Week 6 in the NFL is the beginning of the stage of the year where we can see the true contenders and pretenders of the league. The same can be said of players in fantasy football. No longer can we use speculation as the key metric to determine who is worth what. We now have a collective understanding of the trends in place to at least provide shirt term outlook on our favorite (and not so favorite) players. We’ve seen players at every position show up on the market ticker. Some positions more than others, maybe due to value or name recognition. Like tech stocks on the DOW JONES or private hedge funds with stockholders awaiting quarterly results, the stock price is determined by how it is viewed by the consumer! So, without further adieu, RING THE BELL!
High Dollar Stocks Trending Up
DE Maxx Crosby: Behold! IDP1, defensive end Madd Maxx Crosby! He is having an absolute monster of a year so far and has offensive lines on their heels through five full weeks. He has 31 tackles and six sacks on the year. He is currently pacing over 90 tackles and 18 sacks! This is a huge deal for IDP managers. He sits solely in first place among defensive ends by a total of 27 points over second place. A league winner in the making, he is the most valuable stock this week.
LB Devin Lloyd: Not far behind at IDP2, Lloyd is having the rookie linebacker dream year, and owners who ponied up in late round one and early round two in dynasty rookie drafts are immediately reaping these rewards. Following up his Week 4 career-high 14 tackle performance with an 11 tackle performance in Week 5, he now has 49 tackles on the year. So where do you go from here as a rookie? Who knows? But right now, he’s the best linebacker in the league. That’s worth noting in year one.
LB Deion Jones: Opportunity is knocking for the dormant volcano that is linebacker Deion Jones. He will now be a Cleveland Brown a team that is in desperate need of linebacker help, and who better than a savvy veteran who has been a big-play linebacker in the past? This has to at least give owners a sliver of hope in an otherwise lost season. While he still has yet to contribute, this is good news for Jones, who now has his chance to reignite his fiery play.
DT DeForest Buckner: Likely in the top 2-3 taken in redrafts at his position, Buckner had a very disappointing first quarter of the season but had a monster performance this past week and was the highest-scoring defensive player in the league. He had eight tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble. It felt like the good old days seeing him put together a performance like that, especially after the goose egg he had the previous week.
LB Cole Holcomb: Holcomb is an enigma that is likely too chaotic to figure out long-term. What can be noted is that if he continues to perform like this, he absolutely must start for your team. It seems the five tackle days of Week 1 are the lone outlier. Since then, he’s scored eight or more tackles in each game. Last week was a 15-tackle performance putting the 26-year-old linebacker at 47 for the year. Stud territory and should be noted that he appears to still be keeping linebacker Jamin Davis in the backseat.
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High Dollar Stocks Trending Down
S Johnathan Abram: Abram started his year with a dominant 12-tackle performance but, since then, has trended downward in tackle production each week. This wouldn’t be as bad if he were contributing in other ways in the stat categories, but he has one defended pass on the year, and that’s it outside of tackles. This is not a good sign especially considering his team failed to exercise his option for next year. Could we be seeing the end of his highly productive role in the Raiders’ defense?
DE Myles Garrett: Coming off a really scary car wreck, Garrett was clearly not himself in his first game back, and rightfully so. The good news for fantasy managers is that he is young enough not to panic about his recovery, although he may lose some of the peak early-year production we see from edge rushers early in the year before bodies begin to break down. Regardless, he’s not trending in the right direction anymore, and this should be noted
DE Trey Hendrickson: In what has to be the worst start to his year in his career, Hendrickson again disappointed managers with another pedestrian game. He now has two tackles in his last two weeks. Outside of his monster Week 3 performance at the Jets, he has seven total tackles on the year. He may not have been a top pick at the position, but he was definitely over drafted or acquired for the production he’s giving managers, and it may be time to look at backup plans.
DE Aidan Hutchinson: Our third defensive end featured this week is the first-round pick for the Lions and was likely the top-edge rusher drafted in dynasty rookie drafts. He, like the aforementioned Hendrickson, has had one monster week among very bad statistics. Take out his outlier week, and he has eight total tackles and no other statistics. He also has two games with one or fewer tackles. This isn’t good, and it’s time we start to look at if the rookie is even worth rostering in certain formats. This is one of the more disappointing stories of the season.
