Stock Performers 2019 week 8

Welcome to the stock report Week 7 edition. Even though there are many great performances and several mediocre performances, the player's 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 rapidly moving 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

Teddy Bridgewater-QB-NO

Against a tough Chicago Bears defense, Teddy Bridgewater threw for 281 yards on 23-of-38 passes and two touchdowns with zero interceptions in the victory. For the second time in three weeks, Bridgewater put up over 20 points and would have hit the 30-point mark again if Ted Ginn didn't drop a perfectly thrown pass in the end zone. Bridgewater is set to play at least one more against Arizona before the bye-week, and Drew Brees (thumb) should return after the break.
 

Austin Ekeler-RB-LAC

With Melvin Gordon back, Austin Ekeler will need to be more of a jack-knife than a rock carrier. In the loss to the Titans, Ekeler rushed five times for seven yards. However, he did most of his damage in the air catching seven balls for 118 yards and a score on eight targets. Ekeler's 8.3 yarder per touch was far more dominating than Gordon's 1.5 as Gordon had just 29 yards on 19 carries. Ekeler also had another touchdown as he was tackled at the half-yard line after catching a pass. Expect, Gordon to keep getting the carries as Ekeler has only 13 carries in the last three games. Continue to get Ekeler involved in your leagues. Against the Bears next week, he makes an excellent PPR Flex option.
 

Ezekiel Elliot-RB-DAL

For the second straight week, Ezekiel Elliot rushed for over 100 yards and scored a touchdown. He also has had more than 20 carries and five or more receptions. Against the Eagles, Elliot rushed for 111 yards on 22 attempts scoring once and catching 6-of-7 targets for 36 yards in the victory. He ran over Malcolm Jenkins to the one-yard line and then converted it one play later for the touchdown. Elliot has been efficient all-season scoring in 6-of-7 games, and has an excellent matchup against the Giants, after the bye week.
 

DeAndre Hopkins-WR-HOU

DeAndre Hopkins is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, but there is no doubt he has struggled this season getting into the end zone. Hopkins has put up a donut since Week 1, where he scored twice. It took division rival Indianapolis Colts to see pay dirt once again finally. Hopkins was his diligent self catching 9-of-12 targets for 106 yards in the loss. He nearly had his second score, but Deshaun Watson was ruled in the grasp, and therefore, the pass did not count. Keep rolling out Nuk as he should continue to be successful against the Oakland Raiders.

Allen Robinson-WR-CHI

Allen Robinson is now two years removed from his ACL injury and appears to be the only offensive weapon on the Chicago Bears. He has caught six or more balls in five of six contests and has scored in his last two games for a total of three scores. Robinson has back-to-back weeks of 20+ point weeks, and the only negative is that he has not hit the century mark since Week 1. Last week, against the Saints, Robinson caught 10-of-16 targets for 87 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Robinson's hands, elusiveness after the catch, and the way he goes after the ball continue to benefit his production. Unfortunately, he has Mitch Trubisky throwing him passes.

Kyle Rudolph-TE-MIN

For the first five weeks, Kyle Rudolph pulled off a disappearing act by catching six passes on eight targets for 36 yards and zero touchdowns. The Vikings might be looking for the tight end more. In Week 6 against the Eagles, Rudolph caught three of three targets for 36 yards, and then last week, he brought in 6-of-8 targets for 58 yards and one score in the victory. Perhaps the Kirk Cousins wanted to target his tight ends as Irv Smith caught five balls for 60 yards. Even though he is on the rise, keep him where he is until he can put up better stats in the future.

STOCK DOWN

Lamar Jackson-QB-BAL

It is a good thing Lamar Jackson can run the ball. His passing numbers have been awful against teams not named Miami, Arizona, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati. Unfortunately, that makes up five of his seven contests. Jackson has only six passing touchdowns since Week 1, and two of those went against the Cardinals. In the meantime, he has five interceptions. The good thing is that Jackson can run as he created many gains of 20-plus yards. Jackson has gone over 100 rushing yards with a score in back-to-back weeks and three overall this season.
 

Mark Ingram-RB-BAL

Mark Ingram isn't getting fewer carries than he did when going over 100 yards twice in three games and scoring five touchdowns, its, Jackson just doing a lot more. Against the Seahawks, Ingram rushed 12 times for 46-yards and caught his only target. In the last three weeks, Ingram has rushed for 142 yards on 44 carries (3.2 ypc) and scoring twice. Luckily, he has awarded fantasy owners with touchdowns. There has been only one game where Ingram has not scored.

Cooper Kupp-WR-LAR

Cooper Kupp has struggled since putting up four straight weeks of 100 yards or more and scoring in three of those contests. In Week 6, the San Francisco 49ers tied him up by allowing just four receptions for 17 yards on six targets. Last week, against Atlanta, he caught six balls on eight targets for 50 yards. Overall, that is just 67 yards on ten receptions with zero touchdowns. Perhaps he can get back to his early-season results this week against the Bengals before the Week 9 bye.

Travis Kelce-TE-KC

It just seems to get worse for the All-Pro tight end, and that might continue if he is without his All-Pro quarterback in Patrick Mahomes. Last week, against the Broncos, Kelce caught 6-of-8 targets for 44 yards and did not score in the victory. In the last three weeks, Kelce has caught 14 balls on 24 targets for 172 yards and no touchdowns. The big tight end has not scored since Week 2 against Oakland, which happens to be the last time he had over 100 yards receiving. Depending on the health of Mahomes, quarterback Matt Moore might look for Kelce to be his security blanket. Either way, touch down and catch regression should be heading Kelce's way.