It is the first of the trio of holidays celebrated this time of the year in the United States! This time of the year is usually reserved for family, friends, and a little retail therapy. For the football diehards like us, it is about the playoff push! Whether it is your favorite team and their ability to make a Super Bowl run or you are kicking your friend's tail, this is a hot time of the year. This is a very important look at how our IDP players are trending. Who are the guys you need to play and play immediately? Who is a guy you can get on waivers no one is paying attention to? Have no fear; Footballguys is here! Let's ring that bell!

Fortune 5

Stock Up: Jonathan Greenard, Minnesota

Greenard has always been one of those players I have felt better suits me for depth than he does a regular spot in the starter rotation. He has been a quality starter this season with multiple big weeks. Last week was one where everything seemed to go in his favor. He had six total tackles and two sacks. This is his third game this season with 2+ sacks and the second consecutive week where he had five or more tackles. The 27-year-old is performing as well as he ever has in Minnesota, and I could see him building on the career year he had last season and growing into an even more dominant player as he rides his peak years.

Stock Up: Brandon Jones, Denver

Prior to this season, I wasn't exactly full of information regarding Jones and what he was capable of on the field. His last two games have me feeling excited about the playoff push and, ultimately, the big games! He is the #1 player in his position for the team, playing less than 50 snaps in a game just once this season, and we are seeing a good tackle floor with the occasional big game. These big games are becoming more than just occasional, as we have seen him continue a run of games totaling double-digit points. Since Week 3, he has achieved double-digit fantasy points in all but three games he has played. He does have a terrible Week 14 bye week, but outside of that red flag, he is a player I would be happy to ride down the stretch run of my league.

Stock Up: Kenneth Murray Jr., Tennessee

You likely already know a lot about Murray, and rightfully so. He has been a staple of IDP fantasy football for the better part of fiv years now. He has a knack for always leaving managers wanting more. He has clear talent and an ability to affect the game in multiple areas, but he always seems to be lacking when we need him the most. This stigma has been out the window since Jack Gibbens' injury in Tennessee. Murray has been on fire the last two weeks: 17 total tackles, a sack, two defended passes, and an interception! He has a great matchup against the Commanders this week and could be an elite-level LB1 for your team in the playoffs! Get him in your lineup! This isn't the old Murray, new year, new me!

Stock Up: Nakobe Dean, Philadelphia

I know I have talked a lot about Zack Baun and the season he is having for the Eagles, but that doesn't mean he is the only one doing so at the position. Dean has had a sneaky good year and is likely rostered by many contending teams because of it. He's at the 84-tackle mark, but he has shown an ability to get to the quarterback and disrupt the passing game with three sacks and four defended passes. He also has a steady dose of snaps second only to Baun at the position but by just 16 total on the season. He may not be producing to the level we expected early on, but he is far from playing badly and is still an ascending player at 23.

Stock Up: Chop Robinson, Miami

Rookie Robinson is coming off the best game of his professional career and is starting to gain serious momentum on the field. It appears that the slow start was just about getting adjusted to the NFL because, since Week 9, he has eight total tackles, three tackles for loss, and all 3.5 sacks on the season. He was one of my favorite prospects in this draft class, but he was always viewed as raw. If we are seeing the blossoming of what he can become, I like it, and you should too. Get your hands on him while you can in dynasty leagues if you don't already have him stashed; he is beginning to make me think about spot-starting him against juicy matchups, like Week 14 against the Jets. 

Falling 4

Stock Down: Byron Young, LA Rams

While the Rams' defensive line has been a great unit to watch play this season, I can't help but be disappointed by what I see from Young. With the influx of young talent performing the way they have, we are ignoring some of the bad games we get from Young. Bad may be harsh, considering he still has some good stats over the last few weeks, but I expected him to pick up where he left off last season. He just hasn't done it consistently enough. Last season he was a 60-tackle player who was close to double-digit sacks as a rookie, this season appears to be nearly the same, while his counterparts are outperforming him. He has had three straight weeks with production regression which always scares me. The good news is that he's still just 26.

