Daily Fantasy Football October 1: DFS Stock Up, Stock Down

We've seen a beautiful mix of good, bad and ugly through just three weeks of the 2015 NFL season. While Adrian Peterson's comeback seems to be rolling right along, the only team who has beaten the Minnesota Vikings this year is completely falling apart.

Peterson would be the definition of the "good," while San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was simply awful in Week 3. Kaepernick completed exactly nine passes in the 47-7 loss to the Arizona Cardinals for just 67 yards and four, yes four, interceptions. Worst of all, two of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns.

The stock watch is on as we head into Week 4 of the season, so let's look at a few players whose stock is trending up, as well as a few who are falling.

Stock Up

Karlos Williams, RB, Buffalo Bills ($3,400)

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

The more the Buffalo Bills give Karlos Williams the ball, the better things seem to go. Williams has been a stud so far this year, out-producing starter LeSean McCoy on the ground, while tallying nearly half the carries (43 for McCoy, 24 for Williams).

The rookie running back is fresh off a performance in which he rushed 12 times for 110 yards and a touchdown, totaling 20 fantasy points on DraftKings. That's great, except that he's not the starter, right? Well, apparently there's a good chance he will be in Week 4 against the New York Giants.

According to NFL.com, head coach Rex Ryan stated that things aren't looking good for McCoy to play in Week 4.

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"He's certainly not 100 percent. We're holding him out from practice. (There is) a real possibility he won't play," Ryan said, via WGR Radio's Sal Capaccio. "Is it worth the time to get him near or 100 percent? We're weighing that right now."

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Sounds like it's time to give the nod to the fifth-round pick who's currently shredding defenses on every opportunity he gets. Williams is actually averaging 2.4 fantasy points per game more than McCoy as well (14.4 against 12.0).

With a value price of $3,400, Williams looks like a potential steal in Week 4.

Ryan Mathews, RB, Philadelphia Eagles ($3,800)

Adam Hunger/Associated Press

With all due respect to DeMarco Murray, why aren't we all raving about Ryan Mathews? Before Mathews' Week 3 explosion against the strong New York Jets defense, the run game in Philadephia was almost non-existent. Thanks to Mathews, though, the Eagles have a competent run game, which may have been exactly what they were missing.

It's still unknown whether or not Murray is going to play this week after missing Week 3 with a hamstring injury. If he is out, it's time to turn our attention to Mathews. In Murray's absence on Sunday, the former San Diego Charger rushed 25 times for 108 yards, while catching two passes for 20 yards and a touchdown.

The debate is on about whether or not Mathews is the better fit in Chip Kelly's offense, but if the early results are any indication, he may be the right choice moving forward. Even with that said, don't expect the Eagles to throw in the towel on Murray anytime soon.

You don't just invest $40 million in a running back and send him to the bench, so tread carefully on Mathews, although his stock is definitely rising at this point.

Latavius Murray, RB, Oakland Raiders ($6,300)

Aaron Josefczyk/Associated Press

The lead back for the Oakland Raiders saw his price jump $500 from Week 3 to Week 4. Fortunately, he's still more than a great value this week it seems. The Raiders showed that they were fully committed to getting the ball to Latavius Murray in the Week 3 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Murray finished up his day with 27 total touches (26 rushes), for 149 total yards and a touchdown. At the end of the day, it was a 24.9 point fantasy performance. When the Raiders are up, just as they were against the Browns, Murray is going to be a major focal point of this offense. Apparently, it'll become a priority to get him the ball even if they're behind as well.

The Raiders take on the struggling Chicago Bears this week, which should mean another heavy workload for the young running back. Murray was a hot name entering the 2015 season, but his stock is still rising.

Stock Down

Victor Cruz, WR, New York Giants ($4,600)

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

We've yet to see Victor Cruz salsa, or even play, in the 2015 season. Fortunately, it seemed as though that all was going to change, according to Yahoo Sports.

Giants fans and Cruz were excited about the debut. A healthy Cruz paired up with superstar second-year receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is a pretty scary thought. Unfortunately, it seems that Cruz's enthusiasm about returning may have come a bit too soon. According to the team's official Twitter, head coach Tom Coughlin said Cruz was pulled out of practice early on Wednesday due to his calf.

Cruz, who would have been an intriguing value play at $4,600, will likely miss Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. Barring some type of impressive turnaround on Thursday or Friday, expect to see Cruz cheering his team on from the sidelines again.

Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Minnesota Vikings ($5,700)

Andy Clayton-King/Associated Press

So, Teddy Bridgewater and the Minnesota Vikings will face a Denver Broncos defense who currently ranks No. 1 in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game at 176.3. Now, that alone is enough to scare off any fantasy player from using a quarterback, but after seeing Bridgewater in Week 3, it's even more of a reason to avoid him.

Following up a Week 2 performance which included Bridgewater completing 77.8 percent of his passes, throwing a touchdown and rushing for another, the second-year quarterback struggled in Week 3. The San Diego Chargers held Bridgewater to just 121 yards passing with an interception, while he completed just 54.2 percent of his passes.

Bridgewater took a rough turn against the Chargers, but expecting it to change against the stingy Broncos defense is probably not the safest of bets.

Danny Woodhead, RB, San Diego Chargers ($4,600)

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Woodhead was simply the definition of fantasy gold if you were looking for a sleeper on DraftKings over the first two weeks of the 2015 season. Woodhead scored 21.2 points in Week 1, then 16.4 in Week 2. What was even more impressive is the fact that he cost $4,000 or less in both weeks.

Then came Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings.

Woodhead rushed five times for 11 yards, while catching three balls for 32 yards in the 31-14 loss to the Vikings. While everyone can have an off game, there were things about this performance that are obvious causes for concern for fantasy players. Not only has Woodhead seen his carries drop from 13, to seven to five over the first three weeks, but he hasn't done much with the carries he is given.

On Woodhead's five carries in Week 3, he rushed for just 11 yards and finished the day with 7.3 fantasy points. Instead of handing the ball to him, San Diego shifted their rushing attack to rookie Melvin Gordon and second-year Branden Oliver, who combined for 22 carries.

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Pricing information and scoring data obtained from DraftKings.com. All statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.

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