This article is part of our NFL Barometer series.
RISING
Isaiah Crowell, RB, CLE
Crowell may have finally emerged as the clear lead back in Cleveland, as he was named the starter for Sunday's game against Houston and went on to run for 61 yards on 14 carries while catching two passes for 30 yards. He hurt himself by losing a fumble, but that concern is more than offset by the fact that incumbent starter Ben Tate was cut Tuesday. Fellow rookie Terrance West will get more than his fair share of carries going forward, too, but it seems clear by now that Crowell is the more explosive player of the duo. Tate, Crowell and West combined for 296 carries in the first 10 games, so there's room for both players to push for 15 carries each week going forward, giving both flex upside for the foreseeable future.
Kenny Stills, WR, NO
Brandin Cooks' season-ending thumb injury paves the way for Stills to finally get on a roll as the 2014 season nears its end. The Saints have badly underused Stills both this year and last, giving him just 92 targets in his 25 career games despite the fact that he totaled an impressive 63 catches for 1,072 yards (17.0 YPC) and seven touchdowns on those targets. Cooks saw 69 targets in the first 10 games of this year compared to the 42 Stills received. With Cooks out of the way, Stills could see seven or eight targets per game in the final six weeks, a
RISING
Isaiah Crowell, RB, CLE
Crowell may have finally emerged as the clear lead back in Cleveland, as he was named the starter for Sunday's game against Houston and went on to run for 61 yards on 14 carries while catching two passes for 30 yards. He hurt himself by losing a fumble, but that concern is more than offset by the fact that incumbent starter Ben Tate was cut Tuesday. Fellow rookie Terrance West will get more than his fair share of carries going forward, too, but it seems clear by now that Crowell is the more explosive player of the duo. Tate, Crowell and West combined for 296 carries in the first 10 games, so there's room for both players to push for 15 carries each week going forward, giving both flex upside for the foreseeable future.
Kenny Stills, WR, NO
Brandin Cooks' season-ending thumb injury paves the way for Stills to finally get on a roll as the 2014 season nears its end. The Saints have badly underused Stills both this year and last, giving him just 92 targets in his 25 career games despite the fact that he totaled an impressive 63 catches for 1,072 yards (17.0 YPC) and seven touchdowns on those targets. Cooks saw 69 targets in the first 10 games of this year compared to the 42 Stills received. With Cooks out of the way, Stills could see seven or eight targets per game in the final six weeks, a span over which he is a strong bet to total at least 450 yards and three touchdowns.
Latavius Murray, RB, OAK
You might have seen Murray's four-carry, 43-yard game against San Diego on Sunday and taken him for another Storm Johnson – a backup on a bad team bound to get overrated in the upcoming waiver bidding period – but this guy is not Johnson. Although there's no guarantee that Murray sees any sort of considerable workload going forward – obvious as it might be that Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew offer little or no redeeming qualities at this point – Murray is definitely a far superior athlete to Johnson, and he was the better player at Central Florida, too. Murray has 4.4 wheels at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, and he has very good quickness for a big runner. He was extremely productive at UCF, totaling 2,292 yards (5.6 YPC) and 34 touchdowns on the ground in his final three years with the Golden Knights, showing additional upside as a pass catcher. Although it's unreasonable to expect Murray to provide immediate fantasy utility, he's a worthwhile deep league waiver stash.
Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN
Hill continues to impress as a workhorse back for Cincinnati, outdueling Mark Ingram on Sunday by bowling over the Saints for 152 yards on 27 carries. By breaking a 62-yard run Sunday, Hill posted his second run of 60-plus yards in three weeks. In his three-game audition as starter while Giovani Bernard (hip) sat out, Hill burned the Jaguars, Browns and Saints for 361 yards (5.73 YPC) and two touchdowns. Hill has all but proven himself a superior between-the-tackles runner to Bernard, so a relatively even timeshare ought to occur once Bernard returns, with Hill being the more intuitive option for early-down and short-yardage situations.
Trent Richardson, RB, IND
Richardson will always be plagued by stunningly bad vision and generally poor running back instincts, but he is set to finish the year as a solid RB3 type in light of Ahmad Bradshaw's season-ending leg injury. Through 10 games the duo combined for 205 carries and 60 receptions, which averages out to 20.5 carries and six catches per contest. Richardson won't take on a workload that enormous, but something like 16 carries and three catches per game going forward wouldn't be surprising. With that sort of volume, even Richardson can pile up enough cheap stats to make a fantasy impact.
