Rising

Geno Smith, NYJ
After 200+ passing yards, a touchdown and 38 rushing yards in Week 1, Smith came back in Week 2 with both a passing and a rushing touchdown. If he can keep providing decent games through the air with a few rushing points per week to boot, Smith might become a great streamer or bye week fill-in with a relatively high floor.

Philip Rivers, SD
Rivers had three touchdowns and no turnovers against the best defense in the NFL? Of course he’s on this list. He showed in Week 1 he’s not necessarily a must-start, but in Week 2 he showed he’s not necessarily a must-bench in a bad matchup either. This performance basically means that people who are relying on Rivers shouldn’t necessarily panic and start random waiver quarterbacks just because of the team he’s facing.

Kirk Cousins, WAS
Cousins came up big in relief of the injured Robert Griffin III and it looks like he’ll have the starting job for a while. Even if Griffin is able to come back in a few weeks, the Redskins won’t necessarily hurry to hand the job back if Cousins is successful. Cousins shouldn’t be considered a weekly fantasy starter (yet), but he should be a great spot starter when the matchup is right.

Falling

Tom Brady, NE
The Patriots have scored 50 points this season, yet Brady only has two touchdown passes. You can blame the game flow in Week two, but fantasy football is about results. Brady has not yet resembled a fantasy football starter. Last week in my falling section I said don’t be afraid to bench Brady in the right situation. This week showed that he’s not even a definite start in the right situation.

Colin Kaepernick, SF
In Week 1, Kaepernick put up a solid, yet unspectacular score against the Cowboys. Nothing you’d complain about, but also not quite what you thought you’d get out of him against a poor looking Cowboys defense. In Week 2, he started strong then completely fell apart against the Bears. He’s a solid quarterback, but any thoughts of him ever being a must-start should probably be forgotten.

Jake Locker, TEN
After a highly successful Week 1, Locker came into Week 2 with a juicy matchup against a Cowboys team that looked like an out-right disaster against San Francisco. If you follow FantasyPros rankings, you would have started him over guys like Cam Newton, Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers. After completing barely over 50 percent of his passes and throwing two interceptions, Locker has tumbled back down to earth. He’s still a fine spot starter, but it looks like he may not be ready to be considered a starter over more proven commodities.

DeMarco Murray: The Cowbys' RB has two straight 100-plus-yard rushing games to start the season.

Running Back

Rising

DeMarco Murray, DAL
Murray is second in the NFL in carries, while also maintaining a 5.6 yard average. Only Arian Foster is within 100 yards of him through two games. There’s no way Murray can maintain his current pace of 408 carries, but he’s clearly the centerpiece of the Cowboys offense as it’s currently constructed. Injuries will always be a concern with Murray, but as long as he’s healthy, he’s looking like one of the best fantasy bets at running back in the entire league.

Ahmad Bradshaw, IND
The more Bradshaw outplays Trent Richardson, the more work he’s going to get in the Indianapolis offense. After receiving only five carries in Week 1, Bradshaw got 13 last night. He is third on the Colts in receptions, targets and receiving yards. If he can get 5-10 carries per game along with around five catches, Bradshaw will have value as it is. If he keeps looking better than Richardson, those carry numbers will grow, making Bradshaw even more valuable in fantasy.

Darren Sproles, PHI
I’ll be the first to tell you that I had pretty much no expectations for Sproles in Philadelphia this season. He seemed to lose steam in New Orleans last year, and with the Eagles he’d have to compete with one of the best running backs in the entire league for touches. I was very wrong. Through two weeks, he’s 14th in the NFL in receiving yards. It looks like Chip Kelly has figured out how to use Sproles, so his fantasy owners should probably figure out how to use him too.

Falling

Reggie Bush, DET
Through two weeks, Bush has less carries, rushing yards, targets, and receiving yards than Joique Bell. Since Bush was frequently drafted two to three rounds ahead of Bell, this is all very disappointing news for his owners. With an average of 2.7 yards per carry, it’d be tough to expect that the Lions suddenly decide to shift course with their running back usage. He’ll probably stay in lineups because of the wave of injuries hitting the position, but I wouldn’t be happy about it if I’m a Bush owner.

Chris Johnson, NYJ
Chris Ivory is clearly outplaying Johnson right now. With close to the same amount of rush attempts (23 for Ivory, 25 for Johnson), Ivory has put up 56 more rushing yards. Neither back was overly impressive in Week 2, but Johnson was a total disaster, averaging less than two yards a tote. If Johnson can’t put up a strong performance against the Bears poor run defense, it will be tough to trust him down the road.

Fred Jackson, BUF
Coming into the season, there were some out there that believed Fred Jackson was the safer Bills running back to own, with CJ Spiller simply being the high upside guy. It turns out this may not be the case. In Week 2, Jackson could only manage 24 yards on his 12 carries, while Spiller put up 69 with his 12. Jackson will continue getting his touches on the ground and through the air, but he’s looking like the clear No. 2 guy in his own offense, making him a questionable week-to-week fantasy starter.

