NFL Barometer: The Hunt May Be Over

One of the wilder NFL weeks in recent memory in terms of injuries and trades last week certainly had an impact on the fantasy fortunes of multiple players. Week 9 play also served to bring several more into the spotlight due to stellar or subpar play. With much to discuss, let's dive in to who's heading in what direction going into Week 10.

RISING

Quarterback

Jared Goff, Rams- Goff has demonstrated significant improvement in his second season, and there may not have been a finer example than his Week 9 performance against the Giants. He racked up a season-best 311 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 completions and now has a 13:4 TD:INT on the campaign. While his top three efforts have admittedly come against weak defenses, Goff has proven capable of serving as an above-average fantasy asset after looking dreadful at times in 2016.

Matthew Stafford, Lions- Stafford is on a blistering three-week run, one that's seen him compile 1,096 yards and five touchdowns. He followed up his 423-yard effort in Week 8 versus the Steelers with a 361-yard tally against the Packers on Monday night, which he accomplished on a season-best 78.8 percent completion rate. A perennial 4,000-yard passer, Stafford looks well on his way to that mark again and is generating some of the best fantasy production of any signal caller at present.

Running Back

Christian McCaffrey, Panthers- Kelvin Benjamin's departure to Buffalo appeared to already pay dividends for McCaffrey in Week 9, as he logged a season-high 20 touches, which included a high-water mark of 15 rushes. As expected, the Panthers turned to him a lot more frequently in the absence of what had been their most trusted pass catcher, and McCaffrey's receiving ability in particular may be exploited in coming weeks as he soaks up a notable portion of the targets Benjamin left behind.

Jay Ajayi, Eagles- Ajayi wasted no time making an impact in his Eagles debut, ripping off a 46-yard touchdown run on his way to averaging 9.6 yards per carry. Sunday, he totaled as many runs of over 20 yards – two – as he had during the first seven games of the season with the Dolphins. While it remains to be seen if he'll be handed true lead-back duties in Philly at the expense of LeGarrette Blount, Ajayi's hot start has him trending in the right direction.

Kenyan Drake / Damien Williams, Dolphins- Meanwhile, the two backs now filling the spot Ajayi left behind in South Florida appear to be on the right trajectory as well if Sunday night's contest versus the Raiders is any indication. The prevailing thought coming in had been that Drake would serve as the early-down ball carrier and Williams would continue filling the pass-catching role that had allowed him to compile 65 receptions over his first three pro seasons. The script essentially played out that way, with Williams gaining only 14 rushing yards but registering 47 through the air on six grabs. Drake only logged nine carries himself in a game that saw Jay Cutler put up 42 pass attempts, but he gained 69 yards with them and flashed some receiving chops with six catches of his own. Head coach Adam Gase has already reiterated that he plans to continue using a two-man backfield for the time being, making both players worthy of consideration.

Wide Receiver

Jeremy Maclin, Ravens- Maclin posted a season-best eight-catch, 98-yard effort in Week 9 and could be finding his niche in the Ravens' passing attack entering the season's second half. He's logged 17 receptions for 194 yards and a touchdown in the last three weeks and projects as Joe Flacco's most consistent target.

Devin Funchess, Panthers- Funchess kicked off his tenure as the Panthers' No. 1 receiver with a solid five-catch, 86-yard afternoon versus the Falcons in Week 9, and those numbers may be just the beginning. Already boasting a career high in receptions (38), Funchess should enjoy a sizable role in the passing game moving forward now that Benjamin is out of town.

Robert Woods, Rams- Woods has supplied 19 catches for 265 yards and two scores over the last four games and has at least seven targets in three of those contests. Goff's significant development as a quarterback in his second year is certainly playing a part in Wood's success, which also includes a 14.5 YPC that is just shy of the career-high 14.7 figure he posted in his rookie 2013 campaign in Buffalo.

Marvin Jones, Lions- Following a seven-reception, 107-yard, two-touchdown explosion on Monday Night Football against the Packers, Jones is now averaging six receptions and 110 yards in his last three contests and has seen 36 targets during that stretch. He's put together back-to-back 100-yard outings within that span as well, and he's on pace for a career-best 66 receptions. His recent play has resembled the impressive start to his Lions tenure at the beginning of last season and has his fantasy fortunes heading in the right direction.

Doug Baldwin, Seahawks- Baldwin racked up a season-high 108 yards against the Redskins in Week 9, bringing his three-week total to 22 receptions, 254 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers have been produced on the strength of a robust 34 targets and serve to reconfirm that he remains Russell Wilson's most trusted option in the passing game. With the lackluster state of the Seahawks' running game, Baldwin should continue to see plenty of volume in the second half of the season.

Sterling Shepard, Giants- Shepard should see all the volume he can handle going forward as the last man standing in the Giants' receiving corps. Now recovered from his ankle injury, he started off his stint as the de facto No. 1 receiver with five catches for 70 yards in Week 9 against the Rams. The nine targets he saw on the afternoon are likely to be around the minimum he should expect over the second half as one of the team's top two pass catchers alongside tight end Evan Engram.

