This article is part of our NFL Barometer series.
RISING
Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN
Hill's impressive string of recent performances gives reason to rank him as one of the league's top long-term RB1 options, even with second-year runner and 2013 second-round pick Gio Bernard still on the Bengals' roster. Cincinnati offensive coordinator Hue Jackson stated last week that the Bengals would turn to Hill as the team's lead runner against the Browns, and he stayed true to his word by giving Hill 25 carries, which the promising rookie turned into 148 yards and two touchdowns. Hill is up to 877 yards and eight touchdowns on 177 carries this year, with 25 catches for 205 yards to go along with it. A matchup with Denver's elite run defense is normally a significant deterrent for fantasy owners, but it's hard to fade Hill at this point, especially in season-long formats.
Eddie Lacy, RB, GB
Some moments of early-season sluggishness made Lacy look like a potential bust after going in the first round of most fantasy drafts this year, but the second-year runner out of Alabama has played extremely well lately. He's running so well, in fact, that he's significantly brightened his long-term outlook over the last six weeks. There was some concern that Lacy lacked the elusiveness necessary to sustain high-level productivity in the NFL, and a modest rookie year rushing average of 4.15 YPC didn't alleviate those concerns. In his last six games, however, Lacy has 512 yards (5.2 YPC) and four touchdowns on the ground, along with
RISING
Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN
Hill's impressive string of recent performances gives reason to rank him as one of the league's top long-term RB1 options, even with second-year runner and 2013 second-round pick Gio Bernard still on the Bengals' roster. Cincinnati offensive coordinator Hue Jackson stated last week that the Bengals would turn to Hill as the team's lead runner against the Browns, and he stayed true to his word by giving Hill 25 carries, which the promising rookie turned into 148 yards and two touchdowns. Hill is up to 877 yards and eight touchdowns on 177 carries this year, with 25 catches for 205 yards to go along with it. A matchup with Denver's elite run defense is normally a significant deterrent for fantasy owners, but it's hard to fade Hill at this point, especially in season-long formats.
Eddie Lacy, RB, GB
Some moments of early-season sluggishness made Lacy look like a potential bust after going in the first round of most fantasy drafts this year, but the second-year runner out of Alabama has played extremely well lately. He's running so well, in fact, that he's significantly brightened his long-term outlook over the last six weeks. There was some concern that Lacy lacked the elusiveness necessary to sustain high-level productivity in the NFL, and a modest rookie year rushing average of 4.15 YPC didn't alleviate those concerns. In his last six games, however, Lacy has 512 yards (5.2 YPC) and four touchdowns on the ground, along with a superb total of 17 catches for 187 yards and four more scores as a receiver. Lacy's up to 1,336 yards from scrimmage – 4.6 yards per carry and 10.4 yards per catch – and 12 touchdowns in 14 games. His dynasty value is on a major upswing, and with Randall Cobb a free agent and Davante Adams displaying only modest abilities as a rookie, Lacy might even see his pass-catching role grow in 2015.
Marquess Wilson, WR, CHI
It's not all bad in Chicago. In his first start in place of Brandon Marshall (lung/ribs), Wilson caught three of five targets for 16 yards and a touchdown. Considering Jay Cutler's remarkable inefficiency in the game, it's definitely an encouraging box score for a player who should see his target count grow in the final two weeks. It's hard to find a reason to keep him out of the top 36 receivers going forward, though Cutler's implosion factor lowers his floor a bit.
Joseph Randle, RB, DAL
DeMarco Murray underwent surgery Monday to repair a broken bone in his left hand, which leaves him questionable for this week's game against Indianapolis. The general sentiment around the Cowboys is that Murray will play, but if he doesn't, Randle would instantly become a fantasy-relevant runner during fantasy's primary championship week. Although Lance Dunbar has played more snaps this year than Randle, that's mostly due to Dunbar serving as the team's pass-catching specialist at running back, whereas Randle plays the role occupied by Murray. The Colts are allowing 4.3 yards per carry and nearly a rushing touchdown per game (13 in 14 games), so Randle would be at least a flex consideration in a Tony Romo-led offense if Murray should sit.
Robert Griffin, QB, WAS
The remarkably up-and-down nature of Griffin's last two seasons makes it difficult to trust him, even after an encouraging fantasy performance, but he nonetheless deserves some fantasy consideration against the Eagles this week with Colt McCoy (neck) out for the year. Griffin came off the bench against the Giants on Sunday to complete 18-of-27 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown while adding 46 yards and nearly another touchdown on five carries. He still shows poor pocket awareness and is always an injury risk, but Griffin is tempting in certain formats as he faces a Philadelphia defense allowing 7.7 yards per pass and over two passing touchdowns per game.
FALLING
Jay Cutler, QB, CHI
Playing at home against one of the league's worst defenses, aided by an elite skill position trio in Matt Forte, Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett, you'd think a player like Cutler could give his fantasy owners a satisfactory box score facing the Saints on Monday. Cutler somehow had one of his worst games of the year Monday, completing 17-of-31 passes for 194 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, with most of the good stats occurring in garbage time. He also took seven sacks. Things have been awkward in Chicago for some time now, and it reached a peak recently when offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer admitted to being an anonymous source that relayed comments critical of Cutler to the NFL Network, an action that figures to cost him the O.C. job, and potentially that of head coach Marc Trestman. Of course, the performance of the Bears' offense could doom them just as much.
Johnny Manziel, QB, CLE
Manziel's first career start couldn't have gone much worse. Although he was facing a defense that likely is one of the five best at defending the pass and didn't get much help from his receivers, blockers or the running game, it's hard to rationalize Manziel's final box score of 10-of-18 for 80 yards and two interceptions. I'd personally argue that the Browns set up Manziel for failure by simplifying the offense and limiting his number of route runners on most plays, but he absolutely failed to make the most of the situation. While one bad game against a good defense doesn't mean the rookie won't improve and it's absolutely far too soon to write him off, Manziel is just about unapproachable as a starting fantasy option for now.
Josh Gordon, WR, CLE
As the Cleveland quarterback situation sinks, so does Gordon's fantasy value. After last year's 1,646-yard, nine-touchdown season Gordon looked like he'd be a late-season fantasy clincher upon completing his 10-game suspension, but he has been no more than a WR3 type of producer in his first four games. He has just 20 catches for 258 yards and no touchdowns on 40 targets. That's less than seven yards per target after averaging 10.4 yards per target in 2013.
