Fantasy Football Stock Up/Stock Down After Week 1

More importantly, he got all of the goal-line work and 83% of the two-minute snaps. There is no way of forecasting if this role will stick, but I feel pretty safe saying Hubbard isn’t just disappearing like he did last year. This could get closer to a split as time goes on, but until we see that, Hubbard needs to be in your lineups. The Panthers have an extremely favorable matchup in Week 2 against the Falcons.

Stock Down: Travis Etienne

No Alvin Kamara. A pretty close game throughout. The Saints definitely got the most out of their big $52 million investment, right? Wrong. In one of the most confusing usage patterns of the week, the Saints utilized a three-RB rotation between Travis Etienne, Kendre Miller, and undrafted rookie C.J. Donaldson.

Etienne lost out on some third-down snaps to Donaldson and basically split early-down work with Miller. While he saw all of the goal-line snaps, he lost out to Miller on an 8-yard touchdown in the red zone. In short, it’s incredibly odd that Etienne played less than 60% of the snaps and only got nine carries in his first game with the Saints, especially when Alvin Kamara didn’t even play.

The buzz out of New Orleans was that they were really going to hone in on the running game after being so pass-heavy last year. Seemingly, the large investment in Etienne made sense. Welp, they had the second-highest neutral pass rate this week. So do they really want to change?

I am not ready to say it’s over for Etienne, because there is still time for the Saints to realize maybe they should use the guy they paid all that money to. However, these aren’t encouraging signs with Kamara’s return looming. Etienne was drafted as an RB2 in most leagues and is now firmly in the flex tier until we see more signs pointing in his direction.

Stock Up: Isaiah Likely

Houston, I think we have found our late-round tight end breakout. Isaiah Likely burst onto the scene as the highest-scoring tight end of the week. He posted 23.8 half-PPR points on eight catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns with a 27.6% target share.

The biggest concern with players like Likely, the receiving-only tight ends, is whether they will play enough snaps to consistently start in fantasy. Some of those concerns still exist with the former Raven, considering he only played 50% of the Giants’ snaps. But he still ran 74.2% of the team’s routes, and you could tell he was a focal point whenever he was out there.

The Giants were trying to get him the ball in high-leverage moments like third down and in the red area. That is why I have no problem claiming that Likely will be a TE1 for the rest of the season and someone who needs to be in your lineup.

Stock Down: Terry McLaurin

Ugh, this one hurts. Part of why Terry McLaurin was so appealing early in draft season was that the Commanders had zero target competition. Then they signed Stefon Diggs in August, and Diggs, even at this stage of his career, is known to soak up targets. Well, he out-targeted McLaurin in their first game, 9 to 4, despite playing 17 fewer snaps.

That isn’t even all of it. The Commanders’ third-round rookie WR Antonio Williams also looks like a dude, posting four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown on 10 routes. This once looked like a situation that was going to funnel targets to McLaurin, and now it’s much murkier.

Better days are on the horizon for Scary Terry. This was a tough matchup against one of the best corners in the game in Quinyon Mitchell. But I am comfortable saying that dreams of a high-end WR2 with steady volume are over. He will probably remain more of a boom-or-bust WR2 depending on the matchup, and he needs to get home with big plays.

Stock Up: Bucky Irving

The Bucs offense did not have the debut to inspire fantasy owners in Week 1. If there was one silver lining, it was Bucky Irving. Irving was one of the biggest busts in fantasy last year after getting hurt for most of the season and having a reduced role when he returned. It seems like it was full systems go for him in this one, leading the backfield in carries, routes, and catches.

Many were questioning what this split would look like after the Bucs dished out some real cash to Kenneth Gainwell this offseason. Gainwell definitely will get some touches, but it still seemed like Irving’s show. Most importantly, Irving was able to punch one in from the 10-yard line. Last year he notoriously got his goal-line role stolen by Sean Tucker.

Tucker was inactive in this game due to an injury, so Irving isn’t technically in the clear yet. But all in all, this was a very encouraging first outing for the once-rookie sensation. He should firmly be ranked as an RB2 until further notice.

Stock Down: Marshawn Lloyd

We finally got the long, two-years-in-the-making return for Marshawn Lloyd, and he averaged 2.8 YPC in his first game back. It was not a good day for the Packers offense after some bright moments in the first half. They were never able to get the run game going in this one. Lloyd led the team in carries but played fewer snaps than Chris Brooks.

I expect this type of rotation to continue, which is never a good thing for fantasy. Beyond just losing some of the workload we assumed he would get, the Packers’ interior offensive line looked dreadful. That doesn’t seem like it’s getting fixed anytime soon. In addition, Lloyd just hasn’t looked good in isolation. He looks very indecisive and stays in the backfield for too long.

There is no word on when Josh Jacobs will return, so Lloyd should still be in the mix. But one has to wonder: will the Packers turn to someone else if they can’t get more out of this rushing attack? Lloyd has two favorable matchups in the coming weeks against the Jets and Falcons. If he can’t figure it out, he can’t be in your lineup if your goal is to win.

Waiver Wire Targets

1. San Francisco 49ers RB Kaelon Black
2. Panthers WR Jalen Coker
3. Dolphins WR Caleb Douglas
4. Saints WR Devaughn Vele
5. Eagles WR Dontayvion Wicks
6. Browns WR Denzel Boston
7. Colts RB Seth McGowan