Fantasy Football: Antonio Gates Headlines Week 7 Stock Report

The following countdown details The Fantasy Blog's stock report heading into NFL Week 7.

Just like the American stock market, these 14 assets are prone to evolving (or devolving) value swings throughout the season.

But alas, that's why the NFL schedules the games. Fantasy life, as we know it, undergoes substantial change every weekend.

Enjoy the show!

Rising: QB Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals

2012 Stats: 1,726 Yards Passing, 13 Total TD

Fantasy Reasons To Be Believe

1. Of his last five games, Andy Dalton has passed for 300 yards or accounted for three touchdowns four times.

2. Dalton's completion percentage has been at 60 or above for all six games.

3. The Cincy QB has per-outing averages of 288 yards passing on only 35.8 pass attempts.

Falling: QB Mark Sanchez, New York Jets

2012 Stats: 1,125 Yards Passing, 8 TD

Fantasy Reasons To Be Feeling Blue

1. If I was a Jets fan, I'd easily prefer Mark Sanchez over Tim Tebow. That said, it's hard to defend Sanchez's 82-yard passing day in Week 6. On the bright side, he threw two touchdowns against the Colts.

2. Sanchez has registered 20 or more completions only once this season.

3. Through six games, Sanchez crossed the QB-elite threshold of 275 yards and/or three TDs only twice.

Rising: RB Shonn Greene, New York Jets

2012 Stats: 406 Total Yards (378 Rushing), 4 TD

Fantasy Reasons To Believe

1. On the heels of a 161-yard, three-TD explosion in Week 6—good for 34 points in standard-scoring leagues—Shonn Greene's stock couldn't be higher.

2. And with that, fantasy GMs are now put in a tenuous position: Was Greene's big day against the Colts the start of a sustained run of superb numbers...or was it the lone tent-pole moment in a sporadic season?

Falling: RB Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams

2012 Stats: 399 Total Yards (323 Rushing)

Fantasy Reasons To Be Feeling Blue

1. Steven Jackson has yet to find the end zone—his longest touchdown drought in three years.

2. Jackson hasn't posted more than 84 total yards in any game this season.

3. I'm not too worried about rookie Daryl Richardson (99 total yards vs. Miami) stealing potential Jackson touches between the 20s.

4. Rather, I'm more concerned with Jackson's diminishing value in the red zone, especially now that Sam Bradford has mastered the QB-sneak-and-jump around the goal line.

(The Jackson of yesteryear would have scored the Rams' short-yardage TD and subsequent two-point conversion).

Rising: WR Donnie Avery, Indianapolis Colts

2012 Stats: 21 Catches, 258 Yards, 1 TD

Fantasy Reasons To Believe

Donnie Avery might not have gaudy stats in his first year with the Colts, but that day of modest fantasy reckoning is fast approaching:

a. Avery has collected eight or more targets in all five games—including a season-high 12 last week.

b. Rookie QB Andrew Luck (1,488 yards, 8 total TD) has attempted 44 or more passes in four of his five games.

c. It's reasonable to assume Indy would struggle in the running game without an injured Donald Brown, prompting more targets for polished receiving talents like Avery and Reggie Wayne.

d. The Browns, the Colts' Week 7 opponent, currently rank as the 30th defense against the pass (294 yards per game).

Falling: WR Greg Little, Cleveland Browns

2012 Stats: 14 Catches, 169 Yards, 1 TD

Fantasy Reasons To Be Feeling Blue

1. Through six games, Greg Little already has two outings of zero catches.

2. For Weeks 3-6, Little had below-average tallies of nine catches, 112 yards and zero scores.

3. Little has collected seven or more targets only twice this year.

4. All signs point to rookie Josh Gordon emerging as the Browns' No. 1 receiver (the wheels are in motion), bumping Little from that prime spot.

Rising: WR James Jones, Green Bay Packers

2012 Stats: 23 Catches, 270 Yards, 7 TD

Fantasy Reasons To Believe

1. James Jones has scored multiple touchdowns in three straight games. He accomplished this amazing feat on only 12 catches.

