In this series, I look at dynasty values and what players are rising and falling. While dynasty players are in it for the long haul, it doesn’t mean that their opinions aren’t swung from week to week by good or bad fantasy performances. I will attempt to get an early read on the pulse of the Dynasty Community to see where players’ values are moving.
Feel free to comment or reach out to me on Twitter/X at (@jtorange) with any comments, insightful nuggets or questions.
Week 10 Dynasty Risers and Fallers
Risers
Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
We are only halfway through Brock Bowers’ rookie season and he has already solidified his spot as the dynasty TE1. It has been a crazy trajectory for Bowers.
He was an All-American tight end at Georgia, who hit from the jump. Bowers went for 56 catches and 882 yards and 13 touchdowns as a true freshman. Those are wild numbers for any tight end, but especially for a true freshman in the SEC. Bowers followed that up with another spectacular season as a sophomore. He had 63 catches for 942 yards and seven touchdowns to help lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back National Championships. As a junior, he missed a couple of games with an ankle injury but still was able to tally 56 receptions for 714 yards and six touchdowns in only 10 games. Bowers was also used as a runner at Georgia, finishing his career with 19 carries for 193 yards and five touchdowns, which just shows his athletic ability.
Bowers entered the 2024 NFL Draft as the top tight end. No doubt about it. The question was how high would he go in the draft. The Las Vegas Raiders selected Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer in the second round of the 2023 draft, so no one thought the Raiders would be a landing spot for Bowers. There were reports that multiple teams tried to trade up in the draft to get Bowers, but nothing materialized. Then to everyone’s surprise, outside of the City of Sin, the Raiders selected Bowers with the 13th overall pick, deciding to take the top player on their board regardless of position.
The Raiders have been a mess this season. In the offseason, they signed journeyman Gardner Minshew to play quarterback. Minshew got off to a rough start and got benched. The Raiders turned to second-year quarterback Aiden O’Connell, who played in 11 games as a rookie. O’Connell started the Week 6 matchup against the Steelers, but then broke his thumb in Week 7 against the Rams and was put on injured reserve.
So, Las Vegas went back to Minshew. The quarterbacks’ combination has not been good this season, as they have combined for just 1,956 yards passing, eight touchdown passes, and 10 interceptions. Even with the subpar quarterback play, Bowers has blown up this season.
Bowers leads all tight ends in receptions and is third overall in the league with 57 catches. He is 10th in the league in receiving yards with 580. The next closest tight end is the 49ers George Kittle with 503 yards.
Bowers is already a superstar at only 21 years of age. He is going to be insanely hard to acquire, but he might be worth overpaying. The Raiders have their eye on a new quarterback in the 2025 Draft. I think they are eyeing Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward, which would be a massive upgrade over what they currently have on the roster. For those owners who already have Bowers, congratulations, well done. If someone is trying to buy from you, ask a king’s ransom.
Sam Darnold, QB, Minnesota Vikings
It’s been a long strange trip in the NFL for Sam Darnold. He was the third overall pick by the New York Jets in 2018. Darnold struggled, especially with turnovers, in his three seasons with the Jets. They moved on from him after the 2020 season and traded him to the Carolina Panthers. He looked to restart his career in Carolina in the 2021 season, but that experiment ended after two seasons of up-and-down play.
After spending a season in San Francisco as the backup to Brock Purdy, Darnold signed on to presumably be the backup for the Minnesota Vikings and mentor rookie J.J. McCarthy, who was the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after leading Michigan to a National Championship last season.
But after McCarthy was lost for the season because of a torn meniscus in his knee during his first preseason game, Darnold was thrust into the starting quarterback role.
Darnold has run with the opportunity, leading the Vikings to a 6-2 record this season. Darnold has completed almost 70% of his passes for 1,900 yards with 17 touchdown passes, seven interceptions, and a QB Rating of 107.8, which is a career-high.
If Darnold continues to ball out this season, a likely long-term contract should follow after the season. I’m not sure what type of deal Darnold can get, but I would think it would be at least a three-year deal or more. Will the Vikings try to bring him back or will they move onto McCarthy next season? I’m not sure what they are thinking, but if they don’t re-sign Darnold, he would warrant a contract and the starting gig from some other team in the league.
