Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings Risers & Fallers: Germie Bernard, Brian Thomas Jr. & More

We're at the point of the 2026 season where we're starting to see rookies ascend into expanded roles and, in turn, push other players off into the sunset. Let's take a look at how recent role changes and trends have affected my latest update to my dynasty fantasy football rankings.

Risers In The Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings

Germie Bernard, WR - Steelers

Last week, Pete Overzet laid out the perfect case for why rookie wideout Germie Bernard was a league-winning waiver wire pickup:

In Week 4, he ran 94.1% of the routes, posted a nearly 30% target share, and caught 6 balls for 80 yards—good enough for a Top 12 Utilization score across the entire WR position
Michael Pittman Jr. is now on IR
It’s not a one-week fluke. In Week 2, when Pittman missed, Bernard ran 85% of the routes and was second on the team with a 22.5% target share
He looked good in Dwain’s Rookie Super Model (74 score) with solid draft capital and college production, which hints at even more late-season upside
Steelers have a nice schedule over the next three weeks—@TB, @NO vs. CLE.

I mentioned last week that we're getting to the point of the regular season where we tend to see rookies (especially wideouts) emerge as more established, productive assets for both their real team and for our carefully assembled fantasy teams.

In Week 6, Bernard finished with 11 receptions for 87 yards and a TD on 12 targets. He has 21 total targets over the last two weeks and has topped 80 receiving yards in both of them. While he's certainly a league-winner in redraft formats, I'm here to remind you that his arrow is pointing straight up in dynasty formats as well.

In previous weeks, I've been cautious about the Steelers wideouts from a dynasty perspective simply because of A) their age and B) the pending QB change. However, Bernard is both young enough and clearly talented enough that he's likely to not only maintain value in the coming seasons but see his value increase as well.

Bernard's price tag has certainly gotten a bit more expensive in recent weeks, but I think "buying high" in the short term will still pay off. You may not have gotten him at his cheapest point, but there's still ample room for his stock to get even higher.

Isaiah Likely, TE - Giants

Another great "buy high" candidate is Isaiah Likely.

For some added context, buying high is something I don't mind doing in dynasty fantasy football formats. It means that, just because you may have missed the floor price for a given player, it's still okay to pay market price for him if there's enough reason to suspect their production and value will continue (or increase).

I'm here to tell you that is absolutely the case with Likely.

In last week's Utilization Report, here's what Dwain McFarland had to say about Likely:

Likely is averaging 9.4 targets (3rd) and 69.6 air yards (2nd) per contest. Since 2011, here are the TE seasons from players that reached 8.5 targets and 65 air yards per game:

Darren Waller (2020): 17.5 PPG
Delanie Walker (2015): 16.2 PPG
Jason Witten (2012): 14.5 PPG
Jimmy Graham (2011): 18.4 PPG
Jimmy Graham (2012): 15.8 PPG
Jimmy Graham (2013): 19.0 PPG
Mark Andrews (2021): 17.5 PPG
Travis Kelce (2018): 18.5 PPG
Travis Kelce (2020): 20.8 PPG
Travis Kelce (2022): 18.6 PPG
Trey McBride (2025): 18.6 PPG
Zach Ertz (2018): 17.5 PPG
Zach Ertz (2019): 14.4 PPG

That is a great list. And the Utilization Score (95) paints a similar picture—his historical comparisons since 2020 averaged 16.8 PPG, with 100% finishing as a top-three TE.

Honestly, for as great as this entire segment is (and for as amazing as the entire article is), it's the last part that I really care about …100% finishing as a top-three TE.

He'll likely never be valued ahead of either Brock Bowers and/or Trey McBride in the short term, which means he's either fairly or under-valued depending on your specific league.

In Week 6, Likely went 6-99-1 on 11 targets. It doesn't seem to matter if it's Jaxson Dart, Jameis Winston, or J.J. McCarthy throwing him the ball; Likely is going to get a healthy share of the passing volume, and he's going to produce.

Still only 26 years old, Likely is primed to be a featured part of the elite TE list for the next several seasons. It'll cost you a decent chunk of change to acquire him, but Likely should not be valued among the league's best at an incredibly shallow position.

Fallers In The Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings

Brian Thomas Jr., WR - Jaguars

This is almost starting to feel unfair at this point, but there's no getting around just how bad Brian Thomas has been this season. It's no secret, and every BTJ manager is still scratching their head trying to figure out where it all went wrong.

After a rookie season that saw him post a season-ending line of:

133 targets
87 receptions
1,282 receiving yards
10 TDs
WR4

It all came crashing down in Year 2 when he tallied just 2 TDs on 48 receptions in 14 total games.

Somehow, inexplicably, this season has been even worse. The Parker Washington breakout campaign has led BTJ to become a tertiary player at best. He has just 9 receptions in 6 games, scoring only once. He's also now gone consecutive weeks without a single reception.

In a galaxy far, far away, I suppose BTJ is a buy low for a manager that is truly beyond contention. Maybe he'll take the Marvin Harrison Jr. route and look to revitalize his career with a new team. Until that happens, however, he's fallen about as far down the rankings as he can.

Courtland Sutton, WR - Broncos

The time of Courtland Sutton being a viable, weekly fantasy contributor might be over. While hindsight bias will tell us that the Broncos signing Jaylen Waddle was the writing on the wall, there were still Sutton supporters who hoped he would still factor into this offense.

Unfortunately, that just hasn't been the case.

Through Week 6, Sutton has yet to catch more than three passes in a single game and has a lone TD to his name.

Heading into this season, Sutton was on the heels of three strong campaigns that saw him score 25 total TDs and finish as a top-36 wideout all three times (and a top-15 wideout twice).

While Waddle hasn't been much of a factor either, it's been a bit of a down year for Bo Nix and the passing attack; he's still the most valuable dynasty asset in that receiver room. It was a good run for Sutton. While he will still give you the occasional week-winning performance, his days as a weekly fantasy mainstay appear to be nearing (or at) their end.