Daily Fantasy Football October 23: DFS Stock Up, Stock Down

It's time for a stock check heading into Week 7 of the NFL season. While fantasy players have been refreshing their phones for updates on big names like Dez Bryant and Odell Beckham Jr., you may have to keep your fingers crossed as we get closer to Sunday.

Regardless, there are players heading into the week whose stock are trending in the right direction, while others are falling off in a big way. It may be just one down week that has fantasy players concerned, or it could even be the rise of a quarterback who no one truly expected to have the potential to become a fantasy stud.

The options are all over when you look at the fantasy big board this week, so let's get into the stock report for Friday, to try to make life just a bit easier.

Stock Up: Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs ($4,900)

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Travis Kelce started off 2015 with a ridiculous game against the Houston Texans, complete with six catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns. He looked well on his way to being one of the biggest studs at tight end this season.

Recently, though? It's been a string of mediocre play with some solid outings mixed in.

Kelce failed to top 60 yards in three of the next five games, but there's an obvious reason why his stock is trending in the right direction now. After losing Jamaal Charles to a torn ACL in Week 5 against the Chicago Bears, it's very likely the Kansas City Chiefs will be playing catch-up quite a bit throughout the rest of this season.

In Week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings, Kelce wound up with five catches for 88 yards. Best of all, he was actually tied for the most targets with Chris Conley for the Chiefs with seven. If the Chiefs wind up behind early in games, they're going to look to utilize Kelce and Jeremy Maclin much more than they did at the beginning of the season.

In turn, this is great news for fantasy players, as Kelce's stock definitely jumps up and will be worth watching over the coming weeks.

Stock Down: Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys ($8,100)

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Unfortunately, Dez Bryant gets the nod for a player whose stock is falling. This is only due to the fact that many fantasy players had hoped to see him get back in Week 7 for a pivotal matchup with the New York Giants. 

While he hasn't been completely ruled out just yet, Bryant didn't participate in practice all week, instead working off to the side and rehabbing the fractured bone in his right foot. According to Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News, Bryant will be listed as "doubtful" heading into this game.

Bryant seems unlikely to play, and it seems like the Dallas Cowboys may just be doing everything possible to keep the Giants on their toes. Even if Bryant does play at this point, it would be on a very limited basis, but don't expect to see Bryant until Week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks in the best case.

Even when he does return, daily fantasy players may want to tread lightly, as Bryant has a costly price tag of $8,100 on DraftKings.

Stock Up: LeGarrette Blount, RB, New England Patriots ($4,800)

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Even coming in contact with the running back situation for the New England Patriots in daily fantasy is a pretty daunting task, but LeGarrette Blount seems to be the real deal. While he's played in four games this season, Blount has only had one real disappointing showing, which came in Week 2 when he rushed just two times for four yards.

Since that point, we've seen Blount receive 47 rushes for 245 yards and four touchdowns over the last three games. He's averaged 5.26 yards on the ground over that span and seems to be the go-to option in the rushing game.

While the stellar pass-catching back Dion Lewis will receive his fair share of touches, he's in the midst of dealing with an abdomen issue currently, which may result in Blount seeing even more work in Week 7. Regardless, both players will get their touches, but it seems Blount is going to produce on a consistent basis.

Specifically looking at Week 6 against the Indianapolis Colts, Lewis actually received 10 more snaps (39) than Blount (29), according to RotoWire.com. Even with that said, Blount scored 23.4 fantasy points compared to the 6.9 for Lewis. You have to love the direction Blount's stock is heading in at this moment.

Stock Down: Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants ($6,800)

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Eli Manning has had a strong start to the 2015 season; there's no question about it. He's thrown for 11 touchdowns against four interceptions, while averaging 18.6 fantasy points per game. So why is his stock falling right this moment? Unfortunately, it's pretty obvious after his below-average performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6.

The New York Giants went into Philadelphia looking to make a statement in the division. It looked as though they were well on their way, as Manning threw an early touchdown to Odell Beckham Jr. to put them up 7-0 just 4:37 into the game.

Then, everything began to spiral downward. The Giants didn't score another point the entire game, losing 27-7. To top it off, Manning finished with just 189 passing yards, the one touchdown and two interceptions. His 62.3 quarterback rating was his worst of the season, and it immediately was a cause for concern for the Giants.

The Eagles secondary is mediocre at best, so many expected Manning to have a huge game. That wasn't the case, though, and now he finds himself on this list, with daily fantasy players having to debate whether or not Manning is worth using in Week 7.

Stock Up: Brian Hoyer, QB, Houston Texans ($5,300)

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My man crush on Brian Hoyer isn't flying under-the-radar anymore. After finally getting the nod as the starter from the opening snap, Hoyer produced in a big way. He threw for 293 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, leading the Houston Texans to a 31-20 victory.

While the two weeks leading up to Week 6, Hoyer had received some action after the team chose to sit Ryan Mallett, he even produced well during the short spans there. When specifically looking at Hoyer's last three games, he's averaged 21.79 fantasy points per game, which is absolutely great for a player who only costs $5,300.

Hoyer's play has been well worth talking about, but he and the Texans get a touch matchup in Week 7 against the Miami Dolphins. This is a Miami team that has allowed just eight touchdowns and totaled five interceptions against opposing quarterbacks, and it's also playing with renewed confidence it seems under interim head coach Dan Campbell.

Even with all that said, Hoyer is still a sneaky play in Week 7 and will be a great daily fantasy option moving forward if his price doesn't make some type of crazy jump.

Stock Down: Charcandrick West, RB, Kansas City Chiefs ($4,200)

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Charcandrick West was staring a major opportunity in the face after Jamaal Charles went down with a season-ending torn ACL. Unfortunately for both West and the Kansas City Chiefs' run game, they couldn't get anything going. West ended up rushing nine times for 33 yards and losing a fumble.

The good news for West is that his counterpart, Knile Davis, was actually even less productive, rushing five times for 13 yards. While West will likely remain the lead man ahead of Davis on the depth chart, it's not a safe bet to have to rely on anyone in the run game for the Chiefs right now.

Losing Charles was simply a brutal blow for this offense, and even with a cost of $4,200 on DraftKings, West may not be able to produce enough to be worth that price tag. To make things even worse, the Chiefs face the Steelers this Sunday, who have allowed just 130 rushes for 457 yards and exactly zero touchdowns all season.

Don't rely on West or Davis in Week 7.

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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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