Stock Down: Reed Blankenship, Philadelphia

Blankenship is one of those guys where you play him, and he does okay, but if you sit him, he always seems to go off. He is a player you either embrace the variance and live and die with, or you relegate him to the bench for depth and the occasional spot start. I believe in this method from here forward. He has a lot of talent and can affect the game and your fantasy matchup each week. Still, as I stated previously, it only happens occasionally, and this time of the year is too crucial to leave that up to chance in my opinion. Last week he totaled just three solo tackles, this comes after a game of 10 total tackles and an interception. He is a young player, just 25 years old, and the Eagles are a good team, so he will likely play there for a while. However, until I can see him have a more stable foundation, he needs to be on the bench.

Stock Down: Trenton Simpson, Baltimore

Time to sound the alarms, dynasty managers who have had diamond hands for Simpson. Last week should have been an opportunity for him to make some noise and remind us of the potential, but Malik Harrison's big game overshadowed him. Maybe there's not enough room for Simpson in this rotation, and it is safe to say he's a droppable player in most formats if you need extra roster space for another position. He's a solid enough bench player, but it appears that he won't do much other than what we are seeing and was likely over-acquired to produce this. Believe it or not, he saw a snap decrease despite the absence of Roquan Smith.

Stock Down: Nick Bolton, Kansas City

I am going to say this, and it may sound crazy, but I think we need to move on from the idea that Nick Bolton is any more special than a run-of-the-mill LB2 for fantasy teams. There was a time not too long ago that I would have had him as the no-doubt LB1 in dynasty or redraft, regardless of format, but the last few years he has been less than that and is barely considered "good". The fall from grace is very real. In 2022 he had 180 total tackles, last season was an injury year so throw it out, but this season he is barely pacing to hit 100 total. He also doesn't do much else besides volume tackling, so when this starts to regress, we need to change our view and focus on what he is and not what he was. What he is now is a solid depth pieced, but he is no longer a guy who is a must-start or untradeable. I would look to move him if you can and get something for the name recognition that will likely still be there in the offseason.

Premiere Pennies

Stock Up: Jimmie Ward, Houston

Alright, nothing about this feels comforting, but if you need a deep play or stash for the playoff run at the defensive back or safety position, look no further than the next-man-up starter in Houston! In his 11th year, Ward will be the starter in Houston due to the Pitre and performed well in the extended snap opportunity this week. Not only did he have the boom play with the pick-six, but he also had a good tackle floor that helped anchor his starting ability within your lineups. I'm just as grossed out as you to see this, but there is nothing wrong with capitalizing on short-term windows for starters especially considering bye weeks and other nonsensical things this wild league makes adjust for!

Stock Up: Zach Sieler, Miami

There are certain guys in this sport whose name I always see, but I don't always have the stones to play on my team. Seiler is very much one of those guys, but I believe we need to start allowing him to show us what he can do as a starter. For starters, he is playing the second most snaps on the entire defensive line by just three snaps to fellow interior rusher Emmanuel Ogbah, and in the last two weeks, he has been an elite option at the position. Eight tackles and two sacks in the last two weeks, along with some decent matchups down the stretch and run into the playoffs, have me excited and downright giddy about getting someone like him on my roster. The best part about him is that he may just be available on your waiver wire.

Stock Up: Jesse Luketa, Arizona

Let's paint a picture. The 25-year-old edge rusher plays his first snaps of the year in Week 5 and is achieving career highs in just six games played. Luketa is part of a rotation, so the opportunities for points are hard to come by, but in the last three weeks, he has been playing comparable snaps to L.J. Collier, the #2 man in the rotation. Since the injury to Dennis Gardeck, we are seeing Luketa get the opportunity to play, and in these extended snaps, we have seen him pay off, with a sack in three straight games and an okay tackle floor. It's desperation season, so if you need an edge, I will put my stamp of approval on Luketa, although I'd be remiss if I said it didn't make me a little nervous!