Daily Fantasy Football December 11: DFS Stock Up, Stock Down

With many season-long fantasy football leagues heading toward the playoffs, competitors are mostly sticking with their best players. In daily fantasy football, however, you would be smart to avoid some of the bigger stars in favor of cheaper options.

Between tough matchups, injuries and poor recent play, some notable players are simply not worth the cost in Week 14. Here is a look at a few of those players and names to replace them in the latest stock report.

Stock Down

Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons ($6,100)

Don Juan Moore/Getty Images

After a hot start to the season, Matt Ryan has fallen apart lately, and the Atlanta Falcons have suffered with five losses in a row. As Brian Billick noted, the collapse has been somewhat unexplainable:

"

2015 Matt Ryan just threw a sacrifice fly into quadruple coverage...his undoing in 2nd half of the season is one of big mysteries this year.

— Brian Billick (@CoachBillick) December 6, 2015"

From a fantasy perspective, the results have been just as bad with only one game of multiple touchdowns in the past four contests. He is making bad decisions, and it is leading to more turnovers than scores.

While you wouldn't want to give up on Ryan completely in a season-long league, there is no reason to trust him now in daily fantasy, especially with an upcoming matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Although Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers had solid days against this defense, Ryan isn't in this category and is likely to continue his struggles in Week 14.

Todd Gurley, RB, St. Louis Rams ($6,800)

It was only a few weeks ago we were talking about Todd Gurley being one of the top running backs in football. However, the past two games have shown he still has a long way to go, finishing with a combined 60 rushing yards on 18 carries with no touchdowns.

While a change at offensive coordinator from Frank Cignetti to Rob Boras will hopefully lead to dramatic improvements, the newly promoted coach wasn't quite as optimistic. Boras explained this week, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

"

I don’t know how much can change. But at the end of the day, we’re pretty far down the road right now. There’s not gonna be a whole lot that’s gonna change. You hope to become more efficient. We’ve gotta try to put guys in the best position we can to make plays. 

But it can’t be a huge change — guys can’t handle that right now. We’re too far entrenched with our system to think there’s gonna be wholesale changes.

"

If that doesn't excite fans, I don't know what will. As bad as the team has been, Boras doesn't think he can do much to change the way things have gone.

Teams will continue to stack the line to stop Gurley, including a Detroit Lions defense that has played well lately. At his price, there is just too much risk to put him in your lineup.

Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys ($6,800)

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

The absence of Tony Romo has certainly hurt Dez Bryant when he is active this year, but no matter who you blame, it is clear the Pro Bowl receiver is no longer worth his price in fantasy football.

In seven games this season, Bryant is averaging just 10.7 fantasy points on DraftKings. He has reached double digits in two of those contests and has just one game of more than 65 receiving yards.

Bryant did have a key 42-yard catch Monday night against the Washington Redskins, but that was one of only three receptions on seven targets in the win. Matt Cassel simply cannot get him the ball, and any downfield attack is severely limited with Romo on the sideline.

There are plenty of better options in daily fantasy for Week 14 with either similar or much cheaper prices.

Stock Up

Tyrod Taylor, QB, Buffalo Bills ($5,400)

Despite costing a little more than the minimum at quarterback, Tyrod Taylor has been one of the best fantasy players at the position lately.

The Buffalo Bills star has over 56 fantasy points on DraftKings over the last two weeks with six passing touchdowns and a rushing score in this stretch. While Taylor has been a bit inconsistent this year, he seems to be playing at his best now that he and all of his key targets are healthy.

Head coach Rex Ryan noted the quarterback is starting to gain believers:

"

On Tyrod Taylor: "I think he's legit. I think he's real. And I think people are finally starting to realize that." pic.twitter.com/lXsYxAtZtg

— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) December 6, 2015"

Perhaps the most impressive part of Taylor's past two games is that they came against red-hot defenses in the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans. The same cannot be said about the Philadelphia Eagles defense, a unit that has given up 13 passing touchdowns and a rushing score to quarterbacks over the last three games.

This could be a huge performance for Taylor at a minimal price.

James White, RB, New England Patriots ($4,100)

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

Betting on any running back on a Bill Belichick team is a risky proposition, but James White has certainly shown a lot of upside in recent weeks.

Although he isn't exactly replacing the injured Dion Lewis, White performed well in that role in Week 13 with 10 catches for 115 receiving yards and a touchdown out of the backfield. He only had two rushing attempts for four yards, but in a points-per-reception league, he is doing more than enough to help out those who draft him.

According to Pro Football Focus, White finished last game with 51 snaps, well ahead of LeGarrette Blount (26) and Brandon Bolden (19) for the team lead at running back. Against another team with a strong defensive line in the Texans, the Patriots might elect to use White even more in Week 14.

With the running back's pass-catching ability in a high-powered offense, the potential is through the roof at this limited price.

DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins ($4,000)

This has been mostly a disappointing season for DeVante Parker, but the past few weeks showed why he was a first-round pick last spring.

The former Louisville star got his chance to see the field two weeks ago when Rishard Matthews went down with broken ribs. Parker responded with 80 yards and a touchdown. In his first career start in Week 13, the rookie totaled 63 yards, with most of them coming on an impressive 38-yard touchdown grab.

Matt Harmon of NFL.com believes this will be the start of a strong finish for the talented receiver:

"

Oh man, and DeVante Parker just came down with a tremendous TD catch. He's going to make plays for them down the stretch.

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) December 6, 2015"

The Miami Dolphins have been a mess for much of the year, but Ryan Tannehill has put up a lot of numbers in garbage time, and those count the same in fantasy. With a matchup against the worst passing defense in the NFL, Parker could put up a lot of points against the New York Giants. 

Note: All prices and fantasy score info courtesy of DraftKings. Unless otherwise noted, all stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.

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