A whole nine weeks of football are complete and we have plenty of the data needed to make informed decisions. It’s virtually impossible to watch every second of every game, so naturally, there are things that you miss from week to week. This article aims to name mostly under-the-radar, mid-tier, but fantasy-relevant players that are trending up or trending down. You’ll never see me mention that Cooper Kupp is trending up because that’s a headline you can read just about anywhere. You’ll also never see me slap a player like Matt Breida with a “trending down” label, because (with all due respect) who cares? But you will see me hold “star” players to a higher standard by occasionally featuring them in the trending down category. The underlying purpose of this article is to identify rising players before they become popular waiver wire adds.
Trending Up
Justin Fields- QB, Chicago Bears
Raise your hand if you knew all along AND never lost faith that that Justin Fields was the answer. Put your hand down you liar. It had been a rough go for Fields early on this season. In Week 1 Fields attempted only 17 passes, that mark was 6 attempts less in Week 2. It was clear that the Bears’ game plan was to run the ball and play good defense. Fields went through a three game span where he did not have a passing touchdown, everyone around him had become radioactive for fantasy purposes. Fortunately for Fields, something finally must have clicked in Matt Eberflus’ head. Finally, finally, finally, we are seeing Justin Fields be used in a fashion that suits his play style, rather than watch him be forced to mimic the “prototypical pocket passer”.
Not me still thinking about this Justin Fields run that didn’t even count. 😍🙆#DaBears pic.twitter.com/UgNO9zImg8
— Bears Nation (3-6) (@BearsNationCHI) November 11, 2022
They saw when you buy a new sports car that you should take it easy for the first couple hundred miles before you see what she can really do. Well it seems that the Bears are done breaking in their young quarterback and are ready to let him loose. Thanks to that, Justin Fields has strung together the best four games in his professional playing career. It all started Week 6 against Washington where Fields ran the ball 12 times for 88 yards. The staff probably liked what they saw, as Fields ran 14 times the very next week. In last week’s game, Justin ran 15 times for 178 yards. Fields now has four straight top 10 QB weeks as well as three straight weeks with a touchdown on the ground. Fields is trending way up and has the chance to make it five weeks in row this week against the Lions.
Mack Hollins – WR, Las Vegas Raiders
Nobody was even thinking about Mack Hollins before this season started. Regardless, the cream rises to the top and Hollins’ rise was pretty much immediate. To the shock of everyone outside of the Raiders organization Hollins rolled out Week 1 as the number two receiver behind Davante Adams. Hunter Renfrow had taken a back seat to him in two wide receiver sets, largely due to his size and skill set. Even still, Hollins was still the third target at best behind Adams and Waller. Luckily for Hollins the only thing he needed to do to beat out Waller was be available. Due to a hamstring and hip injury both Waller and Renfrow have been placed on IR and will subsequently miss the next four weeks.
AND THAT'S A STRIKE 🎳@mackhollins with the TD!
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/KKL5SE84UJ
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 23, 2022
Hollins has been battling through injuries of his own (a heel issue), but he has been able to suit up for every game so far this season. Not only has he been available, he’s been on the field. Hollins has been on the field for at least 85% of snaps in every game this year. The production has been spotty, but the lack of pass catchers to divert targets away from him should be a boost for him in the coming weeks. The Raiders have had their struggles on offense, mostly in the passing game. Either way, I am convinced that an even further condensed target tree will have Hollins trending towards WR3/Flex appeal.
DeAndre Carter – WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Similar to Hollins, Carter has seen the top options around him succumb to injuries. WR, Keen Allen has only been seen twice this season. He played in 33% of snaps in Week 1 and only 32% in Week 7. The number one receiver has a nagging hamstring injury that he hasn’t been able to work through. With Allen going down in Week 1 it was actually Carter who stepped up. The seven year pro racked up 64 yards and a touchdown in the opener. It would have been nice to see Carter continue to put in work, but Mike Williams became the go-to guy for Justin Herbert in Keenan Allen’s absence. Unfortunately, Mike Williams’ injury is trending in the wrong direction. Williams has been banged up and has been ruled out for the second straight week.
