STOCK UP
Cam Akers - RB, Rams
If only the NFL was one week right? If it was, then we would’ve written off Akers, but unfortunately for the haters, there’s a lot of football left. Akers scored his first touchdown since his rookie year this past weekend. He was on the doorstep of scoring touchdown number two, but lost a fumble at the goal line, something he did against the Bucs in the playoffs last season. Coach Sean McVay expressed his faith in Akers saying he would be the guy “we were gonna lean on” had the Rams needed to run out the clock in a four-minute situation. Akers split the snaps with Darrell Henderson 50/50 percentage wise, but the former heavily out-touched the latter for the second straight week. It was nice to see what Akers could do with small improvements in offensive line play and his skill set showed itself. After finishing with 12 carries, 61 yards and a touchdown, it’s fair to say we can put the whole “he can’t be himself anymore” after an Achilles injury myth to rest. Akers is a very strong flex play moving forward, with RB2 in his sights.
James Robinson - RB, Jaguars
Robinson may be the biggest steal in fantasy this season up until this point. Ironically, he’s another running back coming off of a ruptured Achilles. Monday Night Football pending, Robinson is RB2 in all of fantasy with him entering Week 4 no worse than RB3 (Saquon Barkley). It is actually amazing that he keeps getting better and more explosive each game. Travis Etienne is but a mere change of pace option at this time who has some flex upside. In the first three games, Robinson has seen touches in the amounts of 12, 25 and 20. It’s safe to say he’s the lead back and he’s doing it well. It will also help his case going forward that the Jaguars are no longer the league’s doormat and appear to be a team ready to challenge for the AFC South title. It’s nice to have an RB2 on your fantasy team that you drafted in double-digit rounds, isn’t it?
Khalil Herbert - RB, Bears
Bears’ starting running back David Montgomery left the game early, and Herbert came in and put the team on his back. He took 20 carries for 157 yards and two touchdowns and added an additional 12 yards on two catches. Montgomery has never had a game in his career to match or better those numbers. Herbert was a quality fill-in for a rookie as well putting up high-level RB2 numbers in his absence so it’s no shock to see him do well now. In fact, there were rumblings that this may be more of a committee approach, but that was quickly put to rest. The severity of Montgomery’s injury will determine how many weeks you can slot Herbert into your RB2 and flex spots. Coach Matt Eberflus said Montgomery is “good” and should be “day-to-day”, whatever that means. With the Bears refusing to use the forward pass that helps you advance the football, Herbert is an easy play while Montgomery is out.
STOCK DOWN
D’Andre Swift - RB, Lions
It’s sad I know, but we have to keep it real here. And c’mon, aren’t we at least a little happy for the fun guy Jamaal Williams? No? Ok sorry. While Swift hasn’t practiced consistently this whole season he’s been available on game days. Swift being on the “stock down” list doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start him as one of your top two running backs, it means that you should be wary of Williams because he is not going away. Williams rushing for 87 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries should be just enough to scare you a little bit. Swift and Williams are both currently top-seven running backs in fantasy (Monday Night Football pending). The main reason for Williams’ ascension is the fact that he leads the Lions in rushing touchdowns with four to Swift’s one. He’s getting consistent goal line work and it is and will continue to keep Swift from reaching his ceiling. Swift’s recent shoulder injury is a concern as well. Coach Dan Campbell said Swift could possibly benefit by taking the next two weeks off. It’s unknown how much time exactly he’ll miss, but Williams will serve as the Lions clear RB1 until he returns.
D.J. Moore - WR, Panthers
It was thought that Baker Mayfield would help propel Moore to the next level. Instead, Moore has been going to the next level backwards. Moore is currently WR59 in fantasy and to put that into perspective, Olamide Zaccheaus is WR58. With Mayfield only completing 52% of his passes to this point, it’s been slim pickings for Moore. He finished Week 3 with six targets and a SINGLE damn catch for two measly yards! He’s received six targets in each game this season, that’s good for a team’s second or third-best receiving option. He’s also not getting quality targets as the offense has failed to move the ball consistently. Laviska Shenault was finally active for a game and decided to lead the Panthers in receiving in Week 3, which could throw another wrench into Moore’s value. It is extremely scary hours for the fourth-year wideout as he may be a bench candidate with Mayfield as his quarterback. At the most, he’s a shaky flex.
Russell Wilson - QB, Broncos
We knew the Broncos’ defense would be solid, but we thought their offense would be pretty good too. They are not and as we head into Week 4, how long is it going to take? Sure the Broncos are 2-1, but adding Wilson was supposed to take this offense to new heights and it’s not. Wilson was supposed to make Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy upper-echelon fantasy receivers, but they are not. The offense has struggled in all three contests so far and coach Nathaniel Hackett doesn’t seem like the guy who has all the answers. You cannot start Wilson in fantasy every week with confidence, you must play the matchups. Wilson is currently QB24 after three games, Mitch Trubisky is QB23, let that sink in. The Broncos are playing game-managing, complementary football like they have Daniel Jones at quarterback and that’s not good for your fantasy teams. Trevor Lawrence, Jared Goff and Kirk Cousins are better options than Wilson at this point.