Good morning.

Our trends section will be a little brief today, since most leagues have started the playoffs and are past the trade deadline. Instead, we’ll turn it into more of a “Stock Up, Stock Down" article, focusing on those you should trust, and those who could bust.

We’ll also hit you with some players that could rise up the ranks next year. Those of you in dynasty leagues should take note and stash them on your bench, like I did last year with Chase Brown and Jordan Mason.😎 (my team still sucks though…)

MARKET TRENDS 🧐

Running Back

📈 Stock up: Zach Charbonnet. Kenneth Walker’s been a DNP in practice all week with his calf injury, meaning Charb could lead the way again for Seattle. This role has produced touch counts of 19, 21, and 29 on snap rates of 96%, 84%, and 80% in three spot starts this season, per FantasyLife’s Ian Hartitz.

📉 Stock down: Alvin Kamara. Last week, Kamara recorded his lowest carry share (56.7%) since Week 7 and failed to score a TD for the 7th consecutive game. In his three games with Kendre Miller, he’s averaged just 13.2 fantasy PPG (RB24) on 16.9 expected fantasy PPG (RB6), per Fantasy Points’ Scott Barrett.

📈 Stock up: Tyrone Tracy. He’s the truth:

📉 Stock down: Najee Harris. Jaylen Warren saw a season-high 15.4% target share and surpassed a 50% snap share for the 2nd time over the past three games, per Scott Barrett. Plus, the Steelers have the hardest fantasy playoff schedule for RBs.

📈 Stock up: Chuba Hubbard. With Jonathon Brooks done for the year, Hubbard is a locked in workhorse. Bryce Young’s improved play is massively benefitting Hubbard, too — in six games where the Panthers have either won or lost by one score or less, he’s averaging 19.0 fantasy PPG (RB5) on 21.0 expected fantasy PPG (RB1). In all other games, those averages drop to 12.7 fantasy PPG (RB27) on 13.0 expected fantasy PPG (RB26), per Scott Barrett.

Wide Receiver

📈 Stock up: Jauan Jennings. He’s currently 5th in yards per route run behind only Puka Nacua, Nico Collins, A.J. Brown, and Justin Jefferson😳 (per CBS Sports’ Jacob Gibbs). He’s really a WR1 disguised as a WR3…

📉 Stock down: Deebo Samuel. While Jennings is going off, Deebo hasn't found the end zone or reached triple-digit total yards since Week 5. He’s now gone four consecutive games without even 25 receiving yards — last year he had only three such performances all season, per Ian Hartitz.

📈 Stock up: Jaxon Smith-Njigba. JSN WR1 SZN is finally upon us. The sophomore has been released from the shackles of Shane Waldron and is averaging 22 fantasy PPG over his last five contests. He could single-handedly win you your matchup this week, as the Packers secondary is riddled with injuries, potentially leaving them down to their No. 3 slot defender.😬

📉 Stock down: Jayden Reed. He’s been the WR51 since Week 9, sandwiched between Brandin Cooks and Ray-Ray McCloud.😬 Reed’s targets per route run have dropped from 24.3% as a rookie down to just 19.6% this season, and he continues not to play in 12-personnel. Even with Romeo Doubs out last week, Reed ran just 15 routes and finished with season lows in target share (5.3%), snap share (44%) and route share (57%), per Yahoo’s Dalton Del Don.

📈 Stock up: Jakobi Meyers. Since he returned from injury in Week 8, Meyers leads the Raiders with a 28.2% target share, per CBS Sports’ Heath Cummings. he also has a team-high 27.2% target share on throws from Desmond Ridder, who may be starting over the injured Aidan O’Connell. He also has the best fantasy playoff schedule for WRs.👀

QB / TE

📈 Stock up: Matthew Stafford. After throwing for just three TDs in the first six games of the season with no Puka Nacua and (mostly) no Cooper Kupp, Stafford has a whopping 16 scores through the air in the seven weeks since — more than anyone other than Joe Burrow (19), per Ian Hartitz. He’s now posted top-9 numbers in four of his last seven starts and should keep it rolling tonight against the 49ers, who could be without Nick Bosa.

📉 Stock down: Jared Goff. From Week 15-17, Goff will face the Bills at home before road games against the Bears and the 49ers. The Bills have allowed the 4th-fewest fantasy PPG to QBs, and the Bears have allowed the 2nd-fewest fantasy points to the position. The 49ers are only slightly more favorable (12th-fewest), per SideLion Report’s Brad Berreman.

