Daily Fantasy Football December 29: DFS Stock Up, Stock Down

Daily fantasy football owners have one week left to sift through the stock market and slap together a big-winning lineup before the NFL heads for the playoffs.

The good news? It's a loaded slate with plenty of great games and potential high-scoring matchups. The bad? Owners head into Week 17 days removed from someone such as Ben Roethlisberger mustering just 5.8 points.

As always, the stock market is the biggest thing to monitor on a day-to-day basis for owners who want to put themselves in the best position to take down tournaments or whatever format they prefer.

Within, let's break down the biggest stock-movers of December 29.

Stock Up: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints ($6,700)

So much for an injury holding back New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Doubts lingered over Brees' status all last week thanks to a foot issue, so Brees does what he tends to do—tossing multiple touchdowns to give owners a strong day.

Brees threw a trio of scores against the Jacksonville Jaguars, giving him 31.18 points and three touchdown passes for the third time over his last four outings, which have all produced at least 23.48 points.

Despite the strong showing, Brees' price has actually dipped by $100 this week as he goes into a matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. He posted 19.68 points against the defense back in Week 6, so a rematch figures to bode well as Brees looks to finish on a high note while proving he's still got it.

Stock Down: Doug Martin, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($6,700)

So much for a great matchup for Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin last week.

Martin got the chance to line up against the struggling Chicago Bears and proceeded to blow the opportunity, rushing 17 times for 49 yards and a score but losing two fumbles to plant him at 10.5 points.

Instead of pursuing the rushing crown, Martin had to watch from the sidelines as Charles Sims began to eat into his snap count late in the game thanks to the fumbling issue.

It gets worse, too. Martin has to next go up against the strong Carolina Panthers defense. While he posted 28.3 points on the unit back in Week 4, asking him to post anything similar on the road this time around after suffering fumbling woes might be too much.

There's a chance the Buccaneers forget about Sims and let Martin chase the rushing crown, but the Carolina defense has Martin's stock remaining low.

Stock Up: Pierre Garcon, WR, Washington ($4,200)

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Remember Pierre Garcon?

A fantasy non-factor after the first month of the season, Garcon's back to relevancy by scoring touchdowns in back-to-back games while leaning on the returns of DeSean Jackson and Jordan Reed.

This past weekend, Garcon brought in seven catches for 80 yards and a score, giving him a season-high 21 points.

Garcon could be on the way to setting another season high this week thanks to a game against the Dallas Cowboys, a unit he posted 10.4 points against in Week 13. He's a bigger part of the offense now, and Dallas continues to tread water, so another outburst wouldn't be a shock.

Owners on the hunt for value cannot ignore the price.

Stock Down: Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears ($6,200)

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

For Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte, things keep going from bad to worse.

First, Forte got hurt and had to watch as Jeremy Langford came in and played well in his place. Upon his return, Forte no longer got to act as the every-down back.

Forte is now hurt again after receiving just three carries after halftime last week.

“I had a little nick,” Forte said, according to ESPN.com's Jeff Dickerson. “That happens to running backs, you get little nicks and stuff. I was trying to go back in and they told me at that point there was no need to go back in. But I’ll be all right.”

The big-picture view says Forte's stock couldn't be lower. He's pricey, nursing an injury going into what might be his last game as a member of the team and mired in a committee.

At this price range, owners can go get a David Johnson ($6,000), Charcandrick West ($5,700) or a few others and feel much more comfortable.

Stock Up: Tim Hightower, RB, New Orleans Saints ($5,500)

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

Tim Hightower's stock was up last week, but only with extreme caution against the Jaguars.

Though the Saints made it clear that Hightower was the new every-down starter, the Jaguars hadn't allowed an opposing backfield to breach the 100-yard mark since Week 5.

Hightower wound up doing it on his own.

Given 27 carries, he exploded for 122 yards and a pair of touchdowns while adding another 47 yards on three catches to bring his total to 34.9 points.

It gets better, folks: Hightower next gets the Falcons, a defense that from Week 12-14 coughed up a minimum of 126 rushing yards to backfields and five total touchdowns over the three-game span.

In other words, Hightower looks like a lock to at least triple his asking price.

Stock Down: Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers ($6,800)

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

What, expecting something else?

Aaron Rodgers laid an egg of gargantuan proportions in Week 16, finishing with 10.94 points. Those points don't do his performance justice, either. 

To summarize: Rodgers took eight sacks, fumbled three times, watched as two got returned for touchdowns and threw an interception. His lone touchdown pass was a dump-off to Eddie Lacy.

Owners could say it's an uncanny performance for Rodgers, but it's really not—not after he posted just 11.06 points the week prior. His line's terrible, and he doesn't have enough weapons around him to be a viable option.

In Week 17, Rodgers has to deal with a Minnesota Vikings defense that limited him to a 16-of-34 line back in Week 11, though he totaled 19.08 points.

At this price point, though, trading up for a Ben Roethlisberger ($6,900) or even saving a few bucks on the aforementioned Brees makes more sense.

Stock Up: Mike Gillislee, RB, Buffalo Bills ($4,400)

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

It's slowly becoming the Mike Gillislee show in Buffalo.

Karlos Williams continues to see more snaps, but Gillislee makes the most of every chance, having now posted at least 10 points in each of his past three games with a touchdown run in each.

DraftKings' Adam Levitan broke down the snap count on Twitter: "Bills RBs: Karlos Williams 19 touches on 39 snaps. Mike Gillislee 11 touches on 22 snaps."

What Gillislee's 18.9 points from last week don't show owners is the fact he had another potential rushing score called down at the 1-yard line.

Gillislee has a tough matchup next week against the New York Jets, but he's making the most of every chance. At this price, owners couldn't ask for more given the seemingly unlimited ceiling. 

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