Fantasy Football Week 8: Stock Up/Stock Down Picks To Maximize Your Lineup
Fantasy Football Week 8 stock watch continues as we look at who you should be stocking up on, and who you should consider getting rid of to maximize your lineup.
Last week brought us a few names we hadn't heard in awhile while some old, familiar faces just let us all down. In some cases, this wasn't the first time they've let us down this year (I'm talking to you Tom Brady).
With a few breakout performances this week, jump early and you may find some of these guys still available.
Stock Up No. 10: Jets Defense/ST
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Revis Island is now accepting visitors.
With Darrelle Revis declaring the bye week has allowed his hamstring to heal back to 100 percent, the Jets defense will have a much better chance of shutting down Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers.
Stock Down No. 10: Alex Smith
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Not only is Alex Smith injured and out for the next few weeks, Troy Smith now has been announced as the San Francisco 49ers starter.
If Troy Smith gives the 49ers offense a spark, Alex Smith's time as a starter may be over for good.
Stock Up No. 9: LeGarrette Blount
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While LeGarrette Blount made his road to the NFL as difficult as he could make it for himself, a guy with as much talent as he has was bound to reach this point sooner or later.
Blount quickly is rising through the ranks of Tampa Bay's running back corp. Blount got 72 yards on 11 touches last week. Expect that trend to continue with the "upward" prefix attached to it.
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Stock Down No. 9: Denver Broncos Defense/ST
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When your defense gives up 59 points in one game, it has problems, problems that aren't going to be fixed in a week or two.
Anyone still holding on to this defense should just quit now before the hole they've dug for themselves gets any deeper.
Stock Up No. 8: Maurice Jones-Drew
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If you don't already have MJD as a starter, or he's available to be taken, do so.
MJD is the Jaguars' only real offensive threat, and he's already had good days against good defenses.
Stock Down No. 8: Michael Bush
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Ladies and Gentleman, I give you, Darren McFadden!
It was nice knowing you Michael Bush, but there's a new sheriff in town, and he ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns last week.
Stock Up No. 7: Kenny Britt
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Kenny Britt had three touchdowns and 225 receiving yards, and he didn't even play the entire game.
No matter who is taking snaps behind center, Britt just made himself a priority target this week.
Stock Down No. 7: Michael Crabtree
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With Troy Smith starting, it's difficult to say how many opportunities Michael Crabtree is going to have to catch passes.
While we can't sit here and say Smith will be a check-down machine, we can say head coach Mike Singletary may throw half the playbook away this week and concentrate on giving Frank Gore the ball.
Stock Up No. 6: Dez Bryant
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While Tony Romo may be down, let's be real here, the Cowboys aren't going to stop throwing the ball.
Dez Bryant will become a primary target for Jon Kitna, and the Cowboys will rely on Bryant's hands and athleticism to keep the offense moving.
Stock Down No. 6: Larry Fitzgerald
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The Arizona Cardinals have a quarterback problem in that they have no quarterback who would be starting on just about any other team at the moment.
Whisenhunt may have found the next Tom Brady in Max Hall for all we know, but we're nowhere near that level yet. What we do know is Hall is an undrafted rookie still getting his feet wet, and behind him is Derek "Squander Every Opportunity Handed To Me" Anderson.
Stuck in the middle is Larry Fitzgerald, who wishes there was a quarterback on the team who could find him on the field right now.
Stock Up No. 5: Matthew Stafford
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Matthew Stafford is pencilled in as the starter this weekend, so it's time to put him back on your fantasy teams.
While his effectiveness won't be known until we see him play, he's the kind of player who's going to come out slinging, and Calvin Johnson still is out there for him to throw to.
Stock Down No. 5: Kevin Kolb
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Kevin Kolb is officially benched now that Michael Vick is back. While it's possible another injury brings him out on the field, do you really want to take that risk?
Stock Up No. 4: Knowshon Moreno
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Lost in the 59-point defensive debacle that was the Broncos game Sunday was Knowshon Moreno running for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
With how one-dimensional the Broncos offense has been, now that Moreno is healthy, expect the Broncos to open it up.
Stock Down No. 4: Jay Cutler
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The human body, and the professional football player, can only take so many hits in a short amount of time before it starts affecting how you do things, or in Jay Cutler's case, how he plays football.
Cutler officially passed the "hit too many times" milestone last week. He's not making good decisions and making poor throws, and he's still getting hit too many times.
Drop him now before he gets dropped again.
Stock Up No. 3: Jon Kitna
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Jon Kitna may be no Tony Romo, but that doesn't mean the Dallas Cowboys are going to stop throwing the ball.
No matter what, unless Kitna is a complete disaster, he's going to throw for a few hundred yards and one or two touchdowns.
Stock Down No. 3: Ray Rice
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With Willis McGahee returning to his goal-line duties, that spells doom for Ray Rice fantasy owners.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh likes using McGahee near the goal line, and that's been good for the Ravens, but terrible for Ray Rice.
Stock Up No. 2: Darren McFadden
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When you run for 165 yards and three touchdowns in one game, coaches and fans aren't the only ones who take notice.
Like Arian Foster a few weeks ago, McFadden is a running back now being scooped up by fantasy owners as fast as they can get him.
Expect more McFadden this week since head coach Tom Cable will ride the hot horse for the next few weeks at least.
Stock Down No. 2: Drew Brees
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Drew Brees had four interceptions against the Cleveland Browns and now he's facing Troy Polamalu and the Pittsburgh Steelers defense this week.
While it may be too early to drop Brees from your team, I would bench him in favor of someone else for sure.
Stock Up No.1: Carson Palmer
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Carson Palmer has achieved synergy with his receivers, throwing for more than 400 yards last week.
This week he faces Miami, who ranks 17th against the pass, so expect frequent hookups with Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens and Jordan Shipley.
If Palmer and his receivers truly are all on the same page now, this offense is really going to become dangerous.
Stock Down No. 1: Tom Brady
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It's a sad day when you have to stock down on Tom Brady, but we may have reached that point now that Randy Moss is gone, Wes Welker isn't "Wes Welker" anymore and Deion Branch is Deion Branch.
Until proven otherwise, Tom Brady just isn't a great fantasy pick at the moment.
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