With each week that passes, the stock rises and falls for a number of players. Sometimes the change in value is warranted. At other times, it is merely an overreaction to what just happened. For people who do so much research and are continually looking further down the road at things like strength of schedule and potential playoff match-ups, there sure are a lot of hot take reactions and short memories. Hopefully, our stock watch analysis can help you keep things in perspective.

Stock Rising

Jameis Winston , QB TB – Monday morning box score surfers will look at Winston’s stat line of 395 yards and four touchdowns and rejoice that he’s finally come back to them. His four-game suspension brought us back to Ryan Fitzpatrick , but after the FitzMagic ran out and the Bucs made the switch, most fantasy owners were waiting to see just what they had in their stashed quarterback. While the stat line looks great, people also need to understand that it was very much a product of the match-up. The Falcons defense had been riddled with injuries and they had been giving up 40 points per game over the previous three weeks. Winston did a decent job, but it wasn’t anything to flip out about. He made a number of bad throws, had timing issue with his receivers and, of course, had his fair share of turnovers too. He’s going to need a game or two to really get on-track and even then, you’re going to need some soft match-ups to get everything you want out of him.

Corey Clement , RB PHI – Despite the fact that he was on a limited snap count this week, Clement proved himself more than capable of leading this backfield, something he will be tasked with moving forward. The snap count was simply due to him returning from a quad issue and the weather being cold and rainy. He still ran well, caught some passes and did a little end zone dancing as well. Wendell Smallwood will continue to see his share of the workload, but moving forward, you can expect to see Clement dominate the touches and snaps.

Marlon Mack , RB IND – Well, well, well….look who’s finally back from injury? Mack returned from his hamstring issue and the Colts didn’t think twice about giving him the full complement of carries against the Jets. While we don’t expect Nyheim Hines to take as dramatic a step back as he did in this contest, the coaching staff spoke volumes in regard to who will lead this backfield moving forward. If you’ve been stashing Mack on your bench, it’s time to let the tiger out of his cage and if he’s somehow still on your waiver wire, he is a must-add.

James Conner , RB PIT – Another strong performance Sunday and the fact that there hasn’t been a Le’veon Bell sighting yet here in Week 7 puts Conner on the rising list as he just might earn himself more work moving forward. The Conner owners were talking about a potential committee, but that’s never been Mike Tomlin’s style. However, with no guarantees that Bell returns or that the Steelers don’t have a potential trade partner in mind, you can’t help but think Conner will at least get a small share to ease Bell back in. Personally, I think he needs to be traded to someone who believes Tomlin will go with a committee as that’s probably the only way you’ll get a legitimate return.

Terrelle Pryor , WR NYJ – With Quincy Enunwa sidelined for the next three or four weeks due to a high-ankle sprain, the jets are going to have to re-shuffle their receivers and targets a bit and that should increase the value of Pryor moving forward. Slot receiver Jermaine Kearse saw the majority of targets in Enunwa’s absence but it was Pryor who saw the red zone targets and scored the touchdown. It’s very possible that Kearse stays active in the passing attack moving forward, but Pryor seems to be the guy you would want to own.

Albert Wilson , WR MIA – Quite the game for Wilson this week, especially considering Brock Osweiler was his quarterback and he was facing the Bears defense. But I actually had Wilson in the DFS Dart Board and really liked this match-up for him as the Bears secondary was vulnerable across the middle which is where Wilson caught them napping twice. He was able to utilize his speed to break free, but the Bears tackling miscues were also evident. Still, based on the upcoming schedule which has the Dolphins facing the Lions and the Texans, he could be an interesting add for the bye weeks.

David Moore , WR SEA – I passed on adding him to last week’s Stock Watch simply because we didn’t know enough about him or whether or not his two-touchdown week was something upon which we could build or if we were just chasing yesterday’s points. Well, it looks like we got our answer as Russell Wilson kept him active in the passing attack inside the red zone. We’d love to see more than three targets in a game, but knowing how Seattle’s new love for the ground game has opened things up for Wilson, we’ll be very happy with just red zone targets here.

Josh Reynolds , WR LAR – Cooper Kupp suffered a sprained MCL and is already not expected to play in Week 7. That shifts Reynolds into the slot for the foreseeable future and given Jared Goff ’s penchant for relying on Kupp in the slot, you can expect an uptick in targets for Reynolds as well as some red zone looks. If you’re dealing with some bye week issues, then Reynolds in the slot against San Francisco’s K’Waun Williams already has a tasty sound to it.

Willie Snead , WR BAL – He’s averaged just over seven targets per game this season and while he hasn’t posted more than 60 receiving yards in any game, he’s still getting enough looks for you to give him some attention with the heavy bye weeks coming up. If Joe Flacco is going to keep throwing 40 times per game, then having a receiver who sees a strong share of targets is always a wise investment. And if you need a little more incentive, how about a Week 7 revenge game narrative that has the Ravens hosting the Saints?

