Rising Stock

Jason Witten TE, DAL - At 35 years old and coming off a 2016 season where his 673 yards were the lowest since his rookie year, it was easy to assume that Witten was going to continue to trend down during the 2017 season. However, if you thought that you would be very wrong as the Cowboys tight end has caught 17-of-22 targets for 156 yards and two touchdowns over the first two games of the season.  His 22 targets is good for fourth most in the NFL right now behind DeAndre Hopkins, Dez Bryant and Antonio Brown.  While it’s unlikely that Witten will keep this pace up it does appear that Dak is turning to Witten as his safety blanket and that only means great things for Witten’s fantasy value.

Chris Carson RB, SEA - In Week 1 we heard from Seattle head coach Pete Carroll that Eddie Lacy was ready for a big workload against the Packers with Thomas Rawls inactive and what we got was five carries for three yards.  In Week 2 we heard from Pete Carroll that Thomas Rawls was “raring to go” and we got five carries for four yards.  While Carroll has been hyping up the two bigger name running backs it has been rookie Chris Carson who has taken over the reigns.  After a Week 1 performance where he totaled 39 yards on six carries he broke out in Week 2 for 93 yards on 20 carries.  It’s clear at this point that Carson is the man to own in Seattle and he figures to be one of the highest claimed running backs heading into Week 3.

Chris Johnson RB, ARI - Johnson was with the Cardinals during the preseason but was ultimately cut as the Cardinals had David Johnson locked in as a starter and Kerwynn Williams and Andre Ellington on the roster as depth pieces.  Unfortunately Johnson suffered an injury in Week 1 and both Williams and Ellington are not quite considered feature back material at the NFL level and so the Cardinals brought Johnson back into the fold.  Though CJ did not start Week 2 he did finish as the most productive back of the trio, totaling 44 yards on 11 carries.  Head coach Bruce Arians was asked after Week 2’s game if CJ would be the starter come Week 3 and while he did not commit to that notion it would seem likely, given his experience, that Johnson would be the starting back against the Cowboys although Williams and Ellington will still see time in the backfield.

Marqise Lee WR, JAC - It’s fair to consider Allen Hurns here as well but for me Lee is the receiver to own as he lead the team in both catches (7) and targets (12). Hurns had himself a fine game as well, catching six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown as he replaces Allen Robison on the outside but Lee is productive over the middle.  In 2016 when Hurns went down with an injury Lee stepped up and finished the year with 63 catches for 851 yards and three touchdowns.  While the touchdowns likely go to Hurns in most scenarios, if you find yourself in a PPR league, I find that Lee should outpace Hurns in both catches and targets this season as long as he stays healthy.

Jermaine Kearse WR, NYJ - You’re probably laughing at the thought of a Jets player actually having some fantasy value but this is no joke.  Prior to Week 1 the Jets traded for Kearse from the Seahawks and he has been Josh McCown’s favorite receiver.  In Week 1 with little time to learn the playbook Kearse caught 7-of-10 passes for 59 yards.  In Week 2 Kearse caught 4-of-5 passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns.  The Jets offense is abysmal but somebody has to catch the ball in New York and that person is looking to be Jermaine Kearse and for that reason his stock is trending upwards.

 

Falling Stock

Andy Dalton QB, CIN - Week 2 was actually an upgrade over Week 1 for Dalton but that is only because he did not throw any interceptions this time.  Dalton has yet to throw a touchdown after the Bengals failed to find the end zone for the second straight week.  On the year Dalton has completed just 54.5% of his passes and owns a QB Rating of 47.2 which to be honest I did not know they could get that low.  The Bengals responded to their struggles by firing the offensive coordinator so maybe a new game plan will help out Dalton’s fantasy value but there are already murmurs that backup A.J. McCarron could take over as early as Week 4 and that some in the locker room are in favor of the Bengals bringing in Colin Kaepernick to play QB for the team.

Thomas Rawls RB, SEA - The running back situation in Seattle over the first two weeks of the NFL season reminds me of a scene in the Ben Stiller movie Heavyweights where Stiller plays a fitness guru at a camp for overweight kids.  In the scene, he's calling up the kids to the scale expecting to see great results only to be utterly disappointed. My description does not do it justice so I suggest you not only check out the scene HERE but also check out the movie its pretty funny.  Anyhow, that is how I have felt about the running backs in Seattle with Eddie Lacy being horrible in Week 1 and Thomas Rawls being no better in Week 2.  Decent expectations that turn into utter disappointment. The starting running back role in Seattle is likely now rookie Chris Carson’s job which means there is little value here for Rawls or Lacy for that matter going forward.

Kenny Britt WR, CLE - I understand that things in Cleveland have not been great but are they really so bad that Britt has seen just five targets over the first two games of the season, totaling two catches for 15 yards?  Britt is coming off a season which saw him catch 68 passes for 1,002 yards and five touchdowns.  The catches and yards are both career highs for the talented but embattled receiver who has dealt with issues both on and off the field.  With No.1 receiver Corey Coleman suffering a broken hand in Week 2 the expectations should be that Britt will be the new No.1 guy but as of now I can’t trust that to be the case.

Stefon Diggs WR, MIN - Things won't be great for slot receiver Adam Thielen either but we saw on Sunday how bad the Vikings passing attack will be without Sam Bradford under center.  While the current news on Bradford is that he has a bone bruise and nothing wrong with the ligaments to his knee he is also without a timetable to return to the field.  Case Keenum completed 20-of-37 passes for just 167 yards on Sunday and Diggs caught just 2-of-6 targets for 27 yards with Keenum connecting better with both Thielen and tight end Kyle Rudolph.  Not that Bradford is much for throwing outside the numbers but Keenum looks to be worse and that will only hurt the value for Stefon Diggs.

 

Stocks To Watch

Joe Mixon RB, CIN - The Bengals went and fired O.C. Ken Zampese after the team went 0-2 to start the season and failed to score a touchdown in either contest.  The Bengals offense used Mixon, Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard in a fairly even time share but it is no secret that Mixon is currently the most talented back of this group.  Mixon is also the most versatile as he is both an effective runner and capable pass catcher. There are also some rumors going around that the team is souring on Jeremy Hill and that his role in the offense could dwindle with the change in coordinator.  The new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was the team’s QB coach but has had experience as an offensive coordinator before with the Miami Dolphins.  Lazor tended to favor the pass while in Miami and that could very well be the case here but given the team’s investment in Mixon I am intrigued by the switch and now could be a perfect buy-low opportunity on a very talented player.

Rashard Higgins WR, CLE - Somebody in Cleveland needs to catch the football and with No.1 receiver Corey Coleman breaking his hand in Week 2 and No.2 receiver Kenny Britt looking as though he is just there to collect a paycheck the opportunity went to Higgins.  Higgins was a 5th round pick in 2016 for the Browns and finished his rookie season with six catches on 12 targets for 77 yards.  In Week 2 he passed that production in just a single game as he caught 7-of-11 passes for 95 yards. He is not a MUST when it comes to the waiver wire this week but if you have a few FAAB dollars to spend he is worth a flier