Rising
Michael Vick: Chip Kelly’s new offense is firing on all cylinders, and Vick looks like the key cog in the machine. He is currently behind only Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning in terms of fantasy scoring on the year. Vick will inevitably get hurt within the next few weeks, but until then, he is an absolute stud.
T.Y. Hilton: One of my favorite sleeper picks for the year rebounded nicely after producing an abysmal 20 yards in week one. Hilton caught six balls for 124 yards this week, but more importantly, he had 12 targets in the game. Darrius Heyward-Bey is already battling injury and Reggie Wayne will be double teamed consistently, leaving Hilton to be a major factor in the Colts’ offense moving forward.
DeAndre Hopkins: Honestly, DeAndre Hopkins did not play very well on Sunday. He did not block well, ran sloppy routes, and caught only slightly more than half of the balls thrown his direction. None of this matters, however. Andre Johnson is double teamed on almost every play, and Schaub seems completely incapable of making more than two reads, leaving Hopkins as his favorite target. Hopkins caught seven balls for 117 yards and an overtime touchdown – there is more of this to come.
Ben Tate: How many more times does Ben Tate have to out-produce Arian Foster before he gets appropriate recognition? This past week might have been the last straw. Tate had 93 yards on his nine carries in the game, compared to Foster’s 79 yards on 19 carries. Tate looks like the more productive runner in this offense, and should start to see double digit touches starting next week.
Falling
Ray Rice: I give all players a pass on Week 1, because some simply have a bad start but see their production spike in Week 2 (Dez Bryant, Calvin Johnson, etc.). Ray Rice is walking a thin line now. He has only 36 yards rushing in each of his first two games, and left the game on Sunday due to a hip injury. Furthermore, even when Rice is healthy, Bernard Pierce is outplaying him. Now is the time to see what Ray Rice’s value might be on the trade market.
Reggie Bush: Typical Reggie Bush – a stand-out week one followed by a knee injury in week two. The Lions’ offense came to a screeching halt in his absence, displaying his value to the team, but I just don’t see him on the field for more than half of the season. Bush will frustrate you the entire year, as he will constantly be week-to-week with nagging injuries. Sell.
Chris Ivory: Chris Ivory is the only player that I’ve written about that I am completely ready to cut all ties with. He has totaled a mere 67 yards in the first two weeks of the season, and is losing all goal-line touches to an equally poor runner in Bilal Powell. Ivory is injury prone, doesn’t catch passes, doesn’t receive goal-line carries and plays in a remarkably poor offense. He has no place on your fantasy team.
Eddie Lacy: Eddie Lacy’s tenure in Green Bay just took a double turn for the worse. Firstly, he received a concussion from a hard hit, forcing him to leave from Sunday’s game early. Secondly, the always enigmatic James Starks rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown in the remainder of the game. The Packers’ have not had a 100-yard rusher in the last 44 games, and Starks’ performance will not go unnoticed.
