This article is part of our NFL Barometer series.
RISING
Odell Beckham, WR, NYG
I was a fan of Beckham when he was coming out of LSU, like many or most, but I'm totally shocked at how good he's been this year. Without looking up any competing candidates, I'm going to assume he's the best rookie receiver ever. Posting 79 catches for 1,120 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first 11 games? After missing most of training camp and the first month of the season with a hamstring injury? These things are borderline impossible, yet Beckham has somehow done it. He has a Week 17 matchup with a weak Philadelphia pass defense, so the stat padding is not over yet.
Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN
To be fair, the Broncos were without their two best linebackers – Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall – but it's awfully impressive how Hill stomped the otherwise elite Denver run defense. The rookie second-round pick out of LSU is up to 1,024 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, tossing in 25 catches for 205 yards, even though he exceeded 10 carries just once in the first seven weeks. That's largely due to his big game against the Broncos on Monday, a game he finished with 147 yards and a touchdown on just 22 carries. Hill figures to be one of the first runners selected in fantasy drafts next year.
C.J. Anderson, RB, DEN
It's kind of remarkable to watch what Anderson has become in the last two months. He started the
RISING
Odell Beckham, WR, NYG
I was a fan of Beckham when he was coming out of LSU, like many or most, but I'm totally shocked at how good he's been this year. Without looking up any competing candidates, I'm going to assume he's the best rookie receiver ever. Posting 79 catches for 1,120 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first 11 games? After missing most of training camp and the first month of the season with a hamstring injury? These things are borderline impossible, yet Beckham has somehow done it. He has a Week 17 matchup with a weak Philadelphia pass defense, so the stat padding is not over yet.
Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN
To be fair, the Broncos were without their two best linebackers – Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall – but it's awfully impressive how Hill stomped the otherwise elite Denver run defense. The rookie second-round pick out of LSU is up to 1,024 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, tossing in 25 catches for 205 yards, even though he exceeded 10 carries just once in the first seven weeks. That's largely due to his big game against the Broncos on Monday, a game he finished with 147 yards and a touchdown on just 22 carries. Hill figures to be one of the first runners selected in fantasy drafts next year.
C.J. Anderson, RB, DEN
It's kind of remarkable to watch what Anderson has become in the last two months. He started the year as the team's third runner behind Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman, one year removed from going undrafted out of California, a school where he often worked as a backup runner to Isi Sofele. You've probably never heard of Sofele, so you can imagine how surprising it is to see Anderson total 762 yards and five touchdowns on 166 carries this year, adding 32 catches for 304 yards and two more scores. It looks as if he's not just a product of the system, either, as the film is just as impressive as his stats. Plus, as we saw with Ball, you can't plug just anyone into that offense and get the sort of results Anderson has provided. It will be interesting to see if Anderson can maintain his RB1 status after the offseason.
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, MIN
Although this rookie quarterback class has been unimpressive, it's looking like the Vikings might have gotten themselves a steal when they took Bridgewater with the 32nd overall selection. Playing at home against one weak pass defense and on the road against two tough ones, Bridgewater completed 73.4 percent of his passes for 883 yards (9.4 YPA), five touchdowns and four interceptions over the last three weeks against the Jets, Lions and Dolphins. He's completing 64.2 percent of his passes on the year, averaging 7.2 yards per attempt, and he has 14 touchdowns (13 passing) compared to 11 interceptions. Considering he's primarily working with the previously unwanted wideout duo of Charles Johnson and Greg Jennings, Bridgewater's rookie season has been thoroughly encouraging.
FALLING
Johnny Manziel, QB, CLE
Anyone who keeps track of my blithering probably knows what a big Manziel fan I am, so this is painful to admit, but he has looked awful since the initially encouraging Buffalo game. It's an exceedingly small sample size – 26 passes over about 1.5 games – but Manziel completed just 13-of-26 passes for 112 yards and two interceptions while playing against the Bengals and Panthers the last two weeks. He'll have to wait until 2015 before he gets another chance to prove himself, as a hamstring injury suffered against the Panthers will keep him out in Week 17.
Matt Stafford, QB, DET
Stafford didn't necessarily regress in 2014 – his completion percentage (61.1) and YPA (7.2) are actually better than his career averages, and he'll set a career low for interceptions as long as he doesn't throw four this week – but his total of 19 touchdowns in 15 games is quite disappointing, and generally an indication that he's maxed out in his current form in his sixth season. Stafford could be a good buy-low target after this disappointing season, especially if you're confident that Calvin Johnson won't miss any games, but his 5,038-yard, 41-touchdown season from 2011 was a fluke.
DeMarco Murray, RB, DAL
Murray will be a starting running back for some team in 2015, but as a soon-to-be free agent it's highly plausible that Murray won't play for Dallas next year, in which case he'd be leaving his currently ideal situation for one that will likely be considerably less favorable. Fellow free agent Dez Bryant is the more important player and would be the one to get the franchise tag if necessary, leaving Dallas with no recourse to keep Murray around if he hits the open market. With their tight cap situation, it's not likely that Dallas would be able to match the other bidders for Murray as he comes off what could end up an 1,800-yard season.