Wide Receiver

Rising

Steve Smith, BAL
After one week, Smith could have been considered a fluke. After two week of leading the Ravens in targets, we may be looking at a trend. Steve Smith has 25 targets through two games; that’s seven more than Dennis Pitta, 14 more than Owen Daniels and 15 more than Torrey Smith. I’m not ready to proclaim it yet, but a couple more weeks of this and he might have to be considered the Ravens wide receiver over Torrey Smith.

James Jones, OAK
Depending on an Oakland Raiders receiver is a scary thought, but if any are going to get the “dependable” label, it’s Jones. He leads Raiders receivers in receptions, targets, yards and touchdowns. In fact, he has more than double the receiving yards of any other player on the Raiders. If it weren’t for the team he plays for, Jones would probably be considered a weekly starter in fantasy leagues.

Andrew Hawkins, CLE
With no Josh Gordon around, Hawkins is turning into a target monster for the Cleveland Browns. In fact, he’s tied for fifth in the entire NFL with 22 of them. He’s also tied for fourth in the NFL in receptions with 14. He’s already proving to be a great get in PPR formats, and if his current pace were to keep up, he might even prove useful in standard leagues.

Falling

Victor Cruz, NYG
The Giants offense has been a mess so far this season and no player has felt the pain more than Cruz. He’s still getting the targets (16), but only has seven receptions. Tight end Larry Donnell and running back Rashad Jennings both have more receiving yards than Cruz through two games. None of this information is what Cruz owners were expecting when they grabbed him in the fourth round of fantasy drafts. At this point, if you own Cruz, you’re just holding him and hoping things turn around.

Cordarrelle Patterson, MIN
Patterson electrified the fantasy community with his big running game in Week 1. There’s only one problem: Patterson is still a wide receiver. He does lead the Vikings in receiving yards, but only has 82. His 56 yards receiving against the Patriots was his second highest receiving total in a game in his short career. There’s no doubt Patterson is an exciting player, but that has not yet translated into him being an exciting fantasy receiver.

Torrey Smith, BAL
The downside of Steve Smith Sr.’s rise to top receiver in the Ravens offense is it has meant a big fall for Torrey Smith. He only has 10 targets through two games. I wouldn’t cut bait with him yet, but if Steve Smith Sr. continues to be the top receiver in Baltimore’s offense, Torrey Smith may lose all fantasy value. His owners need to just hope that the first couple weeks are just a blip on the radar and Torrey Smith will return to his spot at the top of the pecking order.

Tight End

Rising

Delanie Walker, TEN
The breakout pass catcher in the Titans offense was supposed to be Justin Hunter, but through two weeks it’s looking like the real breakout is Walker. After scoring a touchdown in Week 1, Walker came on in a huge way in Week 2 with 10 receptions for 142 yards and another score. He now leads Tennessee in receptions, targets, yards and touchdowns. Walker can now be considered a fantasy TE1 for the time being.

Antonio Gates, SD
Apparently the fantasy world was a little too quick to write off Gates. With a monster game against the Seahawks, it seems like he’s still the same old dominating guy we’ve always known. I can’t imagine he can maintain his current pace, but the most important thing for fantasy owners is that he is clearly ahead of teammate Ladarius Green in the eyes of the Chargers. As long as it stays that way, Gates will continue being a solid play in fantasy.

Niles Paul, WAS
Those that loved Jordan Reed in the preseason were on the right track by loving a Washington tight end, but due to a Reed injury, it’s looking like Paul is the guy that should be getting the love. It seems unlikely that the Redskins would just remove Paul from the fold when Jordan Reed is back in the game, but you never know in the NFL. At the very least, Paul is looking like a great fill-in as long as Reed is out.

Falling

Jason Witten, DAL
Witten gets the “falling” treatment for the second week in a row. It doesn’t appear to be a significant drop off in targets causing the fall, as Witten has 13 through two games – good for second most on the Cowboys. What he’s doing with the targets is the problem. With only six receptions for 46 yards, Witten finds himself fifth on his own team in receiving. In an offense that hasn’t been passing all that successfully anyway, that’s not a recipe for fantasy success. Another couple weeks of poor production and we might discuss Witten as a droppable player.

Heath Miller, PIT
Coming into 2014, Miller could have been described as a “safe” source of fantasy points. Not the kind of tight end that would help you dominate a league, but the type you could put in your lineup and not have him kill your squad. It appears that perception was off. Miller is currently just the No. 4 target on the Steelers, and the Pittsburgh offense doesn’t look like one that can successfully support four pass catchers. I’d have no problem dropping Miller.

Ladarius Green, SD
I guess the Green jet isn’t ready to take off just yet. If Antonio Gates ever gets hurt, Green will become a very popular player among fantasy owners. But as long as Gates is on the field, there’s no reason for fantasy owners to even roster Green. His talent can’t be denied, but it seems silly to hold onto what currently amounts to a tight end handcuff.

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