In the first week without Allen and Williams (left early), Carter played in 94% of snaps, his highest total of the season. He received 7 targets in that game, non-coincidentally also his highest total of the season. Although the targets were there, the production was lacking. Carter was only able to reel in three of those seven targets for only 37 yards. Getting thrown into a starting role in the NFL must be difficult. As a backup you do not get the practice reps with the starting unit, so timing between quarterback and receiver is bound to be slightly off. This theory held true as after a bye week, Herbert and Carter looked like they had gotten on the same page. Carter posted a 5-53-0 line on six targets last week against Atlanta. Catching five of six targets bodes well for his prospects this week against the 49ers.
Trending Down
David Montgomery – RB, Chicago Bears
If you would have told me before the season that the Bears would live and die by the run, I’d give you a pat on the back and ask you if you wanted a cookie. M. Night Shyamalan plot twist, they do, but Monty has not been the prime beneficiary. Not including Week 3 where he played in only 17% of snaps, David has been averaging 14.7 rushing attempts per game. His highest amount was the 17 he got in Week 1. All of those totes and Monty only has a single 100-yard game to his name this season. In fact, other than the one 100-yard game, Montgomery hasn’t topped 67 yards. In his defense, he isn’t the only one involved in the run game. His “backup” and quarterback are very active as well.
Khalil Herbert has emerged as quite the chess piece for the Chicago Bears. Just like Montgomery, Herbert also has a 100-yard game (157). Unlike Montgomery, Herbert has topped 67 yards (74,77,99). He has also gotten more than 17 carries in a game (19,20). Kind of calls into question who the starting running back actually is, don’t you think? To matters worse for Montgomery, even the quarterback is stealing carries away from him. We’ve already touched on just how much Fields has been running, but the emphasis here is on the touchdowns. Montgomery only has one rushing touchdown in the last six games. That could have something to do with the fact that Justin Fields keeps the ball any time the Bears reach the red zone. Montgomery is trending down. The offense is moving forward, but it seems that they’re leaving Montgomery behind.
Eno Benjamin – RB, Arizona Cardinals
James Conner is back in action and the Arizona Cardinals are ready to throw Eno Benjamin back into a reserve role. In his first week back from a rib injury, Conner played 71% of snaps. 71% only warranted him 7 attempts in this extremely pass-heavy Arizona offense. So what does that say for Benjamin’s usage going forward? To me, it says that even when he is on the field, he won’t be used. At least not in the run game. In Conner’s first game back, Benjamin played in 27% of snaps and turned four carries into 12 yards and one catch into an additional yard. Benjamin only had one pop game while Conner was nursing his injury, so the move away from him is not surprising at all. With bye weeks and injuries on fantasy rosters, it may be tempting to play Eno Benjamin based on his usage in past weeks. I’m here to warn you not to. By all means, find another option. You are better off playing a high-upside sleeper. As long as Conner is active Benjamin will be trending down.
Chuba Hubbard – RB, Carolina Panthers
The first week after the CMC trade was all “no McCaffrey, no problem for the Panthers’ run game. It went that way for Chuba especially. In Week 7 he ran 9 times for 63 yards and a touchdown. He and D’Onta Foreman basically split the backfield work and were both very productive. It was nice to see the lightning and thunder approach work for the Panthers. Unfortunately, Hubbard left that game early with an ankle injury. Apparently, that injury was severe enough to force him to miss Week 8’s game against Atlanta and Week 9 versus the Bengals. It was widely expected that Hubbard would return to a shared backfield, but that sentiment did not remain true. Last week Hubbard was only given 5 rush attempts. He and Raheem Blackshear are merely change-of-pace options for when D’Onta Foreman needs a breather.
Slump Buster
Michael Carter – RB, New York Jets
It seems that every week I mention a player in my trending down section, one of them blows up the next week. So I thought that it was only fair that I give them a shout-out for their bounce-back performance. This week Michael Carter gets his flowers.
“Michael Carter is trending down, his stock is free-falling with no signs of pulling up.” Those are the words I typed in last week’s Trending Players article. Carter responded with a 12-76-1 line in route to beating the Buffalo Bills. It seems that Carter will hold on to a role alongside the newly acquired James Robinson. It will be interesting to see how the Jets proceed when all three backs (Hall, Robinson, and Carter) are all healthy.
Also make sure to check out our Week 10 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Flex Rankings