Concluding Week 1, it is hard to make an accurate assessment of players because one week is such a small data sample. But we are going to keep up with this article weekly for the rest of the season, giving you an analysis on 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 2 Stock Watch
Stock Up:
Deebo Samuel, WR, SF
During the preseason all of the hype was surrounding Brandon Aiyuk as the #1 WR option in San Francisco. However, Week 1 told another story. Samuel saw 12 targets, catching 9 of them for 189 yards and a touchdown. The next highest passing option in targets was George Kittle with five targets.
Going forward, I would still rank Kittle higher than Samuel, but at his ADP, Samuel is looking like one of the best fantasy football values this season. It is only one week, so we do have to temper our confidence in our data, but thus far, Samuel is the guy in San Francisco.
Joe Mixon, RB, CIN
Joe Mixon was a consistent second- or third-round pick in this year’s fantasy drafts. However, given his Week 1 usage, and the potential we know that is there, Mixon may have warranted first-round draft capital. He saw 29 touches for 127 yards, and a touchdown on the ground. Additionally, he saw four targets and had four catches for 23 yards. Fellas, these are bell-cow numbers. If he can stay healthy, and see a similar workload on a week-to-week basis, we are looking at a sure-fire top-5 fantasy running back in 2021.
Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb, WRs, DAL
If Week 1 showed us anything, it’s that this Dallas passing attack can absolutely sustain two top-12 WRs this season. Amari Cooper saw 17 targets for 13 receptions, 139 yards, and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, CeeDee Lamb saw 15 targets for 7 receptions, 104 yards, and a touchdown. Fellas, we are talking about a combined 32 targets. I really believe the highest chance of success for this Dallas offense is for OC Kellen Moore to open things up and let Dak throw the ball 40 times a game. If this is the case, it is easy to assume that Cooper and Lamb are the guys. Now that Michael Gallup is expected to miss a chunk of time as well, the target shares for both Cooper and Lamb could be something crazy in Week 2.
Cooper Kupp, WR, LAR
I really believe that the Rams have the potential to win it all this year. For so long, Matt Stafford had been stuck in a bad system with a lot of bad teams. In terms of overall talent, I don’t even know that people truly realize how much better Matt Stafford is than Jared Goff. So for obvious reasons, Stafford will bring a big upgrade factor to all of the Rams receiving core. Kupp saw 10 targets, caught 7 receptions for 108 yards, and a touchdown. He looked to be the favorite target for Matt Stafford early on, he is also the deep threat option that could amass a ton of yards this season given how good Stafford is with the deep ball. In my eyes, Kupp’s stock is trending way up, and he truly has top-12 WR potential this season.
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Stock Down:
Ezekiel Elliot, RB, DAL
I may get some hate for this. Yes, I know the Bucs run defense is incredible. Yes, I know the game script went away from Zeke early on in the game. But did you guys watch the tape on him after the game? Zeke looked the slowest I have ever seen him. He was not explosive, created no separation, and he is just not the pass-catcher that he used to be. On the other side of things, Tony Pollard looks like he isn’t going anywhere, and Pollard actually looked to be the far more explosive running back, just by the eye test. Pollard is definitely the better pass-catching back at this point as well. I have a feeling that people are having a hard time letting go of Zeke being a first-round talent because, in reality, he’s still likely worthy of a pick within the first five rounds, but he will not end up living up to his first-round draft capital this season.
Aaron Jones, RB, GB
I am going to ruffle some feathers with this article. I would just like to state that Aaron Jones’ stock down is relative. Similar to Ezekiel Elliot, I don’t think Aaron Jones is going to return on his first-round draft capital this season. The reason for this is A.J. Dillon. A.J. Dillon is scary good, and people don’t even realize it yet. We almost have to throw out the Week 1 stats, because the game script went away from the run early on, and I highly doubt we see a Packers performance that ugly for the rest of the season. However, Aaron Jones average 1.9 yards per carrying, and A.J. Dillon averaged 4.8 yards per carry. The thing is, Aaron Jones will likely be the top back in this offense, but with a guy as talented as A.J. Dillion getting reps behind him, he is likely never going to be a true bell-cow for this team. If for any reason Jones were to miss time, A.J. Dillon has league-winner potential.
Mike Davis, RB, ATL
Mike Davis led the Falcons in carries in Week 1 with 15. However, he was not efficient, and Cordarelle Patterson behind him averaged 7.7 yards per carry. Not only that, but the Falcons are getting Wayne Gallman Jr. up to speed, and he should factor into the offense sooner than later. My point is, Mike Davis does not have a stranglehold on this job at all, he may keep it, but I think it’s more than likely that this Falcons backfield ends up in a committee before we know it.
For more last-minute help make sure to check out the rest of our Week 2 Rankings and Analysis!
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