This article is part of our NFL Barometer series.
RISING
Charcandrick West, RB, KC
Since his shaky first game as starter against the Vikings in Week 6, West has been convincing in a true workhorse role for the Chiefs. He showed versatility against a great defense by running for 69 yards (2.9 YPC) and a touchdown while catching three passes for 92 yards and another touchdown on the road against Denver. West now has 451 yards and four touchdowns on 85 touches from scrimmage in his four starts, and with 75 touches in the last three weeks, West should be able to continue to gain momentum.
Brock Osweiler, QB, DEN
With Peyton Manning expected to sit out Sunday's game at Chicago due to rib and foot issues, Osweiler will make his first career start against a Bears pass defense that's not built to cover receivers like Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Chicago is allowing one passing touchdown for every 17 attempts, with just five interceptions all year. Osweiler's regular season numbers to this point certainly aren't impressive (305 yards, two touchdowns and one interception at 5.6 YPA), but with over three years of practice reps in Denver he certainly had time to prepare. Osweiler completed 14 of 24 passes for 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception after replacing the injured Manning against Kansas City on Sunday. He also ran for 18 yards on three carries.
Derek Carr, QB, OAK
A Carr owner might have feared a losing week if looking just at the score
RISING
Charcandrick West, RB, KC
Since his shaky first game as starter against the Vikings in Week 6, West has been convincing in a true workhorse role for the Chiefs. He showed versatility against a great defense by running for 69 yards (2.9 YPC) and a touchdown while catching three passes for 92 yards and another touchdown on the road against Denver. West now has 451 yards and four touchdowns on 85 touches from scrimmage in his four starts, and with 75 touches in the last three weeks, West should be able to continue to gain momentum.
Brock Osweiler, QB, DEN
With Peyton Manning expected to sit out Sunday's game at Chicago due to rib and foot issues, Osweiler will make his first career start against a Bears pass defense that's not built to cover receivers like Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Chicago is allowing one passing touchdown for every 17 attempts, with just five interceptions all year. Osweiler's regular season numbers to this point certainly aren't impressive (305 yards, two touchdowns and one interception at 5.6 YPA), but with over three years of practice reps in Denver he certainly had time to prepare. Osweiler completed 14 of 24 passes for 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception after replacing the injured Manning against Kansas City on Sunday. He also ran for 18 yards on three carries.
Derek Carr, QB, OAK
A Carr owner might have feared a losing week if looking just at the score of Oakland's loss to Minnesota on Sunday, but even in a game in which his team struggled to compete, Carr put together a decent fantasy output. After throwing for 302 yards (7.0 YPC), two touchdowns and two interceptions against the Vikings, Carr's season totals are at 2,396 yards (7.6 YPA), 21 touchdowns and six interceptions in nine games. That's a 16-game pace of roughly 4,260 yards, 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. With Oakland's consistent utilization of the passing game, as well as the strong wideout duo of Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, Carr looks like a top-eight fantasy QB going forward.
Michael Floyd, WR, ARZ
He'll be questionable for this week's game against Cincinnati after suffering a hamstring injury against the Seahawks on Sunday, but Floyd's general trajectory of late has shown a lot of promise. Prior to suffering the injury, Floyd totaled seven catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns on nine targets in Sunday's game. Not many people can do that against Seattle on the road, and the game marked the fourth straight in which Floyd found the end zone, with 29 targets over that span. Floyd's inconsistent usage in 2014 is hard to explain, but his strong showing in the last four games implies his slow start to 2015 was mostly due to the preseason hand injury he suffered.
FALLING
Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN
Hill has been just awful this year. He's in the middle of a Trent Richardson-like season, somehow averaging just 3.2 yards per carry while totaling 359 yards and five touchdowns on 111 carries in nine games. It's a baffling drop-off – Hill was very convincing as a rookie second-round pick last year, exhibiting a star player trajectory while running for 1,124 yards (5.1 YPC) and nine touchdowns and catching 27 passes for 215 yards. Hill isn't carrying bad weight like Eddie Lacy is, making his collapse all the more difficult to explain. Gio Bernard is simply a better player right now, with more rushing yards (547) on fewer carries (99), good for an average of 5.5 yards per carry.
Sam Bradford, QB, PHI
Following a concussion and non-throwing shoulder injury against the Dolphins on Sunday, Bradford's first season in Philadelphia appears increasingly likely to end as a failure. Bradford hasn't been particularly good himself, and his production has been further dragged down by poor play at the offensive line and receiver positions. Bradford is likely out for this week's game against Tampa, though he's probably not worse than questionable for the following week's game against Detroit. Considering Bradford has thrown for just 2,297 yards (6.9 YPA), 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in nine games, there has to be some concern that Mark Sanchez might make a case for the starting job if he leads his team to a win over the Buccaneers.
Nick Foles, QB, STL
The other half of the Bradford trade is not looking so good at the moment, either. After completing 17 of 36 passes for 200 yards and an interception at home against the Bears on Sunday, Foles was benched in favor of Case Keenum. Foles completed just 56.6 percent of his passes for 1,678 yards (6.6 YPA), seven touchdowns and six interceptions in nine games, making his two-year contract extension from August look especially ill conceived.
Jordan Matthews, WR, PHI
Matthews isn't necessarily on the list because of Bradford's injury – Sanchez wouldn't have to play well to match Bradford's numbers, and the Sanchez-Matthews combo worked decently enough last year – but the wideout's disappearance against the Dolphins on Sunday is concerning. After showing signs of a resurgence against the Cowboys a week earlier, when he caught nine passes for 133 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets, Matthews finished Sunday's game with just five targets, catching three for 21 yards. Matthews is averaging just 6.9 yards per target on the year, so his fantasy value isn't built to withstand a wavering workload.
