IDP Stock Market Week 6

Personal Note: The Stock Market will take a week off as I will be traveling for my honeymoon. We"ll see you again in Week 8.

What is the first thing you should look for when looking at a market? For most, it is identifying positive trends. Whether it is the NASDAQ and looking for green over red or this market looking at risers instead of the fallers. While it is never a bad thing to start there, I would caution people not to limit themselves to this process. Sometimes it is equally important, if not more important, to look at the downward trends and understand buy windows or potential sell windows. Negative and positive do not mean good or bad here; they simply mean where they are versus where they were. Sometimes, it's due to coaching changes, snap count limitations, or injury, but regardless of the why, you must know when and where to look. That’s why you come here! Twelve players a week with explanations of why we like or dislike. So, without further pontification, it’s time to ring the bell!

Fortune 5

Stock Up: Sam Hubbard, Cincinnati

I’ll start with my biggest “L” from last week. Hubbard was on the hate list, and I will convince myself his masterful performance is because he’s a Footballguys subscriber, and he must be reading these… All jokes aside, he had a MONSTER game versus the Ravens this past Sunday. 9 total tackles and a sack bring him to the top of the list this week. He had 12 total tackles going into the game and 0 sacks, and I stand by what I said last week. B.J. Hill returned for the Bengals, and we saw Hubbard get more 1-1 opportunities. He made his presence known in this matchup. I think I'd wait and see one more game before I rush to put him back in the lineup permanently, but it was encouraging to see the Bengals' defensive line, and Hubbard specifically, get back to form this week.

Stock Up: Andrew Van Ginkel, Minnesota

Van Ginkel has been around for a little while now, but he hasn’t ever been considered a “star” player for IDP. I believe we can begin treating him as one of the best in the NFL. In the Week 4 Stock Market, I mentioned that you can't rely on touchdown production from a defensive player, but he is a player that needs to be started weekly from now on. Well, I was only half right. HE SCORED AGAIN SUNDAY! He has been the absolute waiver wire pickup of the year because there is no way I'll ever believe someone had the foresight to draft him! All jokes aside, he is proving to us that he is in the set-and-forget category of starters and his worst game of the season still had four solo tackles. 19 tackles, three sacks, three defended passes, and two touchdowns have me wanting more Van Ginkel than I've ever thought I'd need, and that still might not be enough for my appetite!

Stock Up: T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh

There isn’t much that needs to be said here, but it has been too long since I mentioned the greatness that envelopes Watt. This felt like as good a week as any to praise the king of all edge rushers. He had his best game of the season (a season by the way in which he has had a sack in nearly every game) with eight total tackles, a sack and a half, and a forced fumble. He is the type of player that quite literally changes games and game plans. He is arguably the most scouted defensive player in the entire NFL and in IDP he is on a short list of players you would build your team around. He’s 29, which, of course, makes us scared for the future, but he is still a dynasty buy, and if you're lucky enough to have him, NEVER SELL HIM! He's pacing for nearly 60 total tackles and 15 sacks on the season. Good luck to fantasy managers who run into him on the opposing team.

Stock Up: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Cleveland

Cleveland has been dying for a start defensive player for the better part of 5 years, but we may have a legitimately stumbled-on one here after many years of development. Last season was his best year, but he barely tallied over 100 tackles with minimal stats in between. This season, though, we are seeing Owusu-Koramoah blossom into the player Cleveland fans and IDP fans alike have been dreaming he would be. He’s sitting at 39 tackles with a sack, forced fumble, interception, and two defended passes through the first five weeks of the season. For context, that is all his forced fumbles, half of his interceptions, and 2/3rds of his defended pass total of all last season. This is pacing to be the career year for Owusu-Koramoah, so if you need some young dynasty linebacker help, he’s a player I would be willing to move heavy capital to acquire. If I'm a manager who has him, remind yourself what you have here: a 24-year-old ascending linebacker who may become a defensive focal point.

Stock Up: Dorian Williams, Buffalo

One of the best parts of playing Dynasty Fantasy Football is the ability to watch young players take over roles they were drafted to take over. The Bills have had linebacker anonymity since the Tremaine Edmunds move a couple of years ago, one that was originally filled by Terrel Bernard. Bernard excelled in this role and while he started great again this season, he suffered a setback in Week 2 and hasn’t quite got back on the bike. In the meantime, Williams has stepped up in year two to the tune of 54 total tackles on the season. He was a 3^rd round pick in the 2023 draft, which is a decent capital investment for a player at the position, but he was barely on the field his rookie season. This year, he’s leading his unit in snaps and is top five on the entire defense. We are seeing those snaps translate to huge points, and he needs to be talked about in the top 8 linebackers under 25 years old.