Jarvis Landry, WR, MIA
In what might go down as the best rookie wide receiver class of all time, it's easy to overlook a guy like Landy. He's not big, at 5-foot-11, 202 pounds, and lacks both speed and leaping ability, but the second-round pick out of LSU has been an impressive possession target for the Dolphins lately. He has caught 42 of his 55 targets this year – good for a catch rate of 76.4 percent – and has 30 catches for 289 yards and three touchdowns over his last six games. Landry has a chance to finish the year as a quality WR3 in PPR formats.
FALLING
Robert Griffin, QB, WAS
Griffin quite simply does not look like a good quarterback, and he's out of excuses at this point. The dislocated ankle he suffered earlier this year is no longer an issue, and his 2012 ACL tear can't be blamed, either. His supporting cast is excellent – Alfred Morris and Roy Helu form a strong backfield, and the wideout duo of DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon is undoubtedly one of the league's best. He plays in a scheme run by Jay Gruden, who managed to make a 'Good QB' mirage out of Andy Dalton of all people. And yet, Griffin was just bad against a weak Buccaneers defense Sunday, throwing for 207 yards (6.5 YPA), one touchdown and two interceptions while taking six sacks. Griffin has shown a remarkable inability to sense pressure – he has been sacked 11 times over his last two games – and isn't even showing the deep-ball accuracy he was known for earlier in his career. It's difficult to sell Griffin as anything more than a QB2 in most leagues right now.
Shane Vereen, RB, NE
One might expect Jonas Gray to land in the 'Rising' part of the article rather than Vereen landing in the 'Falling' section, but Gray's 37-carry, 201-yard, four-touchdown performance Sunday does not guarantee his fantasy reliability as much as it assures profound volatility for both players. Considering that it looked not long ago as if Vereen might take on a feature back role in light of Stevan Ridley's ACL/MCL tear, Vereen's loss in value since Sunday is greater than Gray's rise in value. With that said, Gray's value is definitely on the rise, as he outcarried Vereen in three straight games, piling up 67 carries compared to Vereen's meager total of 17. Even with Ridley out and LeGarrette Blount no longer on the team (or any team), Vereen appears locked into a peripheral role for the foreseeable future.
Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN
The appeals process has yet to totally play out, but Peterson's season is likely over in light of Roger Goodell's declaration of a without-pay suspension for at least the remainder of the 2014 season. Peterson and the Vikings hoped that Peterson's guilty plea to a misdemeanor would allow him to retake the field soon, but an arbitrator disallowed any hopes of that Tuesday, and Goodell appears intent on putting down any resistance from Peterson, the Vikings, or the NFLPA.
Montee Ball, RB, DEN
Ball's shockingly disappointing season continues to get worse. He is expected to miss 2-to-3 weeks after aggravating his groin injury against the Rams on Sunday, which projects him to be out until Week 14 or 15. Even if he were healthy, Ball would probably be no higher than third on the Denver running back depth chart behind a healthy Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson. Hillman figures to reclaim the starting role once his foot injury heals, but Anderson has proven to be a strong alternative in recent weeks, totaling 137 yards on 25 carries (5.5 YPC) and catching 15 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown over the last three games. That's a sharp contrast to Ball's awful production of 172 yards on 55 carries (3.1 YPC) and nine catches for 62 yards in five appearances. Ball appears to be a sunk cost, even in dynasty leagues.
LeSean McCoy, RB, PHI
It doesn't make sense. Last year, he ran for 1,607 yards and nine touchdowns, and caught 52 passes for 539 yards and two more touchdowns. Both in terms of scheme and talent, the offense around him is basically the same as it was then. No matter what the elusive explanation, it's become clear that McCoy isn't the fantasy factor he was a year ago. After slipping around Lambeau Field on Sunday and eventually capitalizing on garbage time to put together 106 yards from scrimmage, McCoy sits with 729 yards (3.7 YPC) and two touchdowns on the ground, and just 22 catches for 110 yards through the air. Against two of the league's worst run defenses in Green Bay and Carolina, McCoy somehow totaled just 107 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries. It's possible that defenses have caught on to Chip Kelly's scheme.