📈 Stock up: Sam Darnold. The Vikings QB has averaged 25.2 fantasy PPG over the last four games while posting QB7, QB6, QB13, and QB2 finishes. He should continue that hot streak this week, as Minnesota carries the 6th-highest team total (25.8) and are seven-point favorites over Chicago, per FantasyLife’s Dwain McFarland.

📉 Stock down: Evan Engram. He’s caught between 4-7 receptions in each of the last seven games, but has failed to top 45 receiving yards. He’s seen just five red zone targets on the season, and with Mac Jones under center, the Jags offense has been held under 10 points in three of the last four games, per FantasyLabs’ Ben Strunk.

📈 Stock up: T.J. Hockenson. For the fantasy playoff stretch, Hockenson will face the Bears, Seahawks, and Packers. All three teams surrender more than 10 fantasy PPG to TEs, and Hockenson just logged seven receptions for 114 yards against Chicago in Week 12, per RotoBaller’s Jorden Hill.

DEEP DYNASTY STASHES 🤫

Broncos WR Troy Franklin and Commanders TE Ben Sinnott have had disappointing rookie seasons, so check to see if someone drops them before your 2025 rookie draft. Franklin could step up if Denver moves on from Courtland Sutton (which they tried to do last offseason), and Sinnott should take over as the starter in Washington if Zach Ertz isn’t re-signed.

Rams WR Tutu Atwell is due to be a free agent next year, and after struggling to get on the field much in his first two seasons, he’s quietly put together two solid seasons as a rotational WR for LA. Atwell had 521 receiving yards and four TDs in 2023 and just surpassed 500 receiving yards this season despite only running about 43% of available routes. Most notably, his 2.49 yards per route run so far this season is an extremely strong number that points to actual progress as a player, per FantasyLife’s Jonathan Fuller.

Jags WR Parker Washington is the WR2 in Jacksonville for the rest of this season and put up career highs for targets (12), catches (6), and receiving yards (103) in Week 13, per Jonathan Fuller. If he capitalizes on this opportunity, he could be part of the team's plans beyond this year — especially since they were shopping Christian Kirk before his season-ending injury.

Browns WR Michael Woods II played at least 75% of the snaps in both Weeks 13 and 14, earning eight targets in that span. He’s now fully healthy after coming off a torn Achilles and has looked pretty good filling in for Cedric Tillman (concussion). The Browns WR corps could see some changes in 2025, with Tillman lacking the reps to be considered “proven” and Elijah Moore set to be a free agent in the offseason.

Panthers TE Tommy Tremble is expected to be a free agent this offseason at just 24 years old. He hasn’t put it all together in the NFL yet, but the former 3rd round pick is 250 lbs with 4.65 speed, so the tools are there to be a stud. TEs typically take time to blossom, and Tremble has shown flashes — he looked good last week with JT Sanders out, catching five passes for 77 yards.

These players are more likely to be trade candidates, as they’re probably on rosters already, but the starter ahead of them will be a free agent in 2025:

• Bengals WR Jermaine Burton

• Broncos RB Audric Estime

• Buccaneers WR Jalen McMillan

• Cowboys WR Jalen Tolbert

If this is right up your alley, check out the Deep Dynasty Stashes 2025 forum over at Footballguys. It’s a great discussion among some dedicated dynasty managers who throw out some promising names.

POLL 📊

Hmmm…🤔

QUICK SLANTS 👀

📖 Read Week 15 Fantasy Football Bold Predictions from FantasyLife’s Ian Hartitz. One of his hot takes? “Give me 125 total yards and two trips to the end zone for Brian RB1son in this smash spot.”👀

📖 Read Fantasy Football Flex Finder from Sporting News’ Michael O’Hara for sleepers you could start in a pinch this week, like Adam Thielen and Elijah Moore.

📖 Read Fantasy Football RB Report from Yahoo’s Pranav Rajaram, where he breaks down what we know about the NFL's most confusing backfields ahead of playoffs.

🎙️ Listen to 5 Potential Late-Season Heroes & Mid-Week Waiver Adds from theScore Fantasy Football Podcast with Justin Boone. Pat Fitzmaurice of FantasyPros joins Boone to discuss the biggest fantasy questions heading into Week 15, while also offering some potential league-winners.

📺 Watch Season 1 of It’s In The Game: Madden NFL on Amazon Prime. Those of you old enough to remember playing the PS2-generation Maddens might be a little angry at how well they portray the current game (since it’s gone to shit over the last 10+ years), but it’s nevertheless an intriguing doc loaded with nostalgia.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Congrats on landing the UNC job, BB…

Looking forward to seeing what Chapel Bill can do at the college level.

Enjoy Rams vs 49ers.

See you Sunday.

- Marcus