This article is part of our NFL Barometer series.
RISING
Devin Funchess, WR, CAR
With Kelvin Benjamin out for the year with a torn ACL, Funchess will be leaned on earlier and much more heavily than was originally planned for his rookie year. Funchess heads into the NFL with questions about his hands and general polish as a wide receiver, but the same was true about Benjamin last year, and he finished the season with 73 catches for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns. That was mostly due to the enormous target volume he saw – Benjamin's numbers look much less impressive when you consider that it took 145 targets to get there – but that's precisely the point with why Funchess should have a strong rookie year. Even if Funchess isn't efficient, he could be looking at an average of around eight targets per week since Greg Olsen, Philly Brown, Ted Ginn and Jerricho Cotchery are the only other vaguely established pass catchers. At around 6-foot-4, 230 pounds with 4.5 speed, Funchess is actually a better athlete than Benjamin.
Leonard Hankerson, WR, ATL
Hankerson has no doubt been a bust since Washington selected him in the third round of the 2011 draft, but there's reason to hope for a breakout season in 2015. As low as his statistical volume was in Washington, Hankerson's efficiency wasn't awful – he turned 127 targets into 1,081 yards and six touchdowns in his first 30 NFL games. Now he's emerging as the third receiver in the Atlanta offense behind
RISING
Devin Funchess, WR, CAR
With Kelvin Benjamin out for the year with a torn ACL, Funchess will be leaned on earlier and much more heavily than was originally planned for his rookie year. Funchess heads into the NFL with questions about his hands and general polish as a wide receiver, but the same was true about Benjamin last year, and he finished the season with 73 catches for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns. That was mostly due to the enormous target volume he saw – Benjamin's numbers look much less impressive when you consider that it took 145 targets to get there – but that's precisely the point with why Funchess should have a strong rookie year. Even if Funchess isn't efficient, he could be looking at an average of around eight targets per week since Greg Olsen, Philly Brown, Ted Ginn and Jerricho Cotchery are the only other vaguely established pass catchers. At around 6-foot-4, 230 pounds with 4.5 speed, Funchess is actually a better athlete than Benjamin.
Leonard Hankerson, WR, ATL
Hankerson has no doubt been a bust since Washington selected him in the third round of the 2011 draft, but there's reason to hope for a breakout season in 2015. As low as his statistical volume was in Washington, Hankerson's efficiency wasn't awful – he turned 127 targets into 1,081 yards and six touchdowns in his first 30 NFL games. Now he's emerging as the third receiver in the Atlanta offense behind Julio Jones and Roddy White, both of whom have a history of getting hurt. Even if they don't get hurt, Hankerson could prove useful in deeper formats if he can hold off rookie fourth-round pick Justin Hardy for the targets after Jones and White. Harry Douglas caught 52 passes in 12 games last year as Atlanta's third receiver.
Matt Jones, RB, WAS
I very nearly wrote an "Alfred Morris: Faller" blurb instead of a "Riser" blurb for Jones, but the rookie third-round pick from Florida might establish enough of a regular role in the Washington offense to establish fantasy value in his own right. Although he's close to the opposite of the protoypical third-down back at 6-foot-2, 231 pounds with underwhelming athletic testing, Washington envisions him as the team's primary third-down back. When you have a secondary as awful as Washington's while playing in the NFC East, it's easy to imagine Washington landing in plenty of catch-up situations, so that third-down back role could add up to real numbers. What's more interesting about Jones is that, unlike previous Washington third-down back Roy Helu, Jones is a pure power back whose skill set is largely redundant to that of Morris. In other words, Helu couldn't do what Morris did, but Jones can. And Morris can't do everything that Jones can. Jones seems like a real candidate to poach snaps from Morris in a way that Helu never could. Oh, and Morris is a free agent after this year. Jones looks like dynasty gold at the least, and he's becoming more and more of a handcuff consideration in the meantime.
Tyrod Taylor, QB, BUF
Matt Cassel seems to still have a good chance of starting for Buffalo in Week 1, but Taylor is making a strong push himself, and Taylor is the much more interesting player in both real life and fantasy football terms. Taylor is unproven, but that's preferable to the kind 'proven' that a retread like Cassel might be, and Taylor gave glimpses of his dual-threat upside by completing 12-of-18 passes for 114 yards and running for 88 yards on 10 carries through two preseason games. With 4.47 speed and excellent agility, Taylor has rushing upside comparable to that of any other quarterback. Coach Rex Ryan likely won't name a starter for Buffalo until just before Week 1's game against Indianapolis, however, so Taylor's status will need monitoring.
FALLING
LeSean McCoy, RB, BUF
Going from Philadelphia to Buffalo was a big enough setback to McCoy's fantasy value in itself, so he didn't need additional developments posing further obstacles. Things got even worse for McCoy when he came down with a hamstring injury Tuesday, however, leaving him questionable for Week 1. The Bills are optimistic that McCoy will be available for Week 1, but even if McCoy is active, the possibility of him playing hurt could compound the already significant regression threat posed by the ineffective, downtempo offense he'll likely play in. McCoy likely won't get much help from his schedule, either – the Jets, Dolphins and Patriots all look like good candidates to field strong run defenses this year.
Breshad Perriman, WR, BAL
The "bruised knee" that kept Perriman out since July 30 still has him on the sidelines, and the diagnosis has unsurprisingly changed from bruised knee to sprained PCL, which makes a lot more sense. The rookie first-round pick from Central Florida looked like a strong candidate to directly take up the role previously held by Torrey Smith, especially with Steve Smith turning 36 years old, but now Perriman heads into the fall seemingly behind both Smith and Kamar Aiken on the depth chart. The Ravens are still short on pass catchers otherwise, so Perriman could catch back up once the season starts, but it's not necessarily likely. For what it's worth, the Ravens think Perriman will be ready in advance of Week 1.
Cam Newton, QB, CAR
A Kelvin Benjamin (ACL) entry would be too obvious and too easily stated, so let's address the Benjamin injury through the lens of Newton's fantasy value instead. As mentioned in the Funchess blurb, Benjamin wasn't particularly efficient in averaging just 7.0 yards per target, but a 145-target void is an enormous gap to account for, and there's no guarantee that Funchess will be as efficient as Benjamin was, either. Newton is basically unchallenged as the quarterback most neglected by his own team each year, so this situation isn't anything new to him, but last year's numbers showed that neglect taking its heaviest toll yet on Newton. He dealt with ankle, rib and back ailments while missing two games, an outcome that's unsurprising for a running quarterback who's dealing with one of the league's worst pass-blocking lines. Newton finished last year with 18 passing touchdowns, five rushing touchdowns, and a 7.0 YPA, all of which were career lows. Unless Funchess matches Benjamin, Newton is looking at the possibility of circumstances even less favorable than those from last year.
