It is that time of the year. You play all these weeks and yet it always seems to fall on the decisions you make from here on out. Whether you're fighting for seeding, a playoff spot, or not having to do your league's punishment for being last, this is the most crucial week of the entire year. So, what should you do? Do you ride with that gut feeling? Do you put all your chips in the middle and go for broke? I can assure you that if you're here, you've already made a good decision. Taking in all this information and making the decision that best suits your team is what will set you apart from your opponent. Let's do this! Another week, another big market. Ring the bell, please!

Fortune 5

Stock Up: Leonard Williams, Seattle

We can't start the week without mentioning the tear that Williams has been on the last few weeks. Since Week 11, he has had 14 tackles, 4.5 sacks, two defended passes, and, of course, the touchdown last week. Williams is a player who is at the end of his fantasy relevance and is likely going to always be available on waivers, but he is one of the more reliable options when you're desperate for points at the position. He rarely has a zero-point outing when he plays, and as we have seen over the last three weeks, he has a knack for getting hot for a spell and shows us again why he was once a top-ten pick in the NFL draft.   

Stock Up: Nik Bonitto, Denver

I don't like it when people throw around the word elite as a filler. I believe now is an appropriate time to bring this descriptor onto the market. Bonitto may be ascending into the elite category at 25 years old and is arguably Denver's best pass-rushing threat. He is having his best career year, already shattering his best season totals in all categories, but he isn't on here just because he scored a touchdown on Monday Night Football, although how great is that for your team right? He has 36 total tackles and 11 sacks and is currently the DL3 in most formats behind only T.J. Watt and Andrew Van Ginkel. He needs to be rostered and started in all formats and if you are a dynasty manager, hold him like you would your significant other on a romantic date! Never let go!

Stock Up: Xavier Woods, Carolina

Woods is having a good season, but there hasn't been lots of chatter about it. He is on a heater the last three games played, with a combined stat line of 23 total tackles, three defended passes, and two interceptions. He has been around the league for eight years but is pacing for his career high in tackles. Safeties often are easily replaceable outside of the top tier of talent, and when looking for a player who can step up or stand out from the crowd, tackles should be your starting point. Woods is a safe play in your playoff run with matchups against Dallas, Arizona, and Tampa Bay all of which are in the bottom third of the league against safeties.

Stock Up: T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh

There are many traditions at this time of the season, but one of my favorites must be the elite-level production from T.J. Watt, down the stretch run of the fantasy football season. He continues to be the best edge rusher in football in the real game and in fantasy matchups. Last week, he had three tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble. He has a great schedule in the playoffs against Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Baltimore all of which are in the bottom third in the league against edge rushers. We all know how great Watt is, but he's a generational player who despite his reputation still can't be schemed against or taken out of the game and he is a true league-winning player.

Stock Up: Payton Wilson, Pittsburgh

Rookie linebacker alert! We all love to see rookies regardless of position, but when we get a Steelers defensive rookie beginning to pop it should excite us more than normal. Wilson isn't having a great year, but he also is showing us an ability to change a game at any given time. He has competition in front of him that is cannibalizing the stats, but Wilson has not only been a good depth piece as a rookie, rarely getting the dreaded "0" on the scoreboard, but he is playing significant snaps for the team and second most at his position. With Patrick Queen being underwhelming this season, it wouldn't shock me if we saw Wilson take another step in year two on this defense and carve out his place in IDP fantasy football. Stay patient guys, it's coming.

Falling 4

Stock Down: Jessie Bates III, Atlanta

Bates is probably the most confusing player I have analyzed this season for a variety of reasons. The one that sticks out the most is how inconsistent he is as an elite player at the position. We all know how great of a player he is when he is "on", but this hasn't happened at a consistent enough pace for me to feel comfortable with him, especially considering the value his name alone has. The spectrum for points with him is almost comical. His peak game this season was 12 tackles, two defended passes including one interception. Last week, he had two total tackles and a defended pass. Unfortunately for Bates managers, the latter seems to be closer to who he is now than the big game in Week 2. He's still a dynasty me, but we can't ignore the red flags he's throwing at us.