Darnold is still just 27 years old. At this point, it would seem he has plenty more good seasons left in the tank. Because of these variables, Darnold has become a fantasy commodity. His current ADP of 188 according to Dynasty League Football is the highest it has been since October of 2021 when he had an ADP of 169. Darnold dropped as low as 239th after last season. Darnold is a buy in Superflex leagues but acquire with caution. Until we know where he will be playing next season, it’s tough decision to know how much to pay for him. If he ends up in a good situation, this might be the cheapest he will be to obtain. But if he ends up starting for a perennial loser, his value will drop.
Fallers
Jonathon Brooks, RB, Carolina Panthers
Jonathon Brooks was the overwhelming top running back pick in dynasty rookie drafts after being selected as the first RB off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. Brooks was taken with pick 46 overall, which was the 14th pick of the second round.
Brooks is coming off a torn ACL that he suffered at Texas last season. But before the injury, Brooks was dominating for the Longhorns. He had 187 carries for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in 11 games. He also added 25 catches for 286 yards and one touchdown.
The redshirt sophomore came out of nowhere to have a huge season for the Longhorns. He started and played in front of some of the top running back recruits in the nation. Following Bijan Robinson is tough, but Brooks did a pretty good job of filling Robinson’s shoes.
When the Panthers selected Brooks in the spring, everyone knew he wouldn’t be ready for the season. But the Panthers were one of the worst teams in the league last year, so no one was expecting the Panthers to rush Brooks back. When he was ready to go, he was expected to take his place in the backfield as the RB1 of the Panthers.
Jump ahead to Week 9 of the NFL season, and Brooks has just been activated off the injured reserve list. He is back practicing and everyone has been excited to see the young buck hit the field. But before we could see Brooks even take his first snap in the NFL, the Panthers’ brass decided to sign current starting running back Chuba Hubbard to a four-year contract extension worth up to $37.2 million.
Hubbard, who was a star at Oklahoma State, rushed for 2,094 yards and 21 touchdowns during his sophomore season for the Cowboys. He was injured his junior year, rushing for 625 yards and five touchdowns in just seven games, but he left early for the NFL anyway.
Hubbard hadn’t really got it going in the NFL until this year. Hubbard was supposed to be just keeping the seat warm for Brooks, but with Brooks working his way back from injury, Hubbard decided to show out.
Even though he is playing for the worst team in the league, Hubbard has crushed. Hubbard has 133 carries for 665 yards and five touchdowns in nine games this season after rushing for a career-high 902 yards last season.
Now that Hubbard has looked like a legit RB1 in the NFL, where does that leave Brooks? Well, it looks like he is on the outside looking in. Now is the time to buy Brooks. His owners are freaking out and letting him go for extremely low value. If you believe in the talent, Brooks is a must buy at this point. He is still only 21 years old. Even if he doesn’t see the majority of touches over the next two seasons, Brooks could be moved to another team or at that point Hubbard could be cut, and Brooks could take over. I’m buying the talent, and not going to worry about the situation for now.
Jerome Ford, RB, Cleveland Browns
Heading into the season, Jerome Ford was a dynasty sleeper with Nick Chubb starting the year on the injured reserve list after a brutal knee injury last season. There were high hopes in the fantasy community that Ford would finally get the chance to be the workhorse running back in Cleveland.
Ford, a former fifth-round pick out of Cincinnati, is in his third season in the league. At 5-10, 210 pounds, Ford has shown flashes of his ability in his limited time on the field. He had a bit of a breakout season in 2023, rushing for 813 yards and four touchdowns, while hauling in 44 receptions for 319 yards and five touchdowns. But last year’s success hasn’t translated to this season. Ford hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 1 of the season. He has missed two games due to injury this season, but came back in Week 9, only to put up a dud in his return with two carries for five yards.
Ford has not had more than 12 carries in a game this season, and has only seen double-digit touches in three games. For the year, Ford has 52 carries for 269 yards and 21 catches for 89 yards in seven games.
Ford’s ADP hit a high in January 2024 when he was going 91 overall according to Dynasty League Football. He has dropped to an ADP of 134 as of October 2024, and I would assume that is going to continue to drop if Ford doesn’t see more touches and better success the rest of the season. Chubb has returned from the IR, so I wouldn’t bet on that resurgence from Ford this season.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 10 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!