Overall 250 ROS Rankings: Week 6

Welcome to our weekly set of rankings of our top-250 overall players for the rest of the season. I should note that I’m not personally a big fan of massive, position-combining lists and I think positional lists are more useful, however, take this and use it in whatever way you wish. Thanks to this widget from FantasyPros, you can break it down by position as well.

Notes:

• Derek Carr came back way faster than I think anyone expected, and he looks right back to normal, which means he should reassume his position as a borderline QB1.

• The latest news about Andrew Luck isn’t good, and it’s sounding like the chances that the Colts shut him down for the rest of the season are getting much higher. Naturally, as such, he’s seen a major dip in rankings, as I’m thinking they’ll end up shutting him down and calling this season a lost season.
• Matt Ryan has been a fantasy bust so far this year. He hasn’t been bad per se, but he hasn’t been close to what you drafted. He’s been mediocre, playing like a QB2 (honestly, he’s been playing like old Matt Ryan rather than last year’s Matt Ryan). I expected him to regress, and I thought the chances that he regressed to this extent were there, but I had hoped it wouldn’t happen. He’s still a QB1, but his stock has dropped significantly, and likely will continue to do so unless he turns it around soon.
• Mark Ingram had been doing pretty well even before the Saints traded Adrian Peterson, but in the Saints first game without Peterson, Ingram got 25 carries and went off. He should continue to be a high-end RB2 with RB1 potential in certain matchups.
• Speaking of Adrian Peterson, now that he’s on the Cardinals, he should be getting a sizable workload each week. I’m not totally sold on him doing what he did last week, I still am not convinced that the Cardinals’ offensive line is any good. But Peterson will get volume, and he’s still got talent, despite his age. He’s a low-end RB2 right now with the potential to do more if the Cardinals’ offensive line continues to improve its play.
• Mike Gillislee fumbled the ball last week and that’s never a good thing on the Patriots. After the fumble, Gillislee basically was benched the rest of the game, and while I don’t think he’s going to just not play anymore, I think he could see a hit in his playing time, which likely means more work for Dion Lewis. That’s a good thing for Lewis owners and a reason to panic for Gillislee owners, especially if Gillislee fumbles again.
• Now that Adrian Peterson is in town, I just don’t see a whole lot more work for Andre Ellington. He was the go-to guy for Carson Palmer because he was throwing the ball 50 times a game and couldn’t run the ball. Now, Peterson is in town and will be carrying the ball like 15-20 times a game, which is less of an opportunity for Ellington. I think he’ll still have some flex appeal in PPR, but not nearly as much as he did before.
• Alvin Kamara has fully emerged to become an awesome weapon in the Saints’ offense. In standard leagues, he’s a solid flex play, and in PPR, he’s a borderline RB2.
• Between his injury and the emergence of Alex Collins and Javorius Allen, the future of Terrance West doesn’t look great. He’ll be out for a bit with his calf injury, and if Collins keeps running the ball for over six yards per carry, I just don’t see why West would get the starting gig back.
• Elijah McGuire looked pretty good in the limited action we saw him in, but now that Matt Forte is back and healthy(ish), McGuire will go back to the third-string role behind Forte and Bilal Powell. If there’s an injury in this backfield, McGuire will be an interesting piece, but otherwise, he’s not much of a fantasy asset.
• With the season-ending injury of Aaron Rodgers, all of the Packers wide receivers take big hits in their value. At this point, I see Jordy Nelson as a WR2 (he and Rodgers really had a special connection, and I just don’t see him succeeding nearly as much with any other quarterback), Davante Adams as a flex play, and Randall Cobb as virtually unownable in most formats. It also hurts the value of Martellus Bennett, who wasn’t doing a whole lot even with Rodgers. He’s now a TE2.
• Oh hey Amari Cooper, welcome back to fantasy relevance. Cooper’s still got the drop problems to work through, but I’ve always believed that talent would eventually win out. I’m not ready to sit here and declare him a WR1 all of a sudden, but his stock is definitely on the rise and I’m optimistic about the remainder of the season.
• With the loss of Odell Beckam Jr. and Brandon Marshall, the Giants offense is looking for anyone to throw the ball too, and as long, as he’s healthy, Sterling Shepard will be their top option. We know how talented he is based on his season last year, and being a number one receiver in any offense has value. As of now, he’s an interesting flex play with good potential.
• If you can find someone who will take Sammy Watkins off of your hands, I’d probably do it. He’s just not getting work in that Rams offense, and I’m not sure why. The talent is undeniable, but he’s getting like 2-4 targets a game, and that just won’t translate to fantasy relevance.
• Jordan Matthews appears to be healthy, and the Bills offense needs him. I don’t think he’s going to be a world-beater or anything, but I think he could be an interesting flex play if he’s truly fully healthy. LeSean McCoy is seeing his fair share of stacked boxes, and the Bills need to be able to have a passing attack to take some of the pressure off of him. Unfortunately, Zay Jones just isn’t cutting it.
• Danny Amendola has looked pretty good lately, and as long as he can stay healthy, he should make for an interesting flex option in an obviously high-scoring Patriots passing attack. He’ll have some games where he fluctuates, no doubt, but the talent and opportunity is there, we just hope the health it too.
• Maybe not worth picking up unless you’re in a super-deepp league, but JuJu Smith-Schuster is a name to keep an eye on. He’s been getting more snaps than Martavis Bryant and he’s a very talented receiver. I was a big fan of his in college at USC and if Ben Roethlisberger can get himself together, he could have some value (especially if Bryant gets traded or something).
• Similarly, Josh Doctson is a talented guy who’s been getting a fair bit of work with the Redskins. Unfortunately, that offense is spread almost perfectly evenly, making it hard to extract much fantasy value, but he’s a name to keep an eye on.
• Jared Cook has looked pretty good in the Raiders offense, and as long as Derek Carr is healthy, he should be a solid TE2 with the potential to work his way into the top-10, depending on matchups.