S Harrison Smith: Smith has been a dominating IDP performer for the better part of seven years, but this year he’s just not consistently good. He started off hot with 20 tackles and a pick in his first two games. Since getting hurt in Week 3, he has produced eight total tackles, which aren’t good enough to justify what it likely cost to acquire him. He is 33 years old, which also gives cause for concern. Could we be seeing the regression that always happens due to father time?
Middle of the Pack Trending Up
S Eddie Jackson: Back-to-back nine tackle games for Jackson have him at the top of the list for this tier. He’s quietly putting together a great year for an otherwise not-so-good Bears team. He has 39 tackles, three picks, and a forced fumble. He has to be one of the most consistent defensive players so far this year and has yet to have a game of single-digit point production. He’s now a must-start if he hasn’t been already. He’s also pacing in all categories for his career-best season.
S Talanoa Hufanga: The 49ers appear to have found another defensive gem in Hufanga at safety. He is a stat sheet-stuffing machine in fantasy. He has 30 tackles, two picks, five defended passes, one sack, and even a touchdown! The best part? He’s 23 years old and is getting his first real bit of playing time. Look for him to become a perennial top guy, if not an All-Pro, down the line.
LB Pete Werner: If you saw this production coming, then you are truly advanced in your scouting. With Demario Davis still alongside him, it was easy to overlook Werner as anything more than a space-eater in the middle of the field, but he has been a player with a nose for the ball. Forty-seven total tackles to go along with two forced fumbles has him on the shortlist for the best ascending asset. If he continues this, he may be a high-dollar guy sooner than we thought.
S Vonn Bell: As Bengals fans have noticed, Bell has been an absolute ballhawk in the early part of this season. Three interceptions and four defended passes in just five weeks is no small feat. Pair this with 28 total tackles, and you have a real candidate for high-upside starter abilities. For fantasy managers who were worried about what the draft pick in Dax Hill would do alongside the Jessie Bates drama, one thing is for sure we didn’t put enough respect on Bell’s name.
LB Dre Greenlaw: The other 49ers linebacker, Greenlaw is currently having as productive a season as anyone in the league as far as tackles are concerned. He has 49 on the year, but in the last three games, he has had 36 total making him a perfect candidate for this tier. Who knows? If he continues this, he may see himself moving up a tier or two, but for now, he needs to be a starter for your team or acquired if anyone is crazy enough to let him go.
Penny Stocks with a Chance
CB LJarius Sneed: Corners are a dime a dozen, as they say, but if you have the right one, it can be a game-changer. Especially in leagues that have corner requirements. Sneed is playing better than them all at the moment and is making plays all over the field and in the books. Thirty-nine tackles, three forced fumbles, one recovery, and three sacks for a corner is just absurd, and we need to respect what we are seeing. If he’s available, he’s worthy of a roster spot if not a start at this point.
S Jalen Pitre: A rookie second-round pick, Pitre is having a great start to his career for the Houston Texans. He’s mostly just been a solid tackler but has flashed some pass-rush capabilities as well as ball skills this year. He has 39 tackles, two picks, and one sack in his first five career games. Keep your eye on the young stud rookie.
LB Christian Kirksey: Fans of Grugier-Hill, turn your heads. Kirksey, so far, has been the most productive linebacker for the Texans and is definitely the safest option of the linebackers on the team. He’s not yet had a game with less than five total tackles and gets more than just tackle stats which is always a plus for any defender. He’s also likely to be undervalued, and if you need linebacker depth, he is the perfect candidate to acquire from owners who may feel underwhelmed with his play.
LB David Long: In similar terms, Long has the same upside currently that Kirksey had in the blurb written above. His counterpart Zach Cunningham is injured now, and in the immediate short term, Long exploded for 11 tackles and a pick. It was a toss-up at the start of the year for who would contribute more, but Long appears now to finally have the leg up on Cunningham. Managers need to be aware.
DE Dorance Armstrong: The Cowboys have proven to have an effective pass rush this year, and it is not just because Micah Parson is a stud. The pairing of Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence has allowed production from Armstrong, who is sitting on four sacks in five weeks to start the year. He’s a boom-or-bust style player, though, so managers beware; if you need a one-week filler, depending on his matchup, he may be a quality start for you in a spot as bye weeks start to creep up.
Hopefully, you’re already ahead of the game on these guys, but if you’re not here they are! Be careful, sometimes it wins leagues just by being on the right side of the trend, even if it’s a downward spiral. Take it from FootballGuys! We’ve got you covered. Follow me on Twitter @steakspeare for more football content!