Week 1 Stock Report

Stock UP:

• Josh Jacobs – 25 carries + 4 catches (6 targets). Bell cow.
• Myles Gaskin – Easily the best runner on the Dolphins and he chipped in 4 catches.
• Malcolm Brown – Rams preferred RB. Outplayed Cam Akers against the Cowboys.
• Joshua Kelley – We were beating the drum pretty hard for Kelley over the last couple weeks. He looked impressive in his first action.
• James Robinson – Looked like a very capable runner in his first NFL action. 17 touches for 90 total yards.
• Nyheim Hines – Austin Ekeler lite for Philip Rivers. Should get even more run with the injury to Marlon Mack.
• Parris Campbell – We saw why the Colts were so high on him in last year’s draft. Should continue to be a big part of the offense.
• Cam Newton – Looked like the Cam Newton of old running the football. This offense won’t be a high flying pass attack, but Newton is almost guaranteed 60 yards rushing and a TD every week. Add in his passing stats and that’s a nice floor.
• Mark Andrews – Played a higher percentage of snaps than all of last year and is clearly still Lamar Jackson’s go to Red Zone target.
• Quintez Cephus – Another one of our favorite under the radar offseason guys. 10 targets! Only 3 catches, but Stafford and the Lions obviously like and trust him.
• Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard – Both WRs quieted the talk about the Packers needing a better WR2.
• Russell Gage – Gage has quietly been a favorite target of Matt Ryan since the Sanu trade last year. Ryan won’t throw for 450 yards every game, but Gage should continue to get his fair share of targets.
• AJ Green – Was very close to a big game, but he looked healthy and made it through the game unscathed.
• Scotty Miller – Second on the Bucs in targets, catches, and yards. He played 61% of the snaps compared to Justin Watson’s 16%.
• Henry Ruggs – 55 yards on 3 catches and 2 carries for another 11. He was briefly injured but came back.
• Logan Thomas – Led the Football Team in targets and caught a touchdown. 
• Chase Edmonds – Was used more in the passing game than Drake, and had a few nice plays. Should Drake get hurt, Edmonds is clearly next in line.
• Jamison Crowder – 13 targets and a big play TD for Crowder should ensure consistent work in the future.
• TJ Hockenson – Hock started hot last year too. Here’s hoping he stays healthy and builds on his Week 1 performance.

Stock DOWN:

• Devin Singletary/Zack Moss – Josh Allen is the Bills RB1 with the actual RBs splitting work behind him.
• DJ Moore – 9 targets was nice, but Robby Anderson and Curtis Samuel both had 8 a piece. This offense may spread it out a little more this year.
• Le’Veon Bell – The Jets are just so bad on offense that it completely negates Bell. Now he’s dealing with a hamstring injury that will likely cause him to miss some games.
• Baker Mayfield – Oof. He’s lost all his confidence and is just all out of sorts.
• Zach Ertz – Thoroughly outplayed by Dallas Goedert and had a crucial drop when the Eagles were trying to mount a comeback. 
• Kerryon Johnson – Has already taken a backseat to Adrian Peterson and couldn’t capitalize on his 7 carries.
• Christian Kirk – 1 catch on 5 targets, while DeAndre Hopkins was a complete target hog.
• Hayden Hurst – This coincides with Gage’s stock up. If Gage is getting the targets after Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, then Hurst may not be the Austin Hooper replica that many thought.
• Austin Ekeler – One target. Philip Rivers’ absence is already felt. Ekeler looked good as a runner, but the targets and receptions is what makes him a first round pick.
• Nick Chubb – Outplayed and out touched by Kareem Hunt. Also lost a fumble.
• Odell Beckham Jr. – This may be no fault of his own, but him and Mayfield just aren’t on the same page, which dates back to last season.
• Michael Thomas – The last time MT was held to 3 catches or less was Week 6 in 2017. He’s also dealing with a high ankle sprain that he thinks he can play through. It would make sense if the Saints decide to play it safe with their star WR.
• Mike Evans – Maybe he was a decoy, but he still played almost every snap and had 4 targets. At least his 1 catch was a TD. Hopefully Evans and Brady get in better sync before their Week 2 matchup.

Malcolm Brown has to be the top waiver wire add this week. He had 2 touchdowns in the opener last year before becoming mostly irrelevant. However, last night’s performance feels different. This may turn into a 2019 Jordan Howard/Miles Sanders situation and Cam Akers eventually becomes the guy, but for now Brown is the RB to start in the Rams backfield.

Nyheim Hines is priority #2, followed by James Robinson. 

It might be a good time to buy low on OBJ, Ekeler, DJM, and AJ Green.