It’s tough to believe that we are over halfway through the NFL regular season, but here we are. Not only that, but we are about 65% of the way through the dynasty fantasy football regular season, which means the contenders are emerging and the pretenders are turning into sellers.
With that, it’s more important than ever to track the dynasty risers and sellers. Let’s see who’s rising and who is falling after Week 9.
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Dynasty Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers
Dynasty Fantasy Football Risers
Kyle Monangai (RB – CHI)
I wrote about Kyle Monangai as a riser following Week 7, as his snap share was increasing week over week. He hit snap shares of 45% and 46% in the previous two weeks before dominating the workload this week with D’Andre Swift on the shelf. He took 74% of the snaps while toting the rock 26 times en route to 176 rushing yards, adding in three receptions for 22 yards.
Monangai’s 22.8 PPR fantasy points were the third-most of any running back in Week 9, pending Monday Night Football. Monangai got loose for three rushes of 10+ yards, and he looks the part of a quality NFL runner. The rookie seventh-round pick was already carving out a role in the Bears’ offense, but he may have done enough to push Swift for more touches going forward.
Rico Dowdle (RB – CAR)
Arguably the biggest surprise of the season, Rico Dowdle continues to shine for the Panthers. While his 25 carries for 130 yards, two scores and 28.1 fantasy points are the storyline, his takeover of the backfield is the most noteworthy takeaway of this game.
Upon his return, Chuba Hubbard led a timeshare with snap shares of 54% and 57% in the last two games, while Dowdle notched 46% and 36% in those games.
Things shifted this week when Dowdle drew the start, and he never looked back from there, taking 72% of the snaps compared to Hubbard’s 22%. Hubbard tallied just five carries on the day, and it appears Dowdle will be the lead back moving forward.
Colston Loveland (TE – CHI)
The long-awaited Colston Loveland breakout game finally hit. Unfortunately, it came on the heels of a second-quarter concussion for Cole Kmet, but Loveland took advantage of the added opportunities, reeling in six out of seven targets for 118 yards and two touchdowns, good for 29.8 fantasy points.
The rookie tight end was already enjoying his best day as a pro before the Bears took the field with 50 seconds remaining, but a game-winning 58-yard reception blew the lid off his fantasy ceiling. His chemistry with Caleb Williams is growing, and Kmet may be forced to miss time. It feels as though Loveland is becoming a focal point of the offense regardless.
Alec Pierce (WR – IND)
After a breakout season of sorts, tallying 824 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 games last season, Alec Pierce was a complete afterthought this offseason. Of course, nobody expected the Colts offense to take flight the way it has, but Josh Downs was afforded plenty of preseason hype.
Instead, Pierce has maintained his starting role on the outside ahead of Adonai Mitchell, leaving Downs in the slot and putting Pierce right alongside Pittman as a go-to option. On Sunday, he drew a whopping 13 targets, and although he caught just six of them, he turned those into 115 yards.
This follows a stretch of 48, 69 and 98 receiving yard performances since returning from injury, and he has hit double-digit targets twice in the last three games. Pierce’s 501 yards through seven games would put him on a full-season pace of 1,217 yards. He has yet to find the end zone this season, but if the touchdowns start to come, he’ll be in the mix as a weekly WR2/WR3.
Christian Watson (WR – GB)
In his two games back from a torn ACL in January, Christian Watson has caught six passes for 143 yards, posting fantasy point totals of 12.5 and 7.8.
Injuries to fellow Packers pass-catchers have afforded Watson a clear runway to return himself to a big role. While the stats aren’t overwhelming, they are impressive just nine months removed from a torn ACL.
With his health up in the air, Watson’s dynasty stock was at a low point, but the arrow is surely pointing up after the last couple of weeks.
Terrance Ferguson (TE – LAR)
The Rams are rolling out a four-man rotation at tight end, limiting Terrance Ferguson’s upside for now, but he’s getting more involved and is the only tight end making plays downfield. He caught just one pass in Week 7 before the bye, but it went for 31 yards and a score.
Following the bye week, Ferguson caught two passes for 54 yards this week. He’s playing more snaps on third downs, but the next step is to work in more frequently on early downs. Regardless, it feels like just a matter of time before he becomes the featured tight end of the Rams’ offense.
Dynasty Fantasy Football Fallers
Matthew Golden (WR – GB)
It’s not just that Matthew Golden went down with a shoulder injury on Sunday, but he was trending in the wrong direction before the injury. For one, his snaps were already declining with the return of Christian Watson, as he and Romeo Doubs played primarily on the outside with Golden rotating in the slot. Dontayvion Wicks is likely to return next week, and Jayden Reed another week after that, which clouds Golden’s usage moving forward, regardless of his health.
On top of that, the rookie first-round pick fumbled his opportunity to take over as the team’s top target in the absence of Reed, Watson and Wicks. Coming out of the bye week, Golden notched 86 yards on three grabs in Week 6, before posting just 37 yards in Week 7 and four yards in Week 8. He caught two passes for nine yards before exiting early in the third quarter on Sunday. Golden has failed to continue any momentum he had coming out of the Week 5 bye.
Dont’e Thornton (WR – LV) & Jack Bech (WR – LV)
I had Jack Bech as a riser a few weeks back after he took snaps away from Dont’e Thornton, who produced tons of hype during the preseason. Fast forward a couple of weeks, and the Raiders have brought in 33-year-old Tyler Lockett to take snaps from both rookies.
On Sunday, the Raiders exclusively played three receivers while running more 12-personnel, leading to Thornton being inactive and Bech receiving zero offensive snaps. Two young receivers who seemed to be stepping into a major offensive role are now stuck watching from the sideline.
Ja’Tavion Sanders (WR – CAR)
Entering the season, Ja’Tavion Sanders was one of many young, intriguing tight ends. He showed promise in his rookie season, but his snaps were limited as Tommy Tremble took most of the blocking snaps.
Sanders excelled as a pass-catcher and seemed to be in line for more work this year, but through eight weeks and six games, Sanders has tallied just 116 yards. He caught one pass for five yards on Sunday, and in his three weeks since returning from injury, he’s totaled 24 yards.
Keenan Allen (WR – LAC)
We all knew it was only a matter of time, right? For the second consecutive week, rookie Tre’ Harris has played more snaps than Keenan Allen. After agreeing to return to the Chargers in August, Allen began the season on a hot streak, sitting as the WR6 after Week 3.
Since then, Allen has fallen back down to earth, outside of a Week 7 explosion for 119 yards and a score. Allen has caught six passes in the last two weeks, going for 44 and 41 yards in those games, while falling to fourth in snaps among Chargers wide receivers.
This is primarily due to the Chargers rolling out Harris in single-receiver sets. Regardless, Allen will have his moments through the remainder of the season, but it’s unlikely you’ll want him in lineups. If you can still move off of him, now is the time.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. (RB – NYG)
Tyrone Tracy Jr. began the season as the lead back for the Giants until an injury forced him out of action in Week 3. After missing the next two weeks, Tracy returned to a limited role behind rookie Cam Skattebo. With Skattebo breaking his leg early in Week 8, Tracy stepped in as the primary ball-carrier.
Tracy’s performance has left a lot to be desired, however, and this week the team turned to Devin Singletary. Tracy recorded just five carries for 18 yards and three receptions for 19 yards on 25 snaps while Singletary played 32 snaps, running eight times for 43 yards and catching a couple passes for eight yards.
It was clear Skattebo was going to take touches away from Tracy, but he overtook the backfield, and now Tracy is losing ground to Singletary.
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