Player on the rise/decline for each position

Quarterback

Rise-Philip Rivers-Philip Rivers finished the season as the 10^th best performing quarterback in 2015.  He did that without Keenan Allen for the last 6 weeks, and Antonio Gates only playing 11 games.  Now with the addition of Travis Benjamin and Melvin Gordon having a year of experience under his belt, expect Rivers to be in the top 5 in the 2016 season. 

Decline-Tom Brady-Although the Patriots still have an amazing team with a great receiving core, he will be out for the 1^st 4 games of the season.  He finished 2^nd last year right behind Cam Newton who had a great season with 10 rushing touchdowns.  The remaining 12 games from Brady will still be impressive, but missing 4 games will hurt his season stats. 

 

Running Back

Rise-Eddie Lacy-After having his worst and fattest season, Eddie Lacy lost quite a bit of weight and is back in football shape.  Aaron Rodgers had his worst QB rating of his career as a starter, so with Lacy being more lean, he can help Aaron in times of struggle.  Packers have always had a great offensive line, and it’s the same lineup as last year.  After finishing 24^th in fantasy points as a running back last year, he should bounce back and finish in the top 10-15 in 2016.

Decline-Devonta Freeman-He managed to haul in 73 catches last year for 578 yards which was 2^nd behind Danny Woodhead for most catches and yards for a running back.  He was also tied for the league lead with 11 rushing touchdowns and averaged about 6 first downs a game.  He led all running backs in points, and since he had such a hot season in 2015, expect defenses to keep an eye on him coming out of the backfield. After his amazing season, he has nowhere to go but down. 

 

Wide Receiver

Rise-T.Y. Hilton-Only having Andrew Luck for 7 games did not help T.Y. Hilton this year.  But having a healthy QB will help him take his game to the next level.  He had a decent year with over 1,000 yards with a touchdown every 3 games.  If T.Y. and Luck want this team to succeed and beat some improving teams in thie AFC South, he will need to connect with Luck on 90+ passes.  Outside of big receivers like Brown, Dez Or Beckham, there is a cluster of talented receivers in the league.  Hilton has such high potential after another good but not great season. 

Decline-Allen Robinson-Robinson had an impressive 3^rd season with the Jagaurs, but his problem is this team is about to get better.  With the addition of Chris Ivory and an improved defense, this team will no longer have to play from behind for garbage points.  He had 2 monster games with 150+ yards and 2+ touchdowns with one of them coming in week 13 which is a time in fantasy where the last playoff spot is up for grabs.  Bortles and Robinson will be a great combo for the foreseeable future, but Robinson will drop out of the top 3  but still remain a top 10 receiver.   

Tight End

Rise-Colby Fleener-Although he did have a career high 54 catches with the Colts, he only managed 3 touchdowns on less then 500 yards.  He will see a lot of targets with Drew Brees in New Orleans which will result in more catches.  He is 6’ 6” and is a huge target for Brees who can hardly see over the line of scrimmage.  Being the 20^th tight end in 2015, you can expect a top 10 finish and possibly top 5 depending on how successful the Saints will be. 

Decline-Gary Barnidge-After having a break out season in 2015 with 9 touchdowns and 1043 receiver yards, Gary Barnidge better hope RGIII or the next Quarterback on the depth chart will look his way.  Barnidge, who was on no ones radar last season and had a great year, will grab a lot less then his 79 receptions last year.  RGIII may turn his career around with the Browns, but he has always thrived off the deep routes and may look to his outside receivers more often.  He is still considered a top 10 Tight End, but he will drop out of his #3 spot from 2015.

Top 5 NFL players who will be missed in 2016



 

With another season upon us, there is another group of players who we will all miss in the NFL this season.  Retirement in the NFL isn't easy for the player, the team, and especially not the fans.  Some retire for health reasons, and others for their age, but at the end of the day there are some greats that we will never see on the gridiron again.  Unless they take a page from the Brett Favre and come back to the league, multiple times.  Below are some of the players we will certainly miss this season and the seasons to come.

 

5. Charles Woodson-Throughout his 18 year career, Charles Woodson was one of the most hard hitting defensive backs in the league.  He was known as being an Oakland Raider, but he did have a few good years with the Green Bay Packers where he won his first and only Super Bowl.  He is tied for 1^st for the most career defensive touchdowns, along with Rod Woodson and Darren Sharper.  Even though defensive players don’t always get the praise as offensive players, he will go down as one of the most dynamic defensive players ever.

4. Marshawn Lynch-Beast mode is hanging it up.  Even though he only eclipsed 1000 yards in 6 of his 10 seasons, he was not someone you wanted running at you.  From 2011-2014 he had over 1200+ yards, 11+ touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards a run and about 4 first downs a day.  Ever since his amazing run against the Saints in the 2011 Wild Card matchup, he was known as one of the most powerful running backs in the game.  After knocking people over for 9 years, its not hard to see why he decided to retire. 

3. Jared Allen-Jared Allen was one of the most feared defensive players for his 11 year career.  Although his last 3 years in the NFL don't reflect his amazing career, he was still a force to be reckoned with.  His 22 sack season in 2011 was his best season, which is a single season record for the Minnesota Vikings.  Quarterbacks will feel at ease when dropping back knowing that Jared Allen isn’t bullrushing towards them.

2. Calvin Johnson-This was the biggest surprise to come out of the offseason.  He was physically one of the best receivers to play over the last 10 years.  From 2011-2013 he was unstoppable with an average of 110 yards per game and 11 touchdowns per season.  Having an average of 16 yards per catch in his career, Matthew Stafford will have to find someone to throw to on 3rd and long. 

1. Peyton Manning-Peyton is arguably the most talented quarterback to ever play the game.  Although he gets beat up for not winning more Super Bowls(2, same as brother Eli), statistical he is the greatest quarterback.  Minus missing the 2011 season due to his neck injury, and a few games last year, he played in every single game in his 17 year career.  Although he had his worst season last year, he still played well enough to get his 2nd Super Bowl ring and ride off into the sunset.  14 out of 17 years he threw for over 4000 yards, throwing for almost 5500 yards in his amazing 2013 season.  His 71,000 career passing yards equals a little more then 40 miles.  He was a icon in the league and hopefully continues his career doing Papa Johns commercials to keep us all laughing.