Tight End

Travis Kelce, Chiefs- Kelce vaults over from our Keep An Eye On section after following up a seven-catch, 133-yard, one-touchdown effort in Week 8 with a strong 7/73/1 line in Week 9 against the Cowboys. Kelce undeniably has the talent to produce like the last two weeks in every game, but he's also posted 40 receiving yards or less in four games this season, so he may still be subject to the occasional downturn. However, he remains on pace for just over 90 receptions for the season, which would represent a career high.

KEEPING AN EYE ON

Tom Savage, QB, Texans- Showed something in second half Sunday but still has long way to go to be a consistently serviceable fantasy piece.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Buccaneers- Set for multi-week stint as starter and does have the ability to produce as the top guy.
Brock Osweiler, QB, Broncos- Certainly not the most exciting fantasy prospect but gets another start in Week 10 and faces vulnerable Patriots secondary. Viable streaming option for desperate owners in deeper formats.
Jay Cutler, QB, Dolphins- Going to have to prove it for multiple weeks before anyone is convinced.
Orleans Darkwa / Wayne Gallman, RB, Giants- Duo was productive in Week 9, but division of labor could change week-to-week.
Peyton Barber, RB, Buccaneers- Extended playing time in Week 9 blowout loss could be start of expanded opportunity if Bucs try to shake up offense.
Josh Gordon, WR, Browns- Reporting to team Tuesday and will be eligible to play Week 13. Progress worth monitoring, considering past body of work.
Terrance Williams, WR, Cowboys- Nine-catch, 141-yard Week 9 explosion might be mirage, but certainly puts him on radar.
T.Y. Hilton, WR, Colts- Week 9 breakout highly encouraging but came in wake of combined five catches for 61 yards over previous three games.
Aldrick Robinson, WR, 49ers- Should continue starting in wake of Pierre Garcon's season-ending neck injury.
Keelan Cole, WR, Jaguars- Five catches on eight targets for 111 yards over last two weeks.
Curtis Samuel, WR, Panthers- Opportunities should be there moving forward with Benjamin out of town.
Stephen Anderson, TE, Texans- Encouraging Week 9 performance in wake of Ryan Griffin concussion. C.J. Fiedorowicz is set for Week 10 return, so may be pushed back down into fantasy irrelevance.
C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE, Texans- Set to return versus Rams on Sunday and should step back into No. 1 role.
Julius Thomas, TE, Dolphins- With season highs in receptions and yards in Week 9 and a strong Week 7 showing as well, may be finally hitting his stride in Adam Gase's system.

FALLING

Quarterback

Eli Manning, Giants- Manning's 220 passing yards in Week 9 actually served as his best total since Week 5, as he'd thrown for 128 and 134 yards, respectively, in Weeks 6 and 7. The downturn is unsurprising given the significant losses that the Giants have suffered at the receiver position, and despite Sterling Shepard's return Sunday, Manning's overall prospects look dim for the second half of the season. There is no appreciable depth behind Shepard, and a pedestrian running game won't do the quarterbacks any favors, either.

Running Back

Kareem Hunt, Chiefs- You could literally take your pick of statistics when it comes to quantifying Hunt's significant downturn since a hot start. For starters, he's seen single-digit carries in two of the last four games and hasn't topped 100 yards since Week 5. Additionally, after racking up seven runs of more than 20 yards in the first five contests, he's seen that number shrink to one over the last four games. Just as important, he's been in the end zone only once since Week 3 and has averaged under 4.0 yards per carry in three of his last five contests. With some unpredictable usage and generally pedestrian production, he's currently heading in the wrong direction.

LeGarrette Blount, Eagles- Ajayi's splashy debut certainly doesn't brighten the outlook for Blount, who's only logged a pair of scores after racking up 16 in New England last season. There's only so many carries to go around on a team that often leans towards the pass, and the younger and more versatile Ajayi looks poised to eat into Blount's opportunities going forward.

Doug Martin, Buccaneers- Martin bottomed out at eight carries for seven yards in Sunday's blowout defeat, but he'd been under 4.0 yards per carry in the prior three games as well. The porous Bucs defense's penchant for allowing the team to fall behind relatively early in games isn't exactly conducive to the running game either, and backup Peyton Barber's 11 carries Sunday may have been more than just a garbage-time opportunity. Martin certainly has the talent to bounce back, but his outlook, along with that of the entire Tampa offense, appears bleak at present.

Devonta Freeman, Falcons- A multi-week pattern of reduced usage and an injury does not make for a fantasy-friendly recipe, but that about sums up Freeman's current situation. He hasn't seen more than 12 carries since Week 5, and although he's remained productive relative to his opportunities, it's certainly not at a level commensurate with his average draft position. Backfield mate Tevin Coleman still lags behind him in total touches, but that gap appears to be closing somewhat, and Freeman is also now dealing with an undisclosed injury heading into Week 10.

Wide Receiver

DeSean Jackson, Buccaneers- After a forgettable Week 9 loss to the Saints, you could almost make a case for putting entire Bucs offense in this category, but Jackson's depressed fantasy value is actually a byproduct of his overall body of work this season. He's averaging just 3.4 catches and 52.8 yards over his first eight games while seeing his YPC drop from last season's 17.9 to 15.6. Efficiency has been an ongoing problem as well, as he sports a 49.1 percent catch rate that's a notable drop-off from his 2016 figure of 56.0 percent. Matters might only get worse in the short term, considering Ryan Fitzpatrick projects to be behind center for at least the next two games.