We are going to keep up with this article weekly for the rest of the season, giving you an analysis of the players that are growing in value, and those that are plummeting in my rankings. Here are my Stock Up/Stock Down picks of the week.
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Week 9 Fantasy Football Stock Watch
Stock Up:
Mark Ingram II
Last week was actually a good sign if you have any shares of Mark Ingram II. There was finally a change of pace in the run game, and given the fact that he spent many years in this Saints organization with Alvin Kamara, and thus he is a natural fit. I know he only saw six carries, but I expect this number to go up in attempt to take a little off of Alvin Kamara’s plate. He is going to get a good amount of work on the ground going forward, and may even see some red-zone chances. He is far more valuable in Week 9 than he was just two weeks ago as a member of the Houston Texans,
Boston Scott
It is clear that the Eagles do not intend on letting Kenneth Gainwell be a three-down back in this offense. Instead, it was Boston Scott and Jordan Howard who both had 12 carries, who were getting the early-down work in Week 8. Between the two running backs, Scott has more upside in the passing game, and he also got the goal line work resulting in two touchdowns, so he is the guy in this Eagles backfield to roster for the time being.
Jeremy McNichols and Adrian Peterson
Man, this was a really tough blow for Derrick Henry, who was on pace to be the first rusher to have back-to-back 2000 yard seasons. The Titans just signed Adrian Peterson to hopefully eat up some of the early-down work that the loss of Henry created. But as far as upside goes, McNichols is likely the running back to roster in PPR simply because he will factor into the passing game more often than AD. However, AD may have more touchdown upside. One thing is for certain, and it is that neither of these two guys will likely scratch the surface of what Derrick Henry has been this season, but both should be added speculatively ASAP.
Van Jefferson
Van Jefferson has been sneaky good this season. He has solidified his role as the WR3 in one of the most potent offenses in all of football. The Rams also recently released DeSean Jackson, which leaves Woods, Kupp, and Jefferson to get the bulk of the targets. The reason that Jefferson is on this list is that he has big-play upside, as shown by his 13.5-yard average depth of target, and he is also showing a very respectable 21.5% air yards share. If anything were to happen with Kupp or Woods going down with an injury, Jefferson’s upside would be tremendous.
Week 9 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Kicker | D/ST | PPR | Flex
Stock Down:
Antonio Gibson
Gibson was out-carried by Jaret Patterson in Week 8. This one is a bit of a head-scratcher but this tells me that Gibson is not 100% healthy, nor will he be this season. The dream of bell-cow Gibson is quickly fading away, and if Patterson continues to dip into his carries, Gibson’s value will plummet. This is a backfield to trade out of before it is absolutely too late.
DeVonta Smith
This is my analysis on DeVonta Smith. I think he is a great talent, a great route runner, but he does have his limitations in size. The bigger issue here is Jalen Hurts. I simply do not think Hurts is capable of propelling Smith into let’s say, Ja’Marr Chase territory. Hurts scrambles often, and if you watch the film, he is often forced out of the pocket away from Smith, and thus DeVonta is really not seeing as much consistent production as we had thought he would. I think he is a fine WR3/WR4, but I simply do not know if he will reach WR2 status in his rookie campaign.
Odell Beckham Jr
This is a classic case of a big name that is rostered in way too many leagues. The last glimmer of hope for a fantasy-relevant season was a trade out of Cleveland, which is now out of the picture, at least for this year. You can’t start him with confidence, you also can’t trade him with his value this low, so he is really just burning up a spot on your bench at this point, and I know it is sometimes hard to part ways with big named players. But I think OBJ is right on the verge of droppable at this point.
More fantasy football fun for Week 9: Waiver Wire | FAAB Guide | Start & Sit | Loves & Hates | Stock Watch | Sleepers & Streamers | D/ST Streamers
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