Stock Performers 2019 week 2

Even though there are many great performances and several poor performances, the players stock usually remains the same. Patrick Mahomes is always going to be in the top echelon while Mitchell Trubisky is going to trend toward the bottom. What will be discussed in this and future articles are those players that are moving rapidly up or down based on the athlete's weekly performance. In doing so, hopefully, this will bring more clarity to those on the radar for waiver wire choices, those that need to be bypassed, traded for, or denied.
 

Stock Up

Jimmy Garoppolo-QB-SFO
Jimmy Garoppolo struggled in Week 1 (166 yards and one score with one interception) but turned himself around in Week 2. Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Garoppolo completed 297 yards and three touchdowns with just one pick. His offensive line gave him elite protection as he was not sacked. Garoppolo has completed 67.3 percent of his passes on the season for 463-yards and four touchdowns with just two interceptions. He will face Pittsburgh next week.

Dak Prescott-QB-DAL
Dak Prescott has been putting together a very nice season for himself. In the last two games, he has thrown seven touchdown passes versus only one interception. Prescott's Week 1 game versus the Giants had him throwing for 405 yards while against the Redskins Prescott had 269 yards passing. He was able to spread the wealth hitting Devin Smith, Jason Witten, and Amari Cooper for touchdowns. The offensive line is getting him protection as he only has gone down once all-season. Prescott should continue his momentum as the Cowboys face the Miami Dolphins next week.

Aaron Jones-RB-GBY
Aaron Jones was fourth in rushing yards last week with 116-yards and he added a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings. Much better than his Week 1 performance against Chicago. Against the Bears, he was only able to put up 39 rushing yards, but he only carried the rock 13 times. Jones was more active in the passing game as well in his matchup against Minnesota. He was second on the team in yards through the air (6-4-34). Jones has a soft matchup against Denver next week.

Raheem Mostert-RB-SFO
It seems that any running back can run rampant behind that 49ers offensive line. No offense to players such as Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida, or even Jeff Wilson but the NFL talent is not apparent for many of the lines at the professional level. None of that matters, points matter and Mostert can deliver them in a variety of ways. Mostert rushed for 83-yards against the Bengals on 13 carries or 6.4 yards per carry. The downside is when Tevin Coleman returns it will absolutely kill Mostert value.

Josh Jacobs-RB-OAK
The rookie Josh Jacobs is someone the Raiders have and will continue to rely on. A bell-cow back from the day he was drafted by Oakland. In the first two-games Jacobs has compiled 184-yards on 35 carries (5.3 ypc) and two touchdowns. Last week versus the Kansas City Chiefs he put up 99-yards on just 12 carries. The Chiefs dominated for most of that game, so Jacobs was used sparingly. Interesting is that Oakland has not used him in the passing game. Jacobs can catch, but only has one target for one reception on the year. Jacobs is dealing with a groin issue but it is unclear on how that will affect him against the Vikings.

Rashaad Penny-RB-SEA
Many had turned their nose up to Rashaad Penny. Chris Carson has been stellar and just eating up all the volume; then he fumbled and fumbled again. That was enough for Pete Carroll and Penny became the choice cut of the day. Penny would finish with 62-yards on 10 carries and a score. It still will be Carson who is the main ball-carrier, but that may not last. Carson has had his course of injuries and obviously fumbles so that may not last. Let's see what happens when Seattle takes on the New Orleans Saints.

Emmanuel Sanders-WR-DEN
It is not in every player to bounce back from an ACL tear and perform at a high level the following season. Then there are players that do. Adrian Peterson comes to mind, and now Emmanuel Sanders. Its been two-weeks and Sanders has been one the bright spot on that Broncos offense. In Week 1 against the Raiders he was targeted seven times and caught five balls for 86-yards and a score. It's the game against the Bears last week that should be highlighted. Joe Flacco targeted the veteran wideout 13 times and Sanders caught 11 of those for 98-yards and a touchdown. Flacco has his main target and its Sanders. We will see if the connection continues against Green Bay next week.