Stock Down: Jeremy Chinn, Washington

Just a few weeks ago I mentioned in this article that Jeremy Chinn isn't worth your time any longer even as a streaming option in desperation weeks. This was in the Week 9 Stock Market and I hope you took this advice. Since then, he has averaged four total tackles a game and has had two defended passes and a forced fumble. The average is skewed by an outlier game he had in Week 11 where he had 10 of the 16 total tackles he's had since Week 9. I wanted to circle back to him again because of the example of his volatility. You are either going to get a player who explodes and can win a week for you, or a player who can quite literally lose a week. I don't trust that volatility myself, but I do want to present this to you because this is a time of the year when sometimes the risky bet wins the matchup.

Stock Down: Divine Deablo, Las Vegas

I'll admit, I was duped by the thought of Deablo breaking through and becoming a must-start player for Vegas this season, but he has failed to give me any confidence at all. It's one thing to have a player in front of you who is just better eat away at your stats (talking to you Robert Spillane!), but it is entirely different when you are one of two players at the position with consistent snaps and cannot perform at the level of a starter for IDP. He got injured again this season in Week 2, so maybe we have our "why" for the disappointing season, but the 26-year-old has had over two years now and we have more questions than answers on if he can be a real contributor for us and that is enough for me to just take an L. Go ahead with your victory lap if you faded me here!

Stock Down: Derick Hall, Seattle

Let's start by talking about how Hall has been a great player this season and is ascending in his first full year as a player with significant snaps. This doesn't make him immune from criticism though and we need to shine a light on the ugly spots in his growth. The last two weeks he has combined for three total tackles, two of which were just assists! He's 23 years old so he is still very much ascending in the league and his season totals have been good. He's at 31 total tackles and has a healthy 6 sacks. He will continue to grow and develop, but he is bumming me out and has some tough matchups down the stretch where I wouldn't feel as confident starting him as I once did.

Premiere Pennies

Stock Up: Gervon Dexter Sr, Chicago

It's fun when I can show some interior defensive linemen some love on here. It is especially fun when, despite their positional designation, they can be plugged into lineups almost immediately and contribute to winning games. Dexter is a great example of this, and for dynasty managers, he's just 23 years old. The former second-round pick is coming into his own for the young Bears defense and I think we may see a run here like that of Derrick Brown. He has 40+ tackles and a healthy five sacks. This is his first season with playing time and as you can see, he is ascending into a solid class of defensive tackle. If you're in leagues that require starters at defensive tackle, he's a must-have

Stock Up: Troy Dye, LA Chargers

This is a major alert! Dye has an opportunity for some spot starts with the nagging groin injury to Denzel Perryman, and we saw him explode last week. It appears that Nick Niemann was the initial beneficiary of the Perryman absence, but that changed last week. Dye had his highest snap total of the season and accumulated 14 tackles and a defended pass. If Perryman misses another week, we could be in for a significant dose of Dye yet again, and who knows, we may have lightning in a bottle here. How often does a double-digit tackle linebacker with less than 1% roster ownership appear in the playoff run/ playoff start for fantasy? Empty the FAAB clip on Dye, and if Perryman misses, start Dye in your lineup. 

Stock Up: Yaya Diaby, Tampa Bay

I was a big fan of Diaby last season but have been hesitant to talk about him this season for a variety of reasons. I can no longer ignore or talk myself out of what I am seeing from him this season. The start of this year was ugly, to say the least, through three weeks he had just four total tackles. He just can't quite seem to get to the quarterback. So, why is he here if I am so down on him? Well, despite the lack of sacks, he has had a safe tackle floor for the last few weeks and has some tasty matchups in two of the next three weeks. Raiders, Chargers, and Cowboys are as good of an opportunity for edge rushers as you're going to get for some big games, and coming off last week's six-tackle game, I think he is as good of a dart throw as any for the position.