Trending Wide Receivers and Running Backs- Week 3
Entering week three of the season, injuries have once again become the fabric of everything problematic, leaving many fantasy managers scrambling.
While seeing players visit the medical room is a grave concern, replacement players continue to rise with sound productivity generating trends that can’t be overlooked. Let’s hop into this week’s edition of trending players which could assist in securing those wins for your squad.
Trending Up
Randall Cobb (DAL)
With how the Dallas Cowboys have looked through the first two weeks, it’s difficult to not be encouraged by all members of this offense. However, with recent news that Michael Gallup has found his way into the medical room for the next few weeks to a knee injury, Randall Cobb gets a massive upgrade in value in our eyes.
Headlining waiver wire additions, teammate Devin Smith has seen much love as he should be first in line to hold that outside position left behind from Gallup. Don’t let that scare you off of Cobb though, Dallas will use his talents in abundance which will make him a great threat to earn double digit points until Gallup returns. For our appetite, Cobb is trending up in a big way under the radar.
Raheem Mostert (SF)
When Tevin Coleman found his way to the sidelines to nurse his ankle injury, Kyle Shanahan went back to what worked so well a season ago with Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert to run the show from the backfield. Coming off an impressive week of statistical achievement, Mostert lifted his stock for the time being and should continue to feast on this offense.
Adding to that, with how starting pivot Jimmy Garoppolo has been progressing in just two games, limited concentration of stacked boxes will be the result. Mostert should be owned and started at this point as his value couldn’t be any higher. Even with a duel back approach, there will be enough to keep everyone happy.
JJ Arcega-Whiteside (PHI)
Granted, the main attraction without Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson will be Nelson Agholor this week, we have a great affinity for rookie JJ Arcega-Whiteside. Entering week three with the possibility of a greatly expanded role, the potential is rising and should be seen by all.
Arcega-Whiteside is virtually a clone of his teammate (Jeffery) and should be able to slot in taking on the responsibilities of the possession receiver role. Having been gifted the traits of sound height measureables, Arcega-Whiteside should be used with great detail in the redzone for the Eagles. If you miss out on Agholor, don’t forget this rookie as his trends are moving in the right direction for week three.
TJ Yeldon (BUF)
While we completely understand the notion that Frank Gore will get majority of the workload with Devin Singletary listed as a question mark, let’s not discount TJ Yeldon seeing touches.
If Singletary does in fact miss time on the field, Yeldon will jump right in as the secondary back on this offense providing that multi-dimensional skillset which could turn out solid point per reception production. Buffalo is a team on the rise and have the gift of a weaker schedule to start the season. While Frank Gore looks to lead, Yeldon could be a sneaky riser everyone forgot about.
Trending Down
Mike Evans (TB)
It’s truly with shear frustration that we list the Buccaneers Mike Evans on a list of trending down players for week three, but at this point, we really don’t have much of a choice. While we aren’t questioning the ability possessed from the man, we can’t believe how coach Bruce Arians has run this offense in the first two contests of the season.
With that said, it’s nearly impossible to suggest benching Evans at any point, we must throw shade on the star talent until things improve. With the emergence of Chris Godwin to the mix pulling statistics from the sheet, we had envisioned this to be a benefit to Evans and not a hindrance. Even though he still is a weekly play, his stock is falling into the depths we haven’t seen in his career.
Jordan Howard (PHI)
We will be the first to admit that we held Jordan Howard in high regard when he was traded to the Eagles this offseason. Believing a stacked Philly squad would only boost and promote much more production from this backfield, while generating a league best play action pass. As it currently stands, none of that has come to fruition.
The Eagles game plan thus far has been immensely confusing in terms of how they manage their running backs and carries. When Howard has been given the opportunity, nothing special has materialized. While we still have some level of hope for the future, we have no choice but to show this running back as a massive down trend in value.
Jamison Crowder (NYJ)
It wasn’t going to be a shocker to witness the New York Jets lay an egg on Monday Night Football without their starting quarterback Sam Darnold, but the lack of targets to Crowder was quite telling. Even as the Jets lost their backup signal caller (Trevor Siemian) to an ankle injury, enter Luke Falk to hopefully keep Crowder on the stat sheet.
From a week one performance which saw a whopping 17 targets go for 14 receptions, this probably won’t be the case when the Jets take on the Patriots in week three. This trend is contingent on Darnold finding his way back on the field which should be in a few weeks, but until then, he will be in tough.
Phillip Lindsay (DEN)
The magnificent play of the undrafted free agent in his rookie season had everyone believing he could replicate it with great fortitude in 2019. As the Denver Broncos continue to iron out the inefficiencies in their offense with Joe Flacco, Lindsay has taken a back seat in this offense with limited output. To be fair, the lack of statistics in the first two weeks isn’t all on Lindsay’s shoulders, the offensive line has again proven to be the bigger issue.
With that said, seeing teammate Royce Freeman out preform Lindsay last week by a vast margin, we could see the scale tilting in the direction to favor Freeman. Lindsay must show out in the next couple weeks to regain our favor, cause at this point, his trend is falling quickly.
