STOCK UP
Justin Fields - Bears, QB
Quarterbacks usually wouldn’t go in this column because the position is deep (so they say). With the way Fields has been playing, you make an exception. The days of Fields being a streaming option are over; he’s a bona fide weekly starter at the quarterback position. After a record-breaking performance in which he bested Michael Vick‘s 173 rushing yards in a single game by a quarterback (178), he’s QB8 in fantasy on a points per game basis. Over the past FIVE weeks, he’s been the overall QB1. In that same span, Justin Herbert has been QB20. The light bulb in the Bears’ coaching staff’s heads finally turned on recently and they started leaning into his skill set. The light bulb will likely go off in many fantasy analysts’ heads too as he’ll likely be ranked as a top-five quarterback in Week 10 against the Lions at home. Lord knows if he’s still on any waivers in your leagues right now, please make that pickup.
Cordarrelle Patterson - RB, Falcons
Patterson made his first appearance in a game since Week 4 and it was like he never left. The Falcons wasted no time in letting him rumble for 14 touches, 53 total yards and two touchdowns. His yards per carry would’ve been much better had his 38-yard touchdown run not been negated by a penalty for a block that wasn’t needed. It should be noted that Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley combined to get 17 carries for 133 yards, so Patterson won’t be some workhouse back, but you don’t need that out of him. What you wanted to see is him get those goal line touches and he did just that. With Arthur Smith‘s disgust for passing the ball, Patterson should be a nice weekly flex option for you. Although he is the senior statesman of the Falcons’ running back group, he has the best skill set among them.
Jeff Wilson - RB, Dolphins
Usually it takes offensive players a couple of weeks to get used to their new scheme. That wasn’t the case for Wilson as he’s played multiple years in Mike McDaniel‘s offense. The Dolphins incorporated Wilson immediately and he turned his 12 touches into 72 total yards and a touchdown. Going forward he and Raheem Mostert look like a tandem that could take advantage of a ferocious Dolphins’ passing attack. Wilson did just that as his longest run of Week 9 was a 28-yard burst. Mostert was never going to be a player that commands a much larger portion of the touches, especially at this point in his career. Still, both he and Wilson will complement each other well in this offense and both should be treated as solid flex players going forward. Check to see if Wilson is on waivers in your league ahead of Week 10.
STOCK DOWN
Aaron Rodgers - QB, Packers
Are you kidding? Rodgers and the Packers came into Week 9 already struggling, but who thought it was this bad? Rodgers came into Week 9 with an 18-6 career record against the Lions, easy money we thought. This was supposed to be the game he got back on track when in fact the Lions sent him to the tracks. Coming off of a three-interception performance where the Packers scored only nine points, Rodgers comes in at QB15 for the season. Over the past four weeks, he’s been QB20 on a points per game basis and we must now even question the “good matchups” when considering when to start him or not. You’re certainly not going to start him in Week 10 against the Cowboys despite the Packers being at home. It’s too scary to do so even though this is Rodgers we are talking about.
Michael Pittman - WR, Colts
I’m worried about Pittman as long as Sam Ehlinger is the quarterback for the Colts. I don’t want to count out a young quarterback so early and I’m not, but we are in the thick of fantasy season, that’s not the time to wait for quarterback development. Pittman is WR35 in Ehlinger’s first two starts and that’s not going to cut it. Pittman has seen a decent number of targets the last two games (15), but it’s only turned into 10 receptions for 75 yards. Is there some hope? Sure, but this was supposed to be the season where Pittman made the leap. Ehlinger was supposed to start for the rest of the season, but does that change now that Frank Reich has been fired? The fact that the Colts aren’t headed to the promised land in 2022 can work for and against Ehlinger’s case to remain as the starter. Pittman has one 100-yard game this season. We can only wonder when the next will come.
Tyler Higbee - TE, Rams
It was fun while it lasted, but Higbee is back to being a mid tight end (like most of the rest of them). Higbee started the season as TE6 through the first five weeks, but since then he’s been TE64 and that’s not a typo. Higbee saw double-digit targets three times in the first five weeks (he saw nine targets in Week 2). That is a far cry from nine total that he’s seen in the Rams’ last three games. To be fair, life has been completely sucked out of the Rams’ offense and all it has left is Cooper Kupp. Many were surprised at Higbee’s involvement and production early on in the season, and you can now see why. With the unpredictably of the tight end position in fantasy football, you simply can’t trust Higbee anymore, if you ever did.
