Week 2 Risers & Fallers for Fantasy Football

September 11, 2014

Richie Smith analyzes some Week 2 fantasy football risers and fallers. NFL running backs (RB), wide receivers (TE) and quarterbacks (QB) that are hot and can be sleepers, or are struggling.

The most difficult thing to do as fantasy football owners after Week One is to not overreact.

Just like in real football, there are some good NFL teams that are 0-1, and some bad teams that are 1-0. There are some good players that had bad games, and some bad players that had good games.

It's important to remember that the fantasy football season is long, and you shouldn't make any major roster decisions based on one week, barring any injuries of course.

This weekly column will take a look at ten players. Five guys that are on the up-and-up, or "risers," and five guys that are struggling, or "fallers." You shouldn't necessarily take these as start/sit sleepers or waiver wire add/drop recommendations, as the analysis is meant to be more of a gauge for how a fantasy football player is currently trending.

Fantasy Football Risers - Stock Up

Michael Floyd, WR - Arizona Cardinals

There was a lot of preseason speculation that Michael Floyd would take over as the number one option in the Cardinals' passing attack surpassing Larry Fitzgerald, and if Week one is any indication, that's exactly what is going to happen. After five catches for 119 yards on seven targets on Monday night (compared to Fitzgerald's one catch for 22 yards on just four targets), Floyd is a strong WR2 most weeks.

Brandon Cooks, WR - New Orleans Saints 

All aboard the hype train. There was concern from some (not me) that the Saints would spread the ball around too much for Cooks to be effective. Wrong. Cooks is legit, and the Saints are among the league leaders in three wide receiver sets, meaning that Cooks will continue to see plenty of snaps in the high-powered offense. He's a high-end WR3 in standard leagues and low-end WR2 in PPR leagues.

Mark Ingram, RB - New Orleans Saints

Speaking of the Saints' offense, Ingram looks as though he might have finally seized the backfield for New Orleans, at least on running downs. Pierre Thomas, and to a lesser extent Khiry Robinson, will continue to eat away at Ingram's playing time (he only played 20/75 offensive snaps on Sunday), however Ingram looks trimmer and quicker, and needs to be owned in almost all leagues until he proves otherwise.

Allen Hurns, WR - Jacksonville Jaguars

Look, Hurns had a great game on Sunday -- no doubt. But it was really a perfect storm for the pass catcher out of Miami. Cecil Shorts was inactive, the Eagles had a ton of blown coverages in the first half, and they didn't wake up until the 3rd quarter. There is simply no way Hurns will sustain that level of success moving forward, especially when Shorts returns. In fact, Marquis Lee is the WR that I want to own in Jacksonville. Should Hurns be owned? Probably, but let someone else blow 20% of their FAAB budget on him.

Malcom Floyd, WR - San Diego

We might as well throw in another Floyd. While much of America was sleeping on Monday night, Malcom Floyd was re-establishing himself as Philip Rivers' number two WR, catching four balls for 50 yards and a touchdown on six targets. After missing basically the entire season last year, Floyd has great size and good speed, and showed that he can still be effective in the Chargers passing game. Keep an eye on Floyd, especially in deeper leagues.

Fantasy Football Fallers - Stock Down

Robert Griffin III, QB - Washington Redskins

What a disastrous start to the Jay Gruden era in Washington. RG3 looked terrible, granted it was against a pretty good Texans' defense. But there's really no excuses with the weapons that he has around him this season. Time will tell how long Jordan Reed will be sidelined, but I am benching RG3 if I have other viable options. For now, give me guys like Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton instead.

Zac Stacy, RB - St. Louis Rams

I want absolutely nothing to do with anyone in the Rams' offense, including Stacy. Thankfully, I saw this coming ever since the Sam Bradford injury, and I have zero shares of Stacy, or any Ram for that matter. The Rams have no passing game, are in a tough division, and should be losing plenty to where their rushing attack will vanish. Minnesota was supposed to be one of their easier match ups this season, and they were run out of their own building. Very down on Stacy and the Rams.

All of the Ravens Running Backs

This entire situation is bleh. I have no idea who will eventually get the lion's share of carries, so I am staying away from everyone. Bernard Pierce literally fumbled his way out of a golden opportunity to take control of the backfield. Justin Forsett was serviceable on Sunday, but nothing special. And rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro is everyone's golden child to take over, but who really knows. Bottom line is that when Joe Flacco throws the ball 62 times and the backfield is up in the air between three guys, I am avoiding at all costs until there is more clarity.

Ben Tate, RB - Cleveland Browns

Well that didn't take too long. Tate, obviously not known as a beacon of health as Arian Foster's backup in Houston, was hurt in his first game as a Cleveland Brown, a turn of events that anyone could have predicted. I wouldn't be surprised if Tate is nagged by injuries all season. And given the success of the other Browns' running backs once Tate exited the game, and even the potential threat of Josh Gordon returning and taking more focus away from him, I wouldn't feel too great if I were a Tate owner right now.

Jonathan Dwyer, RB - Arizona Cardinals

Dwyer surfaced as a relevant fantasy option once news came out of Andre Ellington's injury late last week. And given the Cardinals not playing until late Monday Night, Dwyer become a solid choice as insurance in case Ellington couldn't go. Well Ellington played, and he played a good amount, leaving Dwyer with little to no value moving forward. Unless Ellington encounters a setback, it looks as though he will be able to suit up and tough it out, so Dwyer can be safely relegated back to handcuff status at best.