Daily Fantasy Football October 22: DFS Stock Up, Stock Down

Week 6 is in the books, and it was another week loaded with shockers and surprises. Some players stepped up big, while others failed to live up to expectations. The stock report is in, but it's more than just players who had games in Week 6 who were impacted. This edition also includes a player coming off a bye week who is looking good heading into Week 7, as well as one who should be concerned.

With the man above, Matthew Stafford, facing a benching in Week 5, he bounced back in one of the best ways you could imagine. The Detroit Lions have a long way to go before they actually get things fully turned around, but defeating the rival Chicago Bears was a nice start.

Let's take a look at the stock report heading into Week 7 and see who's trending upward and which players have seen their stock begin to fall.

Benjamin Watson, TE, New Orleans Saints ($3,300)

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Welcome to the show, Benjamin Watson. The veteran tight end had quite a Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons, catching 10 balls for 127 yards and one touchdown. Best of all, he was by far Drew Brees' favorite target, getting 12 looks, more than double the next-closest player with five.

Watson may not be the most consistent tight end on the board, but at a position where it seems to be almost a crapshoot each week, there's no reason to not keep your eye on him. His 31.7 fantasy point performance on DraftKings was stellar, and it came after he scored a solid 12.6 points the week before.

If this two-week showing is any indication, Brees may be looking for Watson more, which could result in a nice sleeper option at just $3,300. Watson's a risky play, as you never know exactly what you'll get, but that can be said about quite a few of the tight ends at this point in the 2015 season.

Watson's stock is way up, and the Saints face an Indianapolis Colts team that has given up 338 yards to opposing tight ends, but only one touchdown. If you need a sleeper, keep your eye on one of the players tasked with replacing Jimmy Graham in New Orleans.

Joseph Randle, RB, Dallas Cowboys ($5,500)

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Bad news has hit for Joseph Randle, it seems. While the Dallas Cowboys have been giving first-team offensive reps to Christine Michael, according to Fox Sports, Randle has spent his fair share of time watching it all unfold. Has Michael supplanted Randle as the starter? No, not yet, but we may be headed in that direction.

The good news for Randle is that he's handling it like a pro, and as Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News reported, the young running back just wants to help the team win.

While that's great news for the Cowboys, it's not so great for fantasy players who have had any vested interest in Randle. Dallas has made it more than a little obvious that it wants to see some offensive shakeups after the bye week, including a change at quarterback, one on the offensive line and more reps for Michael at running back.

In turn, Randle, who has averaged 14.3 fantasy points per game this season, may see his rushing attempts drop in Week 7. Even looking back at his previous games, aside from a three-touchdown explosion against the Atlanta Falcons, Randle hasn't blown us away, scoring 8.6 points in Week 4 and 11.3 in Week 5. His stock is falling, and if Michael comes out and looks strong, it may begin to plummet.

Stock Up: Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions ($5,700)

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

It seems that Matthew Stafford didn't take his Week 5 benching against the Arizona Cardinals lightly. The quarterback, who had been a massive letdown through the early parts of the season, turned things around massively in Week 6 against the Chicago Bears.

Stafford completed 64.3 percent of his passes for a ridiculous 405 yards and four touchdowns. Most importantly, he scored 37.9 fantasy points, which was 17.6 points more than he's scored in a single week all season. So, is Stafford back to being a great daily fantasy option? It's tough to judge at this point, but he seems to be playing motivated football.

Stafford and the Detroit Lions get a major test this Sunday against a Minnesota Vikings team that has allowed just 1,255 passing yards and six touchdowns against opposing quarterbacks. To put it lightly, it hasn't been an easy task facing Minnesota if you're a quarterback.

We'll find out if Stafford is back to being a legit fantasy option this Sunday, but for now, his stock is definitely trending in the right direction.

Jordan Matthews, WR, Philadelphia Eagles ($6,400)

Michael Perez/Associated Press

After two strong weeks to start the 2015 season where Jordan Matthews scored over 20 fantasy points, he's taken a major step backward. Over the past four weeks, Matthews has failed to top 11 fantasy points in any game, and while he received 11 targets in Week 6, they resulted in just 59 receiving yards against the New York Giants.

The Giants have allowed the third-most passing yards per game in the NFL at 298.5, so the fact that Matthews could only total 59 yards is pretty disappointing for fantasy players. To top it off, the No. 1 receiver in Philadelphia lost a fumble in this game, so there's plenty of reason to be concerned about his recent play.

Matthews' stock is falling, but he's definitely a candidate for a quick turnaround if he can right the ship in Chip Kelly's high-flying offense. Unfortunately, with a cost of $6,400 on DraftKings, it may be hard to justify using him based on his recent play.

Christine Michael, RB, Dallas Cowboys ($3,000)

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Yes, two Dallas Cowboys on the same list. As they say, one man's loss is another man's gain.

Christine Michael is staring a golden opportunity in the face at this point. With the Cowboys lacking an explosive, playmaking presence on their offense, Michael could be just that in Week 7 for this team. While he's getting first-team reps, it's widely assumed that he could overtake Joseph Randle as the starter before long.

What's unknown is whether Michael will come out and be the starter from the word "go" or if he'll be looking at a 50-50 split with Randle. Regardless of how you look at it, Michael's stock is obviously trending in the right direction. Not only that, but he'll get the opportunity to run behind one of the best offensive lines in football.

If you want a sleeper who's going to allow you to use a few other studs, look no further than Michael, who has a beautiful cost of just $3,000 on DraftKings. Some may call it a bit of a risk, but the Cowboys badly need a spark, and with the many changes they're making during their bye week, don't be surprised if Michael leads Dallas' run game against the New York Giants.

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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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