Daily Fantasy Football December 15: DFS Stock Up, Stock Down

Daily fantasy football owners have just a few weeks left to analyze the stock market and make the right moves to come out ahead before the season ends.

Being so late in the season, owners shouldn't be shocked that one of daily fantasy's biggest risers, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, helped more than a few owners earn cash this past weekend with his 32.28 points.

The task now, without much time for a break, is to analyze the Week 15 market and find the next Wilson.

Within, let's look at the injuries, slumps, breakout performances and more shaking up the daily fantasy stock market for December 15.

Stock Up: Isaiah Crowell, RB, Cleveland Browns ($4,000)

David Richard/Associated Press

Isaiah Crowell has booming stock after an outburst.

Cleveland Browns lead back Isaiah Crowell might be the biggest riser of the week set to transfer the momentum to Week 15.

Crowell absolutely exploded this past weekend, rushing 20 times for 145 yards and two scores with one catch through the air, good for a cool 31.4 points.

One has to wonder why the Browns didn't give him every-down usage earlier. Crowell certainly wonders, though not for fantasy purposes.

“I think about it all the time,” Crowell said, according to Nate Ulrich and Marla Ridenour of Ohio.com. “Right after the game, I thought about it. What if we did that all the time? We’d have a lot more victories.”

Every-down usage from a talented back is what owners need. Many will shy away from Crowell both because he plays for the Browns and because he has to deal with the Seahawks next.

Savvy owners will take the gamble knowing opportunities equal production.

Stock Down: Todd Gurley, RB, St. Louis Rams ($6,700)

Tom Gannam/Associated Press/Associated Press

Multiple factots hurt Todd Gurley going into a short week.

After a pair of performances flirting with the four-point mark, St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley exploded back onto the scene in Week 14 with 30.7 points on 140 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Then he got hurt.

Gurley's an incredible price, but not if he can't go. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch detailed the news on Twitter: "Todd Gurley wasn't in the game at the end. Said he banged his knee, but doesn't sound like anything serious."

Here's the problem. If Gurley had a normal matchup in Week 15, fine. But Gurley on a "banged" knee now has to have a quick turnaround for Thursday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Those Buccaneers have only allowed five rushing touchdowns to backs this year. Were Gurley healthy, maybe owners could find an excuse to trot him out on a short week.

All of the above considered now makes for some serious downward stock and a situation most should want to avoid.

Stock Up: Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals ($5,000)

Ron Schwane/Associated Press

Injuries have Jeremy Hill's stock looking good.

Yes, the Cincinnati Bengals took a tough loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers over the weekend, and no, Jeremy Hill wasn't a major part of the game plan.

To further dampen the outlook, the Bengals lost quarterback Andy Dalton for at least one week, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

That's where Hill's stock takes a bump.

While he only received seven carries against the Steelers, the team fell behind and had to abandon the run after Dalton went down, and AJ McCarron took over starting duties.

The same won't happen again. Hill received 16 or more carries in the two games prior to the loss and figures to see a major usage bump next weekend against the San Francisco 49ers as the Bengals look to protect McCarron.

Did anyone mention Crowell's major outbreak happened against those 49ers?

Stock Down: DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans ($8,500)

Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press

DeAndre Hopkins' dwindling stock won't stop falling this week.

This might not be what fantasy owners want to hear, but there's a reason the asking price around DeAndre Hopkins has dipped from $9,100 to its current state over three weeks.

For one, Hopkins' outings since the high mark read like this: 8.6, 19.8 and 8.2.

Two, Hopkins will have to play for at least a week without starting quarterback Brian Hoyer, according to Rapoport, barring a miracle.

This means T.J. Yates under center for a wideout who has struggled in recent weeks as defenses have found ways to somewhat limit his production.

Some might view this as the perfect chance to trot out Hopkins at a discount, especially going into a matchup with an Indianapolis Colts team that just gave up 51 points.

Others, though, will see the writing on the wall that is Hopkins' downward trend going into a road contest without his starter under center.

Stock Up: Eric Ebron, TE, Detroit Lions ($3,000)

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Eric Ebron is about to see his usage rate go up.

Detroit Lions tight end Eric Ebron hasn't exactly been the most reliable player this year thanks to odd usage and habitual drop issues.

There's a ray of sunshine beginning to peak through the clouds when it comes to his usage, at least. According to ESPN's Michael Rothstein, Detroit unfortunately just lost tight end Brandon Pettigrew for the season to a knee injury.

This, in the mind of MLive.com's Kyle Meinke, means a bigger work rate for Ebron:

"

That means Ebron probably is headed for an expanded role. With Tim Wright -- inactive for the past month -- the only other tight end on the roster. Ebron could use the work, too. He finished with three catches for just 27 yards against St. Louis, and hasn't eclipsed 30 yards since Oct. 25. He has just one touchdown in that time.

"

Those numbers aren't incredible by any means, but understand that the Lions next play the New Orleans Saints, the worst team in the league when it comes to defending tight ends, having already coughed up 10 scores to the spot this year.

The Lions understand this as well, meaning Ebron's going to get a lot of looks.

Stock Down: DeSean Jackson, WR, Washington ($4,500)

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

DeSean Jackson's injury-riddled season continues.

At face value, Washington wideout DeSean Jackson looks like a pretty good bargain because he's managed 14.6 or more points in three of his last four outings.

Dig deeper, though, and one finds out that Jackson struggled to two catches this past weekend against the iffy Chicago Bears and left the game late with an injury.

It turns out the issue might hold Jackson out of his team's Week 15 contest, too, as he told Liz Clarke of the Washington Post: “I don’t know. We’ll see how the week progresses. Got to get some treatment.”

It's a shame, too, because the Buffalo Bills have struggled at times to contain opposing wideouts.

Barring a change as the week progresses, it sounds like Jackson's recently surging stock will continue to hit a decline in what has been a disappointing year for one of football's most explosive players.

Stock Up: Zach Miller, TE, Chicago Bears ($3,600)

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Zach Miller continues to produce as the new starter.

Call it the week of resurgent tight ends. 

Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller was one of the most common names cited for pickup last week with starter Martellus Bennett lost for the season.

Those who listened got 19.5 points for their efforts, as Miller caught five passes for 85 yards and a score against a stingy Washington defense.

Miller finished just third on the team in targets behind Alshon Jeffery and Jeremy Langford, but it's much better than he used to get, and odds are many of his future surefire looks will come near the end zone. 

A veteran tight end whose team figures to sling it often the rest of the season isn't one to ignore now that he's the starter and a key part of the offense.

---

Enter the DraftKings $1M Play-Action Contest this weekend. Use Promo Code BLEACHER REPORT when you sign up.

Pricing information and scoring data obtained from DraftKings. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus unless otherwise specified.