving fantasy owners basically nothing in the first month of the year, Murray found his rhythm in the Philadelphia offense against the Saints on Sunday. After rushing for 47 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries and catching 11 passes for 76 yards through Week 4, Murray had a bigger workload against New Orleans, rushing 20 times for 83 yards and a touchdown and catching seven passes for 37 yards. The Eagles' offense looked considerably better the last two weeks, and the growth is unsurprising considering number of new players in the offense. Murray should see his value stabilize or even improve.
Andy Dalton, QB, CIN
It still feels wrong to crown Dalton as one of the league's top quarterbacks, but he continues to be awfully convincing in 2015. Sunday's overtime victory against Seattle was his most impressive moment yet, completing 30 of 44 passes for 331 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while running for 18 yards and a third touchdown against the Kam Chancellor-enhanced Seahawks. Through five games, Dalton has completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 1,518 yards (9.5 YPA), 11 touchdowns and two interceptions while running for 55 yards and two more scores. The YPA will almost certainly drop, but Dalton is playing at a high level and has an elite supporting cast to stabilize his production.
Kenny Stills, WR, MIA
Stills is admittedly a bit of a leap-of-faith pick, but there's reason to believe he'll see his prominence in the Miami passing game increase as the year continues. Rishard Matthews and Greg Jennings each played more than 60 percent of Miami's snaps in the first four games, while Stills, an offseason trade acquisition who missed much of training camp with a hamstring injury, was limited to 47.2 percent of the snaps. Still is quite simply better than Matthews or Jennings -- his career 103 catches for 1,673 yards and nine touchdowns on just 149 targets make that clear -- and particularly with the head coaching change it makes sense for Miami to increase Stills' snap count to break out of Joe Philbin's old, failing ways. In addition to stills, DeVante Parker should see his snap count increase at the expense of Matthews and Jennings.
FALLING
Peyton Manning, QB, DEN
There's only so much coach Gary Kubiak can do schematically to limit the damage done by Manning's profoundly deteriorated skillset, and it was never more clear than during Manning's dud game Sunday against a vulnerable Oakland defense. Manning completed just 22 of 35 passes for 266 yards and two interceptions, giving him just 1,234 yards (6.5 YPA), six touchdowns and seven interceptions in five games. The wheels have fallen off. Elite targets Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders will mask it at times, but Manning's final lap looks doomed to ugliness.
Jimmy Graham, TE, SEA
While the Broncos have gone to great schematic extents to maximize the effectiveness of a declining player, Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell has gone to great schematic extents to smother the effectiveness of a normally dominant player. It's a stunning and impressive instance of mismanagement at at least a couple levels. On one hand, it's remarkable that Bevell can't find a bigger use for Graham, but on the other hand, it's equally remarkable the Seahawks front office was unaware of the fact that Bevell refuses to utilize tight ends -- something former high-priced Seattle tight end Zach Miller could have told them. Graham has just 28 targets in five games, while Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse have combined for 50 targets. And some are wondering why Russell Wilson has only six touchdowns on 150 pass attempts.
Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN
Gio Bernard once again outproduced Hill on Sunday, and offensive coordinator Hue Jackson once again said afterward that Hill is still the starter. Hill might be the technical starter, but Bernard is the one who appears destined for higher usage, and higher efficiency, too. Hill did next to nothing against the Seahawks on Sunday, running for just 13 yards on eight carries, while Bernard had quite a busy day, running for 80 yards on 15 carries and catching five of eight targets for 21 yards. Through five games, Bernard's from-scrimmage numbers are 473 yards and one touchdown on 86 touches, while Hill's numbers are at 190 yards and five touchdowns on 60 touches.
