Trending Wide Receivers and Running Backs- Week 2

With week one complete after a long offseason of speculation, much has been realized in terms of who we can trust early, and who might be on the rise.

Typically, players go down with injury which lifts the potential of others to take their place, while others seem to under perform. Week one gave us a glimpse of what could be forthcoming to this week’s edition of trending players.

Trending Up

DeSean Jackson (PHI)

When the Philadelphia Eagles traded for the services of hometown favorite - DeSean Jackson, we were enthralled with the potential of what could occur in this reunion. Jackson still had plenty left in the tank which included that world class speed and ability. Clearly showing that burst in week one, Jackson was uncover-able, leaving the opposition looking for answers.

During the course of the offseason, the view was squarely on chemistry building between Carson Wentz and Jackson, and clearly it came to fruition. While there are many players who had great contests last week, its our contention to suggest that Jackson could lead the Eagles in most, if not all receiving categories in 2019 pushing him up the board for trending players.  

Mecole Hardman (KC)

To the displeasure of all Tyreek Hill owners, witnessing Hill being carted off the field early in week one was surely enough of a gut punch to make you feel woozy. The end result appears to see Hill being lost for a number of weeks with rookie Mecole Hardman ready to take his place.

To ease some who are now scrambling to find an appropriate solution to their troubles, Hardman instantly becomes a hot commodity and trending player to create high end statistics beginning in week two. While Hardman still has much to learn and much to prove, his skillset resembles that of his teammate Hill and should slot in perfectly from the game plan perspective. Don’t let the Sammy Watkins career day fool you, Hardman will have a role.   

Carlos Hyde (HOU)

With all attention and hype surrounding Duke Johnson finally ready to have his shot at becoming a three-down back, Carlos Hyde swooped in with his sound ability to remove the spotlight.

Been given virtually the starting gig on Monday Night football, Hyde flashed that power run with a mix of quickness we haven’t seen in a couple of seasons. Houston possesses a high-octane offense leaving Hyde a great beneficiary. Duke will have his role on this team, but in our eyes, Hyde is the player to own at this point.

John Ross (CIN)

Perhaps one of the most fearful players to promote on a trending list, is the Bengals speedster John Ross. No one has ever questioned the gift of blazing speed his possesses, but simply the amount of time he has missed due to injury. Week one of the 2019 season proved to be something of a coming out party for Ross as he lit up the stat sheet with big plays.

Entering week two, still without the services of their star AJ Green, Ross has yet another opportunity to prove his worth. Adding to that, we were impressed with the play calling of the Bengals and new head coach Zac Taylor. Preaching to be a more air raid offense, he didn’t disappoint in that respect. Cautiously optimistic is our view at this point, but we can’t ignore what transpired. Ross is certainly trending in the right direction.  

Danny Amendola (DET)

Heading all the way back to offseason evaluations, we absolutely loved the move by the Lions to sign Danny Amendola to the club. With Golden Tate no longer on the roster, a giant void appeared and was instantly filled when the former Patriot joining his former coach in Matt Patricia.

While its clear that this offense moves through the talents of Kenny Golladay, Amendola will play a massive role in pulling double coverage away from his side. Point per reception will be a formality when all is said and done, but Amendola is prime to notch career numbers in the process. This offense is loaded with potential if everyone can remain on the field. Amendola is one of our favorite trending players with massive upside.   

Trending Down

Derrius Guice (WAS)

Even when we preach players of high-end skill, we must eat our words in shame from time to time, and again it comes in the form of the Redskins Derrius Guice. Completing a full offseason of rehab, the prospects for Guice to return to form and lead the team in all statistical categories was front and center. Unfortunately for all his owners, Guice has again been shelved with a knee injury which will sideline him for at least a couple weeks.

At this point we can’t recommend cutting bait this early, as we do require more information to how long of an absence this will be. Keeping a close eye on his progress will tell the tale of if and when he is expendable. Based on hype, Guice is the top trending player in the wrong direction.

Geronimo Allison (GB)

While we miss the boat on our prognosis on some players, the Packers Geronimo Allison has started the year as a complete abomination. Not to get overly carried away with the negative perspectives after only one week, we still remain disappointed with the lack of usage from the talented pass catcher in week one.

Being jolted by teammate Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allison took the greatest of backseats to snaps and looks from his quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Clearly this offensive transition will take some time to gel, we have no choice but to drop the outlook of Allison at this point.    

Darrell Henderson (LAR)

When the LA Rams chose to select rookie running back Darrell Henderson to help ease the load on super star Todd Gurley, another Rams player took the focus leaving Henderson in the dust. Malcolm Brown flashed enough speed and oomph to allow coach McVay to leave his rookie watching from the sidelines.

While at this point its clear that the Rams have a keen objective to dial back the work given to Gurley, it appears that this rookie will have a limited role unless an injury transpires. We aren’t questioning his talent, but at this point, his value is sinking through the floor.   

Donte Moncrief (PIT)

We have told ourselves many times to never again trust the well traveled Donte Moncrief. Yet once more, he has fooled us with a situation that looked to be conducive for great statistics playing with the Steelers. Having a key secondary role alongside Juju Smith-Schuster, the prospects were off the charts from triumph.

After witnessing yet another disaster of a performance, we can now make claims that Moncrief has feet for hands. Showing horrible route running, little acceleration, and dropping virtually every pass thrown his way, he is trending down and should stay down for the foreseeable future. While we say again, we won’t take part in this fabrication of skill that should be, for some reason we can’t quit giving him chances. At this point stay away from the down trend.