Fantasy Football Stock Up/Stock Down: Rico Dowdle Makes Most of Expanded Role Again

There's a lot that goes into trying to stay one step ahead of your leaguemates in fantasy football. Among the things you have to pay close attention to, it's crucial to keep an eye on new trends, usage, and roles for players in order to make optimal decisions when setting your lineups.

Each week is a different beast, and as the regular season progresses, we'll gather more valuable information to utilize.

While we don't want to overreact to everything that happens early in the season, which players saw their stock go up or down following the action in Week 1?

Note: All stats come from Next Gen Stats or Pro Football Focus unless stated otherwise.

Fantasy Football Stock Up/Stock Down Entering Week 10

Fantasy Football Stock Up

Rico Dowdle, RB, Panthers

Just a week ago, I was sitting here writing up Rico Dowdle as someone who saw his fantasy football stock take a downward turn, but that was before head coach Dave Canales announced that Dowdle would be the primary back for the Carolina Panthers moving forward. Dowdle didn't disappoint in his first game starting with Chuba Hubbard also active, finishing with 141 scrimmage yards and 2 touchdowns on 27 touches against a Green Bay Packers team that was 8th in schedule-adjusted run defense entering Week 9.

Dowdle has now made three starts this season, and he's scored 27-plus half-PPR points in each of those instances. During Carolina's improbable victory over Green Bay on Sunday, Dowdle earned a 74.1% snap rate, 47.8% route rate, and 57.1% red-zone rushing share -- suggesting he's an extremely viable fantasy option in the Panthers' run-heavy offense right now.

Kyle Monangai, RB, Bears

Ahead of the Chicago Bears' crazy win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9, veteran D'Andre Swift was ruled out with a groin injury that has been bothering him in recent weeks, which led to rookie Kyle Monangai getting the start. Monangai made the most of his opportunity, taking advantage of a woeful Cincy run defense, producing 198 scrimmage yards on 29 touches.

Additionally, Monangai handled a 73.3% snap rate, 53.5% route rate, and 81.8% red-zone rushing share, though it was Brittain Brown who ended up being the lone back on the Bears to find the end zone on Sunday. Even when Swift returns to Chicago's offense, Monangai did more than enough to earn an increased role the rest of the way.

Drake London, WR, Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are starting to realize (again) that good things tend to happen when they target Drake London in the passing game. London got off to a slow start this season by scoring fewer than 10 fantasy points in each of his first three appearances, but he's now supplied 21-plus points in three of his last four -- making him the WR1 in fantasy points per game in half-PPR formats since Week 4.

In the four games London has been active in since Week 4, he's leading the Falcons in target share (39.4%), air yards share (49.2%), yards per route run (3.12), red-zone target share (47.4%), and end-zone target share (80.0%) by a wide margin. After producing a season-high 34.3 fantasy points as the WR1 in Week 9, we can comfortably say London is a must-start option moving forward, even with Michael Penix Jr. being an inconsistent quarterback.

Colston Loveland, TE, Bears

Another rookie on the Bears who made the most of his increased playing time in Week 9 was Colston Loveland. With Cole Kmet exiting early with a possible concussion on Sunday versus the Bengals, Loveland logged an 80.0% snap rate or higher for the second straight week, and he would explode for 118 receiving yards and 2 scores on 6 catches en route to being the TE2 in half-PPR formats for Week 9.

While Loveland's most productive outing of the season came against a historically bad Bengals defense, he's a talented pass catcher, and head coach Ben Johnson seems to be trusting him more with run-blocking assignments. Similar to Monangai and Swift, Loveland should continue getting increased usage moving forward regardless of Kmet's status, and it's not like Kmet was playing at a high level this season.

Fantasy Football Stock Down

Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, Giants

Upon the unfortunate season-ending injury to rookie Cam Skattebo in Week 8, Tyrone Tracy Jr. became one of the most popular waiver-wire additions in fantasy football ahead of Week 9. However, despite the expectations of Tracy handling a vast majority of the backfield touches in Skattebo's absence, the New York Giants gave more touches to Devin Singletary in Sunday's loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

On Sunday, Tracy earned just 8 touches on a 44.6% snap rate, 35.0% route rate, and 0 of the red-zone snaps (compared to Singletary getting 10 touches on a 55.4% snap rate, 40.0% route rate, and all 6 of the red-zone snaps). Even though I wouldn't be clamoring to get Singletary in fantasy, it's tough to trust Tracy in our lineups entering Week 10 given what his role looked like in Week 9.

J.K. Dobbins, RB, Broncos

Even when J.K. Dobbins was the RB11 in half-PPR leagues through the first five weeks, his usage was concerning, and he was essentially reliant on finding the end zone each week. Now that Dobbins' touchdown luck has dried up and he remains a non-factor in the passing game, he's been the RB25 across the last four weeks, scoring fewer than 9 points in three of those contests.

In Week 9, Dobbins logged a snap rate below 50.0% for the third time this season, and rookie RJ Harvey made the most of his touches for the second straight week by turning his 5 receptions into 51 yards and a touchdown to help the Denver Broncos come away with a win on the road versus the Houston Texans. If Dobbins isn't scoring at least one touchdown and/or generating chunk plays consistently in his limited playing time, then he's going to be a volatile option in fantasy moving forward.

Keenan Allen, WR, Chargers

At the start of the campaign, veteran Keenan Allen looked like he was carving out a decent-sized role for the Los Angeles Chargers, notching 14-plus fantasy points in each of his first three starts. However, aside from scoring 23.4 fantasy points in Week 7, Allen has posted fewer than 9 points in five of his last six contests, and his playing time continues to decline.

During the Chargers' win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 9, Allen saw his snap rate and route rate dip below 50.0% for the second straight game, with rookie Tre Harris seeing more snaps in recent weeks. Maybe the plan all along was for Allen to be a starter until they felt Harris was ready for an increased role, but either way, Allen's fantasy stock is certainly headed in the wrong direction.

Rome Odunze, WR, Bears

To kick off the season, second-year wideout Rome Odunze couldn't have asked for a much better start to the year, earning the status of being the WR3 in half-PPR formats entering Chicago's bye week in Week 5 with team-highs in target share (26.7%), air yards share (43.5%), and yards per route run (2.31) during that span. Along with the Bears becoming more of a balanced attack offensively out of their bye week, Odunze just isn't getting WR1 usage anymore.

Since Week 6, Odunze is tied for the second-highest target share (18.9%) while being tied for the second-fewest yards per route run (1.33) among the Bears' skill players who have a 50.0% snap rate or higher in their last four games. Following a Week 9 performance where Chicago produced 47 points on the scoreboard, Odunze contributed 0 fantasy points, and he's now the WR68 in fantasy points per game across the last four weeks.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.