Greg Olsen , TE CAR – He didn’t break! That’s the best thing we can say about Olsen right now as his return game provided just four catches for 48 yards. But in this era of tight end disasters, you have to give him more than just a glance. His reputation remains strong and no one, save for the Travis Kelce and Eric Ebron owners, is content with who they have at the position. If there’s an opportunity to pick him up off waivers, do it. If you have to trade for him, just make sure you don’t overpay.

Stock Falling

Eli Manning , QB NYG – The good news is that you can be comfortable dropping him from your roster if there’s a warm QB body sitting on waivers. The bad news is that the Giants can’t. Offensive line issues aside, Manning just doesn’t look good right now. He’s never been a mobile guy so you can’t expect him to go rolling out when the line and pocket collapse, but he’s also holding the ball for too long. The sacks are piling up and so are the lost fumbles. He’s got all these weapons at his disposal, so maybe he learns to make the proper adjustments and can catch up to the talent he has around him, but for now, the outlook is grim.

Baker Mayfield , QB CLE – The shine continues to come off Mayfield as he’s now seen his completion rate drop to just under 56-percent and he’s thrown just four touchdowns to five interceptions over his last three games. Mayfield and the Browns continue to be a work in progress, so you have to expect some ups and downs. Thinking he was some savior after he played a little more than half a game against the Jets was a big mistake. This slap in the face with reality should help you wake up and realize that, as of right now, he’s barely an average quarterback.

Derek Carr , QB OAK – Speaking of barely-average quarterbacks, Carr continues to flounder in recent weeks despite owning an impressive 71.7-percent completion rate. He’s averaged just 210 passing yards over the last two games with just one touchdown and one interception and now he’s dealing with an arm injury that had Jon Gruden yank his starter with 10 minutes left in Sunday’s game. The Raiders are downplaying the injury, calling it just a bruise, but until we see Carr at practice this week, we don’t know for sure. It’s not that you have to drop him from your roster, but he shouldn’t be used as a primary on any given week, unless you absolutely have to.

Dalvin Cook , RB MIN – He was a late scratch Sunday and continues to turn his owners off. Maybe I’m the stubborn one, but I still believe in the talent and feel that, once healthy, he’s going to be a beast again and help win people a championship. Yes, it’s been aggravating to not be able to use him all this time, but a hamstring issue is not a talent-crusher. The building blocks are still very much there. He just needs to get onto the field to show them off. Let’s hope we see him back soon as these next three weeks could be big.

Leonard Fournette , RB JAC – Just as aggravating as Dalvin Cook being out, but it’s actually a little worse with Fournette with reports coming out that he’s going to be held out until the jaguars return from their Week 9 bye. That puts him at a month away before returning and that’s just unacceptable for a guy who was taken in the first round of most drafts. He’s clearly not droppable, but he is gradually earning that Biggest Bust of 2018 label with each passing week.

Alfred Morris , RB SF – His overall value wasn’t exactly the stuff upon which fantasy dreams are built, but there was hope he would at least see goal line work. Not anymore. The 49ers were almost without Matt Breida this week which would have put Morris front and center. However, Breida was able to play and instead of Morris even touching the ball, Raheem Mostert got the extra helping of touches in the backfield. Now maybe it was just a match-up thing and Kyle Shanahan wanted more speed from his backfield, but to not give Morris even a single touch? This could be the end of our man, Alf.

Jordan Howard , RB CHI – More running back woes as Bears coach Matt Nagy decided it was more important to give Tarik Cohen both inside and outside zone rushes rather than power-run up the gut of the Dolphins and slow down the pace of the game. Howard owners are growing more and more frustrated with each week that passes and Nagy ignores what should be his primary running back. Until Nagy turns around his thinking, there’s nothing more fantasy owners can do. You can’t drop him, but it’s starting to look like you’re going to have to start investing in alternative options to use ahead of him.

Kenyan Drake , RB MIA – The fumble at the goal line in overtime should have been it for Drake, but Frank Gore got his bell rung and the Fins were forced to stick with the Drake the rest of the way. We’ll have to wait and see what Gore’s condition is moving forward, but after watching the carry distribution this past week, it looks like Adam Gase is just as over the Drake as the fantasy community. Again, not someone to drop outright, but start packing him up in any deals you make just to get some value out of him.

Mike Williams , WR LAC – After three games with just five catches for 64 yards and zero touchdowns, it’s perhaps time to walk away from out friend Mike Williams here. He’s just not getting the targets he saw through the first three games of the season and he’s only gotten one red zone look over the last three weeks as well. With Tyrell Williams showing how strong a receiver he is over the last few games, Mike Williams has been pushed aside for the time being. He is safe to drop if you need to fill other roster holes.

Jordan Reed , TE WAS – Surprisingly, he’s remained healthy and has averaged just over six targets per game. Unfortunately, it’s translated into virtually nothing. He hasn’t seen a red zone look since Week 1 and he’s never had more than 65 yards on a given week. To make matters worse, it was back-up Vernon Davis who started seeing the extra targets float his way this past week. Just another reason to hate the tight end position this season.