2. Neither Victor Cruz nor A.J. Green (six TDs) can match Jones' seasonal output of seven touchdowns—tops among all pass-catchers.

Slipping: WR Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers

2012 Stats: 21 Catches, 388 Yards

Fantasy Reasons To Be Feeling Blue

1. Carolina's Steve Smith has yet to find the end zone this season.

2. Through five games, Smith is well off the pace of last year's output in targets, catches, receiving yards and, of course, touchdowns.

3. Smith drew 13 targets in Week 5...but only caught four balls against the Seahawks.

Rising: TE Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers

2012 Stats: 19 Catches, 224 Yards, 2 TD

Fantasy Reasons To Believe

1. It rings a little hollow to endorse a player off one stellar game, but Antonio Gates needed last week's six-catch, 81-yard, two-TD effort in the worst way.

2. Gates had collected seven-plus targets in five of six games. But until Sunday night's win against Denver, Gates hadn't caught more than four balls.

3. When healthy, Gates remains an elite tight end in fantasy circles, especially in terms of garnering red-zone targets.

Falling: TE Brent Celek, Philadelphia Eagles

2012 Stats: 25 Catches, 357 Yards, 1 TD

Fantasy Reasons To Be Feeling Blue

1. In his last four games, Brent Celek has pedestrian tallies of 13 catches, 135 yards and one touchdown. To be fair though, a short TD against the Lions was negated by a ticky-tack interference call.

2. For the season, Celek has only one game of four-plus catches or 70-plus yards (Week 2 vs. Baltimore).

3. Philly's Michael Vick loves targeting Celek in the end zone. And if the Eagles should make a change at quarterback soon (Nick Foles)...Celek's targets frequency would probably take a hit.

Rising: QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

2012 Stats: 1,637 Yards Passing, 16 TD

Fantasy Reasons To Believe

1. It's weird to view Aaron Rodgers in the prism of an 'emerging' asset, since he was already the No. 1 fantasy talent back in August. 

However, no quarterback can match his double-digit output in touchdowns (13) over the last three games.

2. Speaking of which, Rodgers racked up six passing TDs (and 338 yards) against the Texans last week, tying a Packers franchise record (Matt Flynn) and falling just short of the NFL single-game record of seven passing TDs.

3. Rodgers has three enticing matchups with the Rams, Jaguars and Cardinals before his Week 10 bye.

Slipping: QB Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

2012 Stats: 1,154 Yards Passing, 7 Total TD

Fantasy Reasons To Be Feeling Blue

1. Through five games, Cam Newton has attempted more than 30 passes only once.

2. Newton is well off the pace of last year's output in passing yards and total touchdowns.

3. The second-year star has already missed out on the QB-elite threshold of 275 yards and/or three TDs twice.

4. Newton's trade value has taken a substantial hit from its sky-high preseason price.

Rising: RB Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2012 Stats: 431 Total Yards (323 Rushing), 1 TD

Fantasy Reasons To Believe

1. Through five games, the rookie Martin has accounted for 74 total yards and/or one touchdown four times.

2. Against Kansas City last week, Martin racked up a personal-best 131 total yards (76 rushing).

3. With receivers Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson (178 combined yards, three TD last week) off to great starts, Martin likely won't see eight or nine defenders in the proverbial 'box' in standard down-and-distance situations.

4. Martin has drawn numerous physical comparisons to Baltimore's Ray Rice. Martin's a stealth talent for standard-scoring and points-per-reception leagues.

Falling: RB Jackie Battle, San Diego Chargers

2012 Stats: 225 Total Yards (176 Rushing), 4 TD

Fantasy Reasons To Be Feeling Blue

1. Well, so much for Jackie Battle filling the void of Mike Tolbert (now with Carolina), the Chargers' red-zone and PPR dynamo from last season. In his last two games, Battle has 20 total yards on eight touches.

2. Fantasy owners should continually track Battle's progress, even after dumping him in 12-team leagues. In essence, someone has to be San Diego's go-to guy near the goal line...and Ryan Mathews may not be suited for that role.