STOCK UP
Tua Tagovailoa - QB, Dolphins
In fantasy football the quarterback position is deep so you’ll rarely find one in this column. This situation is different since Tua’s top receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle went between rounds two and four in fantasy drafts. You drafted them to start, yet no one wanted Tua? He went in the very late rounds to not even being drafted at all. It never made any sense to me. If he wasn’t then, he certainly is on your radar now. After a performance in which he completed 36-of-50 passes for 469 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions, Tua’s definitely creeping towards being a regular fantasy starter. There is plenty of season left, but Tua left no doubt that he’s a legit starting quarterback in this league. The fashion in which he performed should be taken into consideration as he and the Dolphins were down three scores in the fourth quarter against the Ravens. There will still be naysayers, you’ll hear some say “it was underthrown” (something every QB does) or “all that YAC”…Tua will get a tougher test on defense against the Bills in Week 3. If you’ve ridden with him, there’s no reason to back down now.
Tyler Allgeier - RB, Falcons
With Damien Williams on the short-term IR, Allgeier got the call up. After Cordarrelle Patterson‘s performance in Week 1, it was thought that Allgeier would simply spell him. It was anything but as Allgeier and Patterson both carried the ball 10 times for 30 and 41 yards respectively. With Williams being out the next few games, Allgeier will get a chance to show whether or not he’s capable of being a major part of the Falcon offense. While the Falcons aren’t experts in the winning department, they know how to move the ball in between the 20s like no one’s business. No team in the NFL can play three quarters of football better than the Falcons. On the off chance that they actually score, Allgeier could be the beneficiary as he received a goal line carry late in the second quarter. We haven’t seen any proof that he’ll be a factor in the passing game, but he’s worth grabbing on waivers heading into Week 3.
Curtis Samuel - WR, Commanders
After two straight weeks of WR1 production, it’s about time we start seeing Samuel in a new light. He’s led the Commanders in targets and receptions in each of the first two games this season. This may not seem like much, but considering he’s competing for targets with Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson, it’s a big deal. Carson Wentz has seemed to lock in early on Samuel and it has worked out. With a leaky defense, the Commanders will more often than not find themselves having to throw. So far, Wentz has done a good job of that and it’s resulted in the Commanders having three viable fantasy options at wide receiver. Whether you drafted Samuel as one of your last picks or scooped him off the waiver wire, you found a gem. From this point forward Samuel is an easy flex play and can be started as a WR2 as well with all of the wide receiver injuries going on around the league.
STOCK DOWN
Kyle Pitts - TE, Falcons
Make no mistake, I am 100% very much still in on Pitts, I’m just letting you know how the wave rides. After two games Pitts has a measly four receptions for 38 yards and is currently TE25. Reading the names that are ahead of him will disgust you. Coach Arthur Smith doesn’t seem to care much either as he piles up the losses while wasting this generational talent. Smith said, “It’s not fantasy football. We’re just trying to win.” This is interesting since the Falcons are 0-2 to start the season. You see that? This guy tried to use our game of fantasy football as a scapegoat! My advice would be to buy the dip. While he’s off to a slower start than last season, Pitts’ first two games in 2021 netted him nine receptions and 104 yards so all is not lost. I would seek a trade partner who may be pushing the panic button just two weeks into the season.
Parris Campbell - WR, Colts
If you have Campbell at the end of your bench you can safely knock him off of it. There should be no room on your fantasy roster for a receiver coming off a two-target, zero-catch game. I’ll be doing the same. I had Campbell as a possible late-round breakout this summer with Matt Ryan and it’s just not come to fruition. The other two starters Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman being absent for Week 2 put Campbell in prime position to have a decent game and it didn’t happen. When you see that, it’s time to cut bait. Campbell has since been passed by Ashton Dulin and Dezmon Patmon in the pecking order. Even Mike Strachan had a more productive Week 2 than Campbell. At some point, he may have a nice game to wheel you in and trick you into using your FAAB, but I just wouldn’t buy it. At this point it’s hard to see anything consistent coming from him when they don’t manufacture him targets. The hope was real, but the hype is not.
Travis Etienne - RB, Jaguars
“Etienne RB1 SZN” is over, it never started, but he’s still a pretty good player. Many drafted Etienne in the fourth and fifth round of fantasy drafts hoping he could be a steal they would slot into their RB2 spot every week. He is in a 50/50 committee at best and right now the leader of that committee is James Robinson. The hope for Etienne managers was that Robinson’s Week 1 was fluky and that Etienne would get more run in Week 2. Game script allowed for Robinson to dominate the touches as he carried the ball 23 times for 64 yards and a touchdown. At this point you could figure that Robinson is a weekly flex starter, while you have to pick and choose which games you’d want to start Etienne. He would be more suited to start in games with a higher over/under. All is not lost, but the expectation of hitting that imaginable ceiling is put on hold for now.
