Fantasy Football Stock Report After NFL Week 1

After another cold, dark offseason the warming glow of NFL football has returned to the hearts of sports fans everywhere, and it brings with it another season of breakout performances, maddening faceplants and all the things that make fantasy football so frustratingly fantastic.

It's dangerous to read too much into one week of games, but that doesn't mean we won't do it anyway, so here's a look at some players who saw their fantasy stock rise or fall after the opening week of the 2012 campaign.

Just like the ticker on Wall Street this stock report will be updated as games progress, so be sure to check back!

Stock Up: QB Robert Griffin, Washington Redskins

If there was any question about whether or not Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin was the real deal, the rookie went a long way towards answering them very early.

In his matchup with the New Orleans Saints, Griffin III completed 10 of his first 11 passes for 155 yards and two scores.

The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner piled up over 300 yards in his NFL debut and gave the New Orleans Saints all they could handle in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which isn't exactly the easiest thing to do.

Much like Cam Newton a season ago, Griffin showed Sunday that the days when fantasy owners should beware of rookie signal callers appear to be stone-dead.

Stock Down: RB Fred Jackson, Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson was one of fantasy football's top ball carriers last year before a broken leg cut his season short.

This year it didn't take nearly as long for Jackson to suffer a potentially serious injury.

The 31-year-old went down in Buffalo's loss to the New York Jets with what has originally been diagnosed as a sprained lateral collateral ligament according to Dan Hanzus of NFL.com.

Jackson only gained 15 yards on six carries before exiting.

Stock Up: RB C.J. Spiller, Buffalo Bills

While Fred Jackson owners were sent into a panic attack Sunday, those that drafted backup C.J. Spiller as injury insurance or a speculative pick are doing cartwheels right now.

The third-year pro had a monstrous outing, ripping off two runs of longer than 50 yards including a 56-yard touchdown scamper.

If Jackson is sidelined for a significant period of time Spiller could prove to be the sort of player that makes the fantasy seasons of several teams.

Nothing beats found money.

Stock Down: QB Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions

After throwing for over 5,000 yards and 41 TDs in 2011, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was viewed as an elite fantasy option at his position entering this season.

However, the fourth-year pro didn't look like one today.

Granted, Stafford threw for over 350 yards and the Lions downed the Rams 27-23, but Stafford looked out of sorts much of the afternoon and tossed three interceptions in a shaky start to the 2012 season.

Stock Up: WR Stephen Hill, New York Jets

Speaking of shaky starts to the season, the New York Jets offense looked positively horrendous in the preseason, taking until the last exhibition contest to even find the end zone.

They found it early and often in Sunday's season opener.

Gang Green jack-stomped the Buffalo Bills, rolling up 48 points. Two of those touchdowns came courtesy of rookie wide receiver Stephen Hill, who racked up five catches for 89 yards in his NFL debut.

Hill's name is sure to be mentioned quite a bit as a hot waiver wire add over the next few days.

Stock Down: Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

If the Philadelphia Eagles are going to return to the postseason after a disappointing 2011 season then quarterback Michael Vick is going to have to cut down on the turnovers that dogged the 32-year-old southpaw last year.

Apparently Vick didn't get that memo, as he threw four interceptions in Sunday's win over the Cleveland Browns that sucked a good deal of the wind out of his fantasy sails for the day.

The performance wasn't awful fantasy-wise (a late touchdown pass salvaged it), but it left his owners groaning nonetheless.

Stock Up: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

Heading into Sunday's game with the Jacksonville Jaguars there was still considerable uncertainty over whether Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson would even play after tearing up his knee last December.

That uncertainty landed Peterson on the bench in the majority of fantasy football leagues.

Um, oops.

Peterson carried the ball 17 times for 84 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns in Minnesota's overtime win.

Bet he ain't benched next week.

Stock Down: DeAngelo Williams, RB, Carolina Panthers

With Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart sidelined Sunday the conventional wisdom was that DeAngelo Williams would have a field day against a Tampa Bay Bay Buccaneers defense that allowed the most fantasy points to opposing running backs last year.

In the first half of their contest Williams racked up all of -2 yards.

You just can't make this kind of stuff up.

Stock Up: Stevan Ridley, RB, New England Patriots

Of the handful of running backs that topped the 100-yards rushing mark in Week 1 C.J. Spiller may have been the biggest "surprise", but of the ballcarriers that started for their respective teams none was a bigger shock than Stevan Ridley of the New England Patriots.

The second-year pro topped 150 total yards and scored a touchdown in New England's 34-13 dismantling of the Tennessee Titans, securing his hold on the job of lead back in Beantown and solidifying his status as a viable fantasy RB2.

Stock Down: Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans

While Stevan Ridley was chewing up the yards the same could certainly not be said for his opponent's counterpart.

Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, who struggled to find running room for most of the preseason, saw those struggles continue Sunday against the New England Patriots, gaining all of four yards on 11 carries.

The fifth-year pro's six catches for 47 yards were enough to salvage his fantasy day somewhat in PPR formats, but I'm pretty sure that fantasy owners who spent a first round pick on Johnson were expecting him to average more than just over a foot a carry.