Daily Fantasy Football October 21: DFS Stock Up, Stock Down

The fantasy football stock market is the No. 1 force behind how an owner makes start 'em, sit 'em decisions.

It's why plenty of owners chose to ride the booming stock of New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount last week (23.4 points) and avoided Arizona Cardinals running back Chris Johnson (5.5).

Of course, said market changes daily. Whether it's injuries, lineup changes, matchup situations or more, it's a daunting task to keep up with the stock of players from every team.

Let's do so within by analyzing the notable recent stock changes of important names.

Stock Up: Tyrod Taylor, QB, Buffalo Bills ($5,300)

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

Tyrod Taylor sounds ready to return in Week 7.

After a week away from action, it sounds like Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor is good to go in Week 7 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News provided the update on Taylor's injury situation: "Tyrod Taylor says he's feeling good & optimistic about playing Sunday. Says he has no limitations from knee injury."

It's nothing short of fantastic news for owners who want to take a shot on a low-priced quarterback with a ridiculous ceiling. This is the dual-threat Taylor, who has at least 23 points in three of his five starts, going against the Jaguars—which doesn't need much of an explanation.

While he's not available in all games this weekend because it goes down in London, Taylor looks like a great start for those who play such slates.

Stock Down: Melvin Gordon, RB, San Diego Chargers ($4,200)

A rookie back who struggles with holding onto the football loses his job pretty quickly at the NFL level.

There's not a better example of this than San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon right now, who coughed it up twice in Week 6 and now has four on the year, including three over his last two outings.

After seeing at least 12 carries in every game through his first five games, Gordon earned just seven during his two-fumble performance last weekend.

It seems like a no fly-zone for owners, and even worse is coach Mike McCoy's rather vague response when asked if his high-profile rookie would remain the starter.

"We're going to move on," McCoy said, per ESPN.com's Eric D. Williams. "We're going to give him the ball again. And when he's in there he's got to protect it. And he understands that."

At this price, owners could climb the ladder just a tad and feel much, much more comfortable with Miami's Lamar Miller ($4,600) or Gordon's runningmate Danny Woodhead ($,4,600).

Stock Up: DeMarco Murray, RB, Philadelphia Eagles ($6,400)

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Murray's living up to the preseason hype over the past two weeks.

Just like that, Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray is producing just like owners thought he would under the guidance of head coach Chip Kelly.

Murray had a miserable start to the season, but has turned it on over his past two starts, going for 25.0 and 24.3 points. The trick with Murray was figuring out whether his 25-point outburst in Week 5 was a product of game flow and nothing more.

Apparently not, as Murray ran for 109 yards and a score on a season-high 22 totes against the New York Giants.

Long story short, it seems the coaching staff finally wants to give Murray the usage numbers he deserves. It makes him a high-end play each week, even in Week 7 against a stingy Carolina Panthers defense.

Stock Down: Dion Lewis, RB, New England Patriots ($6,500)

John Minchillo/Associated Press

Dion Lewis might be dealing with a nagging injury.

It's time to pump the brakes on New England Patriots lead back Dion Lewis, at least for a week or so.

Lewis has been one of the best surprises of the year for fantasy owners, a direct reversal of the notion Bill Belichick goes with a different running back each week to confuse opponents and fluster owners.

Through five games, Lewis handled most of the work and scored at last 16.0 points in each game.

Then Week 6 happened.

There, Lewis had just seven total touches on his way to 6.9 points. After, ESPN's Mike Reiss revealed that an injury previously thought not to be a big deal might have played a role: "For fantasy footballers: RB Dion Lewis, perhaps affected by abdomen, didn't seem to have same explosiveness last night. Next game: vs. NYJ."

While perhaps speculation, Lewis was never in a great situation in Week 7 regardless. A matchup with the elite New York Jets defense felt more like a LeGarrette Blount game, anyway.

For owners, not only is the aforementioned Murray right in the same price neighborhood, so too is Justin Forsett ($6,100) and Mark Ingram ($6,300).

Stock Up: Christine Michael, RB, Dallas Cowboys ($3,000)

Owners got burnt by Kansas City Chiefs running back Charcandrick West last week as the week's back set to explode with a new opportunity at major playing time.

There's a big difference between the bumbling Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys, though.

The Cowboys are all systems go around Christine Michael after finally realizing Darren McFadden and Joseph Randle weren't getting it done. After initial reports of Michael being the new starter, Bryan Broaddus of DallasCowboys.com confirmed he was the one taking the most snaps with the first-team offense in practice this week.

Michael was one of the most-hyped prospects in quite a while at the position but fell to No. 62 in 2013 over off-field concerns. He's worked his way into a starting role now and he's without a doubt worth a start at this price.

Stock Down: DeSean Jackson, WR, Washington ($5,700)

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Those hoping for DeSean Jackson might have to wait another week.

It's back to the drawing board for owners who had an eye on a nice value play by the name of DeSean Jackson.

Washington's top wideout has yet to do anything significant this year due to injury, but Week 7 looked like the target for a surefire return to the lineup.

Instead, Jackson suffered a setback, per Mike Jones of the Washington Post, who touched on a conversation with coach Jay Gruden: "Gruden still unsure about Jackson for Tampa because he tweaked hamstring again last Thursday. Will know more Wednesday he hopes."

So instead of a sneaky value play on a guy with booming stock who posted 1,169 yards, six scores and 77.9 yards per game last year, things have gone in the other direction with Jackson thanks to a recent revelation.

John Brown ($5,500) and Eric Decker ($5,300) are just a small sampling of cheaper names looking like better options at this point.

Stock Up: Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings ($4,200)

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Stefon Diggs has inserted himself into the starting lineup in Minnesota.

Minnesota Vikings wideout Stefon Diggs might wind up as one of fantasy's biggest breakout players this year if he continues at this pace.

Diggs broke onto the scene in Week 4 on the road in Denver, catching six passes for 87 yards and 14.7 points. Some figured it a flash in the pan, but not Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who went back to the well in Week 6 and helped Diggs post seven grabs for 129 yards and 22.9 points.

While some might worry over the impending return of Charles Johnson, coach Mike Zimmer has remained non-committal about his starting role after Diggs' breakout.

It's not hard to see why on the stat sheet, nor after fellow wideout Mike Wallace just compared Diggs to Antonio Brown.

"When you look at a guy, you can tell from day one who can play football. I always felt like he could," Wallace said, per ESPN.com's Ben Goessling. "Just the skill set, the way he runs his routes, the energy that he has. It reminds me of him.”

Odds are Diggs gets to keep making notable contributions, which is nothing but a good thing going into an encounter with the struggling Detroit Lions. 

---

Enter the DraftKings $1.5M Play-Action Contest this weekend. Use Promo Code BLEACHER REPORT when you sign up.

Pricing information and scoring data obtained from DraftKings. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus unless otherwise specified.