This article is part of our NFL Barometer series.
RISING
Tevin Coleman, RB, ATL
Coleman heads into Week 1 atop the running back depth chart in Atlanta, giving him a great deal of momentum as a fantasy asset. Devonta Freeman (hamstring) will doubtlessly see plenty of work, health permitting, and it's possible that Freeman's health played a significant role in Coleman's depth chart ascent, but Coleman has the talent to run with the opportunity and keep the job for good. A tall task awaits him on that front, as the Eagles are loaded at linebacker and could put forth a strong run defense this year, but Coleman spent his whole Indiana career playing against stacked odds, and he only needs one crack in the defense to split the safeties.
Christine Michael, RB, DAL
Michael is both a headcase and unreliable with football assignments, but the trade that sent him to Dallas was almost certainly one of the best-case scenarios for his fantasy stock. The current Cowboys lead back, Joseph Randle, can match or exceed Michael's off-the-field annoyances, yet he's nowhere near the athlete Michael is. Meanwhile, the perceived "steady veteran" of the Dallas backfield, Darren McFadden, is always a hamstring pull or two waiting to happen. There are a lot of teams that Michael just can't play for due to his unreliable nature, but in Dallas he's really about no worse than anyone else. That means the battle for carries in Dallas could eventually come down to raw talent, where Michael is easily unmatched among
RISING
Tevin Coleman, RB, ATL
Coleman heads into Week 1 atop the running back depth chart in Atlanta, giving him a great deal of momentum as a fantasy asset. Devonta Freeman (hamstring) will doubtlessly see plenty of work, health permitting, and it's possible that Freeman's health played a significant role in Coleman's depth chart ascent, but Coleman has the talent to run with the opportunity and keep the job for good. A tall task awaits him on that front, as the Eagles are loaded at linebacker and could put forth a strong run defense this year, but Coleman spent his whole Indiana career playing against stacked odds, and he only needs one crack in the defense to split the safeties.
Christine Michael, RB, DAL
Michael is both a headcase and unreliable with football assignments, but the trade that sent him to Dallas was almost certainly one of the best-case scenarios for his fantasy stock. The current Cowboys lead back, Joseph Randle, can match or exceed Michael's off-the-field annoyances, yet he's nowhere near the athlete Michael is. Meanwhile, the perceived "steady veteran" of the Dallas backfield, Darren McFadden, is always a hamstring pull or two waiting to happen. There are a lot of teams that Michael just can't play for due to his unreliable nature, but in Dallas he's really about no worse than anyone else. That means the battle for carries in Dallas could eventually come down to raw talent, where Michael is easily unmatched among Dallas runners. With a 43-inch vertical, 125-inch broad jump and a 10.71 agility score at 220 pounds, Michael has intoxicating explosiveness, and the Dallas offensive line should create a lot of daylight for Michael to exploit. That said, this is still a touch-and-go situation, so Michael can't be counted on for reliable fantasy impact in the short term.
Benny Cunningham, RB, STL
Todd Gurley (ACL) won't play Week 1 and Tre Mason (hamstring) is questionable, so Cunningham could serve as St. Louis' starting running back in the season opener. A matchup with the Seahawks is probably the worst-case scenario as far as matchups go, but touch volume is always precious at running back, and Cunningham is quietly one of the league's most talented young backs, and his production through two seasons is encouraging. In 30 career games, Cunningham ran for 507 yards and four touchdowns on 113 carries (4.5) and showed excellent pass-catching skills by snagging 51 receptions for 411 yards and a touchdown.
Duke Johnson, RB, CLE
Johnson is still in the concussion protocol and is therefore questionable for Week 1, but his overall stock is decisively on the rise anyway, as the trade of Terrance West paves the way for a consistent long-term role in the Cleveland offense. Isaiah Crowell can and likely will remain the starter all season, but the Browns have little choice but to go extremely run heavy to limit the exposure of its rotten passing game. This should be a scenario where both players remain prominent in complementary roles, with Crowell starting and doing most short-yardage work while Johnson provides pass-catching explosiveness in the two-minute drill. Johnson's chances for immediate targets are further aided by the inability of Josh McCown to complete passes downfield -- there should be cheap checkdown volume in the passing game if Johnson can claim the passing down role.
FALLING
Joseph Randle, RB, DAL
Randle's stock was sky-high just a couple months ago, when Darren McFadden was shelved with two bad hamstrings after the Cowboys neglected to acquire a running back in the draft, but McFadden is healthy for now, and the weekend trade for 2013 second-round pick Christine Michael has thrown up another major obstacle for Randle. Michael is an unreliable player both on and off the field, whereas Randle is merely unreliable off the field, but he has much more athleticism than Randle and could prove too explosive for Dallas to bury on the bench. An even split between Randle and Michael would allow both to possess a decent amount of fantasy utility, but counting on any particular scenario with the Dallas backfield is probably asking for trouble. Even the Cowboys can't possibly know what their plan is.
Bishop Sankey, RB, TEN
The acquisition of Terrance West is entirely uninspiring, yet his presence is just enough to screw up whatever prominence and reliability Sankey might have had in light of David Cobb's trip to the short-term injured reserve. To be fair to West, he was more productive than Sankey was in their rookie seasons last year, totaling 673 yards and four touchdowns on 171 carries (3.9 YPC) compared to Sankey's 569 yards and two touchdowns on 152 carries (3.7 YPC), but the difference is marginal. With a likely below-average offense and inconsistent playing opportunities, it's hard to see either of Sankey or West providing much more than handcuff depth in most leagues.
Alshon Jeffery, WR, CHI
Coach John Fox's obsessive aversion to disclosing injury information has left us with no reliable gauge of Jeffery's status for Week 1, but the star wideout has been out more than three weeks with an unspecific calf issue. It's all too easy to imagine the week's practice reports playing out with obscure and unspecific descriptions of Jeffery's activity level, resulting in an eventual game-time decision. If Jeffery does end up missing the Week 1 showdown with Green Bay, Eddie Royal's role should see a huge increase.