Larry Fitzgerald-WR-ARI
I want to know what is in the water that Larry Fitzgerald drinks. The 36-year old veteran is on top of the game and shows no signs of needing to retire. Two-weeks in a row now, Fitzgerald has back-to-back 100-yard games. His big play came on a deep throw off play-action. Fitzgerald made a sliding catch got to his feet and picked up extra yards for a total of 54. Kliff Kingsbury offense seems to be working wonders for Fitzgerald. In week 1 Fitz was targeted 13 times and he pulled down eight of those 104-yards. Next week will be a difficult test as the Cardinals take on the tough defense of the Baltimore Ravens.

D.J. Moore-WR-CAR
Cam Newton has been awful but he has continuously targeted D.J. Moore. Over the first two games, Moore has 16 receptions for 165-yards on 24 targets, however, he has not found the end zone. Not to worry, Newton has not thrown for a touchdown to anyone yet. Keep in mind that Moore isn't being targeted for long yardage as his 9.9 yards per catch indicates. However, Moore has the home run ability and as long as the volume continues, he will hit one out. This may come as soon as next week as Moore faces off against the Cardinals next week.

Mark Andrews-TE-BAL
Mark Andrews is the real deal. The tight end had his trial in his rookie season last year and was steady catching 34-552-3 during that campaign with competition from Hayden Hurst who was actually drafted ahead of Andrews. Over the two-weeks this season, Andrews has been targeted 17 times while bringing down 16 of those for 220-yards and two touchdowns. He is nearly at half his totals of last season just two games in. Keep an eye on his foot injury as he missed practice on Wednesday. Next up, Kansas City Chiefs.

Stock Down

Cam Newton-QB-CAR
Cam Newton has looked awful this season. He has gone from a borderline QB1 to borderline un-startable even in two-quarterback leagues. Now he is dealing with a foot injury and that certainly doesn't help. After two-weeks Newton has completed just over half of his passes (56 percent), throwing for 572-yards and zero touchdowns with one interception. These numbers equate to a 71-quarterback rating and a 26.4 total quarterback rating which is 29th in the league. The good news is Newton placed third in total passing yards last week, it just took him 51 attempts to do so.

-RB-NYJ
Let's be clear, 's poor performance numbers have nothing to do with his talent. However, fantasy football doesn't care all that much about talent as it does numbers generated. When a team has a horrible offense, those numbers will struggle to generate. On Monday Night Football, this was apparent. Bell rushed 21 times and gained 68-yards or 3.2 yards for every carry and did not find the end zone. Not having Sam Darnold contributed to the offensive issues, but even in Week 1, Bell totaled just 60-yards on 17 carries for a 3.5 yards per carry average and did not score a touchdown. Lucky for him and fantasy owners, Bell has great hands and had ten catches against Cleveland and six versus Buffalo scoring his only touchdown.

Adam Thielen-WR-MIN
The Minnesota Vikings lack of passing game could really hurt the production of both Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. Minnesota is primarily a running team as evident by the 42 attempts in two weeks from Kirk Cousins. Cousins struggled against that Packers secondary and only threw ten passes against the Falcons. Luckily one of those passes was caught by Thielen for a touchdown. He did catch five of eight targets for 75-yards against Green Bay which led the team in targets, catches, and receiving yards. His biggest gainer in Week 2 was a 30-yarder, but outside of that, the passing game is not special. Maybe things will change against the Oakland Raiders next week?

O.J. Howard-TE-TBY
O.J. Howard has been solid since his rookie season, amassing 997-yards and 11 touchdowns in two seasons. Howard was looked at as one of the top-five tight ends coming into the 2019 fantasy draft but has been more of a dud than a stud. After two-games, Howard has caught just four passes on five targets for 32-yards. All numbers from Week 1 game against the 49ers. Howard also has only one target in the red zone this season as well.