Daily Fantasy Football October 8: DFS Stock Up, Stock Down

Week 4 of the NFL season was filled with some headaches, some shockers and a few stellar performances from big-name players. The question is, how's the stock report looking as we head toward yet another week of huge paydays on DraftKings?

For players like the man above, Drew Brees—who had a record-breaking day—it just may have been enough to get him on the list of players whose stock is trending upward. For others, like one running back who nearly made an awful goal-line decision, they are watching their stock plummet at a rapid rate.

Regardless, the stock report is on, and it's almost time for Week 5 of the NFL season, so let's look at a few players who are rising and a few who are falling currently.

Stock Up: Allen Hurns, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars ($4,500)

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Allen Hurns is one of the many young wide receivers on the Jacksonville Jaguars. While he's played second-fiddle at times to Allen Robinson, he's produced nicely throughout 2015, topping 60 yards in every game.

Even more impressive, is what Hurns was able to do in Week 4. Blake Bortles showed non-stop interest in getting Hurns the ball, which resulted in 11 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. This was his second week in a row with a score, and the 31.6 DraftKings points he produced in Week 4 sent his price from $3,900 up to $4,500.

Fortunately, that's still a pretty good value price to pay, as the Jaguars will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5. Expect Hurns to continue to not only produce, but to also continue to see his role grow for the Jaguars as the season rolls on.

While we mentioned that the Jaguars have quite a few young receivers on their roster, Bortles has shown his connection is strongest with Robinson and Hurns, who both have over 300 receiving yards so far this season. The next closest player? Tight end Clay Harbor with 74 yards.

Stock Down: Joseph Randle, RB, Dallas Cowboys ($6,000)

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Oh, Joseph, you're breaking the hearts of daily fantasy players all over the place. After scoring 30.5 fantasy points in Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons, Randle seemed poised for another big day after scoring in the second quarter on a one-yard leaping touchdown against the Saints. The problem was, Randle decided to jump over the pile and extend the ball across the goal line, which didn't sit well with head coach Jason Garrett.

The end result was Randle not playing a single snap in the fourth quarter of the Week 4 loss. Essentially, the 8.6 DraftKings points that Randle managed in Week 4 all came in the first three quarters, with the bulk of them coming over the first one and a half quarters or so.

The news seems to get even worse for Randle, as Christine Michael is picking up steam in terms of the potential to earn carries moving forward. The only thing that may keep Randle in some type of extended role, and as the current starter, is the fact that Lance Dunbar tore his ACL and MCL in Week 4, according to Dan Hanzus of NFL.com.

In all honesty, Randle's stock is just going in the wrong direction and it's probably better off to just avoid him at this point.

Stock Up: Doug Martin, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($4,700)

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

In Doug Martin's defense, he hadn't been running all that bad before Week 4, but the fact is, Martin turned a corner on Sunday. Aside from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' lone win against the New Orleans Saints, the Buccaneers haven't been able to really get things going offensively, which hasn't helped out Martin's numbers. In turn, Martin's posted mediocre numbers for a team that's constantly playing from behind.

Fortunately, that all changed in Week 4 against the strong Carolina Panthers defense. Martin rushed 20 times for 106 yards and a touchdown, while catching five passes for 37 yards as well. It was a pretty surprising outing for Martin, as the Panthers rank in the top 10 in rushing yards allowed per game at 92.

Martin's 28.3 point fantasy explosion was great to see, and while it caused his price to jump up $300 on DraftKings, he's still more than a great value at $4,700. This week, Martin faces the Jacksonville Jaguars defense.

Jacksonville's biggest test this year so far came against the New England Patriots, when they allowed LeGarrette Blount to rush for 78 yards and three touchdowns, while Dion Lewis totaled 37 yards and a score as well.

Jacksonville hasn't had the toughest schedule when it comes to facing running backs, so Martin may be poised for another big game in Week 5.

Stock Down: Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers ($8,700)

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Hear me out before you rip my head off for adding one of the best wide receivers in the game to the "stock down" section. Even if you're incredibly talented and seem nearly unstoppable, you can still be staring a situation in the face that sends your stock just a bit in the wrong direction.

When someone's stock is as high as Brown's is, it's actually even easier for them to head slightly in the wrong direction. The reason for Brown's stock going down isn't necessarily about him, but more because of Ben Roethlisberger's MCL sprain and bone bruise. While Roethlisberger was originally reported to be aiming for a return on October 25, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, that seems unlikely now.

As Sports Illustrated reports, Roethlisberger is still in a lot of pain and doesn't have a set timetable for a return. This is bad news for Brown, to put it simply.

There's obviously plenty of reason to believe that the connection between Brown and backup quarterback Michael Vick will improve over time, but he caught just five balls for 42 yards in Week 4. Brown had totaled 29 catches for 436 yards and two touchdowns in the three weeks prior.

When going from one game with 11 catches for 108 yards, to the next with 42 yards on five catches, it's not a big surprise to see your stock dip just a bit. The difference between Roethlisberger and Vick at quarterback is what really causes this change in value.

Stock Up: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints ($7,200)

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

When the 2015 season began, Drew Brees was expected to light the NFL on fire, as we've seen in so many seasons before. Then the games began and Brees looked, well, mediocre. In Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals he completed 62.5 percent of his passes with one touchdown and one interception. Tack on a quarterback rating of 83.2 and there was nothing too amazing to take away from the 31-19 loss.

Week 2 came and the Saints faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a spot where Brees should have exploded. Again, he didn't, throwing for 255 yards, completing 63.2 percent of his passes and throwing one touchdown against one interception once again. His QB rating in that one was just 80.5.

A bit after the 26-19 loss to the Buccaneers, we found out Brees was dealing with a shoulder injury he suffered during Week 2. Fortunately for Brees and the Saints, it wound up just being a bruised rotator cuff, not a torn rotator cuff, as Mike Triplett of ESPN reported.

Regardless, he missed Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers and his status for Week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys was up in the air.

Then, the legendary Brees came back to life and played against the Cowboys. Not only did Brees complete 80.5 percent of his passes for 359 yards and two touchdowns, but his 80-yard touchdown to C.J. Spiller on the second play of overtime sealed the victory for the Saints.

Brees seems to have turned the corner, and this week the Saints face a Philadelphia Eagles team that ranks No. 25 in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game at 276.5. Brees legitimately willed the Saints to a victory in Week 4, and his 25.36 fantasy points were pretty nice for daily fantasy players as well.

Best of all, Brees' price has dropped on DraftKings from $7,400 to $7,200, so this could be a great week to look at grabbing the veteran QB, especially since his stock is absolutely heading in the right direction.

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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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