Three Up, Three Down: Week 11

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An important aspect of fantasy football is getting ahead of the curve in player values. Dave Kluge has listed and highlighted some players who show a change in value and lets you know what to do with them in Week 11's "Three Up, Three Down" article.

Three Up

Rachaad White

Leonard Fournette got banged up late in Sunday’s game in Munich. But before the injury, Rachaad White had already carved out a steady role. He logged a season-high 64 percent of that snaps and toted the ball 22 times for 105 rushing yards. Now, Fournette isn’t going to be rendered useless. He’s been efficient with his touches and is on a 3-year/$21M contract. He’s an excellent pass-blocker and sets the tone on offense. But the rookie out of Arizona State has shown more than enough to earn more touches. White was drafted in the third round and is a very well-rounded back. His speed and burst both rank inside the 80th percentile. And his 3.9 receptions per game in college show his abilities as a pass-catcher. Additionally, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense appears to be clicking after a slow start to the season. They’ve won back-to-back games and scored four offensive touchdowns over that stretch. With the team turning a corner and getting healthy, that should lead to more opportunities for White. His contingent value in the event of an injury to Fournette would vault him into the “league-winner” tier. But even with a healthy Fournette, White’s usage has done enough to push him into weekly flex consideration. At this point in the season, it’s unlikely that White is on the waiver wire in any competitive leagues. But he is a player who should be targeted in trades for the stand-alone value and potential upside. Try packaging up an RB3 and WR3 to lure White’s manager into a transaction.

Kadarius Toney

After being traded away from the New York Giants, there was really nowhere to go but up for Kadarius Toney. Mysterious injuries kept him off the field in New York. When he did play, he was severely limited in his snaps. But when he got the ball in his hands, the potential always lept off the screen. The Kansas City Chiefs must have seen what most football pundits did, and that’s why they traded for him at the deadline. While he has yet to log more than 50 percent of the snaps in either game he’s played this year, his addition to the offense is proving to be a success early. In Week 10, Toney’s second game with the Chiefs, he logged 44 percent of the offensive snaps. While that wasn’t much, he led the team with a whopping 3.35 yards per route run. He also led the team in yards per reception and yards per carry. He caught four of his five targets for 57 yards and a touchdown and managed 33 rushing yards on two carries. The Chiefs are scheming up plays to get him the ball, and he is taking advantage of the opportunities by producing. Still just two weeks into his tenure with the Chiefs, Toney’s role should only increase from here. Toney was a former first-round pick who could not get on the same page with Brian Daboll in New York. But Kansas City seems to have big plans for him. The 23-year-old is expected to play a wide-back role similar to Deebo Samuel. Those touches on an explosive offense set him up for a massive ceiling.

Cole Kmet

Travis Kelce is the only tight end with more touchdowns than Cole Kmet this season. After a painfully slow start to the season, Kmet is finally picking up steam. Over the last three weeks, Kmet has pulled a 22 percent target share while finding paydirt five times. Until these last few weeks, the lack of touchdowns has been the biggest knock against Kmet. Through his first two and a half years in the league, he had just two touchdowns on 155 targets. That was historically improbable. But now, over his last three games, he has scored five times on 15 targets! This is a classic case of regression to the mean. While it’s unlikely that he continues to score on 33 percent of his targets, it’s good to see that he is finally getting into the end zone. Four of his five touchdowns have come from inside the red zone this year. And his seven red-zone targets rank eighth among all tight ends. With Justin Fields starting to look more comfortable in the NFL, expect to see more opportunities and more touchdowns for Kmet. There’s no reason Kmet shouldn’t be viewed as a TE1 going forward.